Despite the early time, the main grounds and front hall were almost jam packed with groups loitering around. Not wanting to go through a repeat incident of the bus stop, Virgil decided to avoid all of them. He tried to keep to himself, nodding and smiling if anyone noticed him. Several kids he passed did, but most either ignored him, or took one look at him, and decided to change directions. He sighed and turned the corner into the lunchroom. For some odd reason, it was packed here as well.
He leaned against the wall and dug his schedule out of his backpack. First period: Mrs. Henley Homeroom -- room 502. Shoving it back into the side pocket of the pack, he started to walk along the side, heading for the room. A familiar voice caused him to look up. He stopped short, and stared. Sitting at one of the longer tables, he saw a group, consisting of Talon (she looked normal, so it would be Teraesa), F-stop, Puff, a big guy that looked way too much like Onyx, Kangor, Shiv, a guy who looked like Ferret would if he didn't have his nose, and one or two others who he couldn't recognize. After a few minutes, he shook his head and started walking onward. Of course, it would make sense. If Ebon was good, than the others would be too...but wouldn't they still have their powers? And what about what his Mother had said about Rubberband Girl being Sharon? He shook his head and almost ran headlong into another familiar face.
"VIRGIL HAWKINS?" He looked up, and had to strain to not gape.
"MADALINE SPALDING?" There she stood, with two or three other girls near her, both cowering beind her.
"Heh, heh," she rubbed the back of her neck. "What are you doing here?"
"I...er..." he paused for a moment, than decided it wouldn't hurt to tell the truth. "I'm on parol. Don't worry, I'm not here to make trouble." He shook his head and walked past her. He could almost feel her eyes on the back of him until he left the room. As soon as he was in the hall he needed to be in, he leaned back against the wall.
"This, is just not right," he said. "Even if Mom's here, I need to get back. What will Pops think? What will Richie tell him?" He shook his head, and decided that he needed some privacy. He walked into the men's bathroom, and sat hovering on his disk until the warning bell rang. He slipped into an empty seat on the second to back row, and waited for the teacher to address them.
"You're assignment is on the board," she said from her computer desk. Virgil got out a pencil and paper, hoping he would know what was going on this late in the year. After they had finished and turned in their assignments, the teacher turned to the class.
"Before we continue today, we have a new student," Virgil knew his color had to pale at least two or three shades. He shook his head vigorously, trying to get the hint to her, but she continued anyway. "This is Virgil Hawkins," she raised her hand in his direction, and the class turned to stare at him. A few had no clue who he was, but most of them gasped when they saw him. He smiled and nodded at them, hoping it didn't look too fake. "Is there anything you would like to tell the class?" She asked.
"Uh...hi," he stood up. Might as well milk it for all it's worth. It might help his starving rep. "You can call me Virgil or Static," he smiled, thinking the whole time, that this would be so much easier if Richie were here, even if he was Virus in this dimension. "I've got good news and bad news. The bad news is I haven't seen the latest Ring Lord Movie because my Po...er...Moms won't spring me some money. The good news is, I do great as a human Bug-zapper." A few chuckles came from around the room, but the atmosphere was still tense, so he continued.
"I know my reputation isn't great, but I'm here to learn, just like you. I don't want trouble, and I want to apologize for my weak attempt at a joke." A few more chuckles, a little less tense classroom. "Thanks, Back to you Mrs. Henley."
"Thank you, Virgil," she said, taken aback at his attitude. After a slight pause, she shook her head, and walked up to the board. "Please get your books out and turn to page..." Virgil half listened to her. Things could have gone better, but they could have gone much worse too. The bad thing was, he only had two periods of home room, so he'd have to do this again at least 6 more times that day. The thought did not do anything to raise his mood.