The Girl In The White Labcoat

New Beginnings

Hello again, ghosts! Here's another crack at my brain babies! Check out the picture above to find out what truly makes me giggle. Thanks and enjoy!

It was spring time, and I was walking to school on my second day of second year, which was a week later than the rest of my school mates. You see, I got myself suspended on my first day for beating the shit out of a couple of punks who thought it'd be smart to challenge our school's most infamous delinquent: me. I was well-known even before hitting high school because I caused a lot of trouble during junior high. It was connected to the high school so most of the students here came from there. So of course, as I walked along the hallways to first period, the little goody-goods were giving me a wide berth and whispering nervously to each other.

"He's so scary."
"Why is he back at school?"
"I wish he'd go to another school. I don't want to get bullied."
"Why does he always look like he wants to kill someone?"
"How does he get his long black hair to look so majestic?"

They were whispering just loud enough for me to hear and it was pissing me off. But wait... What was that last comment? I turned to see a small girl in a white lab coat grinning up at my scowl as she walked by. She had her bright blue, shoulder length hair pulled back by an orange ribbon and looked way too young to be a teacher, as the lab coat would suggest. That comment sounded like friendly teasing. Maybe she was just trying to counter balance all the negative emotions coming from the students, to help them not fear me so much. It was a nice gesture but couldn't make a dent in the general consensus that I should be avoided as much as possible.

Maybe I should just cut class today. No. My old man and I had an agreement: I get to live on my own if I can keep my grades up. To keep my grades up, I needed to at least attend class. That's just what I did all day, sitting in the window desk at the very back of each classroom. After our last lesson, the homeroom teacher came up to me with a friendly smile that seemed a bit forced. He was tall like me with shoulder length, dull orange hair - Mr. Clive.

"Redfox," He began, eyeing my many piercings.

"Yeah?"

"I was told to remind you that you are still on probation. You need to keep your overall marks at a C if you want to stay in this school. Since you are a week behind, I suggest you find a tutor," he informed me, now looking at my uniform which I had been purposefully wearing wrong all day.

My tie was loose, and the top 3 buttons on my shirt we're undone. My pant legs had been rolled up as though I was expecting a flood, and I was wearing studded fighting gloves. They really weren't too strict on dress code here but I was definitely pushing it. The other students don't even question the uniform, wearing it properly like it was the cool thing to do. But I couldn't bring myself to do the same. Pops always called me a "rebel without a cause" growing up because I could never just do as I was told. I had to go against the grain or I couldn't be happy. I nodded at Mr. Clive and stalked off before he had a chance to dismiss me. A tutor. Tch. Like I'll need one. School was so easy that it bored me.

***

It took me failing my first few quizzes to realize that I might actually need a tutor. But who? There were some bigger exams right around the corner now and I was still treated like a disease by my classmates. I was having lunch on the rooftop trying to figure out what I was going to do about my sorry situation when I heard and felt a small explosion go off on the floor below me.

Quickly shooting up and dashing down stairs, I took a mental note that there didn't seem to be any panic as I ran past the other students. A smoke trail led me to a staff laboratory. When I made it to the origin of the explosion, I found that little lab coat girl lying on the floor of the laboratory with scorch marks on her face. She was out cold.

As I lifted her into my arms to bring her to the nurse's office, I noticed that the smoke was being sucked into a vent on the ceiling of the room. She was very light and easy to carry. Looking down at her and checking to see if she had any serious injuries, I realized that she was wearing a student's uniform. Was she a student here? If so, then why was she in a lab causing a ruckus? And why did no one seem to care?

"Are you taking me to the nurse's? Please tell me you're at least carrying me princess style," she croaked weakly, coughing out a chuckle. She had one of her eyes cracked open to look at me.

"Oy! What the hell was that explosion? Ya tryna get yerself killed?" I growled while laying her down on one of the hospital beds. The school nurse didn't seem to be around.

"Calm yourself, dear rescuer, for that was merely a fraction of the scale it should have been," she stated theatrically, gesturing with her arms to enhance the effect. I rolled my eyes. So she's a nerd, huh? Those are fun to pick on.

"I remember ya. Yer the one from a while back who said my hair looked majestic," I smirked at her, inviting her to blush. But no color came to her cheeks.

"Yes. You resemble an angry-looking, black-haired lion. Dark and mysterious, yet glorious and free!" She explained dramatically. I didn't know how to feel about her dorky way of describing me. Did she like what she saw or was she using a unique way of insulting me? Should I be flattered or agitated?

I sighed and let it go, "So what's yer name, Squirt, and why were ya tryna blow up the school?" She narrowed her eyes at the nickname.

"My name is Levy McGarden, and like I said, the experiment was a failure but it could have been much worse if I wasn't such a child prodigy," she replied with a bit of a pout.

"Oh yeah, sorry. I should've read between the lines there," I said sarcastically. "So are ya a student here or are ya part of the staff?"

"A little of both," she stated with a smirk. "I'm a first year student, but they gave me that lab to work in. As long as I keep coming up with inventions, new scientific thoeries, and show up for tests, I'm exempt from classes. Are you new here? I thought everyone was briefed about me on the first day."

"Well, I got into a fight on the first day of school so I was sent home for a week," I explained.

"Oh!" she said, realization dawning on her face. "You're the big bad Gajeel Redfox. I'm a big fan of yours," she smiled at me and stuck out a hand. When I hesitantly took it, she giggled and shook our hands. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Gajeel!"

"Yeah... Uhh.. You too..." I replied confused. It was weird having a classmate treat me like a human being for once.

"And thank you for bringing me here. That was very chivalrous of you, saving a damsel in distress," she teased, throwing me a wink. I felt the heat rise in my face.

"Tch. Yeah well, don't get used to it," I growled, turning away to hide my face. "I have to go back to class now so just stay here and rest for a bit."

Before she could make things more awkward, I stomped out of the nurse's office and went to my next class. I couldn't concentrate though. The last few minutes of my lunch hour felt like a figment of my imagination. Was she serious? She said she was a fan of mine. What did that mean? Was that a confession or did she just like the fact that I beat up those guys? I didn't understand her at all. I just wanted to go home.