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JIMENA'S SO-CALLED "WELCOME BACK"meetingwith her guidance counselor brought nothing more than boredom, repeating the elite academy's rules, regulations, and guidelines. Through the promise that as challenging as this year would fall on account of the young girl's choice upon coming back mid-semester, Mrs. Lee would always be an ally. Jimena forcibly forced a smile, containing herself from rolling her eyes, prizing that she had made up half of her missing work through homeschooling, already ahead of most of her peers.
Fortunate for Jimena, the session concluded earlier than expected on the appearance of another new student knocking on the counselor's door. The girl was grateful to the unknown boy as she walked toward her class.
Making sure to keep the tardy slip handed to her visible, comprehending that if even one professor noticed her walking the halls without one, they would automatically deliver afternoon detention, sparing no leniency to the "new student." Istituto C. Collodi — held their disciplinary rules to a high account. As pleasant as the school seemed from an outsider's perspective, it was far from that — the establishment drenching in privilege and elite status. It was rare to find one soul without a dreadful attitude.
The loud racket of gleeful laughter tore her from her reflections, the girl grasping notice of — Niccolò and his pestering best friend, Brando, their attentions focused on a video playing on one of their cellphones. Jimena quickly brought forth the tiny slip of paper, hoping to shed her face from their view, the pass being little to no help, barely covering her frame.
To no luck, Niccolò recognized her image instantly.
He grinned as her fingers tightened against the paper, the brunette turning the corner promptly. Shaking his head, he delivered a lazy excuse to his close friend, assuring him he'd meet up with him before lunch. Brando stood disoriented as they agreed to skip the first period.
"Jimena!" His fixed stare captured towards her, not even bothering to lower his volume, not caring to be caught in the hallway, knowing he could easily talk himself out of it. Ignoring him in all, she kept her pace, wishing he would ultimately give up. "Jimena, I know you can hear me unless you've gone deaf, which would be unfortunate because I don't know sign language. But I'm always up to learning something new, especially for you." He cheesy joked.
"Sadly, I can hear, which is painfully tragic at this moment," Annoyance playing on her features, the tension in the atmosphere being able to be cut with a knife. The two's last exchange concluded on rotten terms. "But, I could've sworn you were somebody else," She fibbed, pursing her lips as a short huff escaped.
