Gohan waited in front of the door to his new classroom. His homeroom teacher, Mr. Lehr, had told him to wait until the students got settled in before entering so he could be properly introduced to the class. He was nervous for sure, but he was also excited. He'd never really had friends his age save for Dende, and he was eager to see what his peers would be like. He hoped they'd like him.
Mr. Lehr opened the door suddenly, a tired but kind smile on his face. "Come on in and introduce yourself, son." Gohan smiled (not that the teacher could see) and nodded, and the teacher walked back into the room. Gohan followed suit, walking somewhat stiffly.
"Settle down, class! I'd like you to meet your new classmate!" Mr. Lehr looked to Gohan expectantly. It took Gohan a few awkward moments to realize that this was his cue to speak. He laughed nervously.
"Hello everyone, my name is Gohan Son. It's a pleasure to meet you all!" He bowed politely and turned back to the teacher, unsure of what to do next.
"Mr. Son here aced all of Orange Star's entry exams! He's a true genius! You all could learn a few things by following his example!" A few students in the room snickered, while the more academically inclined shot Gohan some pretty envious looks. "Go ahead and take a seat, Mr. Son."
Gohan shifted uncomfortably as he scanned the room. Half the students looked hostile, while the other half looked completely uninterested. There were a few vacant spaces, but he didn't feel right about just taking them without the consent those sitting in the adjacent seats. "Uh…"
"Yoohoo, new boy!" A bubbly blonde girl jumped up and waved her hand enthusiastically. "There's an empty seat next to me!" She smiled brightly at him, and a wave of relief washed over him.
"Thank you!" He returned her smile (again, not that she could see it, because of this ridiculous mask) and made his way up the stairs to the seat next to her, a new spring to his step. He had been worried for a moment that his fellow classmates would be unwelcoming, but this girl had dispelled this thought. He sat down and turned to the kind girl. "It's nice to meet you!"
"Hey there! I'm Erasa, with an 'E'," she gestured to the girl with black pigtails to her right, "and this is my friend Videl!" Videl just looked at Gohan, studying him. Now where have I seen him before….
"You'll never guess who Videl's father is!" The confused look Erasa got from Gohan encouraged her to continue, "Her dad is the one and only Mr. Satan!" She gave him a proud smile.
No way! What are the odds! He chuckled and looked to Videl. "Wow! That must be neat, being the daughter of a celebrity and all!"
"It's YOU!"
Gohan jumped at Videl's sudden outburst "You're the guy from the bank! Mr. 'I-wasn't-looking'!"
Oh, it's her! The nerves Gohan had just rid himself of resurfaced. He scratched the back of his head and laughed, well, nervously. "Heh, yeah, I guess I am…" Why is she so scary?
The glare she'd had previously softened after seeing Gohan's sudden panic. Jeez, I need to learn to stop using my interrogation techniques on everyone I talk to. It's not like he actually did anything wrong…
Erasa bounced a bit in her seat and looked at Gohan with a spark in her eye. "Wow, you were at the bank right after the Golden Fighter vanished? How exciting!
"Golden Fighter? Is that another celebrity?"
"Gee Gohan, you sure are out of the gossip loop! The Golden Fighter is like a superhero!" She clasped her hands together. "They say he has super strength and magic powers! They also say he looks like a golden monkey, but cuter!"
Gohan inhaled sharply through his teeth. Great, it hasn't even been an hour and they've already made an urban legend out of me! He'd have to be more careful about concealing his powers...
"So, Gohan," Videl raised an eyebrow, "what's with the nurse mask; you sick?"
"I, uh, I guess you could say that."
Videl couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't telling the truth. She really didn't have a reason not to believe him, but he just gave off this secretive vibe, like he was hiding something. She decided not to press it at the moment.
Erasa gave him a sympathetic look. "Poor Gohan, sick on his first day! You must be pretty dedicated if you're here anyway!"
"Yeah, I guess I am, heh."
Videl was studying Gohan again, trying to figure out why he seemed so...abnormal. Her eyes widened slightly as she realized what he was wearing. She glared at him again.
Gohan looked over and their eyes met. He started sweating under her intense gaze. Does….does she know? They stayed like this for a few tedious moments before Videl finally broke the tension. "Gohan."
He swallowed. "Yes?" His voice was strained.
"I just remembered what the Golden Fighter was said to be wearing." Her eyes flickered down to his clothes. "A white button-up shirt, a black vest, orange pants…" her eyes shifted slightly," ...and an Orange Star High School badge."
"Hey, that's funny, you and the Golden Fighter dress alike!" Erasa added, oblivious to what Videl was implying.
Videl knows! She totally knows! My first day and I've already massively screwed up! "HAhaHA, WOW, what a coincidence, huh?!" The pitch in Gohan's voice shifted wildly as he desperately tried to shift suspicions off him. He'd always been a terrible liar; it just wasn't in his nature.
The teacher was unamused. "You three in the back! Zip it!
Gohan squeaked. "Y-yes, ma'am!" That's funny, when did we switch teachers? Have we really been talking that long?
The muscular blond boy sitting to the right of Videl chuckled. "C'mon, Videl. Gohan, the Golden Fighter? He's just a booknerd!" He smirked. "The guy's gotta be buff."
Erasa turned to Gohan. "Ignore Sharpener. I bet you could fight crime if you wanted."
"Oh, I doubt it." If Gohan didn't know any better, he'd say her tone was sort of…flirtatious. He shook his head. Nah, couldn't be.
Videl lightly bit the end of her pencil as she side-eyed Gohan. Of course it's not him, his hair's not even the right color. She looked down. Then again, those fighters in the Cell Games could turn their hair gold. Come to think of it, they also looked pretty monkey-like…
Videl was broken out of her thoughts when Erasa spoke up. "So, Gohan, did you just move into the city? Maybe we could go to your house and help you settle in."
"Actually, I commute here"
"Oh, that's cool, where from?"
"The 439 East District"
Erasa shot out of her seat in surprise. "What?! Get outta town! That's, like, 500 miles away!"
The teacher glared at her. "Excuse me!"
"Eep! Sorry!" Erasa sat down quickly and hid her face behind her textbook. She turned to Gohan and whispered, "How do you get here? That's gotta be, like, a two-hour drive at least!"
"I fly." Gohan's eyes widened and he quickly added "i-in a jet-copter!" He laughed nervously. "It's only about an hour that way, and I think that's a perfectly reasonable commute if it means getting a good education!" He groaned internally. I can't believe I just said that…
"Now, can I get a volunteer to read this sample paragraph?"
Gohan glanced down at the paragraph in question and giggled upon seeing the picture of Mr. Satan printed in the book. That's wild! They even talk about Hercule in the grammar exercises!
"Hey, Brains!" Sharpener called out to him somewhat condescendingly, "Volunteer and show us some of those smarts of yours!"
"Yeah, c'mon, Gohan!" Erasa poked Gohan with her pen, causing him to leap out of his chair apprehensively, making startled breathy noises that sounded vaguely like nervous laughter. The teacher looked up at him.
"Good, a volunteer!" She looked down at her class roster. "Now, I haven't quite learned your name yet…"
Sharpener snickered and spoke up. "This is Gohan, the perfect-test-score boy."
"Ah, that's right. Well, Gohan, go ahead."
"Yes, ma'am." Gohan picked up his textbook as Erasa smiled at him and Videl continued to stare through the corner of her eye. "Now, what am I doing, exactly?"
The teacher's eyes narrowed as she raised her voice. "You're reading the paragraph!"
"Oh, right!" Gohan took a moment to compose himself before holding the textbook away from his face, squinting slightly. He cleared his throat and began reading aloud.
"Mr. Satan moved to the city, which was then called 'Orange Star City', and started a happy family. After he beat Cell, who was very evil," Gohan chuckled quietly before continuing, "The city changed its name. Even though the world is now safe, Mr. Satan keeps his fitness routine, which includes running laps, and breaking heavy rocks." Gohan bit his lip to keep from laughing. The way that last bit was written reminded him of something his little brother would say.
"Very good, Gohan, you may sit down."
Gohan, Erasa, Sharpener, and Videl were sitting under a tree in the courtyard. Erasa had invited Gohan to eat lunch with them, something she didn't consult her friends about before doing, which was obvious by the looks they were giving him.
Sharpener was annoyed that Erasa had let a nerd sit with them. He didn't hate Gohan - hell, he didn't even dislike him - he was just concerned with how it would affect his social status. Sharpener was just kinda like that.
Videl, on the other hand, was suspicious. Still. The more time she spent near Gohan, the more she felt something was off about him. She didn't really think he was the Golden Fighter, but she did feel like he was hiding...something. Besides, she felt strangely drawn to him, like his very existence demanded her constant undivided attention. She chalked it up to curiosity.
Everyone started unpacking their lunches. That is, everyone but Gohan. Erasa raised an eyebrow.
"Gohan, didn't you bring something to eat?"
"Nah, I guess I must've forgot my lunch at home…" He scratched the back of his head in the typical Son way. In truth, he had his lunch tucked away in a food capsule in his bag, but he didn't wanna risk his new friends seeing his fangs. If his mother found out, she would not be happy.
Gohan had fully anticipated eating lunch on his own, but he couldn't just turn down Erasa's invitation. Not only because he thought it'd be rude, but because eating lunch with them was the perfect opportunity to really solidify their friendship, and he wasn't gonna let it slip away. He grumbled as he felt his stomach protest his 'waiting until dinner' idea, but what other options did he have?
"Here," Erasa handed Gohan an apple, "you can have this. I know it's not much, but it's something."
"Thank you!" Gohan turned away from his new friends and lifted his mask, devouring the apple as quickly as possible. He re-secured his mask and turned back to said friends, who just blinked at him.
"Whoa, brains, that was the fastest eating I've ever seen!" Sharpener shook his head incredulously. "You sucked that thing down in, what, .5 seconds?"
Videl eyed Gohan. "How did you do that? No-one can eat that fast!" This boy gets weirder and weirder by the minute.
Gohan was a wreck yet again. "Oh, uh, ha, well, y'know," he looked anywhere but at Videl's piercing gaze, "it runs in the family?"
Erasa and Sharpener accepted Gohan's words and laughed, but Videl wouldn't be so easily convinced. She'd have to add this to her growing mental list of reasons why Gohan Son was suspicious.
btw the parenthetical stuff is another way to convey thought i guess