Hi! Enjoy the rest of Arthur's first day of 6th grade (yay more painful reminiscing).
Arthur's first class was band, and he didn't have it with Merlin. The two temporarily parted ways after having a chat at their lockers.
When Arthur walked into the band room, the first thing he saw was the table with instruments sitting on it. When he signed up for band, Arthur hadn't thought about what instrument he would play. In hindsight, that probably wasn't such a good idea.
"Hello there," Arthur turned around when he heard an annoyingly high-pitched voice.
"H-hi," he replied.
"What's your name, and what instrument are you playing?" She asked.
"M-my n-name's A-Arthur P-P-Pendragon and, uhhh…" He trailed off, thinking. What will I be good at? What will Father hate me playing? "I th-think I w-want t-to p-p-play the c-clarinet."
"Oh, what a magnificent choice! Have a seat over there, and we'll get you your very own clarinet soon."
Arthur knew his father was going to have to pay for it, and then he'd see that his son had chosen a 'girly' instrument. He could have chosen the flute, but he didn't think it'd suit him.
The rest of band class was mostly boring and learning the basics, and Arthur was glad when it was over. Next he had art with Merlin, and he couldn't wait!
When Arthur walked into the art room, the first thing he did was look for Merlin. He was excited to finally have a class with his first (and only) friend!
When he spotted him in the back corner at an empty table, Arthur called out, "H-hey, M-Merlin!" A few other kids turned to look at him in confusion, as most of them had never heard Arthur talk before. He used to never talk, just like his father said, because people wouldn't like him if he stuttered. But Merlin had given him the courage to talk out loud again, instead of having silent conversations with the wall.
"Hi, Arthur. You can sit next to me!" Merlin patted the seat next to him, and Arthur rushed over to sit. Once he was seated, Merlin asked, "How was band? What instrument did you choose?"
"I-it w-was ok-kay. I'm p-playing th-the c-clarinet!" Arthur responded, a smile on his face. He liked that Merlin made him talk, rather than just ignoring him and pretending he didn't exist like everyone else. "H-how w-was r-robotics?"
"I dunno. I like the concept of it, I guess, but Ms. Kovak isn't a very good teacher. I like art better, anyway," Merlin answered smoothly. Arthur had suspicions about Ms. Kovak based on stories about her from the older kids that he'd overheard, so that didn't come as much of a surprise. He was going to ask Merlin about his writing when Mr. Adamson called for their attention.
"Alright, class! It looks like everyone is here, so let's begin. Now, most teachers like to start a new year with simple activities, waiting until later to start a project. I like to be different, so we're going to start a project today!" There was a collective groan from the students forced to take this class, and scattered cheering from the art fanatics. Merlin and Arthur both stayed silent, observing the reactions of others. It was how they learned.
"Anyway, our project will be self-portraits. I know what you're all thinking. 'Self-portraits? Seriously? That's so boring!' Well, don't be so quick to judge, because these self-portraits have a twist. You'll need a partner-" Mr. Adamson was cut off by a flurry of students begging others to be their partners, while Arthur simply looked at his best friend seated next to him, finding the dark-haired boy already looking at him. Both of their faces broke into smiles, and Arthur once again thanked fate for letting him meet this boy. Before he had Merlin, Arthur would always get stuck whoever was left in group projects, and if there were an odd number of students, he usually had to work with the teacher.
Mr. Adamson cleared his throat, trying to regain the attention of the class. "The twist of the self-portraits is that you'll be painting your partner doing his or her favorite activity. To begin, I want you all to take notes and start on a sketch. Alright, begin!"
Arthur turned to Merlin, who was already getting out his sketch pad. He ripped out a piece and handed it to Arthur, along with a pencil. "Th-thanks. Wh-what's y-your f-f-favorite a-activity?"
Merlin looked thoughtful, staring at the wall behind Arthur. "Art. So, you could draw me drawing the drawing of me drawing. It would be like art-ception." Arthur laughed. He liked that idea a lot, it was funny. As he wrote it down, he asked, "What about your favorite activity?"
"Y-you sh-should b-b-be able t-to answer th-this one. I-it's r-reading," Arthur answered without hesitation.
"Okay then!" Merlin wrote Arthur's answer on the paper in front of him before starting on the sketch. When Arthur leaned over to look, Merlin covered it up. "No peeking! It's a surprise!"
Arthur chuckled a little, but he complied, and went to work on his own sketch.
After art, Merlin and Arthur walked to reading together. When the teacher announced that they'd be reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as a class, the pair looked to each other and grinned.
When reading was over, they split up, as Arthur had math and Merlin had social studies. Arthur was bored all through math because it was all too easy, and Merlin wasn't there for him to talk to.
They were back together for science, one of Merlin's favorite subjects. Mr. Wells was a nice teacher, but Arthur's favorite so far was definitely Mr. Adamson.
After science, they had comm. arts together, which Arthur actually found himself enjoying! He knew he liked reading, and it was nice to get a glimpse into the other side of the process.
Then Arthur went to social studies while Merlin had math, and he was bored out of his mind. As soon as class was over, Arthur rushed to his locker to meet Merlin. The dark-haired boy was already standing by his locker, and he smiled when he saw Arthur. "Ready to go?" Merlin asked.
"Mmhmm. W-will y-you s-s-sit w-with m-me on the b-bus again t-today?" Arthur asked tentatively.
"Of course! Why are you even asking?" Merlin said, and Arthur just smiled. That smile stayed on his lips the whole was way home.