Dismissed ⤯ Tom Holland

6 | Sneaking Out

Y/N

_

It's strange, the concept of silence.

It's incredibly unnerving to experience, no matter how many times you've been in it before. But what's stranger, is that some people still yearn for it. They want to feel that voiding echo just for a moment, because they think it will bring them peace.

I just wanted to not get caught.

It was a couple minutes past midnight, and I had slipped out of the dorm room and down the hall. It was a tough thing to do, considering every wood plank seemed to creak under my step. When returning to the dorm room earlier that evening, I had scanned the area for a place to set up my mission report.

I noticed a janitor's closet near the bridge divide, and by the looks of the shiny, brass door knob, it hadn't been touched for a while. Abandonment? Just what I needed.

Grabbing that very handle, I pushed open the door and quickly disappeared inside.

The dark, musty room was enough to scare a person out of thier mind, but to me it seemed perfect. A beaten up blackboard was covered in dust, but I pulled it out and wiped away the cobwebs.

"Let's get this party started," I grinned, grabbing the broken up chalk from the holder.

_

"Eat this bagel and let's go," Jamie said, tossing a paper bag at me.

After my little escape, I snuck back into the room and pretended to be asleep. The girl didn't suspect a thing, and instead went to grab nourishment from the cafeteria.

"Are you normally so peppy after waking up?" I asked, climbing out of bed.

"We've got Earth Sciences with Bradworth," she said, "it's my favorite class."

"Earth sciences? Sounds boring."

"Yeah, the actual class is, but the people in it aren't."

"Oh?"

"Just get a move on, freshie, before you get a tardy slip."

"Fine, fine," I groaned, slipping on my shoes and grabbing my backpack, "let's go."

I followed her through the bustling crowd of waking students, my eyes peeled for anything else useful I could find. The sunlight seemed to brighten up the old-fashioned school just a tad bit, but I still felt more out of place than usual.

I got a couple blatant stares as Jamie led me to the classroom, but I shrugged them off. I never like this much attention, since I've been trained to stick to the shadows.

"Morning Bradworth," Jamie yelled, pushing open the door, "happy Thursday to ya'"

The classroom was brightly lit, an assortment of plants littering the windowsills. A middle-aged man sat upon his desk, an attendance sheet in his hand. His glasses were so low they seemed like they would fall off his nose, but he paid them no mind.

"Well, I suppose it is morning," he said, clicking his pen, "who's this?"

He gestured at me, and Jamie grabbed my hand and pushed me forward. So much for sticking to the shadows.

"This is Eliza," she said, "Transfer student from New York."

"Oh, I just was informed about your arrival," he said, sticking out his hand, "Martin Bradworth, head of the science department."

"Williams," I said stiffly, "Eliza Williams."

"Take a seat wherever you'd like Miss Williams, there's no assigned chart in my class."

"Thank you," I nodded, turning to face the rows of desks. Jamie scrambled over to the corner, choosing an empty seat next to Oliver. Making eye contact with the boy, he smiled and waved me over.

So that's what Jamie meant by saying the people weren't boring.

"What's a freshman doing in this class?" he joked, pointing at the seat in front of him, "you must be pretty smart, Williams."

"I thought being smart doesn't help you pass," I said, raising an eyebrow, before taking the offered seat.

"It doesn't, but it certainly helps."

"Helps?"

"Just because you aren't getting a real grade, doesn't mean you don't have to do the work. We get quizzes every now and then."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I'd think."

"Great," I sighed.

Other than coming into this mission empty handed, now I had to actually take classes. With every second that went by, I hated this school even more. A ruckus of whistling and cheers erupted all of a sudden, some students getting up from their chairs to clap.

I turned my attention to the door, where a boy had just walked in.

"Take a seat, Tom," Bradworth sighed, "we've got to get class started."

The boy laughed, before making his way down through the desks. People from the rugby team held out their hands for him to high-five, and some of the girls just swooned in adoration.

What was it about this kid that made him so pompous?

I knew better than to stare, but it was too late, because the boy had locked eyes with me from across the room.

"Who's this?" he asked, staring me down, "new blood?"

"Leave her alone, Holland," Oliver scoffed.

"I'm just asking a question, Sheppard, don't get so worked up."

"Just back off."

"Oliver, chill out, please," Bradworth called out from the front, "I'm sure Eliza can introduce herself."

Oliver rolled his eyes, and flipped open his book. I could tell favoritism towards the headmaster's son was strong, as Jamie had warned, because the scene Tom had started was blamed on my friend.

I glanced over at the girl, who widened her eyes. I had to agree with her distasteful expression, because I didn't want to introduce myself either. Whoever Tom was, he clearly had an interest in starting drama.

"Thomas," the boy said, sticking out his hand, "nice to meet you, new girl."

I kept my eyes facing forward, and didn't budge. The tension around the room seemed unbearable, but I didn't care. I wasn't going to shake hands with a jerk.

"Looks like she's hung up on you, Sheppard," Tom grinned, "you're a lucky guy."

"I'm not hung up on anybody," I snapped, annoyed.

"So she speaks?"

"I speak, just not to you."

"Well played," he chuckled, "but have it your way."

He turned around and made his way to the opposite side of the room, where his entourage of admiring classmates swallowed him up in conversation. I rolled my eyes, and went to face Jamie.

"I thought you said you liked this class," I frowned, "doesn't seem like fun to me."

"Yeah, well Tom's an exception."

"A bad one."

"You'll get used to him."

"No thanks," I stated, "I'll pass."