I do not own skins. K thanks! (A/N at the bottom :P )
Chapter 4 (Naomi's PoV)
"Naomi! Wake up! It's your first day of school! C'mon get up! Today's going to be wicked, I'm so excited! I'll get to show you around and stuff! C'mon Naomi! Get excited!"
Christ. I understand today is my first day, but already, I can see it in my head, if Panda dares to wake me up in such a jolly mood shouting "it's my second day!" I will make sure that Panda doesn't see the light of day again.
"Naomiiiii, wake up!" I felt her voice getting closer.
Instantly my body reacted on instinct, pulling the covers so that they were tucked under my limbs, with my hands holding my pillow over my head, to ensure there was no possible way for them to be grabbed away from me. (A strategy my Mum has forced me to practice over the years…)
But I didn't hear any movement or Panda's voice for a few minutes so I felt myself relax. Maybe she went back to sleep or gave up on me, maybe she will just let me sleep. Just as I felt myself relaxing and getting comfortable again, I felt the bed dip as if someone else was getting on…
Suddenly, the bed started to bounce me high up into the air.
"Panda—"
I was struggling to try and grab onto my blanket or the bed, anything that would help me stop from keep on flying into the air.
"Panda!"
Her loud giggle was muffled by the blanket I was getting tangled in, she probably couldn't hear me…
"Panda! Pandora fucking stop this shit! Stop this shit right now!" My morning temper was clearly noticeable by now. I was too late though, because that was the moment that Panda decided to just drop onto my bed completely, causing me to be tossed higher up than before.
Before I could even yelp, I was falling off the bed and onto the floor. I hit the floor with a thud. Owch. Fucking hell. I felt a stinging tinge by my eye, and sat up. I touched my temple next to my eye were my hair fell over my face. Shit. That stung. I winced.
"Oh my god, I'm sorry Naomi, I didn't think you'd fall off the bed! Shit Naomi, you got a bit of a scratch. I'm such a bad roommate, I'm such a bad roommate… I just, I wanted to wake you up so you'd have time to shower so you'd feel all fresh for school…I'm really sorry…" Panda looked like she was going to cry. She probably felt really shitty about it, but it wasn't her fault… I shouldn't have been so stubborn, I mean the rules are pretty strict;
Don't be late. No excuses.
With that I told Panda to chill out, it wasn't her fault, and not to worry. I'm not sure she was feeling better about what she did because I was kind of grumpy when I said it, but fuck, I had no time. I grabbed my uniform and shut the bathroom door, turning on the fan.
The loud blaring of the fan woke me up, as well as soothed me, kind of draining the annoyance from me. I stripped and hopped into the shower… at first it hurt a bit, I made it too hot, but slowly the heat felt good and I was able to feel myself relaxing.
Twenty minutes later I was getting out of the shower.
"Owch! Fucking hell! Are you shitting me?"
I stubbed my toe on the side of the toilet. I was still a bit drowsy from the heat of the shower, so I hadn't thought that kicking the toilet in frustration after I stubbed my toe on it wasn't actually a good idea.
"OWCH!"
God, if I was being honest with myself, I'd say this day was starting out horribly.
After sitting and rubbing my aching toes, I decided I had enough of the moping and got up to put on my uniform. Once it was on I took a good look at myself. Damn. I scratched myself pretty well; there was a long red line, not bloody, but enflamed, running from next to my eye down to the top of my ear. Luckily, it was on the side where my hair fell down over the side of my face, so no one would see it.
I continued looking lower, now at my clothes. I looked like shit; the uniform didn't fit so properly and made me look like a tall and lanky freak. I tucked in my shirt in an attempt to look a bit more put together, but I'm not sure it did all that much. With a sigh, I shrugged and gave up. There was no fucking point in trying to make an already poor fitting uniform look better…
I exited the bathroom, and threw my stuff onto the end of my bed, then looked up for Panda. I was startled by the sight of Effy sitting on Panda's bed, once again smirking but not saying anything.
"Where the fuck is Pandora?" There was no way in hell I was going to be able to find my classrooms on my own. And Ms. Slate told me that Panda was supposed to help me, and Panda even said she was excited to by my tour guide… I should've known the day could get more fucked up…
"Relax Naomi," she forgot she had a meeting before classes with one of the professors."
"Fuck. Great." I rolled my eyes.
"Which is why she asked me to help you out."
"Really… how the fuck are you going to help me, you hardly talk…" I knew that I was pushing it, after all it was nice enough of her to show me around, but I had to let out the anger that was filling my head.
She laughed quietly, "Naomi, you don't have to act so tough you know… it's not exactly the best way to make friends." She said with a knowing smile.
Clearly this girl was able to read my mind. My mind was constantly drifting to thoughts of what if they didn't like me… what if Pandora, my roommate didn't like me… what if… what if… what if Emily didn't like me. That last one was kind of annoying. I kept telling myself I hardly knew her so why should I give a fuck if they didn't like me, but I was unsuccessful at convincing myself.
The back of my neck was itching like crazy. The white blouse was so irritating the way it rubbed my neck anytime I turned my head, even in the slightest. I reached up to scratch it, but then Effy walked over to me and folded my collar down so that it was flat, and not touching my neck anymore. I felt myself tense, almost moving away from her when I felt her get so close, touching my neck. She instantly backed away once she had fixed it for me.
"Better?" she gave me a questioning look.
"Uhm, yeah."
I felt a bit awkward and grabbed my tan messenger bag that carried my school stuff.
"Right then, shall we?" I tried to smile.
She smiled back and opened the door without another word. But on our way down the steps she stopped.
"Naomi, you may want to untuck your shirt. Most people here don't tuck it in, and I think you may feel less self-conscious if you untuck it when no one is looking…"
I blushed. I'm so stupid. I wasn't exactly paying attention to what I was doing when I tucked in my shirt. I had just made a foolish assumption that Panda tucked in her shirt like everyone else… except for a few people like Effy and Katie and… Emily.
Immediately, I untucked my shirt and started to continue down the steps.
"Uh thanks, Effy."
"Naomi, have you been abused?"
What the fuck. That was right out of the blue. I was shocked, frozen to where I stood. I couldn't think of why on earth the fuck she would ask such a thing… If she saw the scratch it wasn't that bad… and it's not like I had any bruises…I've never, ever been abused… It was as if she could hear me questioning her why she asked because she continued on.
"It's just the way you flinched when I reached for your collar. I hardly even touched you and you tensed up like a metal rod." She put it bluntly for me.
"Oh, that." I let out a sigh, it was kind of shocking that she picked up on that so quickly. She was still looking at me and I remembered I still hadn't answered her.
"No. I haven't been abused. I just don't like to be touched. Nor do I like people getting to close to me. Never have. My Mum used to bribe me to hug her… I don't know… one of those things I guess."
Effy must've been satisfied with my answer because she then continued down the steps and through the doors. She stopped in front of the doorway of a classroom where a teacher was animatedly talking to his students, waving his arms in the air like mad.
"Your schedule says you have history first. Katie, Pandora and I don't take history, but Emily will be able to help you out."
I looked through the window in the door and saw a red-head writing down a few things and then spacing out into the ceiling. I almost laughed at how cute she looked, and wondered what she was thinking about… but Effy brought me back to earth.
Her smirk was once again plastered on her face.
"In fact, I think she'll be really happy to help you. We'll all catch up later, just ask Emily to help you out when you have your next class… See ya." Effy turned around and before I could say another word she had disappeared around a corner.
I went back to looking through the window, then realized. Shit. I'm fucking late. Must've spent too long on the staircase talking. Shit. Shit. Shit.
"Don't be late. No excuses."
I didn't want to be any later than I already was. I felt my nerves build up, I hated being the center of attention, but I pushed myself into opening the door and started to walk in when the teacher turned to me.
"So you decided to show up!" he shouted. I couldn't read his face, whether he was angry or annoyed or perhaps even high.
"Sorry." There wasn't really much to say. Everyone's eyes were on me. I was trying not to look the teacher in the eyes, looking away I met a soft bear of brown eyes that were trying to hide a laugh. I riled up at the thought of Emily laughing at my embarrassment. Fuck her. I don't need her. I'm not usually late.
"Miss Campbell, you know what we do to students who are late?" That question was seriously enough to almost make me punch him. It was too fucking cliché, which made all the more embarrassing.
"Nope." Honestly, I didn't know, and there wasn't really anything else for me to say.
"Well, if this weren't my class you'd get a nice boot out of the school, but I think I'm the nicest teacher here, so I'm going to let you off the hook, after all it's your first day. So if you'll just agree to see me after class, then I believe you can take a seat and I can continue teaching this bloody class." He said with a great big smile.
I nodded. Perhaps he was high. Or maybe he was just as fucking happy as Panda. Either way, I was greatly relieved that this wouldn't harm my grades, even though it was implied how strict they were on tardiness. There was only one seat left, and of course, it was the one right behind Emily.
I scooted my way between the rows of desks and sat at the empty one. A pink sticky note sat at the top corner of the wooden top. "Don't fucking sit here unless you're Naomi Campbell. =-)" A smile grew on my face, and I quickly looked around to make sure that no one noticed.
I pulled out a notebook and watched the red hair move as Emily shifted in her seat every now and then. I felt the strong urge to reach out and touch it but then shook my head. No, Naomi, No. You aren't here to make friends. If you aren't here for the politics courses, at least make an effort to be outstanding in all your other classes. I tried to re-avert my attention to the man at the front of the classroom.
He was a little short with a scruffy beard, with a suit that looked kind of worn. He seemed very passionate about what he was trying to cram into our heads. Every now and then he would go back and review what he said to make sure everyone understood it perfectly. This class was going to be a breeze, he was such a good teacher. I had successfully been taking notes and keeping up until a husky voice sent chills down my spine.
"Mr. Greene, would you mind showing us on the map? I'm having trouble understanding the route they took…"
"Oh, of course Emily! Brilliant idea!" He turned his back to pull down the rolled up map above the white board. Although it was jammed and he was having a hard time especially because his height wasn't exactly helping him reach it.
I was trying not to laugh at the situation, when Emily quickly turned around in her seat and shot me a smile then handed me a crumpled up piece of notebook paper and whispered to me.
"Hey."
My throat was struggling to allow me to say anything. Before I could manage to even say hey back, Mr. Greene had managed to get the stupid map down and Emily had to quickly go back to facing forward.
I opened up the note and once again the smile crept over my face. Although this time, I didn't tell it to go away as soon as it had arrived.
"Next period is in the kitchen, we convinced the chemistry teacher baking cookies was an educational experiment…. Last time we baked something she started a small fire on accident and we got a free period so she could put it out… Perhaps if it happens again today, I could take the free period to give you a grand tour?"
Beneath it was a picture of flaming cookies. I had to cover my mouth to avoid giggling. I tried to imagine getting to spend some more time with Emily and my stomach fluttered at the thought. Jesus. The doubt crept in again… what were the odds of another fire… surely the chemistry teacher would be more prepared this time…
I tried to stop hoping about what would happen next class and take notes, but by the time I was ready to focus the bell had rung and the class was over. Quickly, everyone shuffled out the classroom except for Emily.
"Miss Campbell, a word please?" he didn't seem upset, so I wasn't too worried about what he had to say.
Emily told me she'd meet me in the kitchen when I was through and left. I walked up to the desk at the front of the room that Mr. Greene was sitting at.
"I'm really sorry about being late." I said as regretful as I could.
"Oh, don't worry about that. Just try not to be late too often to this class, alright? But anyway, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about… I wanted to ask you how you felt about this class… You know, we don't get new students to often, and my methods are a bit different then the average school… and I overheard that you were originally homeschooled…" He had a true look of interest on his face.
"Oh. You are an amazing teacher. Definitely better than my mum." I chuckled. But he nodded as if he wanted me to go on. "I think it really makes an impression on the students when the teacher actually seems like he gives a shit about what he's teaching…" Fuck. I quickly covered my mouth.
"Oh my god. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to swear." Shit. He just smiled.
"That's alright in front of me" he laughed," but I can't guarantee the other teachers will feel the same way." He laughed again seeing the relief spread across my face. I'd have to practice controlling my tongue, cursing just came so naturally… "Naomi, thank you, I appreciate your feedback, I always try and get my students to care about what I'm teaching about as much as I love teaching it." It was definitely cheesy, but I could see that he meant it. I didn't exactly know what to say to that, so I just awkwardly fidgeted with the golden ring on my finger…
"Right then, I shouldn't be keeping you, I hear you guys convinced the chemistry teacher into baking cookies!" he snickered… "That Emily is a manipulative one…that she is…"
So it was her who convinced the chemistry teacher… I blushed at the thought of what Emily could manipulate me into doing. Fuck Naomi. Fucking stop it. Thank goodness I was already on my way out, so Mr. Greene didn't see me blushing.
I jumped up, almost dropping all my stuff when I heard the fire alarm go off. All the girls started flooding out of the classroom and out to the front entrance. At the end of the hall I saw a red-head smiling devilishly at me before she followed everyone outside. I laughed, and started heading towards her through the crowd.
A/N: Really appreciate the comments and the followers I've been getting! A billion points to everyone!
Clyyd- THANKS! lol, I love Emily too… and yeah… Jenna IS a bitch…
Phantomfundraiser – THANKS! Katie is a lot of fun to write for… too bad she wasn't in this chapter… although, I gave you some more Panda and Naomi roomie interaction! So yay for that…
Shewritesforher- THANKS! For the advice!
HappyAsIAm- THANKS! Although I was a bit saddened by your review, I cant assume this will be everyones cup of tea, I made this chapter in Naomi Pov so I hope that cheered you up… however I feel like the other PoV's are necessary when I do them to develop certain relationships between other people… ( like it wasn't exactly possible for Katie and Emily to have that conversation with Naomi around..) Basically, I like additional PoVs, so I can't promise it won't switch every now and then, but I do think it will be mostly Naomi…
Clyyd- THANKS! – you commented twice so you get a second shout out… lol.. thanks?
MuffMuncher- THANKS! I'm getting there… sorry but you'll have to wait another chapter… (just don't be expecting them to just like instantly smush alright? This story needs to be at least a little bit believable ok… lol…)
THANKS everyone else who read, and didn't comment :d
Please comment again? I'll promise you a shout out! Lol.. Hope to update soon, thanks again!