Chapter 3 (Asta)
Every week, once a week, Asta had to go to the guidance counselors' offices. He went either early morning before homeroom or after the last class. There were three full-time guidance counselors and about twenty part-time ones. Acier Silva, Sister Theresa Rapual and Father Orsi Orfai were the main ones. They were all great, but Father Orsi was the one that took care of Asta and his special accommodations.
It was the first meeting of the year and it was early in the morning. He was the only student in the school, so Misses Acier gave Asta a donut and a bottle of orange juice while he waited for Father Orsi to arrive with Sister Theresa. The two carpooled and were always late and bickering when they showed up, which is exactly what happened as they burst through the door.
"Next time, I'm driving. You're trying to murder me, you old coot," said Sister Theresa, holding a large coffee in one hand and her leather briefcase in another. "You drive too slowly, we're gonna get run off of the road one of these days!"
"I don't want to be pulled over by the police first thing in the morning, Theresa, so no, you can't drive," said Father Orsi. He had a medium coffee in his hand and his briefcase in another. Both realized that Asta was sitting in the waiting chair. "Asta, my boy! Good to see you. I'll be right with you, alright?"
Asta nodded, smiling as Sister Theresa went to her office and Father Orsi went to his. He unlocked the door to it. Asta got out of the waiting chair and followed the old priest into the office.
Once they both settled, Asta was staring at Father Orsi on the other side of the desk. "So, how's everything been this past week?"
Here was the thing. Father Orsi asked the same questions every time, so Asta pre-wrote his response the night before the weekly meeting. Asta smiled and handed him the first note (always on index cards).
"The week is going pretty well so far. No incidents yet."
Father Orsi raised an eyebrow. "Very good. Have you been able to keep up with your schoolwork thus far? Are the teachers doing the accommodations?"
"Schoolwork is fine. The teachers are used to me by now, so it helps. Thanks."
"Glad to hear," said Father Orsi. "I know that you have your big project in Literature this year. Mr. Vermillion paired you up with Leo again I heard. I'm glad."
Asta didn't have this answer ready so he wrote quickly on a notepad, which Father Orsi always waited patiently for Asta to finish.
"Me and Leo figured out what we're reading already, so it's working out."
Nodding his head once, Father Orsi continued and asked, "How've you been feeling? Feeling anxious recently?"
"No more than usual. Still going to the state psych on Thursday afternoons like I'm supposed to."
"Alright. Remember your breathing exercises. The ADHD medicine was changed recently, according to Miss Enoteca. Any side effects yet," asked Father Orsi.
Asta shook his head and wrote a quick response. "I've adjusted well to them."
"That's wonderful," said Father Orsi and he meant it. He always meant it. "Last thing. You're a junior now, so I'm going to put together some info for you about possible colleges and careers that I'd think you'd excel at doing. I'll have it ready for next week. So I want you to think about what path you want to take for college for next time. And if you have any problems, my door is always open."
Asta nodded and handed a standard "Thank you" card to the old priest.
"Have a good day. I believe in you, Asta."
Lunchtime rolled around before Asta knew it. He was sitting with his friends and his foster brother, as always. Asta was eating leftover mashed tatoes and butter chicken that Gauche cooked the night before. Since Miss Vanessa was not the best at cooking, Gauche and Asta took turns in the kitchen to make sure they fed themselves and Marie. Admittedly, Gauche was way better at cooking than Asta, but Asta knew how to bake a mean apple crumble cake, so it was balanced.
"Asta…do…you…want…my…pudding," asked Henry. Henry had a speech impediment so he always spoke slowly in order to stop himself from stuttering.
"No," said Gauche, stealing the pudding cup from Henry's lunch tray before Asta could say yes. (Yes, Asta liked the pudding cups they had at the cafeteria, but they were expensive as heck). "Asta can't have any more sugar today. He had pancakes and syrup this morning."
Asta wrinkled his nose in annoyance. He knew that Gauche was looking out for him, but he didn't have to be rude to Henry.
Gauche said, "Remember the doctor said that you can't have too much sugar. You're susceptible to diabetes."
Asta raised an eyebrow and thankfully, Secre interjected. "He's susceptible to a ton of things. Let him have the pudding cup."
"Then no cookies this afternoon," said Gauche, holding the pudding cup out for Asta to take. Asta took the cup and stuck his tongue out at his foster brother. Gauche made a rude gesture which caused him to be smacked on the hand by Charmy.
"Be nice," said Charmy, scolding. Charmy was a senior like Gauche. She was a foodie with a killer Instagram that just had mouth-watering food on it.
"Asta started it," said Gauche, glaring at Charmy.
"Asta has never done anything wrong in his life," said Charmy, jokingly. She grinned at Asta. "I'll make you some sugar-free cookies for tomorrow. Ignore the grump."
Asta smiled. He signed a thank you to her. It was one of the signs that his friends recognized. Charmy's cooking was the best. He went back to eating, when he heard someone call his name.
Leo was jogging up to their table and every single one of Asta's friends stopped what they were doing to stare at the guy blatantly. Heck, even Magna and Luck stopped fighting over their Switches. His friends were so embarrassing. "Asta! Hey, I just got word that basketball practice is cancelled since someone set off stink-bombs in the gym, so do you want to come over to my house and work on our assignment plan?"
Asta nodded and shot a look over at Zora, who was nonchalantly cleaning his teeth with a toothpick. Zora Ideale was known to use the stink bomb as retaliation against people who he didn't like or did something annoying. It was just unfortunate that Zora used his chemistry knowledge for pranks. The thing was that no one was able to prove it was Zora. Even if his dad was the basketball coach and gym teacher, it wouldn't get Zora out of trouble.
"Oi, rich boy, no funny business with Asta, got it," threatened Gauche.
Leo laughed. "Yeah, I know! It'll be fine. Right, Asta?"
Asta nodded.
"See? Meet me at my lockers. Later!" With that Leo went back to the table he shared with his friends, which included Yuno, Noelle Silva (Misses Acier's daughter) and Mimosa Vermillion.
Sighing, Asta pulled out a piece of paper and wrote, while Gauche was still glaring at Leo from across the cafeteria, while Finral and Grey fussed that Zora was causing trouble again. He handed the paper to Gauche.
"Can you stop embarrassing me? Leo's really nice. He helps me out a lot. I'd appreciate a bit of trust. I can take care of myself, Gauche."
"I don't want you to get hurt," said Gauche. His face was usually mean looking, but underneath, he cared about Marie and Asta. "Leo's a nice guy, sure, but his fans aren't."
It was true that while Leo and the rest of the basketball team stars were really awesome guys, there were unofficial fan clubs obsessed with them. It made things difficult for everyone else. Asta and his friends had run-ins with the fan club-types before—it was actually one of the first fights he had in high school back in freshman year. Asta grimaced at the reminder that horrible time in his life.
"I can go with Asta," said Secre, offering.
Asta shook his head at his best friend. He gave her his prewritten card "I'll be okay."
"If you're sure," said Secre, shrugging.
"Just keep your phone on and charged," said Gauche.
Rolling his eyes, Asta just nodded once or Gauche would never let it go.
~to be continued
