Do you know how it feels to wake up first thing in the morning and have 4 new reviews?! I was so excited. (Yes, I logged on first thing in the morning. It is summer after all.)
Thank you all for reading. I've had some pretty enthusiastic reviews. The pressure is on. I hope I can live up to all your expectations.
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When Artemis entered the cafeteria, there were a lot of empty tables. Most of the students were still in the lunch line. Artemis, of course, never bought school lunches. He took a seat and started to eat. Slowly, the cafeteria started to fill up with students, munching and gabbing about their morning classes.
Artemis tuned them out mostly. None of them were saying anything worth hearing. His attention was grabbed, however, when a sophomore girl took a seat across from him at his table. She was in a grade higher than him, had long, brown hair, and big, blue eyes. She wasn't a supermodel, but she had a smile that lit up her features and made her look kind of pretty.
Pretty? thought Artemis. I did not just think that. Being a teenager is such a nuisance.
"Hi. Are you the new foreign boy?" she asked conversationally.
Artemis was bothered. "I prefer 'Artemis' to 'New Foreign Boy', if you don't mind."
"Sorry," she said automatically. "Me and my friend were just wondering, we heard you bowled a three-hundred yesterday. Is that true?"
"It is," he said, surprised. "How did you hear that?"
"I heard this kid named Fischer talking about it," she explained. "Are you on a league?"
Artemis scoffed. "Of course not. I wouldn't be caught dead on something as childish as a bowling league."
The sophomore's smile disappeared instantaneously. "Oh," her voice trembled. "Well, bye."
She stood up and quickly joined her friend a few tables away.
"Smooth."
Artemis turned. Behind him stood the short, freckled boy from computers. Artemis had learned his name was Tyler.
"You have got to stop sneaking up on me," Artemis told him.
Tyler smirked. "You're not going to make very many friends acting like that."
"Elaborate."
"You need to learn more about people before you go voicing your opinion. That girl was on the bowling team last year. Last I heard, her summer league just ended."
Oops. Artemis hadn't intended to hurt the girl's feelings. He supposed it was just a habit. Did he want to make people feel inferior? Did he care?
"I also heard you told off Mr. Deam," Tyler continued. "Of all the teachers in this stupid school, he's the coolest. You were just being a jerk."
"You're not exactly earning yourself many good points right now," Artemis shot back.
Tyler shook his head and walked away.
What is that kid's problem? He should learn some people skills.
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Fourth hour was AP Geometry. Robin was in this class.
So, she's good at math. Makes sense. She seems like the quiet, studious type.
They exchanged a few words before class started, but that was all.
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Fifth hour was World History. The teacher talked entirely in monotone. A few kids nearly fell asleep. Artemis imagined himself teaching. He would never allow his pupils' attention to waver, not that it would in the first place. His lessons would be educational and challenging. His class would be riveted for sure.
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The final hour of the day was AP Physical Science. The science room was made of tables, as opposed to desks. Artemis took a seat, and not long after, Robin claimed a spot next to him.
"Are you in all the AP classes?" she asked him.
Artemis nodded. "Obviously, you're in two out of three."
"Not English," she smiled weakly. "I hate writing, and story comprehension is not my thing. I like math and science, thought."
The bell rang, and a middle-aged woman grabbed the attention of the class. She wore spectacles and a frown.
She said, "Welcome to AP Physical Science. You being AP students, I have high expectations for you. You are hardworking, dedicated students, and I will expect to see nothing less from you." She eyed every one in the room. "If you do not behave as appropriate, I will make sure you are moved down to a class more fitting."
Fear tactic, Artemis pondered. If you are able to put fear in someone, you gain an amount of control you wouldn't otherwise have. Artemis would know. He'd made grown men fear him before. It was often rewarding.
After that impressive display of power, Mrs. Maxwell (That's her name.) took attendance. After calling Artemis' name, she read, "Robin Frome?"
"Here," Robin raised her hand.
Mrs. Maxwell's forehead creased. "Frome? Do you have a twin brother?"
"We're in the same grade, but he's older," Robin corrected.
"Yes, well, I had him earlier today," the teacher said with disgust. "Tell me, are you two anything alike?"
"I-I don't think so."
"Hmm. We'll see." She continued with attendance.
Artemis saw how uncomfortable Robin looked. It was obvious that Mrs. Maxwell did not like Bradon and now had her guard up around Robin. Robin seemed to have figured out as much, as well.
It didn't take long for the class to learn that Mrs. Maxwell was not the teacher to mess with. Her eyes were like daggers. Kids couldn't ever whisper to each other without getting singled out. So, the teacher's voice was the only sound anyone heard all hour.
Artemis thought she was going rather over the top. It was only the first day after all. Mrs. Maxwell also seemed to look at Robin more often than anyone else.
When the bell rang to indicate the end of the school day, the entire class shuffled into the hall, where bottled up chatter all emerged at once.
"Holy cow! If she's going to be like that all year, I want to get transferred."
"You'd still have her as a teacher, just a different hour."
"Dang."
"Did you see her eyes? I thought she was going to burn a hole through me."
The crowd dispersed. Suddenly, Robin was no where in sight. Artemis walked down the hallway by himself. Robin hadn't gone far. She was just around the corner with Bradon.
"What did you do?" she asked.
"Nothing," Bradon defended.
"She almost killed me when she read my last name."
"It's not my fault she doesn't like out last name."
Robin gave him a funny look. "Did you interrupt her or something?"
Bradon said innocently, "I may have asked her a few questions."
Artemis remembered when he'd first met Bradon (Was it only two days ago?) and the questions that he'd asked him. He pictured Mrs. Maxwell reacting to "Have you ever been bitten by a shark?"
"Can you continue this discussion at home?" Artemis interrupted. "I want to get this six block walk out of the way."
One day done. Only over a hundred to go.
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Please review, even if you've done it before. Tell me what you think. Getting reviews is the coolest thing ever.
I know I didn't really do much this chapter, but I just needed to finish the school day. Now that that's over, we can see what happens next!
Review. Thx for reading!