Alexander honestly felt spoiled. George's car was so nice, sleek, shiny, and candy apple red. It was quite obviously an early mid-life crisis purchase, but Alex wasn't complaining. It definitely beat the bus.
As George pulled into the drop-off line, Alex took a look at his new school. This was his sixth transfer in the past few years - or was it his fifth? He couldn't quite remember. It was a nice building, and the students he could see were as normal as could be. Alex has considered this the rich part of town.
"Have a good day, kid," George said, pulling up to the sidewalk.
Alex gave a meek "Thanks" and hopped out of the car, pulling his new backpack nervously over his shoulder. He tried to keep his head down, tried to blend in. The last thing he wanted was to stand out, but he was the new kid. So it would happen anyway.
He was relieved to find that nobody paid him any mind. It was only after the bell went off to signal that it was time to go to first period.
Alex looked at his schedule. World history. He hated history. He glanced at the room number, turning down the nearest hallway in the hopes of running into it.
"Excuse me, are you lost?" He heard a soft voice behind him. He turned around and saw a brunette girl with a very feminine babyface and pretty hazel eyes. She was giving him a small smile and looking at him expectantly. "Are you new here?"
He nodded a little. "I-I just need to find C150."
"Well, you're in the E hallway," She replied with a gentle chuckle. "I can walk you to C148 if you'd like."
"That would be great, thank you," He mumbled, trying not to be awkward. He wasn't great with people, but he really needed the help, and she was being super nice.
"It's no problem. I was about to head that way myself. I'm in C148 this hour." She began to walk, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Alex was following her. "Good luck with Mrs. Edmonds - she can be a bit harsh at times."
Alex followed closely behind, listening to her talk and watching her ponytail swing.
After just a couple quick turns, she stopped. Alex heard her say something, but he was too distracted looking around to really hear it. That is, until he started absentmindedly following her again.
"Oh, this is my classroom. C150 is right there," She repeated patiently, a small giggle escaping her pink lips.
Alex wanted to curl up in a hole and die. "Oh, yeah... Sorry. Thank you so much."
"It's no issue. I can help you with your next class when this one is over if you need it." She smiled at him. "It was nice meeting you."
"You too," He answered quickly, hurrying into the room labeled C150. He cursed himself for being so awkward. He felt like he came off as an alien trying to act human. And acting was never one of his strong suits.
Once he was inside the classroom, he took a moment to glance around. He wasn't the last one in the room, thankfully. Just a few students sprinkled throughout the rows of desks. There was a group of three boys chatting away in the corner, but they seemed content to not acknowledge Alex, if they had noticed him at all.
He chose a desk near the back, as he normally did. It wasn't always the best option for practicality, given that Alexander wasn't exactly tall, but he managed. This immediately earned him what he could swear was an eye roll from the stern looking lady at the desk.
She stood, came over to him, and dropped a small stack of papers on his desk, the resounding thwop grabbing the attention of the boys in the corner.
"Welcome to Miranda Senior High," Mrs. Edmonds said. She did not sound welcoming. In fact, her voice would probably send Dracula running for the hills. "There is what you'll need to know for this class. I recommend you read through it and do the assignments before the end of the week if you don't want to fall behind."
Her gray eyes were cold, but Alex didn't look away. He knew his peers were looking at him. "Yes, ma'am," He answered, thumbing through the intimidatingly tall stack of papers. It seemed like a lot. And this was supposed to be a normal freshman world history class?
She plodded back to the desk, and Alex felt like he was sweating. This was going to be a long day.
One thing was going Alexander's way: he managed to avoid talking to anyone else that morning. He allowed the cute girl, whose name he had learned was Elizabeth, from before to show him to his second period class, Algebra. That was a bit more his speed. She smelled like vanilla.
Lunchtime came around, and Alex was pleased to learn that he had the lunch that split a class period. He went with the herd of other students to the cafeteria. He honestly considered grabbing an Uncrustable and booking it to the bathroom, but he figured he shouldn't make himself look like a total antisocial freak, even if that's what he kinda was.
He moved to the back of the line and let a lot of the people file into their tables before he took his tray and found an empty spot. There was a good five spaces between him and next group of people. Awesome.
He started to eat, taking his time, as he didn't have anything else to do. Suddenly, he heard some familiar laughter... and it got closer. And closer. Until finally, Alex's saw someone sit right next to him out of the corner of his eye.
"This seat taken?"