Tweetie

27

Lunch rolled around quickly as the fourth lesson came to an end with just as much interrogating as the first two did. Each teacher Hazel met seemed to want to test her skills. And while she was smart, there was a lot in school that you tend not to need or learn outside of it. For example, the various ways a rock can break. She knew how they broke, but there was really no point in testing her on the names of every process. Damn Geology, why did they even teach that in a Geography lesson?

"Did I walk into a quiz show?" Hazel said into her arms, her voice small, muffled and worn as the Geography teacher exited the room.

The three boys watched her with the same questions in their own minds. It seemed everybody had noticed how questions were thrown at her. Maybe they were just testing to see how much she knew, but it felt a little harsher than that when their tones were so strict and they kept mentioning that she should know if she previously went to a school in the North. Did they not like people from the North? Or did they just not like her?

"I guess all the teachers are associating you with us," Leo sighed, leaning back in his chair and resting against her desk with his elbow.

"You deal with this type of thing every day?" She pouted, lifting her head. "I see why you spend your time at the cafe instead-"

"-What the fuck are you doing here!?"

A new voice bellowed from the open doorway, putting the conversation on hold as everyone turned, their eyes meeting a scowling face of a boy with an upturned nose, larger forehead and a shaven head.

"Dude," Oscar turned to face Ryan, "did you get into a fight with Dicky Ricky again or something? Why is he yelling towards us?"

"He's not," Leo stated, continuing to lean against Hazel's desk and say words that only puzzled the girl further. "I think he's yelling at Tweetie..."

She blanked, her head tilting as she realised that the boy was definitely looking directly at her. But, why? What did she do? She didn't recall ever really talking to the boy. Sure, she was there when he and Ryan argued, but, she wasn't involved, was she?

"Oh shit," Ryan mumbled, "I've never heard him yell at someone other than me before..."

The boy in question moved towards the group, the remaining classmates moved out of his way hurriedly as he crossed the classroom, shoving chairs as he passed. Hazel didn't move, she simply sat and stared down at the table, attempting to figure out what the hell was happening.

She thought back, going to every possible situation she could to figure out if this was a mistake or if she really did something to upset him like this.

"Bitch," the boy snapped, his hands slamming onto her desk and forcing Leo to jolt away, quickly standing and watching while, beside them, Oscar's lips parted and he figured out what was happening.

"I'm... confused-" she lifted her head to look at him, but, as she did. It clicked.

She turned to Oscar, recalling the blurry events when she was chased and punched and the two were threatened. It was Ricky and she assumed that he felt alarmed from finding out that she joined the school and could potentially tell a teacher there.

He furrowed his eyebrows at the sound of her confusion, shifting from anger to his own confused expression. But, she sat up and looked at him.

"...Oh, you," she said, monotone but silently shocked he had made himself known. Maybe he was an idiot.

"Oh, now you remember?"

"Yeah," she snapped back quickly, deciding not to take any of his shit on her first day. First Amelia? Now, this? Maybe she was getting a bit of an attitude problem. "Did you think any of this through? Or were you planning on blurting out what you did for everyone to hear? I can tell them for you if you want."