The rest of Cinder's morning passed much in the same way homeroom had. As it turned out Ruby was in just about all of her classes, english being the exception. They sat together through each class, taking seats towards the back of the room.
Between each class Ruby would greet her friends in the hallway and introduce them to Cinder.
"Hey Pyrrha!" Cinder looked up to see a tall, well built redhead turn to look at Ruby. "Hello Ruby, how's your day going?"
"Things are great! Have you met Cinder?" Ruby gestured to the girl standing beside her. Pyrrha looked to Cinder and did a double take. "No I haven't, it's a pleasure to meet you Cinder. My name's Pyrrha." She smiled at the shy girl and received a nod in return. "Um, I have to get to math, I'll see you at lunch." Pyrrha quickly walked off towards her next class.
"We should probably get going as well," Ruby started walking towards her next class with Cinder trailing not far behind her.
"Ugh, finally it's over. I swear Port can make anything sound boring as dicks." Ruby trudged her way out the door with Cinder in tow. Port's classes were always the longest of the day, feeling easily twice as long as any other. How the man managed to warp time was a mystery to all but was an undeniable truth.
The two made their way through the crowded halls to the high ceilinged cafeteria for lunch, the smell of pizza making it's way into their nostrils. The two were getting in line when Cinder felt a gentle tug on her sleeve. She turned around and saw Neo. Her eyes lit up seeing her sister.
"Hey girly. How was your morning?" Cinder whispered bending down to look Neo in the eyes. The younger girl simply shrugged her shoulders. Her face was neutral, not showing any emotion but her eyes were missing their usual color. Cinder knew her little sister, she saw through the façade. "What's wrong?" Concern filled Cinder's voice as she bent down next to Neo. Neo only gave a deep sigh and looked to the floor.
"Hey, come here." Cinder brought her sister into a hug. "It's alright, we can talk about it when we get home. Do you want to sit with me? I made a friend." Cinder couldn't help but let her excitement show in her tone at the mention of Ruby. Neo looked puzzled before looking behind Cinder to see the young girl staring back from behind her.
"Hello! I'm Ruby. What's your name!" Ruby asked excitedly. Neo shrunk back a little at the girl's overenthusiastic greeting.
"This is Neo, she's my little sister." Cinder answered softly for her sister, knowing she didn't like to speak around people.
"Hello Neo. I have a sister too, an older one, her name is Yang." Ruby replied more gently, smiling at Neo. Neo hid behind her sister, uncomfortable with the barrage of words from the new girl.
"Hey! You're holding up the line!"
The three looked around and noticed they had indeed been standing still for almost a minute. They quickly made their way up to the tall, stainless steel counter and purchased their lunches. Ruby guided them through the buzzing mass of students to a small wooden table in the corner by the window where four people were sitting.
At one corner sat the redhead Cinder remembered meeting before in the hall . Her hair was held high in a tight ponytail and her clothes had a golden sheen to them. Beside her sat a rather scrawny blond with a messy head of hair and equally untidy clothes. Across from him sat a couple deep in conversation. The guy had long black hair with a magenta stripe and his shirt seemed to be some kind of green silk, while the girl had short orange hair and a crazy smile plastered on her round face.
"Hey guys!"
"Hey Ruby, who you got there?" The ginger girl asked, her smile unwavering as she turned to the newcomers.
"This is Cinder and Neo, they just moved here," Ruby responded gesturing to each girl as she said their names. Cinder glanced around the table meeting each person's eyes. Neo stood behind her sister, shying away from the strangers.
"It's nice to meet you," The guy in green said. "My name's Ren, this is Nora, Jaune, and Pyrrha."
"Hello," Cinder replied softly. The sisters sat down next to Ruby and started eating their lunch. The group of friends spoke animatedly throughout lunch, bouncing from topic to topic. Cinder tried to follow the conversation but she didn't recognize the people they were talking about. Eventually she resigned herself to focusing on the food on her plate.
"Hey Ruby, where's Yang?" Nora asked. "Oh, she had a doctor's appointment today." Ruby replied simply.
Lunch soon ended and Cinder and her sister stood up to dispose of their trash. As they walked Cinder looked down to her sister and could see the apprehension painted on her face. "It'll be ok Neo, the day's almost over." Cinder tried to console her sister. They shared a quiet goodbye before Cinder followed Ruby to their next class.
Ruby looked to the clock. Five minutes left till the day was over. She kept fidgeting in her seat, sending glances to the obsidian haired girl sat beside her. She wanted to ask her to hang out after school, but she knew the girl was very shy. She briefly pondered why she had taken such an interest in the girl before realizing she had been caught staring.
"Hey…" Cinder said uncertainly. "Hey, Cinder. I don't suppose you would, uh, like to hang out after school. We could go to my house." Ruby asked hesitantly.
Cinder was surprised by the question. She hadn't expected anything like that at all. Does she really want to be my friend? Like a real friend? A rare smile spread across Cinder's face as she daydreamed about having a real friend.
"Um, so is that a yes?" Ruby asked, seeing the smile on Cinder's face and displaying her own, heart melting smile. Yes, I should go! This will be great! Fuck, what about Neo? shit. Cinder sighed deeply and looked down to her desk.
"Sorry, but I have to walk my sister home today, maybe another time." Cinder replied, her head downcast in melancholy.
"Oh, well ok, I guess." Ruby said, a little crestfallen. "Hey, maybe I could come over to your house?" Ruby asked hopefully.
Cinder thought about it for a second. That could work, but she would have to ask her parents first. "I'd have to ask my parents first" Cinder replied trying and failing to hide her excitement. "But maybe tomorrow" she ended with the biggest smile of the day.
"Great" Ruby said, beaming at the girl next to her.
At that moment the bell rang, signaling the end of Cinder's first day at this new school. It had been a great day, the best in a long time for her. She made her way to the front of the school to wait for her sister.
While she waited she reflected back on the day's events.
Could this day have gone any better? Probably not. I have a friend now. A real friend, I think.
A/N: So here it is, chapter three. I'd like to give a quick thanks to ARMV7 and Arieko for leaving much appreciated reviews. I'd absolutely recommend checking out ARMV7's Maybe I'll see you around and Arieko's The queen's vessel, both are fantastic stories. As always I'd love to hear what you think, any review is helpful. Hope you enjoy.