Day Fourteen - Genderswap
There's a new kid at school.
Well, two, to be exact. But that's not what matters to Cassie Novak.
Deanna Winchester and her younger brother, Sam, enrolled in Rochester High School two days ago, in the middle of first semester. Cassie has asked around (she has quite the network built up), but so far no one's been able to tell her who they are or where they came from. Even her best friend Anna, who's student body president, has no idea what their story is. So Cassie is determined to find out herself.
Cassie's got two classes with this new girl, US History and AP Chemistry. Her chem teacher actually put Deanna next to Cas on her first day, which would work to Cassie's advantage. She's going to figure this new girl out. See, Cassie's the school's token gay. Really, she's classified herself as pansexual, but everyone sees that as only one thing: Cassie wants the V. As far as that goes, though, people have been really accepting of her. There was slight controversy when she officially came out her sophomore year, but otherwise, she's been left alone. Some people say that she's a slut, or she's easy, or whatever, but she doesn't really care. Truth is, she's never slept with anyone, dick and vagina alike. Not saying that she doesn't want to, of course, but she just hasn't really found the right person yet. And yeah, that's sappy, but that's how she feels about it.
The reason Cassie is interested in Deanna Winchester is not just the fact that she happens to be smokin' hot. Honestly, she seems really interesting. She hasn't spoken much, mostly keeping to herself, and talking only with her brother, who's a freshman. The only time Cassie's ever actually heard her voice was when she made a snarky (and hilarious) comment to answer a question during their history lesson yesterday. But Cas has been… observing. When no one's watching, Deanna actually looks kind of sad. Like there's something weighing her down that no one else knows. Cassie is intrigued to say the least. Also, standing at five foot nine, with her slim-figured athlete's build and tanned skin, dirty blonde hair tied up in a messy ponytail, and gorgeous green eyes, she's easily one of the most attractive people Cassie's ever laid eyes on. So, you know. There's that.
It's almost the end of the day, and Cassie's in the bathroom touching up her makeup before she goes to Chem. She's not trying too hard to impress the new girl, but she does want to make sure she looks okay, you know. Checking over her reflection in the mirror, she smiles. Cassie has never been too boastful about her appearance, but she is rather pretty. She's been graced with large blue eyes, which no one else in her family have. Her dark hair is exceptional today, falling around her face and framing it in smooth waves. She finishes a last coat of mascara as she hears the warning sound over the loudspeaker, giving her a minute to get to class. She packs her bag quickly and gives herself one last confident smile in the mirror before she hustles down the hall and down a staircase, sliding into her desk right as the bell rings and chemistry class begins.
But Deanna's not there. Their table is empty, and as she glances around the classroom, the blonde girl is nowhere to be found. Huh. That's weird. She was there during history class that morning. She takes out her notebook and flips to a blank page, readying herself to copy notes, finding, oddly enough, that she feels incredibly disappointed.
Not for long, though. Ten minutes later, Deanna slides in the door, her head down as she drops her backpack to the floor and perches on the lab chair to the right of Cas. The teacher shoots her a condescending look, as if to say that he's only letting this one go because she's new, but not to let it happen again, and Deanna nods slightly in response, looking flustered and guilty and tired and angry and embarrassed all at once. But that's all Cassie gets to see of her, as she then starts copying the notes from the board, a curtain of blonde hair blocking Cassie's view of her face. They work in silence for a few minutes until Mr. Redmond starts them on a lab, and Cas sees this as her chance to move in on the new girl.
She goes to grab the equipment they need, sliding a pair of safety glasses over the bridge of her nose and handing another to Deanna. She mumbles a quiet thanks, but doesn't make eye contact. Wow. This girl really doesn't want to talk. Huh. Cassie's never been much for conversation, either, preferring to keep her opinions and such to herself, which means that she isn't too adept at the dynamics of social interaction outside of class discussions. But she just feels like Deanna's different, somehow.
Almost the entire lab passes without them speaking much, the few words they share being short observations and hums of agreement about the chemicals in front of them. It's a saturation lab; they're using hypo crystals and water in three test tubes to test how saturated the water gets. It's simple, especially for AP, but Deanna's watching the beakers intently and looking constantly confused, a little crease between her eyebrows as she writes her notes. From time to time she'll bite her lip and tap her pen on the edge of the table as she thinks. It's kind of cute, Cas thinks. Anyway, Cassie can't figure out where to start talking. Anything she can think of to possibly open up a conversation, she dismisses as too awkward or insensitive or just plain stupid. Finally, with less than ten minutes left in the period, she settles for the least stupid thing she can think of.
"So," she starts, wiping out a test tube with a paper towel. She glances up to see Deanna's reaction, if she should continue. Deanna gives her a skeptical look, but doesn't give any indication that Cassie should stop there. So she doesn't. "Deanna, right?" The blonde girl nods, her head down. "Sorry I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Cassie, Cassie Novak." She holds out her hand, and Deanna takes hold of it tentatively, but her grip is strong as she shakes it. "How do you like the school so far?" It's probably the last thing Deanna wants to talk about, but it's all she has to go on.
Deanna shrugs her shoulders. The movement is so small it's almost imperceptible, but Cassie's paying attention. "It's fine. Big, though. Bigger than most of the schools that I've been at," she says. It's the most Cassie has heard her speak over the past few days.
"Yeah, it's kind of ridiculous how confusing the hallways are. Like a maze. It took me almost a whole year to stop getting lost." Cassie laughs nervously, but Deanna doesn't even crack a smile. So she's going to be tough. Okay. Cas moves on to something else. "You've been at a lot of different schools?" she asks.
There's a flash of something quick in Deanna's green eyes, but Cassie can't tell what it is. She nods again. "This is the fourth this semester," she says, and there's a hint of resentment in her voice. She looks sad again as she laughs bitterly. "But I'm used to it. My family moves around a lot." A number of possibilities wiggle their way into Cas's mind. Military, perhaps? Now wasn't the time to ask, but she'd keep in mind for later; she's curious. She can tell it'll be tough to get Deanna to want to talk about it.
"Hey," Cassie says, hoisting her bag onto her shoulder. Deanna looks up again. "How about lunch tomorrow? I'll meet you after history? We can talk some more and maybe I can show you around a bit, you know, if you'd like." It's a brave move for Cassie. But to her surprise, there's a hint of a smile on Deanna's normally stoic face.
"Yeah. Yeah, okay, I'd like that." The final bell rings, and they are surrounded by students rushing to get out of school for the day, but Deanna stands up slowly, slinging her backpack on and nudging the stool forward with one of her military boots. "I'll see you then." She raises the corner of her mouth again one last time before turning and walking off, and Cassie loses sight of her in the crowd of people.
'Nice to meet you!" she calls, but Deanna's gone. Even so, Cassie smiles. It's a small victory for her, and she's still grinning to herself as she waves to the teacher and walks out to her car to meet Anna for a ride home.
The next day after their history class, they walk to the cafeteria together, making fun of their boring teacher, Ms. Sullivan. Cassie loves how naturally funny and sarcastic Deanna is. They get their food and end up sitting together on the floor near Cassie's locker, their trays in front of them and facing each other, just talking. Deanna talks about her brother Sam, and Cas catches hints of her smile again as she thumbs the pendant that hangs around her neck. In return, Cassie tells Deanna about her brothers: Gabriel, who's a junior and widely known as the school's class clown, Balthazar, a year her senior but held back, so that they're in the same grade, and Michael, the eldest, off getting his MBA at Harvard. Cassie thinks about it for a second, and then tells the other girl that she'll have to come over and meet her family sometimes, hoping that she hasn't crossed any lines, but she's rewarded when Deanna offers another small smile and says that yes, she will. Nearing the end of lunch, Deanna reveals that her family travels because of her father's job, not specifying, just making clear that she and her brother are often left on their own while their father works full-time. Cas gets the idea that Deanna's mother is no longer in the picture, but it's definitely too soon to start asking questions like that. She ends up walking Deanna to her next class, which is completely across the school from her own and will make her late, but she doesn't care. They reach the door of the Algebra classroom, and Deanna turns, one hand on the strap of her backpack and the other tucked into her back pocket, looking bashful.
"Hey, Cassie?" she says. "Thanks." Cassie's about to ask what for when the new girl continues. "I mean, usually I don't last long enough in one place for many people to take notice of me. So thanks. You were the first person here to talk to me. That was really nice of you." Cas shrugs it off casually, but inside she's bursting.
"No problem. You're too cool not to take notice of." That earns her a smile. "See you in chem?"
Deanna nods, and heads off into class. The bell's about to ring, so Cassie hurries off, speed walking to the east wing, but the whole way, she's trying to contain herself and fight the blush that's creeping up her cheeks and turning her ears red. This is going much, much better than she expected.
It's a lecture in chemistry today, so the two girls spend the period passing a notebook between them, Cassie trying to stay composed and not laugh out loud at Deanna's jokes and Deanna enjoying Cassie's doodles and little drawings in the margins. It's one of the first times this year that Cassie has not paid attention to the lesson in the slightest, but she couldn't care less. She's too busy studying the gorgeous little smirk on Deanna's face as she steals the notebook back and scribbles something down. God, she's so pretty.
The bell rings, and the girls both stand to pack up, Cassie taking her notebook back and laughing at the last thing Deanna wrote. Together, they walk down the hall, stopping at Cassie's locker. Deanna leans against the wall as Cassie exchanges books from her bag, trying to remember what her English homework was. Deanna tucks her bangs back behind her ear as Cassie shuts the locker. "That was fun. See you tomorrow, Cas." That's the first time she's called Cassie by her nickname, and wow, it sounds nice coming from her mouth. She turns and starts to leave, when Cassie calls out.
"Wait!" Deanna turns back around, that same small smile gracing her lips. "Any chance... you'd want to come over to my place tonight? I'm sure my parents would love to meet you and have you stay for dinner, if you want."
Any hint of a smile leaves Deanna's face, and Cassie's heart drops. "I promised I'd take care of my brother. I can't really leave him. I..." She paused, looking conflicted, halfway between an apology and anger. "I have to go. See you tomorrow, Cassie." Deanna turns and stalks away, blonde ponytail swishing behind her as she turns the corner and is gone.
Cas slumps against the locker. Shit. She's not quite sure what she did to upset the girl, but this is definitely a step in the wrong direction in her new friendship with Deanna. She doesn't even notice that Anna's standing behind her until her friend's hand is resting on her shoulder. Cassie jumps. "Jesus, Anna! A warning would be nice!"
The red-head girl chuckles. "Sorry. Making friends with the new girl?" She motions in the direction that Deanna had just left. Cassie sighs.
"Trying," is all that she says.
She sees Deanna one more time that day, right as Anna's pulling out of the parking lot. Deanna's walking with the person Cas assumes is her younger brother Sam, and Cassie watches as she climbs into the driver's seat of an old, classic black Chevy. Cassie frowns. This Winchester girl is an enigma wrapped in a mystery wrapped in a friggin' taco. It's almost too good to be true.
And damn it, Cassie has been needing a good mystery.