Undercover // h.s.

You Again

Chapter 3: You Again

To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never to forget.

- Arundhati Roy

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Today's the day.. I start school. I'm really not looking towards it. Like what if I'm not likable? And people hate me. God, the stress is killing me right now.

I jump right out of bed to choose ''Marcel's" clothes this morning. I choose a white long sleeve buttoned down shirt with a beige cardigan and dark brown pants. I look in the mirror & do not recognize myself. I pretty much am stunned. I run down stairs to the kitchen because I'm incredibly hungry.

I run to the kitchen to find 4 strangers. Or that is how it seems. We're all in disguise.

"Guys, we look like total strangers to ourselves!" I grab an apple to sit at the table with Louis & Liam.

"Uhm, again! I'm a freaking women you know how I have to talk?!? like a squeaky fucking mouse," Zayn shouted angrily as he kept putting on some black heels which he did not know how to strap.. Poor lad.

"What time are we supposed to leave?" Liam laughed while dancing.

"Uhm, any second now. They're gonna pick us up," Louis replied with a funny American accent. It's amazing how we can sound American in a jiffy.

There's a knock on the door.. I walk over to the door to find the agents & a black van in the background. They ask us if we're ready & we gather all our belongings and bundle up into the van. The whole ride was silent. Not a peep from a single person. We suddenly stop in front of a fancy looking building with kids walking in with their backpacks.

"You guys know the drill, in case of an emergency call," the agent handed us all iPhones. "Remember, act normal & fit in & do not draw attention to yourself whatsoever!" And with that we all left the van and started walking towards the building. Once inside, the sweet smell of misery came into mind. Louis, Niall, Zayn, & Liam left to go to their 'jobs' & they wished me good luck. I walked into a large hall with not a single sound. I didn't really know where to go since the bell rang everyone was in class & I was wondering the halls to find the right room.

As I'm so focused staring into my schedule, that I don't even realize I bumped into someone & drop all my stuff including theirs.. Oops.

"I'm so terrible sorry, I wasn't putting attention.." I apologize picking up hers & mine stuff. As we both stand up I find a familiar face. Drew! Drew freaking Taylor. Breathe Harry.. You're Marcel! So she doesn't know you..

"It's fine.. You must be new. Wait.. Aren't you Marcel Styles?" She gives a warm smile.

"Erm- yeah.. Why?" I ask confused.

"I'm Drew Taylor! I was asked to show around & thankfully that means we have all our classes together but we get to miss 4 periods to show you around," she grins.

"Oh really? Well that must be fun! You're probably the most popular & nicest girl here!" I smile.

She looked to her feet a bit gloomy," Not really, I'm very anti social. I have just one friend & rarely talk to anyone so yeah.."

"I cannot believe a beautiful girl like you not be popular. Look at me, I'm a nerd that's always been bullied," I lied trying into character.

"Thanks, well we should get going," she said nervously as she gathered her stuff & guided me around school. She told about all the teachers & the electives. She also told about all the cliques. We had some nice conversations & laugh. We rarely spoke about ourselves. I just wanted to know more about her. The way she would explain things & laugh made me smile.

-

After a long time of chatting & missing 4 periods, the bell for lunch rang. I didn't really know where to go, but Drew invited me to sit with her. I gladly accepted. Since the other lads were teachers, they all got to eat in the teacher lounge. Which pretty much sucks for since I haven't made friends with anyone but Drew. But how I look, I doubt she will ever want to see me again.

I followed her to a table with brunette haired girl from the concert eating her salad & staring at her phone.

"Hey Ash, this is Marcel. Marcel this is Ashton," Drew introduced us to each other.

"Hi Marcel! Welcome to the hell hole called Roosevelt Academy," Ashton said sarcastically.

I laughed awkwardly,"Thank you? So far it's been pretty good."

"You haven't been to class, have you?" She laughed as me & Drew sat down with our plates of food.

"Nope, I pretty much am good in academics but in being social.. Not so much," I open the bottle of water.

"Neither are we.. People here are just plain out fake who live with riches & fantasy perfect world," Ashton explains as Drew gives her a look but I bothered not to ask. I felt a vibration In my pocket to see a text from Liam.

Liam:

Hey you okay? I haven't heard from you.. Things going okay so far?

I reply with:

Yeah.. Drew is here! & I'm so flipping happy me & her are starting to be good friends.

I send the message & turn to look up at Drew.

"Marcel?" she asked sweetly.

"Yes?" I stare into her blue eyes.

"Can you get your elbow out of my food?" she giggled. I stare down to find dressing & pieces of lettuce on my elbow.

"Oh! I'm so so sorry, Drew," I could already feel blood rushing to my cheeks.

"Hey, there's no problem at all! You're perfectly fine & to be honest I feel like I know you.. " she grabs a hold of my chin & stares into my eyes," but I think that's great because I really am starting to like you as a friend." I smile in return. Ashton, Drew & me just began to talk all of lunch until the bell rang. We stood up, threw away the food & began walking towards our lockers.

"Ready, Marcel?" Drew asks as she grabs my shoulder.

"I guess." I reply taking a deep breath.