Chapter 4 – Of Mice and Men

Several long, draining hours passed before Mr. Schrodinger's abysmally dull introductory lecture finally ended. If that wasn't painful enough on its own, he promptly followed it up with an opening speech concerning the code of ethics at Glasswater High School and the standards that had been practiced there since the dawn of the United State's history. Noah got the idea that Mr. Schrodinger cared more about the school's reputation than he did for its students. He knew that could have been a wrong assumption, but the teacher wasn't making a very good case in favor of the opposite argument. Mr. Schrodinger's speech was not aided by his dull, monotonous, one-note tone of voice, and his lifeless rhetoric dragged on and on and on until Noah figured he was about ready to drill holes into his ears with a screwdriver. It felt like a lifetime had passed Noah by the time Mr. Schrodinger finally reached the conclusion to his grating lecture, and by that point Noah's brain was a scrambled mess. The bell sounded off in the courtyard as Noah glanced up above the podium at the clock at the apex of the classroom. It read 10:00 AM. Noah groaned and buried his face in his arms as Mr. Schrodinger gathered his papers into a thin, leather-bound briefcase and nodded curtly.

"This will conclude today's preliminary lecture concerning the history of our school. You all know by now what we expect of you here at Glasswater High School. Nothing short of your best will satisfy my standards, much less the standards of the other professors here at this institution." Mr. Schrodinger checked his watch and raised his hand. "You are all excused for a thirty-minute break period. I expect all of you to be in your seats by the time those thirty minutes are up. Dismissed."

The students in the classroom breathed a collective sigh of relief as many of them got to their feet and hurriedly gathered their things. Noah remained motionless in his seat, mulling over whether drowning himself in the bathroom stall would be less painful than flinging himself off of the top of the clock tower. He felt a hand descend onto his shoulder.

Noah looked up to see a small crowd of students gathered around his seat, their faces glowing with anticipation and suppressed excitement. He looked past the students and saw Robin chuckling to herself at the back of the classroom. The boy seated next to her appeared barren, his face completely devoid of any trace of emotion. Noah silently mouthed 'help me' as the students descended upon him like a rabid pack of wolves, pushing and pulling with a veritable litany of inquiries. Reluctantly, Noah surrendered himself to their demands before Robin cut her way through the swath of students and grabbed Noah, pulling him out of the throng. A bead of sweat appeared on his forehead as Robin placed him behind her, her arms extended.

"Sorry, kids! I'm afraid Noah's off-limits for the time being. Do you disagree?" Robin glanced at him and he quickly nodded in agreement. "From the horse's own mouth, folks!"

"He didn't even say anything!" Someone complained.

"Let him speak for himself!" Another piped up.

Robin shook her head and crossed her arms defiantly, trying to appear as menacing and as unflinching as was physically possible. "Try again some other time, guys. Shop's closed!"

The crowd of students hesitantly stood their ground but eventually, they gloomily dispersed, several of them shooting Robin sour looks. Robin simply stuck out her tongue and turned around, pointing back at them over her shoulder with her thumb. "You gotta' learn to say no to these people, Noah, else they ain't ever gonna' stop." She adjusted her sweatshirt and pointed past him at the gloomy looking boy. "Anyway, you gotta' meet my friend over there! He might not look like it but he's actually real excited to meet ya'! He's the guy I was talkin' about earlier when I—" Robin's voice briefly lost its natural confidence and her burst excitement ended in a lifeless sputter. "When I lost it."

Noah sighed and gently knocked her chin up with his finger. "Don't worry about it. Come on, what's your friend's name?"

"…His name's Matthew." Robin answered, grateful that Noah didn't chastise her for losing her spirit. She started walking towards her friend and Noah followed in her footsteps. As they approached, the boy looked straight at Noah, his eyes almost glaring into his. Matthew didn't give Noah ample reason to believe that he hated him, but there was something off in his expression that gave Noah the slight impression that he wasn't welcome. Nevertheless, he knew he wasn't one to judge and he figured he ought to put his best foot forward. When Noah got within hand-shaking range, Matthew averted his gaze and instead, chose to focus his attention on a dark spot ingrained into the wood of his desk. Robin placed a hand on her hip and rapped the table with her knuckles, startling Matthew out of his inattention. "Yo, Matthew! This is Noah. Met this dude on the way to school. He seemed like a pretty decent guy, so I figured I'd introduce him to ya'."

Noah extended his hand towards Matthew and offered a smile. Matthew glanced at Noah's hand and for a moment it looked as if he would actually take it but he withdrew into himself and turned away, looking outside the window into the courtyard. Robin sighed and roughly clapped Matthew on the back, eliciting a surprised cough. The dark-haired adolescent shot her a look and finally gave Noah the benefit of his full, undivided attention.

"Hey." Matthew mumbled, his voice lighter in tenor than Noah was expecting. "I'm Matthew."

Matthew still didn't seem to think Noah's hand was worth shaking, so Noah let it fall limply beside his waist. "I'm Noah Scofield." There was an awkward pause as Matthew stared at him, listlessly. "Um… it's nice to meet you Matthew. Robin hasn't told me much about you but I hope we can become good friends."

"Likewise." Matthew replied, although Noah wasn't sure how much Matthew meant those words as he said them. "Here's to a long, fruitful friendship." Matthew rolled his eyes as his sour tone of voice betrayed his true sentiment.

It was clear that Matthew had no intention of pursuing any kind of relationship with Noah, and Noah knew he couldn't take that kind of rejection lying down. He didn't know what Matthew's problem was with him and he was hard-pressed to come up with any feasible reason as to why, but he felt like if he tried to get to know Matthew better—probably at his own expense—he could salvage some kind of familiarity with him. As it stood, they would probably be relegated to an awkward acquaintanceship if things continued to go the way they were headed. In his heart, Noah knew that this was a turning point in his future with Matthew. Robin grunted in frustration at Matthew's reluctance to cooperate and made a move to interject, but Noah held out his hand.

"What do you like to do in your spare time, Matthew?" Noah ventured, hoping Matthew would take the bait. Robin gave him a quizzical look, but stayed silent.

The unenthusiastic teen appeared taken aback for a second, but he shrugged and placed his chin in his palm, maintaining his indifference. Noah figured Matthew was surprised that he didn't just walk away or return his slight, but it wasn't enough to convince him that he genuinely cared. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because Robin's your friend, and I like Robin, and I think I'd like you too if you let me." Noah replied. He glanced at Robin for some encouragement, but she was squinting at him guardedly. Matthew leaned back a bit and he made a worried face. Noah went slightly red and threw his hands up, vigorously shaking his head back and forth as the dual nature of what he had just said dawned on him. "Oh, shit, not like that! That isn't what I meant!"

Shit! Noah cursed. I need to choose my words more carefully!

"I'm sorry." Noah apologized. "It's difficult to find the right words."

Robin laughed and placed her chin in her palms, studying Noah intently. "You ain't so hot with your words, are ya' Noah?"

Inside, Noah fumed. What the hell do you mean? At least I'm trying to be friendly! He wanted to retort, but something told him Matthew wouldn't approve of something like that. "No, I guess not. But Matthew still hasn't answered my question."

"What I like to do, you mean?" Matthew asked, lazily. He looked up at the ceiling and folded his arms. "Nothing interesting. I play video games sometimes and I do a lot of stuff on the computer." He thought a little bit more and shut his eyes. "That's about it."

"What?" Robin snapped, slapping a palm on her desk indignantly. "There's more to it than that! Tell him about your—"

"Robin." Matthew warned, coldly.

Robin held her hands up and backed off. "Sorry, my bad. I shoulda' known about how you felt about that stuff. But Noah's alright, really! You have my word that you can trust him. He ain't gonna' call you names like the others. I'd be willing to bet good money he'd be cool with it!"

"Robin." Matthew repeated through gritted teeth, his patience wearing dangerously thin.

You could have cut the rising tension between them with a butter knife. Noah realized how unhealthy their discussion was becoming, and he decided to intervene before things became irreparable. "You don't have to tell me anything." He cut in, not wanting to be the cause of a fractured friendship. "You don't owe me anything, Matthew. Robin, it's alright. It can wait, if he ever decides to tell me. I don't have to know right now." Noah looked straight into Matthew's eyes, making it abundantly clear how serious he was in that moment. "I don't have to know, ever, if that's the way you'd like to keep it."

Visibly, Matthew seemed to be impressed. Noah figured that there were others Robin had tried to introduce to Matthew and that those meetings probably hadn't gone the way she had intended. The more people tried to push things the more Matthew was disinclined to disclose the more intimate details of his life. Instinctively, Noah knew that secrets like that were trophies he had to earn, not force out into the limelight like a nervous performer with a crippling case of stage fright. There was a methodology to people like Matthew, a methodology Noah was beginning to get the hang of.

"Hey, just tryin' to get you two to communicate. You ain't makin' it very easy." Robin yawned, rubbing her eyes. "I mean, I figure you'd be pretty impressed, Noah. Matthew might not look like it, but he's actually—"

"Robin!" Noah and Matthew yelled in unison. Shocked, they traded bewildered stares as Robin jumped and shrank meekly into her chair. After a time, the two teenagers snickered before, finally, genuine laughter escaped their throats. Matthew, in particular, was in hysterics. There were few people who were willing to stand up to Robin when she started going off on a tangent, and he was in awe at the fact that Noah had had the same idea. Robin's eyes went from one to the other and once she understood what was happening, she beamed and joined with them.

Before Noah could properly get in a word edgeways, Mr. Schrodinger strutted into the room. There were a couple of minutes left before the permitted thirty minutes were up. Nevertheless, Noah was not worried. He had managed to get Matthew to warm up to him in the allotted time and he was happy, knowing that things might go smoothly between them after all. There was a tough, long road ahead of him when it came to interacting with strangers. This was just the tip of the iceberg. There was no telling what others he would come to meet in the coming year at Glasswater and there was no telling what they would be like. If Matthew and Robin were any indication of what was to come, however, he could tell he was in for one hell of an adventure.

! ! !

Noah and the others had to split up once the break ended since their schedules past Mr. Schrodinger's initial class were wildly different. Many of their classes were spread throughout the campus grounds and aside from Mr. Schrodinger, they didn't seem to have any of the same classes. Noah had to admit he was a little disappointed that he couldn't get to talk to Robin and Matthew more, but he decided it could wait. They agreed that once lunchtime hit, they would all meet up in front of Mr. Schrodinger's classroom and go to the cafeteria together. Noah had other things on his mind when he drew nearer to Matthew and Robin, however, most prominently his growing urge to urinate. Noah wondered why his bladder acted up at such inconvenient times as Matthew looked at him, oddly.

"…What's up with you? You look like you're about to pass out."

"Where are your bathrooms?" Noah asked, his eyes clenched. "I'll meet up with you guys once I've done my business."

"I can show you if you want. It's just down the hall and around the corner." Matthew said.

There was little rational reason to support Noah turning down Matthew's offer, but he didn't want to be a burden when they were just starting to get along so well. In retrospect, it didn't make a whole lot of sense, but Noah rationalized independency was a personal trait he needed to develop before he was ready to adequately depend on others. "No, it's fine. I can make it. I'll see you two at the cafeteria, alright? Save me a seat!" Noah turned around and started jogging down the hallway past a series of lockers and classroom doors. Once he reached the split at the end of the hallway, he looked right and left and spotted the restrooms at the end of the path to his right. Relieved, he started to make his way over when out of the shadows a thick, muscled pair of arms entwined around his waist and heaved him up, crushing the air out of his lungs. Noah's vision spun as he was lifted effortlessly into the air, the face of his assailant just out of sight.

Noah was incapable of crying out for help as he kicked his legs out, trying to find a purchase for his feet. Getting jumped at school was something he had given some serious thought to, but he never expected it to happen while he was actually at school. Maybe when he was walking home, maybe when he was at his most vulnerable at a urinal, but never at school in the hallways! He had gone through the motions when he was in the airplane's restroom, coming up with a slew of cool one-liners and figuring out where he thought the chokepoints on his assailants would be located. But now that he was trapped in the arms of a complete stranger, he didn't know what he was supposed to do.

As quickly as it had begun, the 'attack' ended and the large assailant gently set Noah down on his feet. Noah collapsed, struggling to catch his breath, his chest heaving. He turned his head and looked up and behind him at a grinning, muscled, bear of a man with a wide jaw and short, dirty blonde hair that was gelled up at the tips.

At a loss for words, Noah simply stared at the young man. It was hard to find the right words when he had brushed that closely with death. Thankfully—or not—the young man broke the silence, his voice a deep and imposing bellow. "You're the new kid, right? The one from the west coast?" He stuck out his tree trunk of an arm, the hand at the end of it more like a giant slab of ham instead of a human appendage. "I'm Seth. I'm a senior here."

Is this guy for real? Noah wondered, incredulously. "Er… yeah, that's right. I'm Noah Scofield."

"Glad to hear I bear-hugged the right one then!" Seth laughed. "Would have been awkward if I nabbed some other new student!"

"How did you know who to grab?" Noah asked, horrified.

The looming colossus of a student leaned in and suddenly looked deathly serious. "And why do you think I'd let you in on a secret like that?" He maintained this intimidating look for several painfully frightening seconds before he roared with laughter and drew himself back into his full height, his voice echoing down the hallway. Noah could barely contain his terror as Seth laughed and laughed, apparently ignorant of the effect he was having on him.

After his laughter had subsided, Seth wiped his mouth and regarded Noah with warm, friendly eyes. "Actually, it was your friend Robin. She's in one of my classes. How did she put it?" Seth rubbed his temples and slapped his hands to the sides of his face, mimicking her long, dark bangs. "Look for a kid who looks like he hasn't slept for days. Poor guy's got bags under his eyes the size of asteroid craters." Seth looked satisfied with himself and laughed. "That about right?"

Noah had to hand it to the guy, he did a pretty accurate impression of her. Seth couldn't have been all that bad if he was already on good terms with Robin, and if that was the case he decided it couldn't hurt to give the senior a chance—even if his bear hug had almost killed him.

Maybe that was some kind of weird initiation ceremony for new students at Glasswater High School. Noah laughed warily and nodded. "Yeah, that's pretty good, actually. You know Robin?"

"Of course!" Seth nodded. "I'm not kidding around when I tell you what I'm about to tell you. I know most of the kids here and I don't have a bone to pick with any one of them. Honesty is always the best policy and I try to be friends with everybody. You're no exception, Noah Scofield." Another warm, inviting smile. "Welcome to Glasswater High School, Noah. You're going to have a great time here with friends like Robin and Matthew."

"You know Matthew too?" Noah said, surprised.

"Yeah." Seth admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "Guy isn't easy to talk to, though. It's like talking to a brick wall sometimes." Seth regarded Noah thoughtfully for a moment, and then continued. "Robin said you actually managed to make him smile. That isn't an easy feat, Noah. Color me impressed."

To Noah, Seth seemed like an upstanding fellow, and he was genuinely surprised that Seth hadn't been able to get through to Matthew. How had he been able to and not Seth? Seth gave off the impression of someone who was a natural at social interaction. He seemed like a genuine people-person; someone who could make a living off of just talking and getting to know others. Noah wished it could come that easy to him, but it was hard and demanding. Noah shook his head and tried to deter Seth's compliment. "No, I must have gotten lucky. I still have a long way to go."

"Bah! Nonsense!" Seth chastised, suddenly looking very cross. "I like you, Noah, and that's what counts. You're alright in my books. If anyone tells you otherwise, come to me and I'll give them a piece of my mind." Noah gave him a look, but Seth just brushed it off. "Not like that. Come on, Noah, do you think I'd really go and do something like that? Just go and clock people in the face for having an opinion different from my own?"

A set of footsteps sounded down the hallway as Noah readied himself to ask if Seth was serious. The friendly giant looked past him and beamed, waving at some people who were walking past them. Noah turned around and spotted a pair of students that were slowly approaching. One of them—a lean, well-built athlete with chestnut brown hair and piercing, turquoise eyes—smiled and held his hand up. The other—an elegantly dressed blonde with blue eyes and sharp features—cocked her head when she saw Noah.

"Who's the kid, Seth?" She asked, curiously.

Noah felt Seth's meaty hand clap him on the shoulder. "This here's Noah Scofield. He's a Junior who moved in here from the west coast. Say hi, Noah!"

Noah reddened, feeling like a child under Seth's looming presence. What is this, preschool? Noah thought, slightly annoyed. Nonetheless, he smiled and waved his hand. "Hey, how's it going?"

The athlete returned Noah's smile. "Name's Griffith. Maybe I'll see you after school."

His blonde companion nodded. "I'm Lucia. Nice to meet you, Noah."

Seth suddenly stepped around Noah and tousled Griffith's and Lucia's hair with his hands, chuckling to himself softly. "Where are you two headed?"

"Seth, come on! We're all adults here!" Griffith protested. Lucia looked just as agitated, although neither of them made any attempt to stop Seth from smothering them with affection. Noah guessed that Seth was just naturally touchy-feely, and everyone else that he was familiar with had just learned to deal with it. If Noah thought about it, he couldn't say that he minded. Seth seemed like someone he could enjoy spending his time with, and the same could be said for Lucia and Griffith. The upperclassmen trio exchanged a few more words before Griffith and Lucia said their goodbyes and departed. Seth's attention returned to Noah, his expression still obstinately optimistic.

"So where were you headed, Noah?" Seth asked.

Like at the airport, Noah's desire to urinate had completely gone from him. It was no Velvet Room, but meeting Seth and the other two had taken away the need, and now all he wanted to do was go to the cafeteria and meet up with Robin and Matthew. "I was going to the cafeteria. Robin and Matthew are waiting for me over there."

Seth chuckled and turned Noah in the opposite direction. "The lunchroom's that way, Noah. For future reference, this hallway leads to the bathroom." He patted him on the head, like he did with Griffith and Lucia. "Don't hesitate to call on me if you ever need any help. I look out for all the students here. If anyone gives you trouble, let me know."

Charmed, Noah grinned. "Thanks, Seth. I'll keep that in mind."

! ! !

"Yo, Noah! We're over here!"

Noah's eyes ran the length of the cafeteria hall as he entered, searching for the source of Robin's voice. The room was long and large, the ceiling meeting at a single point, like a triangle. Intricate, colorful glass panes were set high above on the wall at the end, sunlight filtering through the glass and casting a beautiful array of colors onto the tables and floor of the cafeteria. As Noah studied the arrangement and finer details of the room, he noticed that if he had replaced the long rows of tables and chairs with pews and left an empty column in the middle, it would have looked much like a church would. Did this room serve a different purpose in earlier times? It was hard to say among the throng of students eating and chatting, but he wouldn't have been surprised if it did. In the crowd, Noah identifies Robin near one of the corners on the opposite side of the cafeteria, occupying one of the tables with Matthew who was seated across from her. He nodded, indicating that he had spotted them, and began to make his way over. As Noah drew closer to them, Robin beamed and patted one of the seats next to her.

"Make yourself comfortable!" She said, pushing a tray full of food over to Noah. "I figured you wouldn't have brought a lunch on the first day, so it's on the house! Courtesy of myself and Matthew!"

Noah looked at her, and then at Matthew, who failed to mask his embarrassment. Regardless of whatever he felt, he didn't deny that he had chipped in to help pay for Noah's food. Noah smiled at them, warmly, taken aback that they were showing him so much hospitality. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

"Don't touch the greens, though." Robin warned, wrinkling her nose at a curious lump of green sludge sitting promiscuously in one section of his tray. "Lots of the stuff on that tray ain't exactly healthy for you, but that thing especially will hurt you somethin' awful. I swear, that thing's in violation of regional health code regulations."

Matthew scoffed and spooned a lump of macaroni and cheese into his mouth. He opened his mouth and spoke through a smattering of yellow mush. "At least it's edible. I couldn't say the same for the stuff you cook."

"Shove it, Matthew! At least I got manners." Robin shot back hotly, crossing her arms. "And shut your trap when you eat! That's gross! There's mac' and cheese flyin' all over the place!" She shook her head in disgust and then turned to face Noah. "Anyway, where were ya'? You're a little late. We were startin' to get worried."

Noah looked over at the entrance to the cafeteria, wondering if his upperclassman assailant would suddenly show up. Not surprisingly, he didn't. Noah sighed and said, "I met someone named Seth, and a couple others. He seemed to know you."

"Oh, Seth!" Robin exclaimed, reaffirming what he had hinted at. "Yeah, 'course I know him. Even Matthew knows him, ain't that right?" Matthew nodded and chewed with his mouth open. Robin gave him another sour look, but she continued. "Dude's a real class act. Ain't no one else on campus that's as friendly as that guy. What'd he say to you?"

"He did a frighteningly accurate impression of you, actually." Noah said. That was the first thing that came to his mind, honestly. It was difficult to forget since it was so spot-on. Robin looked confused for a moment, and then went red with agitation.

"What!? That old shtick again? Why won't he stop doing that!?" Robin yelled, flustered. "It stopped being funny after freshman year! I'm not that loud!"

Yes, you are. Noah thought to himself, silently.

"Yes, you are." Matthew chimed in, taking a swig of water. Noah winced as Robin leaned over the table and punched Matthew square in the jaw, causing him to cough up his food.

While Matthew recovered from Robin's sudden ambush, Noah studied him interestedly. In many ways, Matthew reminded him of himself. Around strangers, he was timid and shy, and prone to verbal mistakes. Matthew might have been a little thornier when it came to that, but in the end the verdict was the same. Around friends, he acted more like himself and it definitely showed. Noah recalled, earlier, what Robin had said while trying to get in touch with Matthew.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it. There's just this guy who I was hopin' would show up. And I thought I finally broke through to him…"

She had said other things, but Noah identified those words as the most important. What did she mean when she said she had finally broken through to him? He didn't want to bring up the matter now—he could only imagine how awkward that would have made things between the three of them—but he could not deny how much the thought nagged at him. There was still much more he had to learn about Robin as a person, and to an even greater extent, Matthew.

"Anyway, forget about that!" Robin chirped. "Noah, you payin' attention? Matthew said he's got an offer for you, if you're willin' to listen!"

Noah looked at Matthew with raised eyebrows. Matthew cleared his throat, clapped his hands, and set them down on the table. "You said earlier you wanted to get to know me, right? Or at the very least, you alluded to it." Noah hesitated, but nodded cautiously. "Well if you were serious about that, then I was wondering—" He paused, uncertain of how to proceed, and looked at Robin. She gestured with her nose, encouragingly. "—If you wanted to come over to my house for the night? A sleep-over, I guess? Well, no, God that sounds stupid. But, you know…"Matthew scratched his hair vigorously and shook his head. "Forget it, never mind!"

There was no easy way for Matthew to have done what he just did, Noah realized. With that in mind, Noah quickly nodded and tried to reassure him that he had nothing to be embarrassed out. On the contrary, he was glad that Matthew was beginning to put some faith into him, even if spending the night was probably too big a jump for people who had just become friends. Still, Noah was aware of the fact that Matthew was about as socially competent as a rock at a swinger's party—much like himself. He would take any chance he could get, because they would almost certainly be few and far between. "I'll take you up on that, Matthew. Do you live close to the school?"

Matthew stopped fretting. "Um, yeah… do you actually want to come?"

"Certainly," Noah said. "But I didn't bring a change of clothes."

"Oh. That's fine. I have some spares that should fit you." Matthew replied.

"Great!" Noah smiled. "Then I guess I'll meet you by the front once school is over?"

"I, uh… I guess so." Matthew stammered. Noah wagered that he probably didn't expect him to be so welcoming to the idea. In fact, there was probably a good chance that Matthew thought that Noah would have turned him down. Noah knew that that would have put a strain on their budding friendship, and he had to nurture these early growing pains as best as he could.

Robin was about to give her thoughts on the matter before the bell rang and lunch ended. She glared at the intercom near the entrance to the cafeteria and looked back at the two of them with a smile on her lips. "Looks like you two got things covered. I don't think I'll be able to go, but I'll see you guys off once school's over. Sound good?"

Noah and Matthew agreed, and the trio of students headed towards the exit.