fragments → garmau • mcd au

[2] new student

"So then after that, the-"

Knock knock.

"Oh! The new student has arrived." Mr Burt stopped mid-sentence, and walked over to the door of the classroom. He opened it, and the heat of the outside gushed in, mixing with the air-conditioning inside. Groans and complaints filled the room, and footsteps could be heard.

The door closes, and silence fills the room yet again.

"So class, this is our new student. Would you like to introduce yourself, and tell the class something about you." He said, and I kept my head laid on my arms on the table. Mr Burt knew I was always listening, so he didn't bother. My eyes opened to glance at the white table, and immediately shut again.

"Hi! I'm Aphmau, and I just moved to Phoenix Drop! My favourite colour is lilac purple." A chirpy feminine voice filled the classroom, and I groaned softly, the high pitch hurting my head.

"Look, nerd boy is having a headache." I heard Laurance's voice, and I turned my head in the opposite direction. Mumbles and laughs could be heard.

"Oh look, Garroth doesn't have a partner. Why don't you go sit next to him?" I hear Mr Burt, and my head jerks up immediately.

"I-Uh-Sir, I'm fine, honestly." I say, and Laurance laughs from behind me.

"I understand you prefer to be by yourself and do your best work alone, but I just think you need a friend to help you out, you know? Plus, you need a partner for the project, so this is perfectly sorted." Mr Burt says, and pushes the girl gently in my direction.

She has black hair, hazel eyes, and is wearing a lilac purple muscle tee, with some grey shorts and fingerless gloves. She carried a purple backpack and looked intimidated, from what I could tell from my current distance. She walked closer, and got to the table, and sat on the stool next to me. I looked the other direction, out the window.

"So, your name is Garroth?" I heard her ask, with Mr Burt's voice teaching English in the background. I ignored her.

"Hello?" She says again, sounding a slight bit more annoyed this time.

"Hey, it's rude not to answer." She said, and at the corner of my eye I saw Laurance tap her on the shoulder and whisper in her ear, and I heard everything, which wasn't nescessarily very difficult due to the fact that Laurance doesn't actually whisper that softly.

"You don't want to talk to him."

"Why? And who are you?"

"Laurance Meteli, the popular kid who's trying to save your reputation, or soon to be, considering this is your first day."

"Um, okay."

"Laurance, please stop trying to influence the new girl to join your little gossip group, we don't need more people joining your little, um, squad." Mr Burt turns around and scolds Laurance, and the two immediately sit back straight at their seats, staring at the whiteboard.

I continued to look out the window as Me Burt taught on, when the bell rang.

"And remember, your project is due in two months so get with your partner and start! Do a book review of any book, and share both your opinions and ratings out of five!" Mr Burt reminded, as I stood up from my chair and grabbed my backpack that was on the floor. I put my black backpack on my back and made my way towards the exit.

I felt a hand grab my shoulder and I stopped and turned my head. Mr Burt was standing there, and the new kid was next to her.

"It's quite a lot to ask from you Garroth, but can you show Aphmau around the school? It's a great opportunity since you two are partners." Mr Burt said, and I sighed.

"I'm not getting anyway out of not having a partner, am I?" I muttered, and Mr Burt shook his head.

"Afraid not. So, Aphmau, just follow Garroth, and he'll show you around school." Mr Burt said, and I sighed, pushing my glasses up. I continued walking and I felt her following me , and I sighed, shaking my head ever-so-slightly. I walked over to my locker, which wasn't too far from the classroom. I opened it and it was rather bare, filled with books and an extra pair of glasses.

Why an extra pair?

You never know who's going to break the pair you have now when you have such a fabulous reputation like mine.

"Um, you're supposed to be showing me around school, aren't you?" I heard her ask, and I rolled my eyes. I turned around and folded my arms.

"You don't want to be seen around me. Laurance was right, I'm afraid. Look, there he is now. He can show you around the school, it'll make you look less like a loser, and more like them." I pointed at Nicole, Laurance, Sasha, Gene, and Lillan who just came out of the classroom, all snickering away, probably planning a way to sneak out of school to the closest club, or something.

"They seem... Mean." She sounded unsure, and I scoffed.

"Maybe to me." I muttered, and she heard it, surprisingly.

"What? Do they bully you?" She asked, sounding upset.

"If you want to put it that way then sure, everyone in this school bullies me." I said, and she frowned.

"That's not nice!" She said, and I rolled my eyes and turned around.

"My life isn't." I mumbled, and this time she wasn't so sharp.

"Soo... When do you want to meet up to do the project? We have to do like a presentation and stuff right?" She asked, and I gave a curt nod, turning back to my locker.

"Indeed. We could possibly go to your home, mine isn't exactly very..." I trail, thinking of the right word to say.

"Isn't exactly very what?" She asks, and I sigh.

"Isn't exactly very welcoming." I say, and a brief "Oh" escapes her lips.

"Thursday, I'll drive, you guide." I say, today being Monday, which means I have to do chores, a whole lot of them, and Thursday being the one day I don't have any chores, because my father hires three maids to do it on Thursdays, as he isn't in the house and he doesn't trust me.

"Well, okay."

BRINGGGGGG.

"Bye." She waves, and I walk off without replying.