Hello Everybody! It is so good to finally be back to writing. I have decided that to end my hiatus, I want some Rayllum. Fair warning, for the last 2 years, I have basically been hermitted away from most forms of media. However, I started rewatching The Dragon Prince again, and I think that between that and the Dragon Prince wiki, I have enough knowledge to go for it. Anywho, I hate long intros, and I'm sure you do too, so here you go, ladies, gentlemen, and everything in between, I present to you chapter two of Extrange Student!
The bus ride to school was the same as always, with Callum sitting in a seat by himself, Claudia, and Soren across the aisle. The three of them talking about nothing in particular, At least, it was that way until Claudia piped up:
"Oh my gosh, have you guys heard about the new exchange student coming in today?!" She was as bright and bubbly as ever. "I heard it took everything Professor Harrow could muster to even get the stiffs from the ministry to allow it!"
Callm couldn't help but wonder how Cludia had heard that, when Callum himself had received no such information, and he lied under the same roof. "Are you sure you heard that? Or are you just speculating?" He cocked an eyebrow as he asked. Or at least he tried to. The resulting expression looked more like a confused puppy.
Claudia laughed at the expression, but her face also reddened slightly. "Okay, so maybe I am speculating. I'm just so excited! I've never met someone from Xadia."
Soren was the one who butted in this time, "Yeah well neither have any of us. I don't get why you're so excited. We're all just people here. Xadian, Katolan, whatever. People are people. Like frogs are frogs, or clouds are clouds. We're all the same, regardless of what our parents or ancestors did."
"You know," Callum said," That was exceptionally wise." He sat there thinking for a second. People are people. Always have been always will be. He was quickly pulled away from his thoughts by Claudia snorting:
"Yeah, especially coming from you, Sor-bear. Since when did you become so profound?" She laughed a little more, but not quite a snort this time.
"I'll have you know, the term is 'Woke'" he said, puffing out his chest in mock pride. This did cause Claudia to snort again, and Callum also joined in on the laughter.
The banter went on, until the bus finally rolled into the school with a light squeal as the brakes were applied. The students all filed off, with Callum staying in his seat until everyone else had first gone ahead. He hated being stuck in between all of the bustling students, shoving and nudging their way to the front, leaving little room to breathe comfortably. When Callum finally stepped off of the bus, he jogged briefly to catch up with Soren and Claudia. They walked together through the gate, before saying their goodbyes and walking towards their respective homeroom classes.
The classroom was as noisy as ever. Students chatting about their weekend, or the latest song their favorite artist had released, or whatever the heck people got on talking about. He wasn't one to really eavesdrop, so he walked to his seat in the back corner of the classroom. He was grateful that people seemed to get the memo and left the seat next to him empty. He preferred to draw rather than chat with someone he barely knew. And draw he did. He plopped down into the seat, and pulled his sketchbook and pencils out of his satchel, opening to a blank page, and began to sketch. He wasn't incredibly inspired today, and he found himself drawing his family. It was his go-to whenever he didn't have something in mind. He hadn't gotten much farther than outlining before the bell brought his thoughts back to reality.
Mr. Corvus stepped up, and walked to the front of the room. The kids were still bustling and chatting, albeit a little quieter than before the bell. He stood there for a brief second, then seemingly out of nowhere, filled his lungs with air and blasted "QUIET!" The effect was instantaneous. Within seconds, you could hear a pin drop. Callum couldn't help but smile. It was the same thing every day. "Thank you," he said in a friendlier tone. "Today, before we start, Ms. Opeli will be coming in to give an important announcement for our class."
The door swing open, and in walked Ms. Opeli, in her usual white blouse with a brown skirt. Standing beside her was possibly the most beautiful person Callum had ever seen. His heart seemed to instantly jump out of his chest. Ms Opeli cleared her throat before speaking. "Good morning students. Today, it is my honor to introduce you to Rayla, our new exchange student from Xadia."
The reaction from the clas was mixed, but immediate. There were a number of whispers that made their way around the room. Callum made out the words 'Xadia" and "exchange student" several times, the former with varyijg degrees of intrigue, or unfortunately enough, disgust. Callum himself chose to stay quiet. And by chose, he actually meant he was still too awestruck to say anything coherent.
Ms. Opeli raised both of her hands, signaling for silence. When the whispers died down, she put them down and said "She will be in your homeroom class. I expect that she receives a warm welcome, and any help she may need. You all were new here once too, so you almost know what it's like. Rayla, if you would please introduce yourself." She stepped back.
Ralya stepped up, taking Ms. Opeli's place. Her hair was white, cut at her shoulders, her eyes a beautiful shade of violet. "Well," she started, "I'm Rayla, as you already know. I grew up in the Moonshadow province of Xadia." Her voice was bright and friendly, with a light tinge in her accent. Callum couldn't help but smile when she spoke. It was like music in a way. "I enjoy martial arts and swordplay. There's not really much else to say. I look forward to getting to know you all!" She smiled and stepped back, bowing her head slightly.
Ms. Opeli stepped forward once again, and said something that Callum barely heard. Something about best behavior and example and whatnot.
His attention was on Rayla. He watched her lean gently against the wall, before Mr. Corvus' voice broke his thoughts. Why was his any different from Ms. Opeli's? To be frank, he couldn't explain it. It just was. "Alright, I think we've spent enough time on introduction, Rayla, please have a seat." His eyes scanned the room, before landing on the open seat next to Callum. He pointed, and said "you may sit there. If you have any questions, you can ask Callum." Callum smiled and waved awkwardly, his left hand loosening his scarf slightly. The room seemed to be getting warmer.
Rayla walked to the Back of the classroom, and extended a hand to Callum. He took it and shook, hopefully not gripping too tightly. He tried again to smile, and said "I'm Callum. But you already know that, of course since, ah, well… I'm just gonna stop talking now. Rayla laughed quietly, causing Callum's heart to flutter again. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
Thankfully, Rayla spoke instead. "It's nice to meet you, Callum." She flashed one more quick smile before turning back to the front of the class, returning her attention to Mr. Corvus. Callum, however, was much slower to look back up.
The rest of class was pretty simple. They never did much in homeroom, so Callum tended to sketch whatever was on his mind. Currently, what happened to be on his mind was Rayla, and therefore, he was drawing Rayla. Occasionally, she would lean over and ask a question, which Callum would try his best to answer, whilst also casually covering the drawing with his forearm. Once, she looked over his shoulder out of curiosity. "Whatcha drawing there?"
Callum instantly shut his notebook, and almost jumped out of his seat. He settled down, and put a hand over his heart. "Don't scare me like that." He said, almost breathlessly.
"Sorry," she said, leaning back and putting her hands up. "I was just curious is all." Callum's brain was already running at a million miles a minute. She asked what he was drawing. He was drawing her. He couldn't very well tell her that, that would be weird. He opened his sketchbook to the page before the one he was working on, where an unfinished sketch of Ezran lay, a perfect white lie to make him look like not a creep.
"No, don't worry, you just startled me is all. It's not a problem." He turned the page to her, showing the sketch. "This is Ezran, my younger brother." He smiled as he thought about Ez, still brand new in middle school.
Rayla seemed convinced, and smiled. "That's pretty impressive! I've never been much of an artist myself, but I've always really admired people who are."
Callum breathed a small sigh of relief. "Thanks," he replied, "I have always loved art. From the time I was young, it was just an outlet for all the frustrations of life. It helps me keep my focus on the positive. Things like family for instance."
"I take it you're pretty close with your brother then?" she said with a smile that made Callum's stomach flutter. Why was this happening now? Callum hadn't felt feelings this way since 6th grade when he had realized that he was crushing on Claudia. But how? Claudia had been his friend for years! It made sense to develop feelings for her. But Rayla he'd only just met her! He barely knew a thing about her!
Upon realizing that he hadn't answered her question, he snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh, sorry, uh- yeah. We've been best friends for as long as I can remember. He's my brother after all. But- I already told you that. I mean you already knew that. Er-" Whatever it was that Callum was about to say was cut off as the bell rang. "Oh, look at that," he laughed nervously, "Class is over. Guess we should, uh, get going!" Why was his voice so much higher than normal?
"Yeah, alright," Rayla said. She smiled at him, then pulled out a folder from her bag, opened it, and pulled out her class schedule. "Could you tell me which way to room A-113?"
Callum stood up and nodded, glad for a change on topic. "For sure! My next class is in the A building too, so I can walk you there." He flashed a cheesy smile and thumbs up, before cringing internally. Why did he do that?
Rayla laughed quietly at the action, before putting her things back into her backpack and getting up to follow Callum. They walked down the hall and out of the A building. Neither one of them knew it, but this year was going to change their lives forever.
Aaand scene! Holy cow it feels good to be back to writing. I really have missed it. I hope that this chapter reaches you all well, and brings a bit of happiness to the craziness of the world today. Anywho, I hope you all have a lovely day! Please leave a review! I always love feedback. Until next time, lovelies, I bid you farewell!