September
The school building was actually really nice. Five had only seen the ruins of this building, and he never expected it to look as nice as it did. With three stories, the school was built to fit over 1000 students from Grade 9 to Grade 12, and it certainly looked like it could. It was a beautiful day to start school, too. The sun was shining, the sky was clear, and it was nice and warm. Five would have been able to enjoy it more, if it wasn't for his dramatic "dad" behind him.
"Can you believe our little boy is already in high school?" Klaus wailed, draping himself all over Diego. Diego just rolled his eyes, knowing better than to try and stop the dramatic fool.
"Why do I even have to be here?" Diego asked.
"Because we're good parents who take their son to his first day of school!" Klaus said.
"I didn't need you here. I can do this on my own." Five pointed out.
"Stop that," Klaus said, pinching Five's cheeks, to which Five slapped his hands away. "It's also the first official meeting of the PTA!"
"I still can't believe you signed me up for that." Diego groaned.
"Alright, both of you, stay out of my sight." Five said as they walked up the steps.
"Awww, is wittle Fivey embarrassed of us?" Klaus teased.
"I'm not even gonna waste my time responding to that." Five said as he walked ahead, trying to get away.
"That was a response!" Diego called, smirking. Five flipped him off.
"They grow up so fast…." Klaus sighed, leaning on Diego's shoulder.
"Yeah, they do."
"32B, 32B…."
This school was a lot bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside. All the hallways looked the same too. The halls were filled with students, and for the first time, Five was actually grateful to be small, because he was able to easily maneuver his way around the bigger students. Not that he would ever admit that. Or the fact that he may have been lost.
"Where the fuck is 32B?" he muttered to himself.
"Hello!"
Five looked up from his orientation paper to see a young woman, probably in Grade 12, smiling at him.
"Um, hi." Five said.
"I see by your orientation paper that you're new! Do you need any help finding your way around?" The girl asked him. Five considered if he was willing to suck up his pride and ask for help. On one hand, he didn't want to seem like a small and confused little kid. On the other hand, he probably already looked like one. Besides, getting help would be less embarrassing than arriving late.
"Yes please."
"Great! My name is Hannah!"
"Five."
Surprisingly, the girl didn't say anything about his name.
"Cool! So where do you have to go?"
"Room 32B."
"Oh, I know where that is! Follow me!" She said, leaving no room for argument. The two walked down the hallways and took at least 4 turns before arriving at a door that said, "32B: Mr. Wilson"
"Here you go! If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask someone, okay?" She told him, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Sure, thanks." Five said with a polite smile.
"Good luck on your first day!" Hannah waved as she walked away.
Five waved back, even though she wasn't facing him, then turned to face the door. He took a few deep breaths. This shouldn't be so scary. He's killed multiple people, lived in the future for 45 years and stopped two apocalypses. Why was meeting a bunch of new people so scary?
Five took a step forward and into the classroom, and surveyed the room. There looked to be around 35 students in the classroom. Five thought that high school "cliques" was something made up for TV shows and movies, like "Mean Girls", but standing here now, he realized that it was true. In the back were who he assumed were the "popular kids". He snorted thinking about it. There were only about 7 of them, 4 girls and 3 boys. Next to them were the total opposite, the loners and emo kids. At the front of the room, there were the kids who looked like they were the smart kids, and next to them were the jocks, probably there to try and copy off the homework of the smart kids. In the middle rows there were a group of kids who looked like they were in the arts. Some of them were sketching, some were reading sheet music. And right next to them were the kids that just looked normal.
I I I I
I I
I EMO/LONER POPULAR KIDS I
I I
I I
NORMAL ARTS KIDS I I I
I I I I
I I
I I
I JOCKS SMART KIDS I
I I
I I
I I
I I
I- _ I
I
DESK I I
I
I_R_I_
Five didn't want to sit with the "smart kids" because that meant sitting in the front and he didn't want to do that either. He obviously wasn't going to sit in the back with the popular kids or the emo kids, and he didn't really participate in any of the arts, so the only option left was to sit with the normal kids. The only seat not taken was right in the centre of the middle row, almost as if it was separating the art kids and the normal kids. Five breathed out deeply and shook his head slowly. He could do this.
"Good morning everyone!"
Five sat down just in time as everyone turned their heads to the doorway. A young man, maybe late 20's early 30's walked in.
"My name is Mr. Wilson and I will be your homeroom teacher, and your chemistry teacher. I'd just like to go around the room and have everyone introduce themselves, with their name, favourite hobby and favourite subject. And also, if you could see into the future, would you? Why or why not?"
Five smiled to himself. How coincidental.
"Let's start in the back, with you in the white hoodie." Mr. Wilson said, pointing to a girl with brown hair in the popular section. The girl scowled and rolled her eyes.
"Ugh, hey, my name is Jennifer, my favourite hobby is shopping I guess, my favourite subject, probably lunch." The class snickered. "And yea I would look into the future, because I want to see what the newest iphone would look like."
The class started laughing again, and Mr. Wilson had to raise his hands up to quiet them. This went on for 10 more minutes.
"My name is Emmy."
"My favourite subject is gym."
"No I would not look into the future."
"I like to play my guitar!"
Sooner than he would have liked, it was Five's turn.
"Hi, my name is Five." The class started mumbling. He ignored them. "My favourite hobby is reading, I like physics, and I would not look into the future because I don't want to ruin the surprise."
It was better than saying because he saw the apocalypse. Mr. Wilson nodded and gave him a smile.
"Thank you, and welcome Five!" he said and moved on to the student beside him. Five let out a sigh of relief and slumped down in his seat. This was gonna be a long day.
"Hello, and welcome to the first PTA meeting of the year! This year we have two new parents joining us, please welcome Klaus and Diego!"
Of all the places Diego thought he would be, this was not one of them. He could have been sleeping in, or at the gym, or anything else, but no. Instead, he was here at the fucking PTA meeting at fucking 8:30 in the morning.
"Thank you, thank you, we're so happy to be here!" Klaus said easily, one arm looped in Diego's. There were 5 other people in the PTA, all of them middle aged women. Of course he and Klaus had to be the only men here. Of course they had to be the only gay couple here too.
"So let's all introduce ourselves! My name is Carol, and I am the president. My son, Hunter is in grade 11. Susan, how about you?"
"Hi! My name is Susan, and I have two daughters. McKenzie is in Grade 12, and Jennifer is in Grade 9!"
Klaus leaned over to Diego and whispered in his ear.
"Do you think Jennifer's in Five's class?"
Diego leaned back.
"Probably."
"They sure grow up fast!' Susan continued. "Also, I brought cookies if anyone wants them. They're on the table!"
"Her cookies are absolutely amazing!" Klaus whispered.
"Hello! My name is Helen, and my daughter Emily is in Grade 10!"
"She's the bitchy one." Klaus informed.
"Hi, my name is Becky, and my son Liam is in Grade 9"
"She's the shy mom." Klaus said.
"My name is Pam, and my son Logan is in Grade 12, and my daughter Brooklyn is in Grade 10. Also, kind of off topic, but Brooklyn's friend Heather in Grade 9 told her that there was a new kid who skipped Grade 8 because he was so smart!" Pam exclaimed.
"Let me guess, she's the gossiper?" Diego asked Klaus. Klaus pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows, nodding.
"Yep, so hello everyone!" Klaus said to the group. "My name is Klaus, and this is my husband, Diego."
Diego saw Helen frown disapprovingly.
"And actually, the kid who skipped Grade 8, is our son! His name is Five, and he is in Grade 9."
"Wonderful!" Carol said warmly. "It's so nice to have some new parents in the PTA! We welcome you and your son!"
"Thank you." Diego nodded.
"So, how did you get your son?" Helen asked suddenly. Klaus frowned.
"Um, we adopted him."
"Dontcha think that it might affect his development to have two parents of, your type?" Helen asked in a southern Texan accent. Klaus tightened his grip on Diego's arm.
"I don't know what you mean." Diego said curtly. Helen pursed her lips.
"I mean that having two dads might not be good for the boy. And what kinda name is Five, anyway?
"We named him Five, because we adopted him five years ago, any other questions, Helen?" Klaus said, emphasizing her name. Susan put a hand on Helen's arm.
"Now, now, let's all calm down. I'm sure Helen didn't mean anything, right Helen?" Susan said softly.
"No." Helen huffed.
"There, are we alright now?" Susan asked Klaus and Diego. Klaus was still glaring at Helen, so Diego answered for him.
"Yes, we're okay." Diego said, putting a hand on Klaus' shoulder and pulling him back.
"Right. So let's move on to our first topic of discussion." Carol started.
Five looked at the clock. 10 minutes left of class. It was almost lunch period, and Five honestly just wanted to get out of this room. It was more stressful than anticipated to know no one. The room was filled with quiet chatter, as the students were working on math. There were two classes before lunch, both double blocks. They lasted for an hour and a half each. The first class was English in room 45A with Mrs. Kelloway. Five had no troubles there. Currently, they were in Math class, room 12B with Mr. Butler. Five had no trouble with this class either. He knew going into school that he wasn't going to learn, but rather to adjust to society. He had already finished his math work and was scribbling some equations on a blank piece of paper, when he noticed someone standing next to him.
"Hi."
Standing next to him was a girl with bright red hair.
"My name is Laine. You're Five, right?"
"Yea."
"You're really smart. You finished your math in 10 minutes!" She laughed awkwardly, and Five found himself smiling.
"Yea."
"I'm not great at math, but I'm pretty good at English!" Laine said. Five nodded. What was he supposed to say? Why was this so hard?! Laine stood there awkwardly, and Five couldn't meet her eyes. The bell rang, and instantly, students started getting up and packing their stuff away.
"Do you wanna eat with me at lunch?" Laine asked.
The cafeteria was huge. There were hundreds of students and at least two hundred tables. Most of the tables were already filled though.
"Did you bring a packed lunch, or are you getting from the line?" Laine asked.
"Packed." Five said. Allison had offered to pay for the cafeteria food, but Klaus insisted that his son get the only the best home cooked meals, packed with love. Mom was going to make his meals on most days, but sometimes, Klaus, Allison or Vanya would make him something, to ensure that Five knew he was loved.
"Cool, me too. It's too crowded to eat here, so I usually sit in the library." Laine said. Five nodded again.
"You don't really talk much." Laine observed. Five smiled.
"Not really." It wasn't that he was really shy or anything, it was just that he wasn't sure what to say, and he was naturally quieter. He only tended to talk more and joke around with his family. Five followed Laine through the halls until they reached the library. It was mostly empty, aside from the few kids who had the same idea as them. They found some comfy seats near the back window and sat down.
"So, what do you like to do?" Laine asked as she unwrapped her sandwich.
"I like to read, and hang out with my family, I guess." Five said, pulling out his lunch. Peanut Butter and marshmallows. He smiled to himself, knowing that Vanya must have suggested it to mom for his first day.
"What about you?" He asked.
"I like to do theatre. But not like the acting part, I work backstage, I'm pretty good at controlling the lights, and I love decorating the set. I heard that this year we're doing Ratatouille!" Laine said eagerly. "Maybe you could join!"
"I don't know, I've never really done that before." Five said hesitantly.
"It's really easy to learn, and you get to meet some new people!" She persuaded. It would be a good idea, to join a club and get to know more people. And so far, Laine was his only friend, and she was in the theatre club.
"Sure, why not." Five agreed. Laine instantly brightened.
"Great! I'm really happy you agreed. Don't tell anyone, buy you're my first friend here." She whispered, smiling. Five smiled back.
"Same."
Diego really wanted to punch Helen in the face. This bitch kept making back handed comments about their parenting, and how it was inappropriate. There was about 20 minutes left of the school day, and apparently, the tradition was to place watermelon and cookies and hand them out to students as they left, as a first day of school treat. The members of the PTA were setting up the tables and laying out the table cloths and food, and Klaus was engaged in conversation with Susan and Becky about the funny things their kids had done.
"One time, Jennifer told me that she wanted to be a vegetarian, and proceeded to eat a burger, claiming that some vegetarians ate meat!" Susan laughed with Klaus.
"That's not as bad as the time Five fell asleep on top of the fridge! He gave my sister a heart attack in the middle of the night!" Klaus said, when Helen decided to butt in on the conversation.
"Maybe if he had a proper mother, he would behave better." Helen said. Diego clenched his jaw. Klaus stopped smiling.
"And you don't count as a mother just because you dress like one." She added. Oh no she didn't. Diego was about to go off on her when a new voice chimed in.
"Good thing I don't want any mother." Five called from the doorway, with a redheaded girl next to him. He looked as pissed as Diego felt. Instantly, Helen's face softened.
"Oh darlin', you don't mean that." Helen said as she walked over to Five and cupped his face in her hands. "You don't know any better, and that's okay."
That was when Five fucking bit her hand. Helen screamed and pulled her hands away. Diego could see Klaus trying to hide his snickering, and couldn't help but smile himself. That would teach her what would happen if she touched Five without his consent. Even the girl next to him looked shocked, although she was laughing at the same time.
"Well I never!" Helen cried, holding her injured hand.
"Next time, don't fucking touching me, darlin'." Five sneered, imitating her accent mockingly. Helen scowled at him, then turned to Klaus and Diego.
"You just let your son go 'round and bite people?" She asked.
"Do you want to stop him?" Klaus asked, smiling. Helen huffed again, then grabbed her purse.
"This is exactly why two men shouldn't raise a child." She growled at them, then left the room hurriedly. As soon as she left, Klaus and the redhead burst into laughter.
"I can't believe you did that!" The girl cried, hand on Five's shoulder for support as she laughed.
"I knew you were my favourite son!" Klaus said, hugging Five, who rolled his eyes but allowed the hug.
"Well, I feel like I should reprimand you for that, but, honestly, Helen had it coming to her. I'm sorry she said those things to you." Carol said from behind them.
"It's okay, we're used to it." Klaus assured her. Carol smiled warmly.
"Well, that concluded the first meeting of the PTA, so I'll see you all next week!" Carol said.
"So Five, you gonna introduce us to the girl?" Diego asked as soon as they were out of the room. The girl smiled at them, and Five looked slightly embarrassed.
"Hi! My name is Laine. Nice to meet you!" Laine said, holding her hand out for them. Klaus reached for it first.
"I'm Klaus, pleasure to meet you!" Klaus introduced in his usual cheeriness. "I'm so impressed that our Fivey made a friend!"
Five scowled at the nickname.
"I'm not your 'Fivey', and I can make friends if I want to!" He argued.
"Sure you could, Fivey." Klaus said, then looked at Laine and shook his head while mouthing "no". He and Laine giggled a bit more, and Five just groaned.
"Laine should come to our house!" Klaus gasped, and Laine brightened.
"Oh my gosh, can I?" She asked.
"Of course!"
Klaus and Laine walked ahead, laughing about who knows what, while Diego stuck back with Five.
"How did you manage to make a friend who's exactly like Klaus?" Diego asked Five, to which Five just sighed and shrugged his shoulders.
"How was your first day?" Diego asked.
"Normal. Laine is the only person who talked to me."
"You didn't try to talk to anyone else?"
"That's too much effort."
Diego snorted and shook his head.
"The whole point of being in school is to practice your social skills." He reminded him.
"Yea, I know, but that doesn't make it any easier."
"I guess. So why were you out early? How did you know where we were?" Diego asked.
"The teacher let us out 10 minutes early so we could get a head start on the treats, since we're the newest kids at the school. And you guys were kind of loud." Five said casually.
"Nice of you to defend us." Diego said, and Five just looked away.
"Whatever."