Tweetie

26

Ryan didn't think he was a sympathetic boy. Empathetic, sure. But never sympathetic.

But after the morning of lessons he had been through, he wasn't so sure.

It was Robin's first day at school, the day should have been made as easy for her as possible because she was adjusting and she already had so much stress from her mess of a week. But it wasn't. He felt, to be entirely truthful, awful. The fact that every teacher picked on her and made the sort of passing comments only he and his friends would receive made him bubble with frustration. She didn't look like a 'problem kid' like he and his friends were labelled as. She looked like she wouldn't even cough if it meant it would cause a disruption in class. Yet, because she sat with him, she was labelled immediately as a problem kid. He didn't even want to think about the comments he heard about her from other kids around the school.

He took the time after English literature during the short break to leave with Oscar and Leo, deciding that the school shop seemed more interesting than the classroom. Robin stayed behind, mentioning an ache in her leg that stopped her from moving much.

Truthfully, he would have left the school entirely, yet he didn't. If he could convince Robin to follow, then maybe he would have, but he didn't even attempt it because he knew it wouldn't go as he hoped. It was her first day, she couldn't. So, since she couldn't, he decided to stay, at least until he physically couldn't take it anymore.

"Leo," Ryan said as they made their way back to the classroom with breakfast bars, the only thing Ryan could afford after searching the bottom of his bag for loose change, "why were you late?"

"Oh," Leo shrugged dismissively, instinctively going to disregard the question, but, he answered. "Some kids were picking on Milly again, so I went to see if she was alright."

"Is she?" Ryan asked, feeling the sympathy he didn't realise he had strike at his heart again.

Milly was Leo's younger sister in year seven, she just started high school and it was obvious that she found it overwhelming. She was a nice quiet kid. Leo was always there for her. The boy rarely let things get in the way of his studies, but when Milly was involved, he didn't mind. Sure, he skipped school a lot, but even then, he was studying to make up for it.

"She will be," Leo answered, "I promised I'd buy her some cake from the cafe though. I don't suppose you have any extra money in your bag? I don't have any with me today. It's fine if not, I'll just go home and get some."

"No," he shook his head, already knowing he didn't have any. "Maybe Fox has some?"

"Maybe," he shrugged, glancing towards the classroom only a few steps away. Yet, his eyebrows furrowed and he acknowledged something Ryan had missed.

"Did I just see Amelia go into our classroom?"

"What?" Ryan turned, "why would she?"

"Isn't Tweetie still in there?" Oscar reminded them, forcing them to quicken their steps. Yet, none of them entered the classroom when they arrived. Instead, they stood outside, listening to see if they could hear a catfight they needed to break up.

They didn't. But, they did hear the voices inside.

"-So, you're suddenly friends with the boys, huh?"

Amelia's voice was as snarky as ever. Ryan wondered if the ginger-haired girl even realised how condescending she sounded when she talked... Probably. Hell, it was likely intentional. Sometimes he felt like she thought she was in a movie that revolved entirely around her. It didn't help when she was always being praised for 'taking no shit' when really, she was the one creating it.