I woke with a start. Today was the day! My first day of school! The first thing I saw when I woke up was Alfred still laying in bed. The second was a set of clothes on my new dresser. I picked the note off the shirts, after jumping out of bed, it was from Dad! "Dear Matthew, here are some new school clothes for you. I hope you like them! - Signed Dad." I smiled looking at the clothes. There was a long sleeved shirt with red sleeves and a white middle, blue jeans, and a purple hoodie. They were awesome! Dad even got me sneaker! New ones! Usually, I would get my shoes either off of the street, or from my sisters. I always preferred the sisters choice.
"Matthew? Alfred? Are you two awake yet?" I heard Papa knock on the door.
"I'm awake Papa! But Alfred's still asleep... Should I wake him up?" I answered. Papa answered a 'yes'. Quickly, after getting my clothes on, I jumped onto Alfred's side, stepping away from the toys all around it. He really needed to start cleaning up. Then, I slowly, and quietly, crept up to his bed. At first, I had planned to just shake him, but my new idea sounded a lot more fun. I crawled up onto the bed, trying to not wake up Alfred too quickly, or else he'll ruin the plan. Then, I stood up. I stayed there for about a second, before I fell on top of him. He screamed as the two of us collided. I was knocked down onto the floor, but I couldn't help but laugh. He sounded like a girl!
"Mattie! That's not funny!" Alfred whined, rubbing his eyes. I grinned at him.
"Then wake up quicker next time!" I said, running downstairs, leaving behind a grumbling brother. As I settled down onto the table, this time prepared with eggs and toast, I noticed my sisters were talking. It didn't take long before I got into their conversation.
"Morning Matt!" Michelle winked at me, as she passed a bowl of eggs. They were scrambled, my favourite.
"Morning sis!"
"Oh, Matthew, are you excited for your first day of school?" Lucille asked, her voice calm like always. I nodded.
"I can't wait! I hope everyone's going to be nice! I bet American school is a lot of fun! I'm really excited to learn who my teacher is, and what subjects are being taught. I also can't wait to make new friends!" I started to ramble on, and on, about how excited I was for my first day. I couldn't help myself, my mind was losing control of my mouth. That was, until Alfred walked in.
"Mattie you meanie!" Alfred scowled at me. I grinned at him, showing him all my teeth (Except one since I lost it a month ago). Papa hid a small chuckle, and Alfred shot a glare at him. "Don't laugh! It's not funny!" Michelle and Lucille started to laugh now, and soon everyone was laughing. Even Alfred.
"Good morning Alfred. Did you sleep well?" Lucille teased. Alfred looked happy, and I guess he didn't get that Lucille was teasing.
"Actually, yeah! I had dreams about going up into space and I saw aliens! Mattie you were there too! But you got kidnapped by aliens and I had to save you!" Alfred started to rant on about his dream. Michelle was the only one paying attention.
"Oh. Boys, Girls, I think it's time that the four of you start heading out." I looked at Papa who was staring at a clock. Alfred nodded, before clearing his dishes and breaking upstairs for his gear. I followed after him, and soon so did my sisters. After a few more minutes of packing up and finishing touches, the four of us made our way outside.
"Follow me and I'll show you the bus stop!" Alfred bounced, before sprinting off. My sisters and I rushed after him, he was really fast! As we arrived to what I think was the bus stop, Alfred stopped dead in front of me. I almost crashed into him!
"Why did you stop?" I asked, looking at Alfred confused. Alfred didn't seem to be paying me much attention, I saw him glaring straight ahead of him. I followed his glare and saw Ivan, Iryuna, and Natalya. I felt myself smile as I stared at Natalya. Neither of the three had caught our glances. Lucille was the first to interact with the other siblings.
"Good morning Iryuna!" Lucille walked over to the eldest sister. Iryuna smiled at her, and the two began to talk. I looked over to see what Michelle was going to do, now that the other siblings were looking at us, but I saw Michelle frozen. Her face was like a tomato. Ivan walked up to us. I noticed Alfred's muscles tense.
"Morning." Ivan smiled at us, giving a little wave. I sheepishly gave him a small wave back, hoping Alfred wasn't going to glare at me.
"M-Matin! I mean, morning!" Michelle stuttered. I stared at her confused. She never stuttered, except for when she was talking to fast, and she was defiantly talking slowly. Ivan looked at her.
"You must be Matthew's older sister. It's nice to meet you. I'm Ivan. Ivan Chernenko." Ivan smiled, it seemed calm. I saw Michelle's face turn even more red, before the two shook hands.
"Michelle. Michelle Bonnefoy... But, ah, you can call me Michy, if you like..." Michelle said, her head staring at the ground. Now I was even more confused, until I saw Natalya. She was staring daggers at us, but I couldn't help but smile at her. She quickly looked away.
"Morning Natalya," I said, walking up to her, before my arm was tugged. "W-What?" I quickly asked, looking to see who tugged on my arm. Alfred looked really angry.
"Don't talk to them!" He hissed. "They're evil! Don't you get it? E V I L." I got scared at the edge in Alfred's voice. I remember what Kuma told me last night, that maybe I shouldn't trust Alfred, but, he seemed to serious. I nodded, and Alfred let go of my arm. I glanced up at Natalya, who was also staring at me. I looked away, hoping that Alfred didn't pull on my arm again. I blanked out as my sisters began to talk with the Chernenkos'. I felt a pang of jealousy. Why could they talk to them, but I can't? It's not fair... But then again, nothing really is. As I was being a bit grouchy, the bus came up and the seven of us began to get on the bus. As I was climbing on the bus, I saw three figures running. They were yelling.
"Wait! Wait! Aspettare! Aspettare!" One of the figures yelled. He seemed old. As the figures came up, I noticed they all had one thing in common, on their hair, they had a single curl. Not like, curly hair, it was a few strands of hair shaped in a curl, almost like mine, however, they didn't have a little curve on theirs. It was just... A curl. I saw the bus driver took something as a small smile as the three boys ran up. By this time, I was already on the bus, sitting alone. I was near the front when I heard them talk.
"Scusate! Sorry Mr. Hassan!" The oldest boy huffed as he walked onto the bus. The bus driver, Mr. Hassan, only nodded. The three boys got on, and one of them sat next to me.
"Ciao!" The boy said, smiling at me. I smiled back at him. I think he was saying 'hi'? Should I say 'hi' in French? English?
"B-Bonjour!" I said, deciding on French. It would at least be a good idea to say hello to people in my native tongue.
"Oh! You speak French? Like Emma!" The boy bounced up and down in his seat. I had no idea who this Emma was, but, if she spoke French, I guess that's a good sign. The boy stuck out his hand. "I'm Feliciano! Feliciano Vargas! Nice to meet you!" I took his hand.
"I'm Matthew. Matthew Bonnefoy. It's nice to meet you too!" We exchanged names, and we started talking. I learned that the older boy was his brother, Romeo, and the other boy was his twin brother, Lovino.
"Lovino's older than me by two minutes, he likes to say he's smarter because of it. I think he's really smart! But he's... Kinda... Not. Well, at some things." Feliciano explained. I nodded. Alfred seemed kinda like that. No offense to him. "Lovino is also friends with my other friends, Gilbert and Antonio! Although, Lovino keeps saying he really doesn't like Gilbert, I always catch him playing with him!" Feliciano said. All I could do was listen, since I really didn't have any import. "Oh! I was being a little rude, Lovino and Romeo sometimes say I talk to much. So, how about you? Since you're new, and French, are you from France?" Feliciano asked. I nodded.
"Brest, France. It's a little far from Paris, but it's pretty large." I said. "It wasn't all that fun. Though, I did have my sisters and Papa with me."
"You have sisters? What are their names?" Feliciano asked.
"My eldest sister's name is Lucille, my big sister is Michelle." I said, a small smile on my face.
"That's so cool! I wish I had sisters... My friend's cousin has a sister, and she's really cute! Her name's Erika! I want a sister... But my Mamma and Papa keep saying no." Feliciano sighed. I chuckled a bit, it was nice to have sisters. Though, they were a little annoying at times.
"So, um, Feliciano?" I started, Feliciano smiled at me. "T-There's no, bullies, at school... Right?" I felt a little silly, but I needed to ask. Feliciano closed his eyes, thinking hard.
"No... I don't think so. I mean, sometimes Ivan comes out during recess and scares everyone, but no real bullies..." Feliciano thought for another moment, before shaking his head with a smile. "Nope! No bullies!" I let out a sigh of relief. "Why?"
"N-No reason! I was just wondering! Since, a lot of books have bullies!" I tried to cover up. It worked. Feliciano nodded.
"I remember my first day of school here! It was a year ago! Though, I did used to live here when I was in pre-school, but, then we had to move. But my family moved back last year, and I returned! A lot of my old friends changed, like Gilbert! He used to be a bit more quiet, but now he's super loud! Really loud! And his brother, Ludwig, he's a little shy, but he's really nice! Kinda stern, but nice!" Feliciano went to ramble on about his old friends, new friends, and everything in between. I didn't mind all that much. It was at least nice to know some of the people's names before hand. Well, to know names, I don't really know what they look like.
"Yo, Fratellino." I heard an Italian voice say behind us. I looked over, and it was Feliciano's twin, Lovino. I could tell because they looked alike.
"Si?" Feliciano seemed to ask.
"It's almost time to get off the bus, get packed, or else I'm leaving you behind." Lovino scowled. Feliciano looked a bit scared, and started to pack up his backpack, and by packing, it was just making sure everything zipped up and he had it on his back. I decided to do the same with mine. It was only a few minutes later that the bus stopped. The moment it stopped, and I heard to doors swing open, kids started to pile up into the alley, I was one of the lucky ones to quickly grab a spot, while those unlucky ones were left to wait until everyone else was off the bus, unless of course, their friends stopped the line of them. Or they managed to push themselves into the line.
"Mattie! Mattie! Come on!" Alfred said, at the steps of the bus waiting for me. I nodded, taking in the sight of the school. It wasn't as big as the one in France, but it could certainly be called large. There were a few steps leading up to the front door, along with a large mosaic art piece on the ground, in front of the door, shaped like a rhinoceros. It actually looked really cool.
"Rien the Rhinoceros is our school mascot! She's awesome!" Alfred said, pointing at the mosaic. I smiled. Rien the Rhinoceros. That's a pretty name. Alfred lead me into the building, and immediately I was hit with a large swarm of kids. Some younger, and... Older? Did older kids also go here? I looked over confused at Alfred.
"Do older kids come here? Why are they here?" I was starting fifth grade, which, last I checked in America, if meant the final grade in elementary. Alfred shook his head.
"No. They don't go here. They just help around with Buddy Reading and helping teachers for extra credit." Alfred said. I stared at the kids around me. Some looked nice. "Come on, we have to head to our classroom! I can't wait for you to meet Mr. Oxensternia! He's the best! Ever!" Alfred laughed, grabbing my wrist, something that I've grown used too, and pulled me towards his- our classroom. As we entered, after going up a set of stairs, I saw all the kids. Well, most of them. I still think there was a few running behind. I saw a very, very tall man. I froze. Alfred, still gripping my wrist, nudged me towards the tall man.
"Mr. O! Mr. O!" Alfred smiled. The tall man looked at us. I felt as though I was getting smaller, and smaller. I looked down at the ground. "This is my new brother! Matthew!" Alfred said. My head hung down, a little embarrassed to look at the tall man. A han,d slowly crept from underneath my nose. I finally looked up and saw the tall man on his knees, a very small smile on his face.
"Nice to m''t you Matt'w." His words were a little strange, but I understood them.
"N-Nice to meet you..." I said shyly, taking the man's hand.
"My name is Mr. Oxensternia, b't, everyone h'r' just calls m' Mr. O." Mr. O explained. No wonder Alfred called him Mr. O. I don't get why I didn't get that immediately. "Matthew, I'll introduce y'' to the cl'ss once it's 'n session... Ok'y?" Mr. O asked. I froze again. Introduce? To the whole class? I wanted to shake my head, but I didn't. I nodded, before rushing away from both my brother and new teacher and into a seat. I was dredding the final moments of the class knowing me... I mean, with everything that happened in France, I was a little scared of school. Well, not school itself, just the kids in it. Maybe except for my sisters and Alfred, and maybe Feliciano, but, that's it. Maybe Natalya? Wait, yes, no? I confuse even myself at times.
"Hey Mattie!" Alfred smiled, coming up to me, I faked a smile. "Why did you run all of a sudden?" He asked, sitting on a chair next to me. I shrugged. "You don't have a zombie infection do you? If you do, please don't turn me!" Alfred whined. I couldn't help but laugh at that. Alfred was a bit silly. "See! You're smiling! You must have it!" Alfred continued. I laughed harder.
"Non, Alfred, I don't have a zombie virus!" I clarified. Alfred immediately stopped panicking.
"Oh! Okie dokie!" His regular smile returned quickly. I smirked at his silliness. "Class is gonna start. We gotta be quiet!" Alfred put his index finger up to his lips, making a 'shh' sound. I realized, my nerves were gone. Alfred must have taken them away. I was going to have to thank him later for that. He's an awesome brother. Alfred and I continued to whisper to each other, until Mr. O began to speak.
"Good m'rning class. I h'pe you all had a wonderful weekend!" Mr. O said. Everyone either nodded or said they did. "I know we usually do sharing 'n Mondays, h'wever, w' have a n'w student joining us today. Matthew please c'm' up here." Mr. O said, his voice sounding friendly. I shuffled up into the front of the class. Some of my nerves reappearing. I looked around my class. I saw Feliciano, and his twin brother, Alfred, Natalya, and the rest I didn't know. There was a boy with blonde hair, sitting next to Feliciano, a black haired boy next to them, a dark skinned kid with dreadlocks, they looked kinda cool to be honest, a girl with a red headband in her hair, a messy brown haired boy sitting next to Feliciano's twin brother, and a girl with long brown hair with purple flowers in them, who was talking to an albino girl with really long white hair, and a lot more. There had to be at least twenty kids.
"Matthew, why don't y'' intr'duce yourself?" Mr. O asked, letting me have the stage. I took a deep breathe.
"B-Bonjour!" I started off, I saw the girl with the red headband perk up. "My name is Matthew Bonnefoy, and I used to live in France." I was a little shocked that most of the students heard me, maybe over the weekend, my voice must have gotten used to talking more. A few hands shot up. I looked over at Mr. O confused.
"You can pick on a student and hear their question, and answer it." Mr. O said. I nodded, and pointed at the albino girl.
"Do you have any bruders or sisters?" She asked. I nodded. I could tell what "bruders" meant because she had said "sisters" next. Though, it was a bit unusual. I've never heard "brothers" said that way.
"I have two sisters, Lucille and Michelle, and a new brother, Alfred!" I smiled. I saw her look confused. Another hand shot up.
"Um, yes?" I said, pointing to the new hand, which was the boy with the dreadlocks.
"How are you related to... that?" The boy asked, pointing a glare at Alfred, who only stuck his tongue out.
"R-Related? We're not blood related. My Papa said that Alfred's my brother. And, Alfred's dad said I could call him Dad." I explained. Mr. O looked at me, I could sense a small smile. I chose another hand, the girl with the red hairband.
"What part of France are you from?" She asked, smiling.
"Brest." I answered.
"My Mama's from Paris! My dad's from Belgium!" The girl said. Mr. O seemed a little amused.
"One question per student Emma." The girl, Emma, looked innocently at Mr. O.
"It wasn't a question! It was a comment!" Emma grinned. Mr. O sighed, but appeared to have let it go. This must have been the Emma Feliciano mentioned. A few more questions passed, some of which were really easy, like the brown haired girl with purple flowers asked me what was my favourite food, which I answered Pancakes. The albino girl immediately agreed. I kept looking at Natalya, hoping that maybe she would ask me a question. But, she kept staring at me. After a few more questions, Mr. O stopped the introduction.
"I hope you 'll w'll be nice to Matthew. And, g've him a warm w'lcome here." Mr. O turned to me. "Please t'ke your seat M'tthew." Mr. O told me. I nodded, my face neautral, even though I was feeling really happy. I was excited to meet everyone else, by names, and hopefully make a lot of friends! However... I stared at Natalya, as Mr. O began to take role. I was paying attention to every name. The albino girl is Julchen, the brown haired girl with purple flowers is Anneliese, the dreadlocks boy is Wuan, the black haired boy was Kiku, the blonde next to Feliciano was Ludwig, the boy next to Feliciano's twin brother, Lovino, was Antonio, and more names flooded in. I think Natalya caught my glance because she started to glare at me, sending shivers down my spine. I quickly turned away. I really hope she'll be my friend... Maybe, I'll ask her later. I tuned Mr. O back in, and started to learn.