Chapter 21: No comparison.
Humphrey's POV:
It took a bit longer than usual for my alarm to haul me from dreamland and into the land of the living on Friday morning, unsurprising really since I'd been up until the early hours working on the English essay we'd been assigned. I knew that it wasn't due until Tuesday and had only intended to make a start on it but once I started writing it had just flowed so well that before I knew it 2am had been and gone and the essay was almost complete. I groaned as I silenced my alarm and sat up, taking a second to yawn and stretch before rubbing the sleep from my eyes and heading into the bathroom. It took me longer than usual to get ready since I was still half asleep which meant that Charlie had already finished her coffee and was on her way out the door as I reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Morning sleepyhead." She said with a smile that broadened as I grunted and gave a half wave in response, heading into the kitchen.
"Have a coffee and make sure you're properly awake by the time practice starts." I heard Charlie call from the doorway as I poured myself a cup and moved to the dining table as usual. "Otherwise I'll have you running suicides until you puke." Charlie added as she left, her parting remark causing me to grimace since I didn't think she was joking. I don't know if it was the coffee or the motivation from Charlie's threat but by the time I arrived at school I was feeling much better although the first bell was already ringing as I parked and got out of my car. I quickly grabbed my bag and locked the car, setting off for homeroom at a run and a little annoyed I'd arrived too late to hang out at all.
I arrived at my homeroom classroom just in time, pausing for a second outside the door to control my breathing before entering. I still had my sports bag with me as I walked over and took my seat but I figured I could make a quick stop at my locker on the way to mathematics to drop it off. I smiled and returned Kate's good morning quietly as the teacher stood up and began to take attendance, once again reminding us in the announcements about tonight's upcoming football match.
"Where were you this morning?" Kate asked me as we left homeroom and headed for our next class, making a quick stop at my locker which thankfully was on the way there so no detour was required.
"I was up a bit later than intended and had a slow start." I explained with a wry smile as I finished at my locker and we continued on our way. As we walked I recognised a few faces in the crowd and greeted Rob, Barry and Abby as they waited outside a classroom that we passed as well as Hutch and a few others on the basketball team when we ran into them near their classroom. We soon arrived at our destination and headed inside, taking our seats along with the rest of the class. Our teacher didn't really seem to mind what we did as long as the work she assigned was completed so Chris and I chatted and joked as we worked, wiling away the time. Before I knew it the bell sounded once more and we were on the move once more, heading for the cafeteria for lunch. Kate, Chris and I were the last to get our food and arrive at our table where everyone was in agreement, bemoaning how dull the day had been.
"... she just never makes class interesting, it's the same every day. Read this. Answer this. Homework." Abby was saying as we joined them, getting nods from all around.
Kate's POV:
Kate ate her lunch as she listened to the conversation, one of their more common topics, occasionally chiming in with a comment or two but content to let Abby, Brittany and Sam do most of the talking. After a while she noticed that Humphrey had been silent since they'd arrived at the cafeteria and wondered what was bothering him. Apparently she wasn't the only one to notice as Abby leaned over and nudged his arm, causing him to start a little in surprise and look up from the fries he'd been contemplating.
"Humphrey, you still with us? We were wondering what you thought of Jasper High. How does it compare to your old school?" Abby asked him, repeating the group's general questions. He put his hand on his chin as he thought for a moment and then spoke up.
"Well I know it's only been a few days but I'm really enjoying it here." He said, smiling a bit as he spoke. "Almost everyone I've met has been super friendly and welcoming and so far the classes have been fairly entertaining. I'm having fun." He concluded, grinning around at everyone seated at the table, all of whom returned his smile. Kate was surprised at his bluntness, expecting him to make some kind of joke rather than such a sincere statement as she returned him smile when their eyes met.
"As for how it compares... I can't really say." Humphrey continued slowly after a moment, drawing confused looks from everyone at the table. 'What's that supposed to mean?' Kate thought to herself as she looked around for an answer and saw that everyone else appeared just as confused as she was. She opened her mouth to ask Humphrey what he meant but at that moment the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch break. Humphrey quickly jumped up as it rang, taking his tray over to the disposal area before leaving the cafeteria without another word. Kate exchanged a glance with the others, nodding to let them know she would talk to him before standing up and hurrying to follow suit, catching up with Humphrey just outside the cafeteria. 'What was that about?' She wondered to herself as she fell into step next to him.
They arrived at the science classroom a little early and headed over to their table, sitting down in silence to wait for class to begin. Kate opened her mouth to ask him what that was all about several times throughout class but never managed to go through with it, not wanting to make him mad with her. Neither Abby nor Chris were present due to a band performance they had that afternoon so she and Humphrey sat in an awkward silence for most of the class. Towards the end of the class the teacher was moving around the room, returning yesterday's tests and discussing each student's grade as she did so. 'Now's the time.' Kate thought, gathering her courage and shaking Humphrey's arm gently to get his attention. He looked up at her and smiled like normal, tilting his head in a way that said, 'What's up?' which made Kate wonder if she'd been worrying over nothing.
"Can I ask what happened at lunch?" She said slowly, speaking quietly so that only he could hear her. The smile on Humphrey's face faded and was replaced by a slightly worried expression as she spoke but Kate pressed on, determined to at least ask the question even if he said he didn't want to answer.
"You said you couldn't compare Jasper to your old school and then ran off without a word." She said finished, holding his gaze as she tried to gauge his reaction. After a moment he let out a sigh, his shoulders drooping a little as he gave a nervous little chuckle.
"Ah I'm sorry about that. I thought I was fine with it but I guess my nerves got the better of me after all." He said, looking genuinely apologetic as he spoke. Kate didn't say anything since she sensed he had more to say as he hadn't really answered her question, merely shaking her head with a smile to tell him it was okay.
"It's something that'll come out sooner or later, I was just worried that you'd all think I was a weirdo." Kate was seriously curious now but she didn't let it show on her face since she could see that Humphrey was actually pretty worried about this. 'What on earth could it be?' She thought as she put on her best kindly smile and rubbing his shoulder a bit to comfort him, noting with surprise that even through his t-shirt she could feel his muscles.
"Hey it's okay. I swear that if you want I will keep this strictly between us." She said seriously, meaning every word. "Besides, I already think you're a weirdo." She added jokingly with a grin. Humphrey sat up as she spoke, his expression caught somewhere in between shock and hurt, making her laugh for a moment before she composed herself, continuing in a more serious tone.
"I mean, I've lived in Jasper all my life and I've never met anyone who would save someone and then deny any credit for it. Not to mention get into a fight with a professional boxer over a playground insult directed at someone he met thirty minutes ago."
Humphrey's POV:
I opened my mouth to protest Kate's assessment of my actions on the day we met but stopped myself when I realised she wasn't far off the mark. That and her raised eyebrow made me think that anything I might've said would've only proved her point as I sighed once more, hanging my head in defeat with a grin on my face.
"Point taken. Perhaps I should've said more of a weirdo." I said after a moment, raising my head once more. As I looked up I saw Kate was wearing a smug expression that almost made me take back what I'd said to continue arguing, simply on principle if necessary but I let it go as she spoke.
"So come on, tell me." She said, leaning a little closer. I looked back into those big amber eyes of hers as she looked at me, noticing how they seemed to change colour, starting with a bright sunrise yellow on the inside before moving through a blazing sunset orange in the middle to a deep, rich mahogany on the outer edge that appeared to be the result of a thousand layers of colour. After another long moment I pulled my gaze away, looking forwards at nothing in particular as I spoke.
"Well you know the reason I left in such a hurry. The reason I said I couldn't compare Jasper to my old school is because..." I hesitated for a moment, taking a deep breath. "I never went to one. Wednesday morning was my first time attending a school officially as a student in almost exactly seven years." I finally got the words out, letting out the breath I didn't realise I'd been holding as I waiting nervously for Kate's reaction, not even able to bring myself to look at her. She didn't speak for a moment and eventually I turned to look at her, seeing that she was wearing a slightly confused expression.
"Oh so you did some kind of home school or something?"
Kate's POV:
"No, I-" Humphrey started to say something but was interrupted as the teacher had arrived at their table, holding the final two tests out which were obviously Humphrey's and hers as they exchanged a glance before reaching out and taking the tests. Kate felt a little tense as she took the paper but was relieved as she saw the grade in the corner that read '84%'. 'Just below my average but that test was a lot harder than the others.' Kate thought to herself as she smiled in relief, having honestly believed she could well have failed this one since it had been a surprise and she hadn't been able to study beforehand.
"Good work Kate." The teacher said, giving her a smile. "You were a little below your average but given that I sprung this on you without warning I'd say that's still a good result. You would've done better if not for question 10. We discussed that on Monday." She sounded a little disappointed as Kate nodded and sank a little in her seat, knowing why she'd done badly since she'd barely paid attention on Monday, her mind on the events of the then previous day. After giving her a disappointed look for another moment the teacher turned her attention to Humphrey, letting Kate off the hook as she sat back up, also turning in Humphrey's direction to see how he did. She couldn't see what his score was since he had the test open, looking through the answers.
"Now Humphrey, I have to say I'm surprised." The teacher said, surprising Kate by pulling a chair over and sitting down opposite Humphrey. When she spoke again she did so quietly so that only Kate and Humphrey could hear.
"Mr. Shirley told me about your, um, circumstances before you started with us. Knowing that I have to admit I didn't expect you to do well in this test and was thinking of waiving your mark if I had to." She said as Humphrey just looked at her with a fairly neutral expression. 'Does that mean he failed?' Kate thought but realised that probably wasn't the case if the teacher had decided against waiving his score.
"There's not much more to say except that you've done better than well to achieve what you have on your second day without having been with us for the first semester." She finished, giving him a smile before standing up, returning the chair and heading back up to the front of the class. Kate watched her go before turning to Humphrey, smiling as she caught his eye, gesturing towards his test as she spoke.
"Well?"
Humphrey didn't say anything, just smiled a little as he closed his test, shrugging his shoulders as he slid it towards Kate. She was sure he'd closed it upside-down deliberately to keep her in suspense and it'd worked since she was now practically chomping at the bit to know.
"I got lucky I guess." Humphrey said quietly, an embarrassed grin on his face as Kate snatched the paper, turning it over and scanning for the score.
A/N: Hey guys, I'm back. Finally I have some time and a new chapter for you. I know I say it a lot but you guys are amazing, thank you so much. Just before this went up New Moons hit a milestone: 3,000 VIEWS! You must all be crazier than I am. It's only been 7 weeks! Anyway as I said you're all amazing. Oh and please. Reviews. I'd love to hear what more of you think. Criticisms. What you do and don't like. What you want to see more of. That's the only way I can make this better for you. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.