A/N
I am sooo sorry I haven't been posting lately. I just had a lot of things to finish off, but i'm back with another chapter!
I spend the rest of Lunch sitting on the bench and playing Flappy Bird on my phone. I could have sworn I told myself not to play this addictive game anymore but it was all just hazy... yeah. Me and my terrible excuses. I try not to think about how my first kiss ended up like this. Christina texted me a couple of times and left me a voicemail but I couldn't be bothered to read the texts or listen to the voicemail so I skipped Lunch and sat there until the bell rang to signal my next lesson, Choir, is starting. I get up and make my way to the main building when I realise I literally have no idea where to go. I go up to the friendliest looking person I see and ask them.
"Ermm, i'm really sorry to bother you I was just wondering where I could find room 253"
"Oh yeah i'm heading to that room as well. Choir, right?"
I nod and he introduces himself.
"I'm Jim, by the way" he has light brown short hair with a front fringe and piercing green eyes.
"Tris"
"Nice to meet you Tris. We better get going or Mr. Michaelson will be on our case"
"Oh right. Yeah. Thanks so much by the way"
"Don't worry. Any time you need help you know where to come to" he smiles at me and I smile back. He leads me to the classroom.
"So. Where did you transfer from, guessing you're new here"
"New York"
"Awesome"
"Why does everyone think that? Awesome would be coming from England" I turn to face him and he just laughs at my statement. We get to the classroom and we take seats next to each other at the front of the classroom. At the back of the classroom I see literally all the girls crowded around someone who is sitting there. Someone who looks like Lauren is even sitting on his lap but I can't see his face. Before Jim and I had the chance to talk, Mr. Michaelson, as Jim told me, walks in and stands in front of everyone. The girls make their way back to the seats and I see that the guy is Four, looking really uncomfortable. Great. He's in the same class as me. So much for trying to avoid him.
"Right class! Today is the day you've all been waiting for!" he says sarcasm dripping from each syllable. "An open stage. Well, open floor since our school is too cheap to put even the smallest of stage in our classroom"
Not many people laugh at this and the teacher rolls his eyes.
"So hands up if you want to perform. Singing only has you know, this is Choir, not Music"
Only two people put their hands up. Two people I don't know. I sink down lower in my chair, not wanting to get picked.
"Tammy, Sandra. I'm guessing you two want to do a duet"
The girls nod eagerly and get up, testing the mic and one of them, Sandra starts singing the first verse of Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus. She's a decent singer but some notes are a little bit off from what I can notice. I look around and see that no one is paying attention to them. My eyes skip Four on purpose because just looking at him makes my heart ache a little so I turn my gaze onto everyone else in the room. People look really bored. Before I can ask Jim, he tells me.
"They do the exact same song, exactly the same way every single open stage. It gets really boring after a while"
"I can imagine"
The girls finish the song and Mr. Michaelson walks to the front of the class.
"So, no one else wants to sing?"
No one around the room does anything and I slouch down lower into my chair. Almost a minute goes by and I can literally see the tumbleweed go by.
"Guess I will have to start picking. Hmm, let's see. Who looks like they don't want to be picked"
I almost fall off my chair because I don't want to be picked. His eyes settle on me and I find myself scolding myself on making me stand out.
"How about the new girl. What was your name again? Trixy?"
"Tris" I correct him. "Prior" I stay in my seat not wanting to get up due to my horrendous stage fright. "Err.. do I have to perform?"
He nods and stares at me. So does everyone else in the class. I groan and stand up.
"Can I at least play an instrument along with singing?" I ask hoping the guitar will drown out my voice.
"Sure, but you have to use the mic"
"Fine"
I grab the mic and position to my height, which is quite short. I get the acoustic guitar I spotted in the corner and strap it on. I look up at everyone and feel a wave of nausea but I am determined to conquer my stage fright and this is the first step. I pluck the strings to make sure it is in tune and begin playing the first few chords as well as singing the first verse but I am interrupted by Mr. Michaelson.
"Okay, I do realise it's a solo, but you're singing so-low I can't even hear you"
(A/N Camp Rock quote there bc I can xD)
I hear a few chuckles go around the classroom and when the teacher steps back I feel confident. I play the same few chords as the introduction and begin singing the familiar lyrics of Only Exception by Paramore. I close my eyes and let the music take me somewhere else.
'When I was younger I saw my daddy cry
And curse at the wind.
He broke his own heart and I watched
As he tried to reassemble it.
And my momma swore
That she would never let herself forget.
And that was the day that I promised
I'd never sing of love if it does not exist.
But darling,
You are the only exception.
You are the only exception.
You are the only exception.
You are the only exception.'
I don't finish the song but I don't want to carry on anyway. I open my eyes and see everyone in the room staring back at me, some with their mouths open, some with impressed looks on their face and some (*cough cough* LAUREN) with a look of utter jealousy. When I sit back down in my chair the room erupts into applause with some cheers. Jim pats me on the back. I smile to myself thinking how this would never have happened in my old school. Mr. Michaelson has to stand at the front of the class again to get them to be quiet.
"Well, that was definitely something, Miss. Prior" I hear him say and I find myself blushing a little. No one has ever complicated me on singing. Well, Four has but that's different.
Is it really that different?
I push Four away from my thoughts when the bell rings signaling the end of Choir. I grab my bag and rush out the room before anyone else did. I can hear someone running up behind to catch up to me. I immediately think it's Four and think of how I will dodge this conversation but I turn to see Jim beside me. I breath out, slightly disappointed.
"So, care to tell my how long you've been singing for?" he asks, curious.
"I would, but I really have to get to my next class. Talk later?" I'm just not in the mood to hold a conversation with someone.
"Yeah sure. Give me your phone for a minute?"
"Ookay..?" I take my phone out of my pocket and pass it to him. After a few seconds he passes it back.
"My number, in case you want to talk or something"
"Oh, right. Thanks" I smile and turn around walking towards AP Chem which (thankfully) is marked out by signs on the walls. The hallways are a bit empty because of my hasty exit but people are coming out of their classrooms now.
Including Peter.
Oh great. Just what I have to deal with. I take a deep breath and keep walking, hoping to avoid him and his 'crew' as people say. Molly, Drew and Al follow his exact footsteps.
"So Tris, saw you with old Jim just now. What, moved on from Four already?" Peter manages to stand in front of me, blocking me from my classroom.
"Wow you little slut. Two guys in one day?" Molly speaks up from next to Peter.
"That seems a little too easy for you to say, Molly, because I could have sworn I saw you with someone else this morning" that was a lie but I needed something to say. Peter falls for it and turns to Molly, a mix of anger and shock.
"She's lying. It's obvious" Molly defends herself and Peter easily believes her, turning back to me.
"So you think you can get away with lying like that, huh?"
"How do you know that's a lie. You take her word for it?"
"I take hers over yours"
"Suit yourself, but when you find out you'll be wondering why you didn't believe me" I start to walk away, happy a fight didn't break out, but Peter grabs my arm.
"You dare talk to me like that?" he demands, obviously outraged.
Gosh, this guy acts like he's the King around here.
"Let go of me" when he doesn't, I tug my arm away and he doesn't do anything else, just walks away.
A/N
I hope you enjoyed it! Tell me what you think of Jim! Leave a review if you enjoyed it or have any tips to improve my writing. I will post the next chapter sooner I promise! xD