The Animals Have Come to Play (Completed) (unedited)

First Real Day

(Chapter 3: First Real Day)

I trudged into my science class after a long and uneventful weekend. Throwing my notebook, state issued iPad, and pencil onto the desk, I sunk into my seat and rested my head in my arms against it. The room was in chaos, despite it being Monday. A couple of sophomores were playing Monkey in the Middle with some poor guy's pencil case. Another girl yapped noisily into her phone at the person on the other side. Others talked loudly about sports practices or how their relationships were doing. Even with the many distractions, I could still hear a couple of people whispering about me from across the room. Nothing kind was said. I didn't care.

I smelled him before he even walked into the room. A blend of dew and pine. He dropped into the chair next to me, making the chair groan at the sudden weight.

"Rough weekend, eh?" he questioned. I grumbled out my response. He chuckled at me. "My weekend was fine, thank you for asking, Ariadne!" he continued joyously. I ignored him. I felt the heat of his body radiate onto my skin as he neared me. My wolf-y senses were tingling, telling me someone was about to poke my shoulder. I grabbed my pencil quickly and hit the finger he was about to poke me with without lifting my head.

"Rude," he muttered to me. I glanced up out of my arms at him. He smiled brightly. "Morning, sunshine!" he teased.

"Fuck off, butt cheek," I growled out. "It should be clear I'm not in the mood."

"You were fine Friday," he pointed out.

"That's because school had started four hours later and it was my first day." He waved my excuse away. The bell rang, and Mr. Klodge strolled in.

"Morning class," he called out tiredly as he sat down. I sat up and propped my head in my hand. His eyes wandered over the students, silently taking roll. They paused for a few moments on certain students, me included, before beginning.

"All right, today we are doing a burner lab, so tie all long hair back, roll long sleeves up, and please do keep your face a respectful distance from the fire. Last burner lab we did, a boy singed his eyebrows off. Follow me this way."

~~~

Room 203... Room 203... What the hell? Where is it! I looked down at my schedule. The school hadn't been decent enough to give me a map. While I was looking down at my schedule for what seemed like the hundredth time, trying to get the room number to magically change to something in the 200s, I bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" I said, looking up and smiling apologetically to the guy I ran into. I saw his irritated look turn into one of cockiness.

"Oh, it's no problem! I wouldn't mind running into you another time." I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not having a cliche moment."

"What?"

"You know, where a guy and a girl bump into each other, and he gets pissed off only to realize she's cute. Then he tries some cheesy pick-up lines trying to get her to laugh. Then he'd help her with what she's doing, then offers her his phone number and bam! Hook up."

"That's not what's happening!" he stuttered, turning slightly red.

"That's completely what is happening, Ian. Go away. She's clearly not interested." A girl passing by butted in, putting her hands on her hips. He bit the inside of his cheek before complying. The girl smiled at me before offering a hand. "Hi, I'm Opal." I grabbed her hand, taking in her flawless mocha skin. She had deep blue curls and chocolate brown eyes.

"Ariadne. Ari for short." I dropped her hand.

"Pleasure to met you, Ari. I'm guessing you're lost?" I nodded my head, an embarrassed smile pulling at my lips. "Here let me help you!" She came around and grabbed my schedule.

"203, eh?" She chuckled. "You're on the wrong side of the school. 203 is over by the cafeteria. Take a left up here and follow it up to the corner. Then take a right there, and follow it all the way down towards the exit. It should be the last door on your right!" I smiled gratefully at her.

"Thanks, Opal. You're a lifesaver!" I gushed before taking off to follow her directions. Left, right, right. I repeated over and over in my head. The numbers slowly lowered. 218, 217, 216, 215b, 215a. I finally reached my destination, crossing the threshold as the bell rang.

"Oh you must be the new student! Please, come in! Everyone, this is Ariadne Roytan. You are from Iowa, right?" I nodded my head. "Welcome to Minnesota! Sit anywhere that there's a seat available. I'm Mrs. Newtson," she finished, a friendly smile making her aged face crinkle. Her silver hair was pulled back into a bun. Her glasses rested on the slight bump in the middle of her nose.

I nodded again and head towards a seat in the back. Along the way back, someone stuck their foot out to trip me. I stepped over it, glancing over my shoulder to see a boy glaring at me. It was clear to me that he was a wolf. Why did he already seem to hate me? I sat down, flipped to a new page in my notebook, grabbed my pencil, and got ready to write down notes for math.

~~~

The same ritual was repeated for the remainder of my classes. Cutting time close, being introduced, either making some traditional introduction or just heading straight to my seat. At lunch, Opal had beckoned me to her table.

There sat a couple others which were introduced to me. Stacey, the girl who first insulted me, then had a heart-to-heart with my wolf. Brad, someone who enjoyed spending time using corny pick-lines on others. Lastly, Lizbeth who was quiet, and she always had her nose buried in a book. My one life-line of all the classes was art. There, I could easily express myself. Even outside my class, I'd spend a couple hours a week or so doodling in my sketch book. Fortunately, it was the only other class Cynric was in. Opal was in there and my only friend.

When I reached home, my father greeted me at the door.

"Hi," I greeted him. Sliding pass him towards the living room, my ultimate goal was my room.

"Ariadne," my father started with a serious tone. "It's been decided that you will meet Leander tomorrow." I froze. Not turning back, I ignored him and continued on my way down the hallway.

"Dress nicely," he had the nerve to add in. My temper sky rocketed and the sounds of doors slamming echoed throughout the house. I knew no matter how much I protested, I would still have to meet him in the end.

Rushing into my room, I closed the door and locked it. I dropped my book bag onto the ground and flopped onto my bed. Rolling a crossed it, I reached into a drawer on my nightstand and withdrew my sketch book and a mechanical pencil. Drawing in a deep breath, I released a frustrated sigh. I flipped through the pages until I stopped on a blank page and started sketching my anger away.

~~~~~~~

Image of how I see Opal, but with blue hair instead. You know the drill.