GOTHAM CITY
MARCH 6TH
NINE MONTHS AND TWENTY-FIVE DAYS BEFORE
ROSALYN NEVER EXPECTED FOR HER morning at a new school to be so—eventful. It began with a late alarm and a missed school bus. That forced her to take the Gotham Metro, an old subway that shook uncontrollably and gave Rose a nervous feeling that it may derail. After an anxious ride, she made it to the school a few short moments before the first bell rung. Rosalyn ran to her locker location and attempted to open it to retrieve the books she managed to place there the first time she toured the school. Adapting to the theme of a terrible morning, the combination lock on her locker decided to be difficult. Her struggles lead to a boy with striking blue eyes and raven black hair to offer her assistance. She might have agreed if it wasn't for the fact that he had a cocky grin and she was too frustrated at the world. Trying her best to actually act like she new what she was doing (it was really an attempt to feel like she actually has control in her life), she refused the help with an attitude she had earned from her hometown. Even when he opened her locker, she was too stubborn to actually say thank you.
As she entered her first class period, everyone looked over at Rose. They saw a girl with flustered cheeks, a messy uniform and slightly messy hair from running to her current class and not be anymore late than she already was. Some students began to whisper and laugh at her appearance while others just stayed quiet. Rose's eyes trailed over the student body, they all looked so perfect and in order—a great contrast to her. Rose was never one to actually care what others thought and this time was no different. With her head held high, she gave the teacher a half-hearted apology and quickly looked for a seat.
"You must be Miss Fernandez, correct?" Rose froze in her spot knowing she had to actually acknowledge her now.
"Yep, that's me, Miss…"
The teacher looked at her with a look Rose could only identify as disgust. "Doctor Peters."
"Right, sorry." Blood rushed to Rose's cheeks in embarrassment.
"Take a seat." She commanded.
The teenager did as she was told, she turned on her heels and headed towards an empty desk behind a brunette girl and a blond boy. Doctor Peters continued on with her lesson and got herself as comfortable as possible. In the corners of her eyes, Rose could see her new classmates looking at her. The embarrassment she once felt was starting to replace with the annoyance she had before. Didn't they have a rude teacher to pay attention to? Geez. You would have thought that they've never seen a new student before. In Rose's old school, students came and left everyday.
Instead of paying attention to the students around her, she tried to focus on the board. Rose's attempts at actually trying to learn something was proven fruitless when she instantly zoned out and got lost in her own thoughts. She couldn't care less about the "new" parts of speech that was being teached even though she has already went over the same exact material several times for the past school years. All she could focus on was the way Doctor Peters had her nose in the air as she spoke and the mole under the angle of her mouth. Her voice was nasally and she dressed like she was going to funeral. Rose wasn't aware that with every detail she found to dislike, her lips would turn more and more into a distasteful frown.
A tapping on her shoulder brought Rose out of her thoughts and into the real world. She slowly turned around her seat to face the person behind her. The boy with hair as gold as corn, his pearly whites on full display—the sight of them was almost blinding. Even though the boy was attractive (like most boys in the school she came to notice), Rose was a bit alarmed at the fact that someone's lips can actually spread that far apart. Freaked out, she hesitantly turned back forward and hoped he got the memo. Of course, he didn't. Rose began to wonder what was in the water the citizens of Gotham drank. Does everyone just grin and smile to strangers while not saying anything? She wondered where the infamous Gothamites were that paid attention to their own business and didn't bother anyone else.
"Psst." He whispered to her.
She ignored him.
"Psst."
Her silence continued.
"Hey, new girl."
Nothing.
"Hey, new chick."
"What?" She sent him a small glance before face forward again. Rose and Doctor Peters obviously had a mutual disliking, so acting like a good student was her only hope of passing the rest of the year with the woman possibly going through menopause.
"The name's Austin. What's yours?" Goldilocks greeted. She decided to address him as that because of the remarkable similarities between the two: golden hair and invading other people's privacy.
"Sorry, I'm too busy paying attention to answer."
"Well, I was just asking to be nice. I already know your name is Rosalyn." He said nonchalantly.
She snapped her head to her fellow classmate, a look of horror and violation present on her face. "How did you—?"
"Chill, my dad is one of the deans here. They kinda get to know that kind of stuff and I end up finding out." He shrugged.
"And that should make me feel better because?"
"Miss Fernandez, stop distracting other students in the class and face forward." Doctor Peters all but yelled at the new student.
The teenager and adult gave each other looks of hatred before the latter turned away to continue the lesson. With a small huff, Rose turned her body back towards the front of the classroom and slumped in her chair. Of course she got in trouble and not the kid that was really the one who was distracting others. It was her first class of the day and managed to already get a teacher to hate her. If that wasn't a prediction of what her experience at the new school would be like, she didn't know what was.
Instead of listening to the lesson being spoken, Rose returned her attention to her chipped nails and continued wishing the day would end. Luckily, for the rest of the period Austin didn't continue to bother her. She concluded that he was smarter than she had originally thought. He left her alone after she obviously was annoyed at the fact he had gotten her in trouble.
§
Throughout the school day, Rose had managed to not piss off anymore teachers. Most of her classes were as boring as the first; the academic classes at Gotham Academy were ahead of her old school's by a longshot. When they began discussing quadratic formulas in her mathematics class, Rose was as lost as a puppy. They told her to just take notes and that they'll eventually fill her in—which they did not. In her history class they began talking about the different Chinese Dynasties while she still didn't even know what the Phoenicians did to contribute to the world. Don't even get her started on her life sciences. The only classes where she knew what she was doing was her journalism and photography class. She actually managed to impress her teachers with her skills in those fields, it was her passion after all.
The students at the school were another story. Rose discovered that Austin and her shared two more classes. He was just as dedicated to talking to her as she was in ignoring him. She was still annoyed by his presence but through many one sided conversations (on his part), she finally settled on being able to barely stand him. Closest thing she got to a friend that day, really. Everyone stayed clear of Rose since she was not only the new girl, but also had a look she wore all the time that read "Don't touch or talk to me unless you want to be punched." If she was being perfectly honest, she actually enjoyed the privacy. There were a few people that welcomed her with a small "Hello" and Rose was kind enough to greet back but that was it.
It was finally Rose's final class period; she was excited but dreaded the class at the same time. On one hand, it was the last class of the day which meant she could go home after a long day and on the other, it was a physical education class. Rose didn't hate working out per say, but she would rather sit on the couch and watch movies than run around a gym with the disgusting scent of sweat and body odor. She never got the appeal of the class. Most guys ran around playing sports and thinking they're pro's while most girls just decide to walk and be on their phones. Granted, Rose was one of those girls and wasn't ashamed to admit it.
Going to the locker room and undressing in front of others was always awkward for Rose, especially in front of people she has never met before. The only insecurity she really had with herself was her body. She wasn't skinny but she wasn't fat. Her thighs were thicker than others and she had a bump on her lower stomach due to the food she ate but didn't work out. Rose quickly undressed and put on her athletic uniform which consisted of black basketball shorts and a gold shirt with the school's name and crest in black. She looked hideous in her loose her uniform and wished to take it off. Rose definitely needed to get out of the class. When she finished changing, she walked out of the locker room and into the gym as fast as she could.
Rose was one of the first people in the athletic area. Her eyes scanned the area before landing on one person she hadn't seen all day and hoped she would not for the rest of her life. He stood in the same uniform as Rose but unlike her, he actually managed to look good in it. She rolled her eyes at herself for the betraying thought. Rose tried her best to not look at him and ignore his existence, however, his mere presence irritated her and made her want to leave the gym at that point in time. When he had turned around, she freely glared holes into the back of his head.
"Wow, who are you killing with your eyes?" Rose jumped in fear at the voice that talked directly behind her. She spun around to see a familiar blond hair and blue eyed boy. His charming smile was on full display and his eyes twinkled at her.
"Holy shit, you scared me, Goldilocks." She panted, placing a hand on her rapidly beating heart.
"Goldilocks? My name is—"
"I know it's Austin, Goldilocks." She interrupted before continuing her glare at the boy she was previously looking at.
Austin stood behind her confused on the nickname, questioning where she possibly made up such a nickname for him. He didn't spend much time on the topic before he pushed it to the side and continued in conversation with the new girl. "So, who are you looking at?"
"If you must know," Rose sighed and then nodded towards a certain direction. "Him."
The blond followed the her eyes to a familiar boy that is known throughout the school for not only being the ward to one of the richest men in the world, but one of the smartest kids in school. The boy had managed to skip a grade and be in the same one as him and Rose. Austin also knew the boy due to his kindness to others and the fact they have known each other since he arrived in the school.
"Dick Grayson?" Austin questioned with wide-eyes.
"The abnormally short dude with black hair and blue eyes?"
"That's him," Austin nodded. "Why are you looking at him like that?"
"Because he's rude."
Austin's eyebrows furrowed, Dick Grayson was anything but rude. "What did he do to you?"
"He didn't know how to leave me alone." She replied shortly.
Before he could respond to her, the coach called their class together for attendance. Austin was left confused in his thoughts as to why she would hate one of the nicest people he knows. He thought of the possibility that it might not have been Dick but Rose. In the very little time he got to talk to her, he made the obvious observation that she seemed like an all around grumpy person. It was refreshing to Austin knowing that she wasn't like most of the girls in Gotham Academy. Everyone seemed so fake and obsessed with their appearances to the public. A façade he didn't understand that his fellow students take years upon crafting. Austin knew that the tough-girl act was her own façade she put on display, but it was different and that interested him. Plus, he thought she was hot.
Dick who thought the same thing earlier that day, didn't even realize Rose was in the class with him. The only reason she was brought to his attention was her familiar voice when she notified the teacher she was present in the class. Now he was discreetly looking at her from the corners of his eyes. She still had the same stubborn scowl on her face that freakishly reminded him of Bruce. She was standing next to Austin who was just running his mouth while she seemed to be ignoring the words that came out of his mouth. Her arms were crossed her chest and her foot was tapping waiting for the coach to finish the attendance. Dick finally stopped looking at Rose when her eyes met his peeping ones.
The Coach blew her whistle, "Alright everyone, gather around!"
Everyone did as told and packed together to hear the coach's instructions on the day's activities. The female coach began to talk and the first observation that Rose made was that had an obnoxiously loud and nasally voice. The way should she stood had resembled a character from some Tim Burton film. "I'm gonna keep it simple for today, so we'll do a free activity day. You can either play basketball—the three hoops on the left side of the court, volleyball—the other side of the court, or just walk around the courts perimeter. Dismissed."
Determined to not do anything and just stay on her phone, she chose the option of walking. She pulled out her phone from the waistband of her athletic shorts, a slid the screen up revealing a keyboard underneath. She was about to text her father reminding him that he needed to pick her up before Austin followed her like a puppy.
"Hey, I was thinking maybe we could play some basketball or, uh—volleyball! Volleyball seems fun, eh?" Austin babbled.
"I'm going to walk."
"Walking sounds fun. Yeah, let's… walk." He agreed.
The tone in his voice struck a chord in Rose. She actually felt a bit guilty for him; he had sounded defeated to a certain extent. Granted, he has been trying to be as welcoming as possible but she constantly keeps shutting him down. But then again, she did just want to be left alone. And on the other hand, she can't survive school without at least one acquaintance. Sighing, she settled on giving the poor guy a break. "If you want play basketball or something, you don't have to, like, stick with me or anything." Rose offered.
A small curve began on the corner of his lips. "Nah, it's fine just sticking with ya."
"Cool." And she wanted to punch herself in the face. Was that really all she could say to him? Taking a small gulp, she continued to attempt to spark a small conversation: "So, how's the weather outside?"
Stupid, she thought.
While Rose was cursing up a storm in her head, Austin was trying to stop a smile into breaking out on his face. He bit the inside of his cheek, his lip and his tongue. "Nice, actually. It usually is rainy here in Gotham but today is surprisingly sunny."
"Yeah, I know. I used to live here a few years back." Rose admitted.
"Really? Well, you aren't that smart if your family moved back. Why did you?"
"Too many questions, Goldilocks." She warned.
"Right, right. Sorry, flower."
Rose cringed. "Yeah, let's leave the nicknames to me."
"You're right, that was pretty bad." He sheepishly smiled.
"It really wa—"
Rose was interrupted by a ball hitting the back of her head. The impact was so hard that it caused her to stumble a few steps forward almost causing her to trip. She would've used Austin for support if it wasn't for the fact that she had no idea if he would've been reliable, he didn't seem like the strongest person in the world. When she gained composure once again, her hand flew to the injured spot. She pressed on it a few times to find out the intensity of the injury. A bump had already begun to form and it made her slightly wince at every touch. Anger began to pump through her veins, but despite her instinct to explode, she took deep breaths trying to contain her anger.
She slowly turned around to see who in the gym was the owner of the runaway basketball. Rose brushed off the questions from Austin asking if she was alright, she was too focused on seeing him was at fault. Her brown eyes scanned the basketball players until they stopped at a familiar boy approaching her with apologetic eyes. Still bothered from the events earlier, she was having an even more difficult time keeping her anger bottled up when all she wanted to do was go off.
"Of course it was him." Rose whispered to herself through gritted teeth.
"I'm sorry, I was trying to pass the ball to Jonah. I didn't mean to hit you."
With a humorless smile, she answered. "Well next time, how about you watch where you're throwing a basketball? Don't wanna hit someone in the back of the head. Right, Dick?"
"Rose, chill. Let's just continue walking." Austin offered to which Rose neglected, as per usual.
"I just apologized."
"Well, you wouldn't have to apologize if you paid attention to where you throw a damn basketball." Rose took a step forward.
"Wow, so I guess you're just an all-around grump. I thought it was just a morning thing." Dick fired back.
"Guys, how about we forget this all happened—" Austin continued to try to stop the argument from expanding. But it was proven fruitless when they continued at each other's throats. "—Or just keep ignoring me. That's cool too."
A few people have already begun to stop their physical activities to watch the dispute between their fellow classmates. No one has ever seen Dick Grayson being rude to anyone; it was a side everyone has wanted to see.
"Oh, I'm a grump? Is that what you call girls who turn down your," Rose put up both her hands to make air quotations. "'Flirtations'?"
"Flirtations? You wish."
"Let me ask you one thing; did your parents know you were going be so cocky when they named you?"
Austin's eyes widened at the comment, she was pushing boundary that shouldn't be pushed. He walks up to the fuming girls and grabs her arm, pulling them apart. "All right, I'm gonna stop you there."
He turns around quickly to mouth a 'sorry', to which the acrobat nods at, and continues his way on separating Rose from the heat. Much to her dismay, her argument was cut short just when she was racking up great insults to tell. She tried to pull her arm out of Austin's grip but soon discovered that it was going nowhere. Rose automatically took back her earlier comment on if he was actually strong enough to hold her falling figure. She then went from actions to words, telling him to release her. Austin took a page out of Rose's book and ignored all of her requests. He refused to let go until he pulled her out of the gym and into the hallway.
When he had finally released Rose, she raised her other hand to her now reddening arm. "Ow, that hurt! And why the hell did you pull me out of there?"
"Have you ever noticed that you swear a lot? Sorry, off topic." Austin shook his head to get back to what he wanted to say. "I pulled you out of there because things were escalating."
"I wouldn't say it was escalating—" Austin gave her a look. "Okay, fine. Maybe if it had gone farther, I might've punched him."
"You really need to chill, you know that? Ya get so worked up over little things."
"I don't get worked up over little things." Another look. "I don't."
"Fine, but you are defensive," Austin sighed. "Why are you so defensive?"
Rose frowned. "Too personal."
Austin raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. But I really doubt you want to go into that gym again, so does skipping sound good to you?"
"Listen, I'm usually all up for skipping, but what about Coach? I'm pretty sure she'll notice if we go missing."
"No way, she's too busy watching telenovelas* on her new iPad." Austin laughed.
"Okay, but if I agree, where to?"
Austin grinned. "I know a great ice cream parlor."
*Spanish Soap Operas (just incase you guys didn't know)
This was just… Rubbish. And I apologize for it, I just tried to put a chapter out there and this filler poop is what came out. I'm so sorry! But school is just a pain and life is too. But on the bright side the next chapter for this is coming up soon too. But the downside is that is it more filler so y'all can know more about your least favorite protagonist ever.
Please favorite, review and share even despite my uninspired and rough chapters like this!
Did I mention that you should review? Because it really makes my day when I read them!
—redhood-for-hire
