Date - Monday: August 19th 2013
Time - 4:00 AM
Point of View: Zelda
I wake up far too early. It's only four in the morning… My eyes slowly open, unable to stay closed any longer. I don't understand why my body does this. You think being nervous about something would make you want to prepare yourself for it, not get an hour's worth of sleep and cry. But sadly the latter is the case. I roll over, wiping my eyes for a few seconds. Go back to sleep Zelda. The bus doesn't come for another two and a half hours…
"Well, at least I'll look cute." I mumble to myself in a defeated way.
I stumble through the dark but familiar room until I find the light switch. My eyes burn as the room harshly illuminates and I cover my eyes. Soon after this my tired body loses balance and I fall back against the wall with a loud thud. Well, the whole house is up now. I lay there feeling stupid until I hear a knocking at the door.
"Zelda, are you alright?" My older brother Link asks in an exhausted voice.
"Y-Yeah… Sorry about that." I manage to say through my horribly sore throat.
Great. Now I'm hoarse too. All the planets aligned perfectly to give me the worst first day of high school ever. I swallow for the first time all morning and feel as if my throat is getting stabbed by a thousand knives. I slowly stand, opening the door to see Link looking more tired than I've ever seen him. His hair is standing straight in all different directions, his eyes are bloodshot, and his balance seems worse than mine.
"Have you slept at all?" I ask, gesturing to his appearance.
"No, I was actually just about to…" He explains.
"You need to ease up on these crazy hours man. Don't be asleep when I get home from school."
He gives me a confused look. How could he forget something so important?
"You know, school? First day?" I wave my hand in front of his face to see if he fell asleep. He brushes it away and sighs.
"Oh… Yeah, good luck kid."
And with that he turns towards his room and walks away. I dismiss his lackluster motivation and head to the bathroom. After seeing myself in the mirror I frown, great, this is what I have to work with on my first day. Trying not to think about it I turn on the shower and get undressed. It's going to be a very long day.
…
Date - Monday: August 19th 2013
Time – 6:13 AM
Point of View: Zelda
At least I didn't have to compete for the bathroom. With Link passed out I had all the time I needed to make myself look as passable as I could. I now stand in front of my bedroom mirror moderately satisfied with the results. At least there'll be girls who look worse… I sigh and flop back onto my bed. As I'm absorbed by the blanket's embrace, my mind races to every possible way the day could go wrong. I sit up and look for my schedule.
"There we go." I say to myself, eying it over.
If I'm late to a single one of these classes everyone will watch as I awkwardly walk in late. That can't happen. I drill the room numbers to myself for the next thirty minutes, mentally walking the halls over and over. I should've taken pictures of all the entrances at orientation. Dammit. All the doors are getting mixed up in my head. I hear the bus pulling up and my heart stops. What? How? It's only six-fifteen… I had more time…
I grab everything, throwing it into my backpack before dashing out the door in a frenzy. The bus door closes and I have to bang on it a few times to get the driver's attention. The door opens and I get an annoyed look from the old woman. After catching my breath, I question why it's early.
"The bus isn't supposed to get here 'till six-thirty, what gives?"
"Schedule changes kid. Just get on." She grumbles, motioning me towards the seats.
Well that's great, a call would've been nice. But I can tell she's in no mood to argue and neither am I. As I approach the seats I freeze. There's only one other person on the bus. A girl my age wearing a black hoodie and jeans. How close am I supposed to sit to her? My mind races. Sitting too far away would make me look rude, but sitting too close would be intruding. Maybe she wants some alone time before school? Or maybe she'll take it as in insult if I don't sit by her… I finally settle with sitting across from her, taking the window seat to maximize our distance without being too far away.
The bus shifts into motion and we're off. I occasionally glance in her direction, wondering if she plans on speaking first. After about five minutes of silence I finally make the first move.
"Um, hi. My name's Zelda Harkinian. Are you a freshman too?" I ask in an inviting tone.
No response. Not a grunt, a shrug, a look, nothing. I finally lean back against the window awkwardly. Soon after, more kids get on the bus. This breaks the silence but doesn't completely calm the tension between me and this girl. Why would she just ignore me? What could I have possibly done in the first ten seconds of knowing her? I try again.
"I wonder if we have any of the same classes, wanna compare schedules?" I ask, reaching for my binder.
Nothing.
"That's cool. You're probably not in any advanced classes anyway." I mumble to myself.
Whatever, who needs her? I grumpily cross my arms and look out the window. The sun's just beginning to rise. Why the hell am I on a bus when the sun isn't even up? It's been scientifically proven that teenagers perform much better between the hours of nine and four. I ramble on about how stupid this is in my mind for the rest of the ride. When we arrive at the school I grab my things and stand. The girl stands as well. Her hood falls to her shoulders, revealing a pair of earbuds...
She was listening to music. She wasn't ignoring me at all. In fact, she gives me a bright smile before walking off the bus…. Maybe I stress over things a little too easily…
…
Date - Monday: August 19th 2013
Time – 12: 15 PM
Point of View: Zelda
The first half of the day goes by painlessly enough. I learned very quickly that I didn't have enough binders; the school shopping list said four, but apparently every class needs one. Whatever, that can be fixed easily. No need to stress now. I walk into the cafeteria shyly, having no one to eat with. After getting my lunch I settle down at an empty table. As the room gets more and more crowded I'm shocked that no one comes to the table I'm at.
"Maybe they think I'm reserving it for friends…" I mumble, twisting my fork around the tray mindlessly.
Why would anyone wanna sit with me anyway? I probably look like the biggest loser in the world right now. My mind wanders away and I'm left zoned out, all the conversations around me becoming quieter and quieter. Eventually I'm disturbed by someone tapping the table with their hand.
"Excuse me, but are these seats free?" A strange voice asks.
I look up in confusion. Surly there must be some sort of mistake. An actual human being? Talking to Zelda Harkinian? No way in hell. I'm shocked when I see it's the same girl from the bus. She has short blue hair and styles it in a way I've never seen. It's not bad by any means, just very different… Her eyes are also blue, and she's wearing a beautiful necklace. It's fairly small, but the jewel is fascinating…
"Hello?" She asks once more.
"O-Oh. Um… No. Yes?" I stutter, realizing I was too busy looking at her and didn't respond.
"Does that mean I can sit, or do I have to leave?" She questions, laughing.
"You can sit!" I say a little too quickly.
"Cool."
She puts her stuff down and sits across from me. Awkward silence comes once again. She's just eating… Does she want to talk to me, or did she just pick a random table? I scan the area looking for other empty seats she could have taken, wondering why she'd choose this one.
"I'm Fi, what's your name?"
I'm taken aback by this. Did she just speak? What did she say? God dammit, I really need to work on when I space out. I just stick with the safest bet.
"I'm Zelda, what's your name?" I ask with a smile.
She begins to laugh. What did I do? I think back to what she could've said.
"For the second time, I'm Fi." She continues laughing. "Not paying much attention are we?"
I laugh with her nervously. This seems to be going well…
"Why're you here so late? Lunch is just about over." I attempt to shift topics from my stupidity.
"Oh, I don't have a lunch break. Turns out I'm smart enough to be taking three math classes, but not smart enough to realize there are only seven periods in a day." She chuckles, grabbing a large book from her bag.
It's just now that I notice her accent. I can't place where it's from, but it's definitely not anywhere around here. It's very pretty though. Almost melodic with its flow…
"Three maths? Do you hate yourself?" I ask, half serious.
"Not at all, I just want to get them out of the way. Besides, they're easy." She explains, "My teacher told me I can just do my work during lunch when he found out I didn't have one."
She's not lying. I watch as she moves her food aside, opens her book, and starts working.
"Don't you need the class to know how to solve the problems?" I ask, impressed.
She doesn't make eye contact with me this time, still doing equations.
"Not really, reading the material's fine enough. And this is the easiest course. Algebra 1."
"Ah, okay." I laugh, thinking about how Algebra 1 almost brought me to tears of frustration not two hours ago.
She looks up as if something's wrong. I feel her studying my face as she thinks.
"You don't need to feel embarrassed if Algebra's difficult. It is the class we're supposed to be taking at this level. If anything, I'm the weird one. Don't feel as though you need to lie about yourself to please or impress others." She smiles, looking back to her homework.
What was that? Did I just get psychoanalyzed? Before I can speak again the bell rings.
"Sorry if I slowed your work flow…" I say, packing up my stuff.
"No worries, I suppose it's called homework for a reason. I'll probably finish it on the bus anyway. Nice talking to you." She smiles one last bright smile before leaving.
What a weirdo… I think to myself as I head to my next class. Not a bad weirdo, but a weirdo… I find the classroom without a minute to spare. As I enter, I'm pleasantly surprised by who I see. Fi's on the far side of the room working on something. I see there's an empty seat by her and claim it.
"Hey," I say, sitting down.
She turns and sees who I am, then smiles.
"Well that's a coincidence. We could've just walked here together." She laughs.
"Guess so." I grin.
Nobody panic, but I think Zelda Harkinian just made a friend.
…
Date - Monday: August 19th 2013
Time – 2:35 PM
Point of View: Zelda
As the day ends everyone piles into the cafeteria once again to wait for their busses. Fi and I sit together and talk about how our first day went. As strange as it seems, she's just as nervous as I am, and nearly missed her bus too!
"I was so upset with the bus arrived early. I almost died!" She exclaims, using hand gestures to emphasize her point.
"I was lying in bed with my binders everywhere. It just about left me behind!" I laugh.
After about fifteen minutes our bus arrives. We continue our conversation for most of the ride. Once she finishes her Algebra and puts it away I sigh.
"You're so lucky. I still have to do the whole thing. What kind of soulless monster assigns homework on the first day?"
She looks at her books, thinking for a moment.
"How about I help you?" She offers.
"What? No, you don't have to…" I awkwardly laugh.
"It's no problem at all, I need to get some other work done too. Why not do it with a friend?"
And now I'm approaching my house with a friend… A friend that I made in high school… The very thought of it makes me question if I even woke up this morning. We enter the quiet house and put our stuff down. Link's car is still in the driveway. Which means…
"Link! Are you even up?" I shout upstairs.
"Link?" Fi questions.
"Just my brother. I don't think he's seen daylight yet."
I ask Fi to stay in the living room, proceeding upstairs. After no response, I open Link's door and see him unconscious in bed.
"Link…." I sigh, walking toward him. "Link. Have you even peed since this morning?"
"No." He grunts. "It's my day off… Let me sleep…"
I frown. He's working outrageous hours to keep us afloat. Every day and every night he's tired. Our parents died seven years ago. He was eighteen and insisted that he get a job and provide for me instead of foster care. I was too young to understand what that meant for him. Ever since he's been holding multiple jobs and working himself to death. I lay another blanket over him, shut the curtains and quietly close the door.
Fi's already set up and working by the time I get back to the living room. Not only that, but my books are open and flipped to the correct page. When she sees I'm back she smiles and pats the spot next to her on the couch.
"C'mon, lemme know if you need help with anything." She offers, getting back to work.
I sit by her and work, occasionally asking for help here and there. I swear, she knows more than any of my teachers! And she's doing her own work at the same time. Soon she's finished with hers and stretches.
"How are you already done?" I question.
She sits back down next to me, closer than before, and looks at my assignment.
"It's easy. The letters aren't any specific number, just variables." She explains, reaching for my pencil.
Oddly enough, I don't feel like my personal space is being invaded. She's very close, but not intrusive. I watch as she leans over me and solves a problem.
"Like that. Make sense?"
Actually, yes. I think I get it now. I quickly solve a problem and look to her for verification. She nods 'yes' and I cheer.
"There you go!" She laughs, clapping her hands together.
"I don't think anyone's ever made me understand something so easily." I marvel. "Thank you."
"No problem, let me know if you need any more help." She says, laying back on the couch.
I continue to work as she naps. When a question stumps me, I almost wake her up. But the look of peace on her face is too sweet to disturb. I decide to take a break, lying on the opposite end of the couch. It's a fairly large sofa, and we're fairly small girls, but that doesn't mean we're not touching. And ya know what? If feels kind of calming napping with a friend. Peaceful…
Date - Monday: August 19th 2013
Time – 5:47 PM
Point of View: Zelda
I wake up, feeling rejuvenated. There's a noticeable empty warm spot on the couch where Fi was. Where'd she go? I look around the room and see her in another chair reading a book. She sees I'm awake and closes it.
"Hello, you looked too peaceful to wake up, so I just moved over here." She smiles.
"You looked too peaceful first." I joke. "I needed help with a problem, but you were asleep. What was I to do but quit and fall asleep?"
"You could've woken me up, I told you to ask me if you had any questions." She laughs, walking back to the couch.
"Yeah, but this isn't exactly a question." I point to the book. "It's more of 'What the hell does any of this mean?'"
She giggles before grabbing a piece of scrap paper.
"I know that's not true. You've already done a lot of problems like this. Look."
She effortlessly solves the problem, giving me a step by step explanation.
"Now do it in your handwriting." She hands me the pencil.
"Alright," I take it and begin copying the answer down. But a question comes to mind. "Shouldn't you call your family?"
She nods 'no'.
"Not really, I'm an only child. Adopted too. My foster father's a great man, but he works over one-hundred hour weeks at the hospital. The house is usually very quiet… He won't even be home until eight." She explains, frowning. "What about you? Where're your parents?"
I feel a ping of grief when I think of them. It was years ago, but with Link always working and very few friends I've never really talked about them.
"Dead. Both of them. Link's my legal guardian." I feel my eyes involuntarily watering up. Dammit, stop it tears!
It's the most frustrating thing when you're about to cry and know you can't stop it. I tighten up my face and cover it with my hands. Meanwhile Fi doesn't say anything. She just sits there thinking for a full minute as I'm on the verge of losing it. Finally, she speaks up.
"Do you need to cry Zelda?" She raises an eyebrow, asking like it was a normal question.
Without thinking I'm immediately in her arms, balling my eyes out. She holds me, saying nothing. Why am I doing this? She probably thinks I'm some sort of loser. I just met this girl and now she's in my house watching me cry? This only makes me cry harder. Seven years of bottled up emotion and anxiety is escaping my eyes as fast as it can, and Fi doesn't even mind.
I cry for a long time, burying my head in her chest. Eventually I exhaust myself and pass out. When I wake up this time Fi hasn't moved, she's still just holding me. I pretend I'm still asleep, not wanting to face her after that. So we stay like this for another few minutes. She starts rubbing my back, yawning herself. I decide to let myself drift back to sleep. It's been a tiring day…
Date - Monday: August 19th 2013
Time - 9:30 PM
Point of View: Zelda
I wake up with a blanket covering me and my position noticeably shifted. Fi's gone. I look around and realize she's most likely left. I notice that my math book's closed, so I open it to the page my paper's sticking out of. I'm shocked to see the assignment's done, and there's a sticky note attached.
"I'm really sorry, but I have to get going. I mimicked your handwriting as best I could and made sure you were comfortable. See you on the bus." –Fi
I smile to myself, seeing all the answers intelligently filled in. I didn't make a friend today. No, a friend wouldn't do what Fi did. I just made a best friend. And I can't wait to see her tomorrow. Link walks in a few minutes later, finally awake. He smiles and sits on the couch next to me.
"Hey kid, how was your first day?" He asks, yawning.
"Pretty good… I made a friend." I say like it's no big deal.
"It's about time. Those middle school dicks were too stupid to see how cool you were." He laughs, wrapping an arm around me.
"Yeah…" I smile, thinking about the rest of the year.
"Is it too late to be a good brother and cook you something?" He asks, getting up.
"Yeah, but you can still be a bad brother and feed me already." I say sympathetically.
"Better than nothing I suppose. Let's see what there is to work with."
Date - Monday: August 19th 2013-
Time – 8:00 PM
Point of View: Fi
I open my door and enter the silent house. Why two people need such a large dwelling is beyond me. Especially considering the fact that I'm the only one here 80% of the time. My backpack drops to the floor; some books and papers spilling out of it. Who cares, no one would even realize there was a mess if I left it. Dismissing the schoolwork for now I walk into the kitchen and see what there is.
As I open the freezer I'm greeted with the finest assortment of cheap TV-dinners money can buy. Seeing as I'm too tired to cook anything for myself, I stick with the easy option and open the microwave. Five minutes to kill before I can eat… I wander back to the door and look over my books one more time. I frown when there's nothing left to do.
Well, burying myself in work as a distraction was a total failure. Even nine classes jammed into a seven period day wasn't enough to keep me busy… If I had swapped information with Zelda we could at least chat or something… I relive the day in my head, wondering if I was too direct or weird with her. She seemed like she needed a friend, and I needed one too… Maybe doing her homework was a little condescending… She's obviously self-conscious about her ability to complete the problems…
I make a sound of frustration and fall onto the living room couch. Overanalyzing every move will get me nowhere, but I can't resist obsessing over perfection… After all, the only reason my father adopted me was my ability to pass his preliminary examination. He's an impotent anti-social genius, and while he can't bring another genius into the world, he's sure as hell not tolerating an idiot. The look of disappointment on his face when I got my first 'B' was enough to set me straight. I have multiple tutors in each subject striving to make me the perfect daughter. And while friendship has never been something I've cared about, the perfect daughter is supposed to have a group of other respectable young ladies to 'hang' with.
I wipe my eyes; trying to get some sort of emotional response from them. Crying has always helped me cope with the stress, but lately it's become harder and harder to do so. A semi-automatic bodily reaction and I can't even do that right. I'm interrupted by the microwave beeping; signaling that it's completed my five course meal.
Forcing myself to get up and eat, I walk into the kitchen and grab silverware. As I dine on my delicious cardboard, I redo my Algebra II assignment for a distraction. When I'm finished with that, I decide to get out my computer and browse. After wasting over an hour of my time reading articles about social interaction, I see a Facebook message from my father and click it as quickly as possible.
Need to get some extra work done, pulling an all-nighter. How was school? He sent.
What a shocking turn of events. Me, the small scared fifteen year old girl having to spend the night alone in this huge-ass mansion. That's never happened before.
It was great! All my assignments are completed and I'm eating dinner. Let me know if anything changes! I reply.
Way to say what you're thinking, Fi. You've become quite the assertive powerhouse. Succumbing to a wave of self-hate I begin to close my computer. Before I can do so, however, a small chime plays. Probably Dad saying he's in Japan and won't make it to Christmas… My eyes widen in surprise when I see it's a message from Zelda Harkinian.
Hey, I never got your last name but you look like the Fi I know.
Did she seek me out? Took time from her day to interact with me? I suppose I left a good impression… At an inhuman speed I type,
Hahaha! Yeah, that's me, 'Fi Paladin'. Sounds like a bad name from some romance novel right?
And there you go again with the self-hate Fi. Way to send out vibes of confidence and positivity. If Zelda had a single brain cell she'd close the tab and block me.
Nah! I like it. Sounds like some brave knight. Sorry if I seem like a stalker. I just wanted to thank you for doing those problems. It really wasn't necessary. She sent.
Is that a genuine 'thank you' or a 'don't patronize me thank you'? I really need to get better at people…
No problem. I wish I could've stayed 'till you woke up, but I needed to get home. I smile. Is this what talking with a friend is like?
You didn't need to. The help you gave was more than I expected or deserved. You're a really good person. :)
I'm speechless. I was convinced that she'd despise me for one reason or another. I talked too much, I talked too little, anything! But it appears that I succeeded in making a friend! I smile wider as another message pops up.
I'm sorry I ruined the study session by crying and sleeping btw… But thanks for being there for me…
After searching 'btw' on urban dictionary, I reply.
Don't worry about it! You obviously needed it! I'm glad I could help.
We happily talk about nothing for the rest of the night. Realizing it's 2:00 AM, I reluctantly sign off and get in bed. Today was a good day…
Tuesday: August 20th 2013
Time –5:38 AM
Point of View: Zelda
My eyes open slowly, the reality of morning dawning on me. Bad pun… Anyway, I roll off of my bed and lie on the floor for a few minutes. Has my floor always been this comfortable? Why is nothing this comfortable when it's bedtime, only when I have to get up? Life isn't fair… Headlights shine through my curtains and then fade away. Must be Link on his way to work… Guess his time off is over now.
Trying not to think about my brother's unhealthy hours any-more than I already do, I head to the bathroom to get some recon on my hair situation. Who knows? Maybe it'll be one of those rare days where I don't need to do anything with it at all because it still looks good from yesterday? My heart and soul are crushed as I see my own horrified reflection. Dammit all. Why societal norms dictate that girls spend over an hour on their appearance while boys can just shower is beyond me. What I wouldn't give to look incredible without makeup and hairstyling…
After a few more negative thoughts I finally turn on the shower and get in. Its steaming hot water trails down my back, overcoming me with warmth and serenity. If I'm not careful it's easy to spend over twenty minutes here just lost in thought. If only there were shower chairs… Or even comfortable shower mats that you can lie down on! Someday my amazing ideas are gonna make me rich!
I reluctantly turn the water off and get out after a few short minutes. Once I'm back in my bedroom I can't help but check my phone. Alas, Fi hasn't messaged me since last night… That's reasonable, she's probably not done getting ready either… Should I message her? Or would that disrupt her routine? Life's too complicated! I fall onto my bed and let out a deep sigh. Why is this so hard? I've had friends in the past. Admittedly not very close ones, but friends none the less. With Fi though… It's different. I don't wanna mess this up. And boy do I feel on the verge of messing this up every time I open my mouth!
I'll see her on the bus, there's no point in taking the risk and messaging her now. I decide to distract myself with youtube videos until it's time to go. Grabbing a last minute Pop-Tart as well as my bag, I hurry out the door. Wow, the bus is actually on time today, that's new. I walk on a little more excited than I should be and am happy to see Fi listening to music with her eyes closed.
Plopping myself and my things in the seat next to her, I wait until she notices my presence. She smiles at me and takes her earbuds out.
"Hey!" She eagerly says.
"Morning." I reply, smiling too.
We sit there for a few awkward seconds smiling for no apparent reason. Could it be we're just that happy to see each other? As other students pile in and begin making noise, I'm unable to hear her softer tone easily. She realizes this and stands up. I'm shocked as the small girl sits next to me in my seat, scooting me over closer towards the window.
"Much better, now we can actually hear each other." She says in her interesting accent.
I'm not sure why, but I blush and look away to correct the positioning of my binders and bag. I don't know how to handle her being this close. I feel noticeably vulnerable… She stares at me, thinking like she always does. I wait for her impending and scarily accurate comment about my feelings, but it never comes. Instead she reaches over me and grabs my math binder.
"Just want to be perfectly sure that I didn't answer anything incorrectly." She explains, burying her face in the papers.
"Ah…" I laugh nervously and look out the window. "No worries, I'd probably get a few wrong anyway. Keep it believable."
"Be that as it may, I refuse to be responsible for you losing any points you could have gotten had you done it yourself." She says, eyes scanning the paper quickly. "No, they're all right."
She returns the paper to my binder and places it by my side once again.
"Thanks again Fi… For everything yesterday." I try to make eye contact but feel myself shying away. I brush it off by pretending something out the window caught my eye.
"You're welcome, any time you need help, don't hesitate to ask…" She smiles.
Thankfully we arrive shortly after! I can't explain it, but I felt like a whole new level of awkwardness was achieved during that ride. Why was I so nervous when she sat next to me? Tons of people were sharing a seat. They are technically for two people, but lots of antisocial introverts like me tend to claim one entirely for themselves. I say bye to Fi and quickly rush to my first class; unable to explain the weird feeling.
Tuesday: August 20th 2013
Time –7:15 AM
Point of View: Fi
I sigh with relief as Zelda walks away. Sad as I am to see her go, I feel like a fifty pound weight has been lifted off my shoulders. What was that earlier? As I head to my homeroom I try and determine the feeling that overcame me on the bus. When I looked into Zelda's eyes I thought I sensed some sort of… Tension? No, that's not the word I'm looking for. I didn't mention it though. In fact, I had to hide my own blush in her math homework!
I walk into the room and sit down, resting my head on my books. It's probably just me not wanting to ruin everything… My lack of sleep catches up with me and I decide to take a quick nap before first period… At least school still makes sense to me.
A few minutes into my much needed slumber I'm disturbed by someone tapping my shoulder. I shrug them off, attempting to sleep a little longer. Unfortunately they don't stop and I'm forced to look up and see what the problem is. I turn to the right and see a girl with near-purple skin and beautiful red hair. She must be Twili… Not uncommon to see them in Hyrule, but what does she want with me?
"Hey…" She shyly begins, realizing that she woke me up.
"Wh-What's up?" I groggily ask.
"Well, I couldn't help but notice your calculator. I'm helplessly lost in this assignment and was wondering if you'd lend it to me." She says, holding her hands together like she's begging.
"Sure." I grab it from the outside pocket of my backpack and hand it to her. "Just be sure to get it back to me."
"Thank you!" She smiled, accepting it. "My name's Midna, you?"
"Tired." I mumble before returning to my nap.
"Okay then…" She laughs.
Before she can bother me any more than she already has, I drift back to a world of relaxation and freedom…
Tuesday: August 20th 2013
Time –10:35 AM
Point of View: Zelda
Day two is somehow even more overwhelming than the first. It's like every teacher likes to butter you up with syllabuses and lies before ripping off the Band-Aid and jamming a cigarette into your wound. I hand in the homework Fi 'helped' me with and release a sigh of relief. At least that's said and done…
"Good job students, I'm glad you all applied yourselves and did this assignment. I know that homework on the first day's a drag, but it instills a healthy work ethic that sticks with you for the rest of the year. Since you all turned it in, I'm not counting it, you all got A's!"
The fuck? We all get A's? The kid next to me turned in a blank sheet, and he gets the same grade as me? The tears and effort that went into that work means nothing!? That means Fi didn't even have to do my work for me! I wasted her time! I watch in pure sadness as Mr. Pole happily dumps the symbol of friendship into the garbage so it can dwell with used tissues and pencil shavings.
"The things I could've been doing instead of that math…" The girl next to me mumbled, flipping to the next page in her book.
"Why do they give us work that doesn't mean anything?" I whisper.
She laughs to herself. "To keep us busy." Is all she says.
The next forty-five minutes go by slowly without anything noteworthy occurring. Finally the bell rings and we're allowed five minutes of decompression before our next session of hell. I notice the girl from earlier walking next to me, and I suppose she does to.
"I swear to God, if tonight's homework ends up being pointless too, I'm not sure how well I'll react." She rants, keeping pace with me.
"It's frustrating, I know." I agree, trying not to run into anyone.
"I'm Malon by the way." She says.
"Zelda, nice to meet you. Where're you heading next?"
"Thankfully study hall." She sighs.
"Me too!" I exclaim.
We enter the crowded room together and find two seats. I get out my math and she does as well.
"Study Hall is a gift from Hylia herself. Forty-Three minutes dedicated to getting homework done at school and talking to people." I laugh, reading the questions.
"Is this seat taken?" I hear a female voice ask. "I'm Midna."
"Not at all," Malon smiles, pulling out the chair next to her. "Maybe you can help us with this Algebra I homework?"
"Yeah, I had that class first period!" She eagerly gets out her book. "I was heart-broken when Pole didn't grade it. I finished it seconds before class for nothing!"
"Join the club." Malon laughs. "I'm Malon, and this is my friend Zelda. We just went through the same mental abuse you did."
Friend!? I've made another friend? That's Fi, Malon, -and if all goes well- Midna! Is this real life? Apparently I spend too much time zoned out because Malon taps my desk violently to get my attention.
"Zelda! Focus, we're not gonna finish this in time if we don't work together."
"Oh… Sorry…" I laugh, looking at my small amount of answers.
"I love my schedule. Halfway through the day I get a huge break. Study Hall followed immediately by lunch? Amazing!" Midna marvels.
"No way, I have lunch next too!" Malon says excitedly.
At this moment I know that I've found a friend group. These two, Fi, and I will have lunch together every day! That's amazing! We finish up the homework and talk for the rest of the period. When the bell rings we all walk to the cafeteria. Things are getting better…
Tuesday: August 20th 2013
Time –12:25 PM
Point of View: Fi
After receiving today's homework from my third math teacher, I'm on my way to the cafeteria to balance conversation and equations. At least it's conversation with Zelda… I walk quickly through the now-silent hallways. As I approach my destination I hear hundreds of people talking in the distance. Their small talk cumulates into a roar of senseless noise and confusion. Why exactly am I subjecting myself to such a headache inducing panic?
Before I can convince myself to simply turn around and avoid the endeavor altogether, I force myself to walk straight into the belly of the beast. Tuning out the noise, my eyes scan the room for Zelda. I'm shocked and disappointed to see she's already sitting with a small group… Well, abort mission. She realized I'm a loser and got new friends. I stop in my tracks, contemplating returning to my class. Before I can do this, however, Zelda sees me and begins smiling.
"Fi! Over here!" She shouts, speaking to the girls at her table about something I can't make out.
I've been spotted. But apparently she still wants to associate with me… I walk to the table and set my things down.
"Hey!" She smiles. "This is Malon, and that's Midna."
I look the two over, recognizing one.
"You're the tired chick." Midna laughs.
"You've met?" Zelda asks.
The Twili laughs again, placing her fork down.
"Hardly. We have homeroom together. I asked her for a calculator and she just passed out afterwards. Hence, 'tired chick'."
I blush slightly, sighing.
"Yeah, sorry about that, I'm grumpy in the morning."
"Don't worry about it, why're you late?" She thankfully changes the topic.
Before I can even say anything, Zelda already explains my situation.
"Because she's a super genius from the future who's taking all the classes she can to gain enough knowledge for world domination."
The three laugh, and I join them!
"Some of that is correct. I do intend on all ending life on earth, but that's not why I'm late." I joke, hoping it was funny… "In some stupid effort to impress my father I decided to take as many impressive classes as possible. That includes two advanced maths. Sadly, there are only so many periods in the day. I ended up having a class overlapping all three lunch periods, so one of my teachers just told me to take the work here."
The two girls stare at me in disbelief for a few seconds.
"Wait, so you're taking a class right now?" Malon questions.
"I suppose. I'd like to eat as well."
"How're you following the lessons if you're here instead of there?" Midna asks, visibly confused.
"It's only Algebra II…" I shrug.
"Only Algebra II?" Malon exclaims, letting her head fall onto the table in frustration.
"You're supposed to be taking that junior year! Sophomore year at most! How'd you get to be so smart?" Midna inquires, appearing interested.
"Dunno, but I do know I'mgetting hungry." I say, standing up and walking towards the empty line.
"I'll go with, forgot my fruit anyway." Zelda hops up and follows me.
As the cheerful women pile globs of filth that loosely resembles food onto my tray, Zelda talks about how she ran into the others. I smile and nod, occasionally making sounds of agreement as I input my student code into the keypad in front of me. Don't get me wrong, I'm interested in meeting new people, I just was strangely looking forward to lunch with Zelda… And only Zelda…
We arrive at the table and I get to work. I try and pay attention to the conversation as I read the directions for today's homework. Eventually I tune them out completely to enhance my pace. They have each other to chat with anyway; my minimal and embarrassing contributions to whatever they're talking about probably won't be missed.
Seeing as it was an easy assignment, I find myself done with it relatively quickly. When I close my book and put the paper away, I'm greeted with a look of amazement from everyone at the table. Come to think of it, they haven't been talking for a while. Did I do something? Is there something on my face? Did I say something without realizing? Was it embarrassing!?
"How the hell did you do that?" Malon asks, impressed.
"Do what?" I begin to internally panic.
"You finished that at lightning speed…" Midna laughs.
"Your hands were moving faster than I could keep track of. And you didn't even pick up your calculator once!" Zelda marvels.
Really? I thought I had done a good job, but nothing extraordinary. I suppose the daily tutoring sessions all summer paid off. Who knew drilling literally everything the class has to offer the summer before made doing the actual class a breeze? I laugh it off, waving my hand.
"I doubt it's as impressive as you're making it out to be. I just already had a basic understanding of the material at hand."
"Will you be my super old and wise math mentor?" Malon asks, half serious.
"Back off, she's mine!" Zelda laughs, wrapping her arms around me and staring at the other two.
"Oh, are you two together?" Midna asks, smiling.
It's when she asks this that I become increasingly aware of Zelda's presence. Her smell, the way her arms tensed up at the question, her hair… but mostly the fact that she's leaning on my shoulder and her arms are touching my chest. Apparently she comes to a similar realization, because she all but jumps off of me and begins nervously laughing.
"Nononononono!" Zelda exclaims, blushing wildly. "That came out wrong. I mean she already helps me with math."
"Well you're awfully embarrassed for someone who just studies with her…" Malon giggles.
"I'm not like that." Zelda explains, noticeably distancing herself from me at the table. "We just met yesterday."
"It's true." Is all my stupid self can add.
The two give us a look that clearly says, 'Yeah, right…' But thankfully leave it at that. Why did that get me so flustered? Obviously we're just friends! I've never looked at a boy that way before in my life, and I certainly haven't been interested in any girls! My life is filled to the brim with promises, study sessions, tutors, all-nighters, breakdowns, and anxiety attacks. There hasn't been room for friends until now! Let alone romance…
And besides, I'm only fifteen years old, there's no point in pursuing such things right now anyway! What are we gonna do? We can't drive, we don't have our own cash, we don't have places of our own, there isn't exactly a surplus of options when it comes to that sort of thing.
Just leave it for now Fi, focus on academics…
"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" A smooth male voice asks, sitting down next to me anyway.
"Um… Who're you?" Zelda questions.
I turn just in time to see him smile and wink.
"Ghirahim, pleased to meet you."