Lucky thing about homeroom is that it was a breather compared to the other classes. Good thing too because Mal found herself afraid of Mrs. Belfrey, but she didn't want anyone to know about that. Ben was in the gym with his own class as Coach Jenkins began to bark orders to the students like a drill sargeant. Push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, pull-ups, excessive stretching, and the main class subject was running laps and he reminded them to stay hydrated. The first few laps were always the easiest, but before the midway break to take a walking break until there were more and heart-pumping, lung exhausting, and throat drying laps were always the harder parts of running in class.
"You seem distracted today, French," A cocky blonde boy smirked at Ben as he had his mind wandering. "You nervous about going up against The Fighting Monkeys next Friday?"
"Pfft... Please... I'm not afraid of those punks," Ben smirked as he rolled his hazel eyes. "Guess I'm just thinking about other things."
"Well, you better pay attention to class right now otherwise Jenkins will make you run laps for the rest of the class," The blonde boy retorted before grinning towards a trio of girls who were on the sidelines. "Though we both know that running laps doesn't have to tarnish my beauty."
The girls sighed dreamily and nearly fainted and fell onto the bleachers.
"You're a regular Prince Charming, Chad," Ben smirked playfully. "Did you hear that there's a new girl in school though?"
"Yeah, I've heard people talking, but I haven't seen her," Chad shrugged. "What's her name? Melody? Marie?"
"Malissa apparently," Ben corrected. "I sorta ran into her in the hallway when Jane was showing her around."
"Malissa, that was it," Chad then grinned. "Do you like her or something?"
"I-I-I don't know," Ben suddenly stammered as he blushed suddenly at the random question. "Where did that come from?"
"Well, you ran into her and your eyes kinda met," Chad smirked. "Do you like this new girl? You're talking about her a lot."
"Chad, she's new, I'm just making an observation." Ben rolled his hazel eyes.
"Well, so am I," Chad smirked. "Hopefully, meanwhile, I can win some lucky girl's affections... As long as Gil LeGume doesn't steal them from me first."
"Sure, Chad, whatever," Ben shrugged. "We'll show those Fighting Monkeys what for," he then said, deciding to change the subject. "I could use someone to come with me after school to practice since I can't practice with my cousin Gideon. He's too young, so Mom and Aunt Lacey would kill me."
"Well, if not for the school mascot, maybe Gil then," Chad suggested before he checked his hands. "I think I have a manicure appointment after school today."
"Of course you do." Ben snarked.
"I'll practice with you, Ben," A black-haired girl smirked as she grabbed him from behind, hugging his shoulders as she pulled him tightly. "You know I'm not cheerleader material. My mom's in the army, my dad trains me and my brother, and I got three uncles who taught me karate when I was 5."
"Sure, Lonnie, I'll look into that," Ben chuckled sheepishly. "I could definitely use a do-over from our last big game against The Sherwood Foxes."
"So, what's this about you and the new girl?" Lonnie smirked.
"Does everybody know about this or something?" Ben scoffed. "Nothing happened! We just ran into each other in the hallway and suddenly fell on the floor. Nothing important happened."
"Sure, whatever you say, Benny," Chad smirked. "I have an eye for chemistry between a prince and a princess."
"That's the only chemistry you're good at," Ben smirked back. "If you fail Deley's next test, you're screwed and gonna be kicked off the football team if you don't shape up."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." Chad rolled his eyes then.
Ben and Lonnie chuckled as Chad soon backed away awkwardly.
"So... Tell me..." Lonnie said to Ben. "Do you think the new girl's kinda cute? I know you think you don't need a girlfriend, but it might be nice for you."
"I don't know, Lonnie," Ben said softly, though he did kind of blush. "I mean... Yeah, she seems interesting... But I don't know if I could go out with her... I might talk to her."
"Maybe during lunch or the free period," Lonnie advised as she playfully punched him in the arm. "You shouldn't stop being so adorable~"
Ben chuckled nervously as he rubbed his arm bashfully. "I-I'll think about it, Lonnie," he then said to her. "I don't think we should jump to conclusions though."
"Fair enough," Lonnie nodded. "My uncles always believed that a girl is worth fighting for though."
Ben nodded as well before they both flinched as they heard the sound of a whistle.
"Hua Li, French, move those muscles and not those jaws!" Coach Jenkins glared a bit. "This is a Gym Class, not Mickey's Creek!"
"Yes, sir, Coach Jenkins!" Lonnie and Ben replied nervously.
"20 push-ups, both of you, now!" Coach Jenkins then demanded, punishing them for gossiping rather than exercising.
Lonnie and Ben groaned before they both got on the floor together and did what was asked of them. Coach Jenkins nodded firmly and soon walked off to go and see the other students. Ben couldn't help but think about Mal, probably because Chad and Lonnie wouldn't stop talking about her and the purple-haired girl stuck out to his mind. She was very interesting and mysterious so far, but he did decide that later on, he would go and talk to her when he would have the chance. That is, if he didn't pull a muscle during the extra exercise and would be sent to the nurse's office first.
Mal was also thinking about Ben and how he seemed mysterious and interesting to her as much as she did to him. Homeroom went all right as Mrs. Belfrey read her book behind her desk until the bell rang and it was time for other classes. The woman soon shooed them away and Mal was told to be lined up with the other students in alphabetical order, but the students broke apart from the arranged line once they were free in the hallway and out of her torture chamber she called a classroom. The students only felt bad for the other students she would see while they only saw her in the morning before their next classes.
Mrs. Belfrey addressed each student by their last name as they went out the door, but noticed someone missing from the line-up. "Miss Hightopp? ...Miss Hightopp?" she then called, looking around for the missing girl before she let out a frustrated sigh and collapsed back in her chair behind her desk. "Where is that little hellion?"
"BOO!" The blonde girl smirked as she appeared from nowhere right behind the woman, wearing a white rabbit mask.
"Aaaugh!" Mrs. Belfrey shrieked as that scared her while the blonde girl grinned and laughed wickedly with glee.
Mal noticed that and put her hand to her mouth as she couldn't help but laugh at what she had just witnessed.
"Miss Hightopp, I should throw you in detention!" Mrs. Belfrey scolded once she caught her breath as she put her hand over her chest.
"Scared ya, didn't I?" The blonde girl smirked as she put her hands behind her back. "Lighten up, will ya? It was just a joke... Besides, you can't give me detention, you're just my homeroom teacher~"
"I'm afraid that's where you're wrong, Miss Hightopp," Mrs. Belfrey glowered as she reached into her desk, brought out a collection of pink slips of paper and began to write it out. "'Detention... For... Mathilda... Hightopp... From'-"
"You'll have to catch me first!" The blonde girl smirked before she hopped away into the hallway like a runaway white rabbit.
"COME BACK HERE!" Mrs. Belfrey glared as she stood up and went to chase after the blonde girl in the hallway who was probably the only student not afraid to back sass the cold and iron-clad woman.
The blonde girl giggled as the other students gathered around, hanging around their lockers as they watched the two go at it. Mal watched what was going on as she stood between Evie and two of the other boys in their homeroom class.
"Tilly's at it again..." The freckled boy sighed and shook his head. "Will that girl ever learn?"
"Tilly?" Mal asked.
"She's a real piece of work," Evie informed. "She only goes to school here because she got herself kicked out of boarding school to straighten herself out, but she managed to escape and this was the only school her parents could afford."
"Good to know..." Mal replied. "And I thought my mother was strict."
"My mother's a bit scarier than Mrs. Belfrey honestly..." The freckled boy gulped a little.
"My dad's insane when he gets mad," The other boy added before looking at Mal. "So you're the new girl, huh?"
"Uh, yeah," Mal nodded. "My name is Mal, but please don't call me Malissa because I hate the name Malissa."
"Fair enough, I hate Jayden," The taller boy smirked and chuckled. "So you can call me Jay. I see you already know Evie."
"Yeah, Mom drove her to school with me and Henry," Evie nodded. "Mal, these are a couple of good friends of mine: Jay and Carlos."
"Hi!" The freckled boy smiled, his voice squeaking a little as he was still going through the dreaded curse in a growing boy's life commonly known as puberty.
The others couldn't help but chuckle at Carlos's voice going up and down. It took Mal a few conversations to get used to it, but once she did, she didn't laugh at much.
"You wanna join us for lunch, Mal?" Jay offered.
"Uh, sure, I guess that would be cool," Mal shrugged. "Guess it's better than eating alone."
"That's the spirit," Evie smiled. "Let's hope the rest of your day goes all right."
"Yeah... Let's hope..." Mal nodded a bit before glancing over.
Ben was shown to be coming out into the hallway with a few other boys from who he had Gym with. Mal eyed Ben and soon went over to the corner of the hall and hid away, ducking down. Jay and Carlos began to look confused while Evie seemed concerned for her new friend.
"Hey, Jay," Ben said as he came up to the big and strong boy, greeting him with a fist bump. "Think you can make it after school today?"
"Hopefully," Jay replied as he bumped fists with Ben in response. "If my dad doesn't need him in his shop of course... But what the heck?" he then smirked. "I'm gonna skip that anyway."
"Sounds good to me," Ben smirked back. "Hey, uh, didn't I see four of you?"
"Yeah, I don't know what happened to Mal," Carlos shrugged. "I guess she just tripped into the girl's bathroom or something."
"Shame... Maybe I'll see her later," Ben replied before he walked off to his locker. "Come on, Jay, you wanna talk some plays we can probably use after school to practice for the big game?"
"Sure! See ya guys later." Jay nodded before he walked off with Ben.
"Bye, Jay. Bye, Ben." Evie and Carlos replied.
Ben and Jay soon walked over to near the end of the hallway to talk about possible plans for their upcoming game.
"Is he gone...?" Mal asked shyly as she came out from behind a trashcan.
"Get away from there, girly!" A grumpy and aggressive looking bearded man glared as he came to the trash can to move it. "I got a clean up on the second floor."
"Oh... Uh... Sorry..." Mal said nervously as she stepped back from it.
"Heh... Sorry about that, Mr. Leroy, she's new..." Evie apologized to the man.
"Whatever..." The man grumbled before he moved the trash can down the hallway.
"What's his problem?" Mal asked.
"He's always grumpy, but just don't call him that or make fun of his height," Carlos replied. "But enough about him. What about you?"
"What about me?" Mal shrugged in response.
"What the heck was that about?" Carlos asked. "Once Ben was coming over, you just ran away like a tiny puppy lost on a big bulldog's property."
"Oh, uh, I don't know," Mal said softly and bashfully as she rubbed her arm as Mrs. Belfrey was shown to be dragging Tilly by her collar down the hallway while Tilly crossed her arms with a very cranky look on her face. "I guess I just... Dropped my pen."
"Your pen?" Carlos raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
"Heh! Yeah! My lucky purple pen!" Mal grinned nervously. "How else am I gonna pass class without my purple pen, huh?"
"...Uh-huh." Carlos nodded, though he was still suspicious about Mal's odd behavior all of a sudden.
Suddenly, the next bell rang which meant it was time to head over to the next class before the bell would ring again, symbolizing the beginning of the class.
"Let's get you to class, huh?" Evie suggested. "We'll talk more at lunch."
"Uh, sure." Mal replied as she followed Evie.
The classes went by all right for what they were worth. Evie seemed to be a lot smarter than Mal pegged her for as she knew the atomic mass unit of silver, English Class seemed fine, after all, Mal had been speaking that language her whole life, Gym was a bit tricky, but nothing horrible, though it seemed that the boys did more work than the girls who just played with jump ropes and did occasional sit-ups... Overall, this new school just felt more like a prison than a system for education, but at least there was a time to head back home. However, due to it being her first day of school and being new in town and the school, Mal was a lot more exhausted than the average student would be.
Lunchtime felt like a breath of fresh air. Mal soon held her stomach as it growled as she was already hungry by the end of English class. Luckily, she was in the cafeteria and groaned as she was ready to get some food in her. The two lunch ladies stared at Mal as she came next in line. One seemed very warm and friendly while the other just looked irritated and impatient. Unfortunately for Mal, she was given the former lunch lady who looked like she could shoot you with a crossbow arrow just by looking at her the wrong way.
"Meatloaf or lasagna?" The more bitter woman barked suddenly.
"Oh! Uh... Huh?" Mal blinked as that startled her.
"Meatloaf or lasagna?" The woman repeated firmly. "You're holding up the line!"
"Oh, uh, meatloaf, I guess!" Mal soon said without thinking and suddenly groaned as she didn't like either, though she had no other option.
The woman then scooped up a helping of the meatloaf and soon slapped it onto the girl's tray, nearly getting grease and other residues right on her clothes and bare arms. This meatloaf looked more like it came straight out of a public gas station bathroom rather than a fresh and home-cooked kitchen. Mal grinned nervously and soon went to move along the line as the other students seemed to rush over to get some food.
"Excuse me, dear?" A warmer voice smiled from behind her as she went to go and sit down.
Mal soon looked over her shoulder as she suddenly came to a stop.
"You're supposed to use your ID card, remember?" The woman behind the computer reminded as she had a cash register and a scanner for a card.
"ID card?" Mal blinked in confusion. "What ID card?"
"You don't have your ID card?" The woman asked.
"I wasn't aware that I needed one... Am I supposed to?" Mal then asked, feeling genuinely confused and concerned.
Some of the other students in the lunch line snickered as Mal didn't know any better.
"I'm afraid you'll need your ID card to buy your lunch," The woman replied, a bit firm, but not as bad as the woman who came before her. "If you don't have your ID card, you don't have your lunch."
"Oh... Uh..." Mal frowned, not sure what to do as she stared like a deer caught in headlights.
"It's okay, Mrs. Potts," Evie's voice said as she suddenly appeared and brought out her own card. "I'll charge it to my account."
"Oh... Um... Very well, Evie..." The woman then said with a small nod. "I suppose that would be all right if it's okay with your mother."
"Of course it is," Evie smiled warmly as she soon went in the line and decided to pay for her new friend's lunch so that she wouldn't go hungry. "No harm done."
Mrs. Potts nodded and soon went to help the next person in line.
"Mrs. Fairgood didn't say anything about an ID card." Mal said as she followed Evie out of the line and over to a table.
"She must've forgotten, but yes, you'll definitely need one," Evie nodded before grimacing as she looked at Mal's tray. "Ugh... You didn't bring your own lunch from home or ask for the salad bar?"
"I had no other choice..." Mal replied. "That first lunch lady was giving me the evil eye."
"Nah... Mrs. Lucas is harmless," Evie reassured. "You just probably wore out her patience... Give me that tray... You deserve a much better lunch."
Mal soon held out her tray with a shrug. Evie soon took it and dumped it right in the trash and escorted Mal over to where she was sitting. Henry seemed to be there before he looked up and he was also keeping an eye on two lunchboxes.
"Your little brother?" Mal asked.
"Sure," Evie nodded. "I hope that's okay."
"Sure... It's okay..." Mal shrugged.
"Henry, is it okay if Mal joins us for lunch?" Evie then asked the young boy.
"I guess... As long as she doesn't use colorful language," Henry replied. "I'd rather not repeat those words at home because then Mom would make me eat apple scented soap."
"That she would, Henry, that she would." Evie chuckled in amusement before she soon sat down next to her younger brother and took the darker blue lunchbox with a red apple on it with the letter E inside the apple crest.
"Um... Hello, there..." Mal waved awkwardly as she sat across from the boy. "I thought this was a high school?"
"That's your section of the school," Henry explained, sounding mature for his age which was something Mal did not expect at all. "I go to the lower hallway with the other kids around my age..." he then eyed her and flinched. "...Did you really take Mrs. Lucas's meatloaf?"
"I had no other choice!" Mal shrugged. "Apparently Evie thinks that that's not a real meal though."
"She's right... It really rots your insides," Henry nodded like that was a vital warning. "If you value your life, you will not eat it. Mrs. Lucas is a great cook with like grilled cheese, lasagna, or cheeseburgers, but for the love of humanity, do NOT eat her meatloaf."
"...Good to know," Mal said feebly as she held her stomach as it weakly growled. "So, what can I eat? I'm starving."
Evie and Henry soon opened up their lunch boxes to show that they had some other options. Both of the kids had tuna fish sandwiches with juicy red apples, carrot sticks, some string cheese, and Goldfish crackers. The siblings then decided to split their lunches apart and decided to share some of their food with Mal so that she wouldn't be starving or way hungry until dinner time.
"What? No chocolate pudding?" Mal asked them as she ate one half of a tuna sandwich as the two ate their healthier foods first before they would eat the dessert that came with their lunch from home.
"Not until we eat our healthier foods first," Henry advised. "Mom insists on it."
"What's she gonna know?" Mal shrugged. "It's not like she has hidden cameras in your lunchboxes or something."
Henry didn't say anything and just ate his Goldfish crackers. Mal shrugged as she ate with the siblings while looking around as her mind wandered. She had a lot on her mind that day... Especially the one they called Benjamin French. She wasn't sure why she was thinking about him or obsessed with him at the moment when she was 100% sure he wasn't even thinking about her at all... Though she was wrong about that. Very, very wrong. She then decided to wonder how the rest of the school day would go and what other adventures awaited her so far.