How Things Changed Forever.. PART - II

CH 3: Courtesy

Hillary had reached school with half an hour to spare. After finding her new locker and depositing her bagpack, she headed for the main auditorium, where the fresher's orientation was supposed to take place.

The auditorium was not yet open, making all the freshers stand at its entrance , forcing the students to mingle with the people they were to spend the four years of their highschool, for better or worse. Small clusters were already forming, with people hardly noticing the new comers, already immersed in their talks of how they spent their summer holidays. 

Hillary was not in the mood for small talk. With her draining schedule, she could hardly muster up the energy to idly chat these days. So, she picked a corner for herself to stand and wait out for the orientation to start. 

 She was taken by surprise when a pair of hands enclosed her eyes. She hadn't expected to meet someone she knew from among the crowd. "Boom! Didn't think we would be meeting twice in a day, did you?" asked a fruity voice behind her. She  recognised it immediately. "You!" exclaimed happily. The mysterious hands withdrew as their owner continued to laugh. "You never told me you were going to start high school here! " Hillary asked indignantly. "You never asked me Hil." was Aubrey Sanders witty reply, her smile only widening.

Aubrey Sanders was one of her few friends and a fierce rival from the swimming sphere of her life. She was donning the colours of the blue team, the vest coat and skirt only a shade lighter than the common navy blue blazer with the school emblem.

Hillary wanted to counter her accusation, but she couldn't remember any. Since her impromptu break, she had hardly been participating in discussions, only answering whenever a question was directed to her specifically, and that too with the shortest reply she could come up with. 

Hillary felt slightly guilty for not having paid attention to one of the few people who were proving to be really faithful to her, but Aubrey had already moved on. "If you've got no one to meet, I could very well introduce you to my friends here."Without waiting for a reply, Aubrey grabbed her hand and led her to the cafeteria. 

The cafeteria, which was just beside the auditorium, was buzzing with older students having their breakfasts or freshers who had grown tired of waiting at the lobby. Hillary was steered into a table already occupied by five people. "Hey guys! This is Hillary, as in Hillary Tachibana." Aubrey introduced her.

"The state swimmer that came out of the blue?, pun intended." smiled a extremely long guy with black short hair cut crisply and blond streak in the front. He wore a  basketball cap turned backwards and had a nice tan. He was thinly built, with his shirt hanging loosely to his frame, as though it hadn't even been removed from the hanger. Hillary just waved.

"Nice to meet you, Aub speaks very highly of you." said the quite boy busy in his mobile.

"Aren't you a bit too short for being a swimmer? All swimmers are tall!" bluntly exclaimed the one who obviously looked like the leader of the group with his tall frame, broad shoulders and judgemental eye. He sized her up, his eyes moving up and down her frame. All of his friends were looking at him in surprise and confusion. 

Hillary wasn't really offended, just surprised. He himself hadn't bothered to dress up decently for the occasion with his tossled hair and crumpled uniform. And anyway, she wasn't going to let a stranger ruin her day before it even began. She held his gaze and smiled at him sincerely,  "Being short comes with a wonderful advantage in life. Do you know what that is? People underestimate you. And what's the best part about it all? Being able to wipe that judgemental smirk off their faces forever. So, what do you say for a face off in the swimming pool?"