School Sucks
"Bye Dad, see you at dinner." Shadow slammed the car door shut.
Four minutes before the final bell rang, she ran with her trench coat blowing in the wind towards her Homeroom. Good thing her homeroom was always close to where her dad parked. She ran into the classroom and sat down with everyone stared at her in her coat.
"You guys should be used to it by now." Shadow murmured to no one.
The morning announcements went by without anyone's notice, and the class waited until the fifteen minutes of homeroom would pass by. There was no purpose of homeroom, really just to let the kids that stayed up all night get awake. Fifteen minutes in a room, that's all it is.
"Class I would like to introduce you all to a new student." Mr. Boone gets up, or as he's more commonly known, Wage.
Fifteen minutes is all.
"Jonathon Andrews."
And in stepped a boy, that looked as if he had seen war itself and done nothing. His face seemed sad and pale, big brown eyes, and black spiked hair. He didn't say hi or anything he just stood in the front of the class where no one welcomed him. And took a seat across the class from Shadow. Something made her look over at him, maybe it was his name. But he looked back, and looked at her coat, and didn't give her one of those stares of disgust.
The fifteen minutes then passed.
The boy walked aimlessly staring at the yellow piece of paper that was his schedule sheet. He didn't ask anyone for help, but obviously needed it. He didn't bother though, in his all black clothes, looking across the open hallways.
"So what's your next class?" Shadow asked.
"What?" John looked up.
"Let me see!"
Shadow snatched his class schedule.
"Great, you got Science with me, the class is just down there." Shadow smiled.
"Oh." John was quiet. "Thanks." Then he started walking away. "Nice coat by the way."
He smiled and walked away. Shadow stood there for a moment, basking in the feeling of acceptance. Then someone knocked her down saying, "Agent lover."
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"Hey Squish." Shadow said opening her locker.
"Okay, I got it. Your combo is 1, 26, 11!" Squishy said.
"No..."
He'd been trying to get Shadow's combination for the past month.
"Damn it! Am I close?" Squish.
"No..."
Shadow sighed as she put her Science book in her locker, and took out her math. She hated math. She looked up into her locker and saw all her pictures of Smith, and the Agents. She smiled, and then saw her picture of Neo. She took a moment, and snatched it out of her locker.
"Hey can you put this in there?" Squishy said, holding up his art folder.
"Why don't you put it in your locker?" Shadow asked.
"Because I forgot my combination."
"Well why don't you go to the office and check for it?"
"Because I forgot what number my locker is."
"Oh Squishy!"
Shadow said, grabbing his folder and stuffing it in her locker.
Two periods down, Nutrition time, twenty minutes of pure free time. And they were going to go meet up with their friends by the tree in the lunch area.
"Pretty cold weather, huh?" Squishy said.
"Yeah, I love weather like this." Shadow said.
"That's just cause then you don't feel so hot in that coat!"
They laughed, entering the lunch area, and waving at their friends.
"Switch! Yuki!" Matt began to yell.
"Do you see Morph yet?"
"No."
"Good."
They sit by the tree across from the self proclaimed jocks who stare at Shadow, and laugh. Shadow doesn't really mind though, neither does anyone else.
It's a cloudy day, the days Shadow loves. The one good thing about the school was that it was open, the hallways were outside, the lockers were outside, the lunch area was outside. So all around there was fresh air. That's what they all loved about it.
"Hey you guys." Shadow said.
And Switch and Yuki waved. Yuki of course was Japanease and always seemed to have chop sticks in her hair. Switch was actually a relative of the original Switch from the Neb, she says Switch was her great Aunt, hence her name. She speaks very proudly of being a relative to one of the greats, and she has every right. Glitch is there for a change, usually he's at Diamond's class eating. Glitch had brought their friend Josh, who everyone calls Mouse because he's hyper and short like the original, though he hates Tastee Wheat.
"What's up?" Switch asked.
"Nothing." Squishy says.
No, they haven't told anyone about Smith.
"I did stuff! Hey I got this new comic, and I beat that game last night!" Josh yelled.
"Oh no..." Shadow said.
"Mouse, have you taken your pills today?" Glitch asked.
"...Maybe." Was his reply.
They all laughed.
"You guys want to come over today? We could go to my grandma's and swim." Switch said.
"Sorry, I can't." Shadow said. "Family dinner."
"Can't either, I'm grounded." Was Squishy's excuse.
"Aw, come one you guys! You're never free!" Yuki yelled.
"I'm sorry!" Shadow yelled.
"I can come!" Josh yelled.
Shadow smiled, as they finally sat down, and Squishy sat next to her. She nudged him in the arm.
"Smith swimming." She whispered.
And Squishy laughed.
"Wait. What if Smith can't swim? I mean he never has before." Squishy said.
"Of course he can swim!" Shadow yelled.
"But why would an Agent need to be able to swim?"
"You guys talking about Smith again?" Yuki asked.
"If he can dodge bullets, he can swim!" Shadow said.
"That'd be funny! Help, Mr. Anderson! I can't swim, gurgle..." Squishy said.
And even Shadow laughed, and in the back of her mind she thought, oh if only Smith knew. There are things even they keep secret from him. If he knew, they knew he'd totally kill them.
"Have you seen Spider-man 2 yet?" Glitch asked Squishy.
"...No." He said.
And Shadow punched him.
"What was that for!?" Squishy yelled.
"For not seeing Spider-man 2! I've seen five times already!" Shadow yelled.
"Well I'm not a comic geek like you."
"Hey Shadow, Smith with Ock's arms." Switch smiled.
"Oh, my, God, that'd be so Rad. Grab Neo by the foot. 'What's that? Hit him again, ok!'"
They all laughed. An amusing thought, Shadow would have to tell Smith that one, it was too good to pass off.
"Who'd win, Ock or Smith?" Yuki asked.
"Smith! But Otto would put up a good fight." Shadow said.
"Yeah." Glitch said.
"It's all about that Doctor and his arms!" Squishy yelled.
"That's a cool thing for someone who hasn't even seen the movie to say!" Shadow hit him again. "Plus you copied that from me!"
"So what? You an Ock fangirl now?" Squishy asked.
"No! I mean...No! Ock reminds me of Smith the whole angst thing you know." Shadow said.
"Whatever!" Glitch said.
Then the laughing stopped, as Yuki started sharing some of her rice with everyone. It was then that Shadow saw him. The new kid, Thomas standing there, looking even more lost, and still not bothering to ask anyone.
"Dude, I want to see Smith without his shoes on." Shadow said.
"Why would you want that?" Squishy sighed.
"Because his shoes are so noticeable..."
"Hey, are Smith's socks black?" Glitch asked.
The three looked at each other.
"I don't know..." Was Shadow's shocked answer.
"You never see him with his socks showing..." Switch said.
"Yeah, but I don' t know!" Shadow yelled.
The Smith lover didn't know. The Smith lover that was going to go hang out with Smith right after today didn't know what color his socks were. It was true panic between the three of them.
"What's a better question are what color his boxers are!" Yuki yelled, looking at Shadow.
"Ew!" Glitch yelled.
"Why do you people speak such things around me!" Squishy yelled.
It was putting bad images in Squishy's head, it's easier when you see Smith ever day.
"Oh, my god, I don't know!" Shadow yelled. "Squishy!" Shadow leaned over to him. "You ask Smith what colors his boxers are." She whispered to him.
"Why me!?"
"Because, I have too much dignity to ask him!" Shadow then hit Squishy.
"How do you know they're boxers?" Glitch asked.
"Glitch!" Shadow hit him too.
This is what they do. Hitting each other is merely the teenager's way to show affection. It's what they do. Plus if you scratch Squishy's back he goes crazy, he says it hurts, Glitch says it tickles. Shadow doesn't care, it makes Squishy obey her.
"Hey, Agent Bitch!" Someone called towards Shadow.
She didn't answer, acted like it never happened, because it happens all the time.
"Hey look, it's the new kid." Shadow said.
"New kid?" Glitch asked.
"Yeah, he's in my homeroom. Hey new kid!" Shadow waved.
Slowly the boy looked up, he didn't smile or anything, he just came quietly over.
"Hi, John!" Shadow said. "This is Squishy, Glitch, Josh, Switch, and Yuki. Oh and I'm Shadow."
Tom looked at them, nodding to each one of them, and slowly he sat down.
"So tell me, John, what brings you here?" Yuki asked.
"John, like Neo's dad." Shadow whispered to Squishy.
"Well I... I just moved here from Central City, not too far away." He said quietly.
"What are you into?" Squishy asked.
"Computers." And he smiled for the first time. "And Xbox."
"Xbox!" Squishy yelled, he loved Xbox.
"I don't mean to be rude, but what's with the trench coat?" Tom asked.
"That's just Shadow." Switch said.
Shadow smiled.
"Shadow at your service, sir, I'm and Agent expert!" She said with a smile.
"Agents huh, they're cool." Tom said.
"I like him already!" Shadow yelled.
"So you're still twelve right, John? What's your Matrix name going to be?" Switch asked.
"I don't know yet..." Was all he said.
"Agent Wannabe!" Shadow didn't even nudge.
Then the bell rang, and Switch and Yuki started running, because their class was on the other side of the school. And all the sixth graders ran around in chaos, and the eight graders walk calmly, as if they're not going to be late. It's a big change, like the Matrix itself. 2,400 kids going from one place to the next
"So what's your next class?" Shadow asked.
"Math, room 81." John said.
"My class!" Shadow said.
Then she was pushed down again. She got up, and looked at the boys that had pushed her.
"Hey, stay away from those people." Shadow said.
"Why?" John asked.
"Because they're stupid stinky viruses." Was Shadow's answer.
It was off to an hour of math, and an hour of P.E. Then at lunch Thomas sat with them, and really saw the extent of...Shadow's obsession. He actually smiled, and actually talked to Squishy about Xbox games like Halo.
He was welcomed into the group, into the ship.
And another two hours past until school is finally over. Another two hours of people staring at her, muttering "agent lover," as if it's an insult. Another two hours of teachers staring at her as well, wishing she wasn't such a good student so they could report her obsession as a problem.
More mindless teachers that Shadow doesn't really care about. She doesn't see the purpose in taking English class when she a writer. She tried to explain this to her teacher, but she wouldn't listen.
Whatever, that's how it is.
Two more hours of not listening and drawing doodles of Smith and Neo, trying to see if she could draw Smith with Doctor Octopus's arms before the end of class so she could show him.
She didn't feel bad not telling anyone about him. After all if she did, he would be killed on the spot. Agents would come and kill him. Besides only Glitch and Squishy understand.
Then finally the bell rings.
"Free at last!" Squishy yells.
"Yeah, and with no homework once again!" Shadow teases.
"Damn it! How do you do that?" Glitch asked.
"I do it in class." Was her simple reply.
"Hey look, it's John! Bye John!" Glitch said.
"Moo!" Squishy waved.
John watched as the three started walking away from the busses, away from the school, down to a place no one went to anymore. It was gone, nothing was over there. Maybe a dump or two. He wondered where his new friends were going.
"So you going to ask Smith about the boxers?" Shadow asked Squishy.
"No!" Squishy yelled.
"Just do it!"
"No way!"
"Do it!"
"No!"
"Do it!"
"...okay..." Squishy frowned.
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Next Chapter: You Can't Tell
Yup, those are all my friends That's my school. Matt does use my locker, Josh does need to take pills. Matt loves Xbox, if you do scratch his back he freaks out for some reason. Most of this is true. Oh and the Smith with Ock's arms really happened, and the socks and boxers which happened today.
I have been dubbed "Matrix girl" by those who don't know me at school.
