Bran
He was grumpy and tired. He wanted to be sleeping. He rode in silence while his father drove him to school with his siblings. Bran never understood why school had to start so early. There was nothing wrong with the idea of school starting up at noon in his opinion. But that was not the way of things.
No one was really talking as they drove. When they got to Rickons school he jumped out and ran to Tommen Baratheon. Then they were off to Kings Landing High. Ned pulled up to the front and Bran got out of the car and waited for his sisters.
"I will be picking you up after school. If something comes up call me or your mother." Ned said to his children before driving away.
"Why is it so bright here?" Arya asked as the sun flashed down at them.
"Closer to the equator then we were back home." Bran answered as he turned to look up the school.
"Sansa, there you are." Joffery Baratheon came over to the trio of Starks. "I have been looking for you. I was going to show you to your class."
"Oh thank you Joffery." Sansa said. She plastered a smile on her face as she let Joffery lead her into the school.
"Come on encyclopedia boy. Let's get in to this place and get some knowledge." Arya said when Sansa was no longer in view.
"What has made you so chipper? Usually you are as grumpy as I am in the morning. And I know that you were up early too. You did yourself up for school." Bran said.
"I am excited. That is all. I get to take my art and auto classes." Arya replied.
Bran knew how much his sister wanted to take those classes. He was just as excited to start his classes to. He was taking all advanced classes. He couldn't wait to see if they challenged him here. For fun he was taking a theater class as well as intro to psych. Theater was his first class. He wanted to have his more challenging classes in the afternoon when he was fully awake and his brain was function completely. So he had theater, English, German, psych in the morning and history, math, and science in the afternoon.
"I will follow you. I don't know where I am going." Bran said.
"I don't know either." Arya said.
Just then a boy and a girl walked over to them.
"Hi there. My name is Meera Reed, this is my brother Jojen. Are you new here?" The girl asked.
"Yes we are new. Arya Stark. This is my brother Bran. We need some directions to our first classes." Arya said.
"I'm sure we can help. We both have theater first period, but we can show you where to go." Meera said.
"I have theater first too. Arya has art." Bran said.
"Cool. That class is on the way to the theater." Meera said. "This way." She led them into the school.
"How old are you?" Jojen asked when they tried to ford the sea of students.
"I'm thirteen. I will be 14 at the end of January. Arya is 15. Her birthday is in June." Bran answered.
"You are young. What did you do jump a grade?" Jojen asked.
"Yeah. I guess I am super smart. They bumped me up." Bran said.
Meera showed Arya to class leaving Jojen to take Bran to the theater. It was a small theater compared to what he imagined it would be. There was a white board in the center of the stage where a figure that he recognized stood there writing.
"Is that Renly Baratheon?" Bran asked.
"Yeah. He works here part time. He is a student teacher. He's pretty cool. A little weird, but cool none the less." Jojen said.
Bran walked up to the stage and went up to his teacher.
"Mr. Baratheon? I need you to sign this." Bran said at Renlys side.
"Bran! I saw your name on the roster today. I am very happy to have you. And please call me Renly. I'm a student teacher. It means I'm not a real teacher yet." Renly said. Renly signed the slip of paper and handed it back to Bran.
Bran walked off the stage and took his seat in the audience.
Arya
Meera Reed walked her to class and went off to her own. Arya stopped at the door and peered in. There were easels and pottery wheels scattered all around. She walked over to the desk of the teacher. She handed her the slip that she was supposed to have all her teachers sign. She had to stay there and talk to the teacher about her art. Arya pulled out her sketch book. There were pictures of her family that she drew. None of them knew of the sketch book, but she had it. She also showed the teacher photos of the paintings that she had done as well.
The teacher was impressed with her work. She showed her to a work station and let her get to work as she felt fit.
"Hello." A deep voice said from her right.
Arya looked over and sucked in her breath. Standing next to her area was one of the most interesting men she had ever seen. He had short hair, but it was two different colors, red and white. His face was in perfect balance and she couldn't tell what his eye color was. He was muscular but not overtly so. He gave off the vibe of feline grace and confidence. There was a paint brush in his hand and a smudge of cornflower blue on his cheek.
"Hi." Arya said. She shyly dropped his gaze.
"What are you going to paint lovely girl?" He asked.
"Um I don't know yet." She said. She felt a little of her normal bold self surface and she looked back over to her right. He was still looking at her.
"A girl must know what she is going to paint. A lovely girl such as you should feel what she is going to paint. I am Jaqen H'ghar. I am a senior here and the student aid for the class. If you need assistance just ask and I will assist you." The man said.
All Arya could do is look at him. She felt her fingers tingling. She wanted to wipe the paint off his cheek. There was something pulling her to this man. What was it with this place? She had been South for four whole days and she sees three highly attractive men that are nice and show her more interest in her then she has ever had. What was it about her in this place?
Arya turned to her work station and thought about what she would paint. All she felt like painting was trees and home. She got her paint out and closed her eyes for a moment. She started out with a pencil outline. Then she went on to painting. She had not gotten very far when the bell rang.
"A girl can paint." Jaqen said from directly behind her. She jumped, but she still felt the heat of another body behind her.
"I have a name you know." She snapped. She was unnerved at how she was reacting to him.
"I do not know what it is so you are a girl until you name yourself." Jaqen said.
"Arya. I'm Arya Stark." She answered.
"What is your next class Arya Stark?" He asked her.
"Advanced poetry. I needed a writing credit, and all the other writing classes looked dull." She said.
"I have taken this class. It will open your mind and help you with your painting." He said as they walked out of the class.
They wound their way through the crowded hall and into the mass of people. He dropped her off at door for her next class.
"Until tomorrow lovely girl." He said with a slight incline of his head.
Arya walked into the class, went to the teacher, was given her book and told where to sit. To her relief there were two faces she knew and she was sitting by them.
"Arya!" Beric said. "You have joined us humble wordsmiths in our quest for the perfect sonnet?"
Arya smiled as she set her things down on her desk.
"Yes I am. Hi Aegon."
"Hi Arya." He said. There was a glint in his eye.
The teacher called the class to attention and set them on their assignment. The class was quiet except for the scratch of pens on paper. Arya wrote a free verse pome on the color cornflower blue and by the end of class she was satisfied with it. She handed it over to the teacher along with the rest of the class.
"Arya wait up." Aegon said. "What is your next class? Can I walk you?"
"Geometry. Unlike the rest of my family I have no mind for math. I am taking the normal math with my grade like a proper person." She said.
"I can drop you. I think Myrcella has that class as well."
Aegon put his hand on the small of her back.
Grendy
He had not intentionally followed Arya, but he seemed to see her all over. When he walked by the art wing she was there being left at the painting studio by a girl he had seen around, but didn't know. Then when he was walking to his history class he saw her walking the opposite way with some senior with two toned hair. Then on his way to his math class he spotted her walking with Aegon who had his hand on the small of her back. He saw red at his hand on her. She was happy and all smiles when Myrcella walk up. Myrcella waved and said something to Arya who headed into class and Myrcella walked over to him.
"Hey Gendry. I have some pictures for you from the party. I have them on a flash drive for you. Beric said you handle all the publicity stuff for your band and some of the pictures are really good." She said looking up into his eyes.
He knew that the girl had a crush on him, and he found her attractive, but he didn't see her that way.
"Thanks Myrcella. I will take a look at them." He said smiling.
He sat in his math class and took notes but his mind was not on the subject. He was thinking of Arya. There was something about her. He usually kept away from the opposite sex. The date that he had canceled on to do the gig on Friday was more for Thoros' cousin's benefit then because he wanted a dat. He was supposed to be her arm candy to get back at an ex. He had said yes to going along with it because she said that she'd pay for dinner and the tickets to a concert. But other then that he had never really went out on a date with anyone before.
Arya made him want to change that. It was starting to scare him how much she was in his thoughts. Gendry didn't know if it was normal to think this much about a girl that you had a crush on or if there was something wrong with him.
The bell rang and he shuffled out of the door with the rest of his class to join into the swell of high school humanity.
"Gendry!" Myrcellas voice called to him.
He stopped and turned to look for her. She was waving her hand in the air over the heads of the other students and thanks to his height he was able to spot her. He changed directions in the current and made his way over to her. When he got to her side Arya was standing next to her looking a little angry.
"Gendry you have the next class with Arya. Can you show her where to go?" Myrcella asked.
"Sure. Follow me." He turned back into traffic and walked slowly to make sure Arya was following.
When they were outside on the way to the auto shop he looked over to her. Something was definitely wrong with her.
"Math not your thing?" He asked.
"They are a chapter ahead then where I was at Winterfell. And the jerk of a teacher wouldn't let me skip over it. I have until Friday to do the whole chapter as well as the daily work. He is a complete prick." She said her cheeks pink with her anger.
"I'm good at math. I could help you out if you'd like." He said looking at his feet as they walked.
"I would really love that. Usually my older brother Jon helps me with math but he's back home. And I would have had to ask Bran and he is the worst person to have help you with something you do not understand. He complicates everything. You are a life saver Gendry." She placed her hand on his arm and a charge shot through his body.
He cleared his throat. "So you are interested in mechanics?" He asked when he remembered how to speak.
"Yes. I love working on cars. I used to help my brothers when they worked on theirs, but my mother never allowed me to take classes in school. Father convinced her to let me here." She said.
"I'm changing the oil on my car today. If you want you can help. I know it's not a two person job, but you are more then welcome to help."
"I would like that a lot." She smiled at him and his heart leapt.
They made it into the auto shop right before the bell rang.
Sansa
She was happy that she had most of her classes with someone she knew. Sandor was such a help navigating the school that she didn't know what she would have done without him. She met quite a few people and everyone seemed nice, but she much more preferred to sit in the comfortable quiet that she had with Sandor. This strange guy almost made her forget that she wanted to be Prom Queen.
She knew it was shallow and stupid but she had wanted to be the prom queen of her senior class for as long as she could remember. So when she realized that Joffery Baratheon was the most popular guy in her class she had decided to use him to climb the social ladder. She had to hide her revulsion and pretend to laugh at the things he would say. She faked happiness when he turned up to walk with her to all her classes. She ate lunch with him and his friends that day. Margaery sat with them. The guy talked about football play offs and parties, the girls talked about hair, guys and shoes. To her the conversation was not very stimulating. But she pretended to care. Prom Queen was worth the mind numbing chit chat going on around her.
She had looked around the cafeteria for her brother and sister and spotted them. They were at opposite ends of the room from her. She was smack dab in the center. She knew that Joffery picked this spot because in his mind he was the center of the universe.
She envied her siblings. They seemed to really be enjoying their time. Bran was with a boy and a girl that looked like they were related. They had a book opened between them and were bent over it in deep conversation. Arya was with Myrcella and the guys from the band that played at the party. Sansa noticed that two of the guys were vying for Aryas attention, but she didn't seem to notice that their attention was anything but friendly, or that Myrcella had a sad look on her face whenever one of the two guys talked to her.
Sansa was talking to Margaery when Joffery told the entire group to shut up and pay attention to what he had to say.
"Friday after the game, after we win there will be a party at my house. I want everyone at this table to attend. It is not optional. I don't give a shit if your parents say no, you get there or you will need to find new friends." Joffery finished his speech and looked around the table. He looked at Sansa for a moment. "And Sansa will you be my date to the party?"
She was shocked. His request was more an order then a question and she really didn't want to go, but she knew that if she turned him down she would never make prom queen and she would not be allowed to be around the few friends that she had made.
"I would really like that Joffery." She said.
"The Hound will pick you up on his way to the party and take you home when it is done. Is that okay with you Dog?" Joffery didn't even wait for an answer from Sandor before turning away to talk to one of his football teammates.
Sansa looked over at Sandor. His mouth was set in a thin line. The lunch bell rang and Sandor hurried out of the cafeteria, Sansa followed.
"Sandor wait!" She quickened her pace and caught up with him. He wouldn't look down at her, so she put her hand on his arm. "Sandor you don't have to take me to Jofferys party. I can borrow one of my parents' cars and drive myself."
"No I will take you. Come on we will be late. I have to go to the gym and so do you."
They walked on to their next class and she was thinking about how much nicer Friday would be if she was going to the party as Sandors date instead of Jofferys. But the way to the crown was with Joffery, not Sandor.