"First day and you're already late. Sit down, Makara."
Gamzee shuffled to his seat in the back of the class, the one no one dared sit in other than him. It's not like he would get upset if he walked in one day and there was someone sitting there, it was just that the strange carvings and graffiti put people off. Gamzee plopped down into his seat and stared up at the front of the room. His algebra teacher, one of the Captors, was handing out papers with information on the upcoming semester. Is this one Sollux's dad, or his uncle? Or his motherfucking cousin? Shit, they're all math brains. A paper was passed to him from the kid in front of him.
"Now, class, you know that I don't waste any time, so let's start the semester off with productivity! Today we will be going over regressions..."
An hour and a half of this shit? No fucking thanks. Gamzee slumped in his seat and daydreamed while his classmates took notes until the bell rang. Nothing interesting ever happened in algebra class anyway.
Next up was art, one of the few classes Gamzee actually participated in. The teacher was only there half the time, and when she was there all she did was walk around and encourage her students. Today, being the first day back from break, she was required to be in class (though, really, she was required to be there every day). Gamzee sat at one of the long wooden tables and eagerly waited for their first project.
"Well, first I want to say welcome back. Did everyone have a good winter break?" The teacher asked.
A couple mumbles of "yeah" and "mhmm" filled the room, and one kid sneezed. The teacher frowned at the lack of energy her students seemed to have.
"Alright...why don't a few of you tell us what you did over the break? Vriska?"
A slightly chubby girl with long, bleach-blonde hair and blue-rimmed glasses instantly became the center of attention. Vriska was a chubby girl known for being a bit ruder than most people...and a bit more violent, loud, and self-centered. But Gamzee felt that there was a good heart under all her negativity.
"Me? Well, I went to London for the break. Yeah, everyone over there though my accent was so cool. I made a lot of friends in London." A small smirk and hair flip went with the reply.
"Oh, London! That must have been nice. Does anyone else want to talk about their break? How about you, Gamzee?"
Now the spotlight was on him, and a couple members of the class snickered and made jokes to their friends. "I bet he just smoked," "He probably doesn't even remember," "Does he even speak English?"
Gamzee straightened his back and lifted his chin, ignoring the others. I get enough of that shit at home, ya'll aint hurtin me one motherfucking bit.
"Over break my dad did this fuckin foster care thing, right? And I kinda forgot about it, til the other day these two motherfucking kids appeared in my house! Shit, it's been great. The little one- her name's Rose- she the cutest little thing. She's motherfucking adorable. And Dave's just about my age, right? So we played xbox and shit. And man, this morning I saw Dave act all brotherly and it was awesome, seeing that." Gamzee went back to slouching when he was finished. A couple of his classmates seemed surprised that he was not only able to form coherent sentences, but also remember anything that happened. One of them, a bubbly girl dressed in pink, was smiling at him.
"Well, that's great, Gamzee! I'm happy to hear your father has chosen to take in some children in need. Now, then, who wants to paint?"
The next hour was filled with people all working on independent projects. Most students were doing some form of abstract art, a couple others were painting objects on their desks, and one was just putting seemingly random colours all over her canvas. Gamzee didn't even think the girl could see, and wondered why she was in an art class. Looking at his canvas, Gamzee frowned and gave a deep sigh. His teacher walked over and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
"It looks good, Gamzee. You should be proud of your work."
He looked back at his painting. It was of his brother, standing proudly in front of a purple background. In Gamzee's eyes, his work was never good enough, let alone worthy of his brother. Sure they got into fights sometimes, but all the memories from when they were young kept Gamzee hopeful that maybe, just maybe, it could be like old times again.
"Really, Gamzee. This level of realism is difficult, even for artists who train for years. You really have talent."
Gamzee just hummed in response and frowned at his painting. Kurbro always looks so motherfucking fancy and civilized and upper-class. Man these colours are all sorts of wrong...maybe if I make the fuckin hair a little lighter? Add some highlights and shit... Gamzee worked until the bell rang, and a few minutes into lunch, until he decided he had done all he could do and left it to dry.
He made his way to the courtyard in the middle of his school. Since there were so many kids, the cafeteria couldn't hold all of them. Most students ate in classrooms or hallways, but Gamzee had a special spot. There was a small second near the back of the school where students and teachers went to smoke, and at lunch this area was filled with the "bad kids," as some liked to say. It was designated "The Hood" by the wealthier students, which Gamzee found ridiculous. Gamzee shuffled over and saw his brother. Kurloz's girlfriend, Meulin, was wrapped around him making cute faces while Kurloz emotionlessly smoked. Gamzee walked over to them and pulled out a cigarette from the mostly-empty box his brother had given him that morning. He lit it and leaned back against the wall, waiting for his friends to trickle over.
One by one they made their way to the usual spot. Most of the students who spent lunch in the area were upper-class, well-dressed, and highly respected. A student Gamzee's age, Eridan, usually spent the first ten minutes of lunch by himself while he smoked and scowled at nothing in particular until his brother showed up. Last semester, Gamzee usually sat in silence with the Japanese exchange student until the bell rang. He never caught her name. I wonder if that motherfucker is still here. Maybe she all up and went back to asialand. Did she ever eat? Man that chick was chill as fuck. His thoughts were interrupted when a small voice broke the silence.
"Uhhh...Gamzee? Uh, hey, hi." A small boy in a wheelchair smiled up at his friend.
"OH SHIT, TAVBRO!" Gamzee smiled and bent down to hug his best friend. Tavros was much smaller than Gamzee, with thin arms and wide eyes. His brown hair was cut and styled into a type of mohawk, despite Tavros' innocent personality. Though Gamzee did have Mexican heritage, Tavros' family had come to the U.S. only a generation or two ago, and it showed. English was his second language and he occasionally slipped back into Spanish.
"Damn, Tavbro, how've you been? What have you been all up to? Shit bro, we didn't chill at all over the break man!"
"Uh, yeah. We went down to Mexico for, uh…Christmas. I saw my, um, I saw my uncle and now he lives with us. He stays in our house. I'm sorry we didn't hang out during, um…the break." Tavros gave a small, apologetic smile.
"Shit, bro, you know it ain't no problem! Family is motherfucking important, I get ya. How's your uncle been? He all better?"
Gamzee and Tavros talked for a while, mostly Gamzee asking questions and Tavros stumbling over his replies of how his uncle recovered from being sick ("I guess you could say it was a… miracle, haha!), how the border patrol were rude ("but, uh, I don't think it's really their fault…"), and how he missed the food already. Tavros was just getting to the part about how his cousin tried to roll him down a flight of stairs when Kurloz interrupted.
"I apologize for intruding on your conversation, but I must inform Gamzee that Strider is waiting for him. If you'd be so kind, Gamzee, as to meet him and show him around a bit…"
"Oh shit, yeah bro no problem!" Gamzee put out his cigarette and picked up his bag. He still hadn't eaten any of his lunch, but he figured he'd get around to it eventually.
"He is waiting in the cafeteria for you." Kurloz said, almost in a whisper, before he turned back to Meulin.
Gamzee went off towards the cafeteria, Tavros scrambling to keep up behind him.
