Chapter 7: The Loud Noise

Claire's POV

"Hello class, my name is Mr. Henson!"

Everyone was asleep. It was the last class of the first day of school and it seemed that the sun that shone through the window was actually dragging people towards it. Mr. Henson continued, seemingly ignoring the complete lack of attention.

"Now, I am going to pick one student to award a prize," The class lit up. The thought of a prize awakened a bit of craving mixed with a touch of curiosity. He was a teacher, and the prize would probably be something stupid like a piece of candy, but still, a prize is a prize.

Mr. Henson began writing something on the board. He was a tall man around 40 with blonde hair and a mustache. He wore a long sleeved shirt and a tie that said 'boom' written in comical letters. After putting down the piece of chalk, he turned to the class.

"I will award the first person to correctly answer that question with a prize," a few hands went up and he called on them, but all answered incorrectly. Finally, Claire raised her hand.

"Is it the chemical shorthand for copper?" she said unsurely. She hadn't been all too good in Earth Science last year.

"Correct!" Mr. Henson exclaimed. Claire smiled. So far she liked this teacher. "Follow me" he said, now addressing the whole class. They slowly exited their desks and followed him over to a small chamber. It had a glass window that was darkened with soot or burnt (it was hard to tell which). Mr. Henson bent down and pulled out a plastic tub. From it, he removed an apron and a pair of goggles which he handed to Claire to put on.

"Now Claire, I need to ask you something, are you afraid to die?" Claire was shocked at the question.

"What?" she demanded.

"Well I just need to know, in case this goes wrong, you're not afraid to die are you?" Mr. Henson asked. She hesitated, and thought for a moment. She wasn't- at all. It was almost scary though, how unafraid she was. Why did she have this strong feeling that she couldn't be harmed? Suddenly, she desmissed the feeling, reminding her self that her teacher probably wasn't actually going to get her killed on the first day of school.

"No," she said. Mr. Henson smiled.

"Alright, good." He handed her a long necked match and opened the sliding glass to the chamber. There was a small balloon inside. "Now I want you to hold that match under the balloon and stand back,"

Claire did as instructed.

"You may want to plug your ears…"

BOOM. The balloon exploded, sending strips of rubber everywhere. The class was awake.

"Well done! Wasn't that exciting?" Mr. Henson said, a pyro's smile spread across his face. "Welcome to Physical science!"

Claude's POV

Claude turned to the girl next to him. He had seen her at lunch, sitting next to the girl Adam had said some nasty things to. He noticed she was reading a book about politics, an odd book to read during SSR. Claude liked the fact that not only was she beautiful, but she was also brilliant. She looked up from her book and caught his eye. She glanced down at the one he was reading.

"Fahrenheit 451, impressive," she whispered. Claude blushed. "It's a bit depressing for my taste though,"

"Oh yes, I can see how The Wonder of Politics can be a much more substantial read." Claude answered with a smirk. She laughed.

"I'm Tracy,"

"Claude,"

"Oh, you're the new exchange student, from Britain, right?"

"Ya, London."

"Well, I'm free on Friday if you want to start a book club," Tracy said, sliding into a more seductive tone. She looked at the clock. "I'll tell you when after class; I really need to get in some reading,"

Claire's POV

"Alright, now that you're awake, it's time to get started on your first project!" Mr. Henson exclaimed. "Step one: Pick a lab partner,"

People began to quickly scramble left and right, grabbing best friends and cute guys. Claire was swept up in the madness as she tried to find someone to team up with. She had wanted to be Charlie's partner, but Charlie already offered herself to the friendly Japanese boy, Hiro. They seemed to get along as if they'd been best friends all their life. Soon there were only a few kids left and Claire quickly ran to the first one she saw. She was determined not to be the last kid without a partner.

"Hey, you wanna be partners?" she asked a random boy standing off on his own. He turned around and she was suddenly sorry she asked. The boy wore a tie, a sweater vest, and his hair was nicely combed to his head. She would have hated him had it not been for his glasses. They reminded her a bit of her father, even though this boy certainly couldn't pull it off like he could. Still, they made her feel comfortable around him, like he was a brother. His eyes lit up.

"Ya! I mean, uh ya." he said, trying not to sound too excited. Claire laughed and he smiled.

"I'm Claire," she said, extending her hand "Claire Bennet"

"Gabriel Gray,"

Monica's POV

"Monica,"

Not again.

"Monica,"

Maybe if I just ignore him, he'll-

"Monica,"

"What?" Monica finally whispered in a screaming tone. She had been trying to read, but he just would not shut up! That stupid exchange student; gosh he was obnoxious!

"What book are you reading?" She rolled her eyes.

"Well nothing right now, since you won't shut up." Monica replied, almost angrily. Turning back, she tried to concentrate. This book had to be finished by the end of the week. She was determined to keep her New Year's resolution (she wanted to be a good example to Micah) of reading a book a month. This one was a bit longer, and she had read the same line over about thirty times.

Maybe this time he would-

"Monica,"

"What!" she whispered.

"What is the name of that book you are reading?"

"The language of silence!"

"Well, I'm not a very fluent speaker,"

"Obviously."

"Maybe I need lessons,"

"Sure, let me get a sock."

Silence. Finally.

"Monica," No.

"Monica," No way.

"Monica,"

"What!"

"Don't move."

"What are you-" But before she had time to finish her sentence, she heard a crunch and felt something on her shoulder. She turned her head to see a giant spider with a pen protruding out of it's back. She gasped.

Mohinder's POV

"Five more laps guys! C'mon!" Mr. Collins called out. If this was supposed to be encouraging, it sure wasn't working. Mohinder hated PE, and he especially hated running. He couldn't wait to hear that beautiful bell, releasing him from this hell. Of course, home wouldn't be much better. His father wouldn't be proud unless he was the best, and that was what he was determined to become. Maybe then, he would- SMASH!

Mohinder was suddenly knocked to the ground. He looked up to see Matt laughing as he high-fived Harrison. Why did he have to be such a jerk?

"Hey, need a hand?" Mohinder looked up to see Peter, hand extended. Grabbing it, he pulled himself up.

"Thank you." He said, brushing off his shirt.

"What are friends for?" Peter said. His frank brown eyes shone cheerfully. Mohinder smiled back. He was glad that he had managed to make such a good friend on the first day of school. Maybe high school wouldn't be that bad.

"Hey, we're running here! Keep it up!" screamed Mr. Collins. Peter looked up at the clock hanging on the wall.

"Not for long,"

Charlie's POV

Hiro watched as Charlie carefully squeezed one bead of cyanide out of the pipette and into the tube. There was a small fizzing sound as a bit of smoke ascended from the small cylinder. She smiled and Hiro sighed.

"Wow, you are really good at science!" said Hiro, carefully enunciating each word. Charlie giggled cheerfully.

"Well maybe if you'd pay more attention you could be too!" said Charlie, gingerly pushing a wisp of hair behind her ear.

"I don't think so, you are natural!" said Hiro, giving Charlie a thumbs up. Again she laughed, this time more heartfelt.

"Oho, Hiro, you are too sweet! I do enjoy this sort of thing though, almost as much as I love cooking."

"Well maybe you can be both! You can try new experiments in the kitchen!" Hiro said cheerfully.

Charlie liked Hiro. He was polite and considerate, but still spoke his mind. He made her laugh and she had a feeling they would be great friends. Plus, he was from Japan and she always wanted to go there. She loved to travel, although often didn't get the chance. Maybe one day she could switch, become an exchange student in Japan, stay with Hiro. That would be an adventure.

"Ya, maybe I can." Charlie said, a sincere smile on her face. They both stared at each other for a moment, not knowing how to break the serene silence. Luckily, the bell did.

Edgar's POV

"Ew." Monica said, brushing the twitching spider off of her shoulder. She turned to Edgar. "Did you just impale that spider?"

"Yes,"

"Why?!"

"It was a hobo spider. Those things are deadly you know,"

"So you honestly thought that the best idea would be to stab it with a pen. While it was still on my shoulder. How did you even move that fast?"

"I know martial arts,"

"Yaaa, but that was like inhumanly-"

"Okay, most people would be thanking me right now. You realize I just saved your life." Monica sighed.

"Thank you for killing the giant deadly spider on my shoulder," she replied.

"Well if you'd like to make it up to me," Monica looked at him skeptically.

"In your dreams,"

RIIIIING!

Monica leaned down to pick up her bag and Edgar peered over her at the book on her desk. It read: The Language of Silence. He smirked.