Chapter Text
September 9th.
201M2023 B.C.
Volcaldera Bluffs.
It was the same sun I woke up to everyday, but I was in a much different place now. From the south to the west coast, the change in weather and climate was daunting for me. Mom kept telling me I’d get used to the change many times during our move here, but when you’ve lived all your life somewhere where it never dared to go below seventy degrees, it was for sure going to take a while to acclimate to. Turns out an aversion to colder weather was something I shared with a majority of the population in this new city, them being dinos and all.
Back at our old home, there was a dino here and there, definitely a rarity. But now, here I’m basically the minority. Everywhere you looked here it was a dinosaur of some distinct color, it was something I was going to have to get used to. This was practically a whole other sort of world for me. And today marked my first day of my senior year, going to a high school where I’d likely be the only human around. That was bound to get some form of attention, not exactly sure how I felt about that yet.
I walked out from the garage of my new home. Mom had already left for work at her new job, the hours weren’t much different from her previous one back at our old place, so this morning routine was pretty much the same for me. Lucky for me my new school, Volcaldera Proficiency Academy, wasn’t far at all from our house, maybe a little under a mile away, so it was a good excuse to ride there with my bike. Riding it was always a fun way to pass time on the weekends or after school, and this created another opportunity to enjoy the activity.
I got my bike out and was ready to head out and take on the day, glad I was able to avoid a particular awkward situation before I left.
“Hey, Uni!” I heard a voice call out my name from behind, and halted before I even left the driveway.
Damn, so close.
I let out a quiet sigh, before I turned around to face the person speaking to me; one who was for the most part, the reason we moved in the first place.
Trevor, or I guess to better put it, my new dad.
The purple parasaurolophus looked at me from the open garage door, his face carrying with it a pair of eyes that looked like they were still waking up, accompanied by a tired but warm smile. He stepped out from the garage and approached me. It’s not like I could speed off saying I’m late for school, how could I ever be living this close?
“Hey…” I replied, my voice carrying with it a tone of uncertainty and awkwardness.
“I just wanted to say, I really hope your first day at school goes well. I want to make sure you and your mother feel as happy as can be here.”
I gave him a nod, “Yeah, uh thanks…”
Raptor Jesus this was painful. The awkward tension just kept growing. I could even see it on his face a little, he gave a nod acting like he was about to say something else before stopping. The span of silence was probably for only a few seconds, but it sure felt like an eternity.
Thankfully he finally broke the silent air with an awkward clearing of the throat.
“Well, I’m pretty sure Janice has already left given she’s not in the house anywhere. So I’ll let you go. Have a good one, Uni.”
I gave him a final nod as I pedaled out of the driveway and onto the neighborhood street, a now relaxed sigh escaping my mouth.
I rode my bike, alone with my thoughts on the way to school. It proved a good time to reflect on myself and my life.
It’s not that I dislike Trevor. By all accounts he’s a pretty nice guy in the past week I’ve been around him. And I don’t think I’ve seen Mom as happy as she’s been ever since they got together. It’s just…been a long time since I’ve even had any form of a father figure in my life. My last one wasn’t exactly keen on sticking around after I was born, I hardly have any memories of the guy. So for this new guy to show up and be in the position of my dad, it’s just left me in a state of not even knowing how to process it. It’s confusing, awkward, and just makes me uncomfortable inside. I’m thankful that he at least recognizes this-I think-and has been letting me take it in at my own pace. The same however, could not be said about his daughter Janice, who’s now my sister; yet another family dynamic I’m unfamiliar with. It doesn’t help with how standoff-ish she’s been towards me, not to mention bitter, snappy, just downright resentful towards me. I thought I was taking this sort of transition hard, but she certainly takes that cake. She definitely left before me as a means of avoiding me, though I suppose a part of me was trying to do that with Trevor. A slight pang of guilt hits my chest.
I breathe a heavy sigh, realizing that I’m almost to VPA.
Everything’s new here. Nothing’s the same, and probably won’t ever be. New family, new city, new school. In some ways it’s a curse, in other ways it’s a blessing. Another chance where I could make a new name for myself. I’m not exactly shooting for valedictorian or ‘most popular in the school’, but I also didn’t want to do nothing with my time here, even if it was just one year.
No, I wanted to make friends, and show them me, the new me.
I’m shaken from my thoughts as VPA comes into my field of vision. Huh, definitely not the most orthodox school building. Its layout was definitely not your average kind. Was this place even meant to be a school when it was first built?
The architectural design of the academy took my attention only for so long, before it shifted onto the steadily growing crowd of students making their way towards the school’s doors. My god, it was like something straight out of Van Gogh. So many colors, some I don’t feel like I’ve ever seen or comprehended before. Is this what those mantis shrimp see everyday?
Well, it was time to get the day started. I knew some degree of attention would be on me, and despite how anxious it made me feel, I knew I could only get it over with by going in headstrong. Slowing down on my bike, I began to dismount as I walked it the rest of the way on the sidewalk near the school. Tightening the yellow jacket wrapped around my waist by the sleeves to psych myself up, I made sure to be ready.
I’ve been known to plan my days on special ones like this, though it feels like there’d always be something I’d forget to account for. This day was no different, as I didn’t think to figure out beforehand if this school had a place you could lock your bikes to. Thankfully luck was on my side, as a little ways away from the front entrance stood a row of bike stands.
Walking up the paved path, I could hear the idle chatter of fellow students catching up with each other after the summer break. If I closed my eyes, it would be like my previous school years.
I made my way to the bike stands, wrapping my lock around my ride and the pole. The voices in the background started to take the foreground of my mind when I started picking up what they were saying.
“Woah, is that a human?”
“Hey hold up, who’s that?”
“When was the last time a skinnie was here?”
Pretty sure that last one was a slur, but I decided to not pay it any mind right now. What I couldn’t ignore however, was when I turned around to find a steadily growing crowd forming around me. Was I really that much of a rarity here?
“Holy shit their skin does look really squishy.”
“Are they all this short?”
That last one brought me back to a certain part of my senses, one that I didn’t pay much attention to given the circumstances of my new school, but now it was setting back in.
I am short as hell.
And with these dino-folk it felt even more distinct now. Standing at 5’3” really made it feel like I was an ant at times, and I definitely struggled with this insecurity in the past, but thanks to certain physical activities that I’ve pursued, I’ve been working on handling it much better.
Deep breaths…
The crowd of dino students continued to gawk and stare at me as they murmured to each other in disbelief. Normal attention was one thing, like people crowding you to tell you how cool you are or how they like you. But this? This was different. Some were even getting their phones out, either taking pictures of me or recording. This type of attention felt even more one sided, like I was some exhibit at a zoo. Like I was an animal.
During the moment of ‘fame’ that I was getting, a particular student stood out to me. This one wasn’t exactly part of the crowd, they were a distance behind the whole spectacle, walking towards the front entrance doors. A purple parasaurolophus similar to Trevor, though rather little lighter, with black hair tied into a low ponytail. Janice.
She sported her blue cardigan to go with her white undershirt and jeans, and to top off her outfit, she wore her typical glare in my direction. Her look told me pretty clearly how she felt about the attention I was getting. Probably wanted to make sure no one knew we were in the same family now.
Her look towards me does not last long as she pulls the front doors to the school entrance open and continues her momentum inward, disappearing from sight. I didn’t necessarily like this new change in life either, but I hope this clash between us doesn't last forever. At this point I couldn’t tell if her glares toward me were more discomforting than the crowd or not.
Drawing my attention back onto the crowd, I noticed that they were finally dissipating, thank god. Feeling like I could finally breathe again, I leave my bike to head through the doors of my new school. I’m once again halted by someone grabbing my attention.
“Hey! Over here!” the voice says, sounding a little out of breath.
I turn to my left and find a saurian running up to me, his scales were black with yellow accents, and the feathers on his elbows and end of his tail were of a grayish hue.
As the reptilian student approaches me, he slows to a halt right in front of me, catching his breath, and wiping some of his blonde shaggy hair away from his face.
“Hey…can I…can I take a picture of you? For the…school paper?” he asked me, panting in between words as he tried to recuperate.
The question did take me aback a little. I wasn’t sure how comfortable I was being plastered into some piece of media for the school, was I just going to be seen as some special person in the school just because I’m a human and nothing else? That sounded shallow. And sucky. On the other hand, this guy seemed to have good intentions. I mean, he actually asked permission to take a picture of me unlike all those others did, that's a significant step up compared to everyone else here so far.
Whether it was against my better judgment or not, I responded.
“Uh, yeah sure, you can…” was what came out of my mouth.
Immediately the velociraptor student shot up from his hunched-over fatigue and pulled out a fancy looking camera from the satchel on his side.
“Great! Just act natural!” he cried out, putting the camera up to his face.
“Oh uh, crap, I…” I stammer and freeze up, not exactly sure how to replicate ‘acting natural’. In my panic I mindlessly looked out into the distance, seeing a shed that was underneath a set of bleachers on the school’s track field. Why? No idea at all. The moment my eyes were looking in that direction, I heard the snaps and clicks of the camera going off. My attention went back to the saurian student in front of me.
“Thanks! I’ll take a look at these later, I’m certain to have gotten some good ones!” he said. He put his camera back into his satchel, he then shot his arm out and took my hand, shaking it a bunch.
“I’m Arnold! It’s good to meet you! I’m the school’s photographer and head of the school paper! Sorry for putting you on the spot like that, I just get so excited when I find a good opportunity to use my camera, and I wanted to try and be respectful by asking you first, thanks again for accepting my request by the way!”
I wasn’t trying to be rude, but part of my brain couldn’t help but start to tune him out a little. He just kept talking about his love for photography and how he tried capturing as many memories as he could in his years at this school. For someone who seemed so taxed from running, he sure had all the energy in the world to talk. I realized that he had stopped talking and was waiting for a response from me finally.
“Oh, I’m Uni.” I finally introduced myself to him, “It’s uh, nice to meet you Arnold. And yeah, the pictures were no big deal for me.”
The last part wasn’t entirely true, but at this point I’d feel too guilty dampening his spritely energy.
Arnold excitedly shook his head, “Well, as a senior of VPA, I welcome you to our school, and hope you have a wonderful year here. I don’t think we’ve had a human student in recent years, so that’ll be exciting. Do your human schools follow a similar curriculum or-.” He stops himself as he scrunches up his snout in a cringed manner. “Sorry, I have a tendency to ramble when I’m in good spirits.”
There’s a second of an awkward pause. God I hated these. With the iconic clearing of the throat, Arnold spoke again.
“Well, I should get going, classes start at some point soon and I don’t want to hold you up. Besides, the principal will probably want to see you if my guess is correct. Take care and enjoy VPA!”
Arnold walked off into the school after that, waving me goodbye. I instinctively waved back. He seemed nice, definitely didn’t feel shallow or ignorant-minded as the others who were gawking at me earlier. He was correct though, the principal of the school did in fact want to see me. I had received an email yesterday from the principal saying he wanted me to come to his office when school started, so I set off.
Walking into the school interior, I was met with an already large amount of traffic of students walking the halls, either going to their classes or doing some other sort of things. I noticed that there was foliage in multiple spaces along the walls. Probably for the students who are strictly herbivores. How inclusive.
Walking through the main hall of the building, it wasn’t hard to find signs that led me to the principal’s office.
" Principal Bolick” the plaque by the door read.
I didn’t waste any time, and walked right in. Like the rest of the school, the office room had a bountiful amount of greenery growing all around, books laid about on shelves in an orderly fashion, some looking brand new or recently used, others looking like they haven’t been touched in years. As I walk in, I’m met by an older and stout looking ankylosaurus with a darker shade of pink to the complexity of his scales. He sat in his high quality office chair, looking over some papers, all while another ankylosaurus, looking much closer to my age from what I could tell, sat across from the principal’s desk, her scales being white as snow.
Both of them snap their attention to me as I walk in. The older ankylosaurus, who at this point I assume is the principal, wastes no time and speaks up.
“Ah, our human student, you must Uni D. Entified. Thank you for coming in.” he speaks in a low gravelly voice. He motions for me to take a seat, and I follow accordingly. He clears his throat and speaks more. “Now, I had you come here first thing because, as you probably gathered already, there aren’t really many other humans attending here, in fact currently, you are the only one.”
I give an affirming nod to the obvious fact.
“And because you were not present over the summer for orientation usually meant for freshmen, our student council president here, Kathy, will give you a tour of our academy for your first period for today. Your first period teacher is already aware of this.”
At the mention of the name Kathy, he motions his toward the saurian student to my left, who in turn looks at me with a smile, whether it was genuine or not, I couldn’t quite tell. She offers me a handshake.
“It’s nice to meet you, Uni.” she says in a calm and almost professional manner.
I return the gesture. “Yeah, likewise.”
As if on cue, the bell for what I can only assume is for the start of the school day goes off.
“Well I’ll let you two go now,” Principal Bolick began, “I hope you enjoy your year here at VPA, Mr. Entified.”
With that, Kathy and I leave the office room and back into the main hall of the school building. It’s crazy, I didn’t think I was with Principal Bolick for that long, and yet the bustling crowd of students that once roamed these halls are nowhere to be seen.
“So, this is the main foyer of VPA.” Kathy said, starting on my guided tour, “It’s basically the hub for idle chit chat and occasional student skirmishes.”
I give her a nod before that last bit finally registers in my brain.
“Uh, skirmishes?” I questioned, not hiding my confusion over that notion.
“Oh yeah, it can get pretty rowdy here at times. I’m sure you’ll be fine so long as you don’t piss anyone off.”
Well, I certainly didn’t want to do that, not that I couldn’t handle a fight…I think…
Kathy continued showing me around the school, different classes, the cafeteria, your high school staples. We eventually got to one of the ends of the school building where it branched into two distinctive hallways. As Kathy was walking, she whipped her head around as her platinum blonde hair followed suit.
“So, here we have our east and west wings. In the east wings you’ll find our art department, ranging anywhere from the musical to the doodling kind. It’s also where a lot of our clubs are held, like theater, reading, band, ugh, anime…”
She said that last one with clear disdain in her voice. Welp, that’s one thing not to converse about with this girl.
She kept going. “And then there’s the west wing, where our gymnasium and any other sport related activities go on. P.E. will happen over there, obviously.”
The hour passes by as she continues the rest of the tour, as it goes on I can hear more of her upbeat tone leave her body, slowly revealing her disinterest in this whole school tour thing. She’s probably thinking about other things she could be doing right now. For what it was worth I was at least getting a good grasp of the school’s layout.
Finally the school touring comes to an end as we come back from walking both wings of the school.
“Alright, now that that’s finally done,” Kathy fishes out some papers from a folder she had been carrying and hands them to me. “Here are papers to help you further adjust to the school. My advice, you’re probably gonna have an easier time here by just doing the bare minimum, just do your classes, go home, rinse and repeat and you’ll be out of here before you know it. Take it from me.”
I take the multiple papers from her as she shares her ‘advice’, when she fidgets to take one of the papers back.
“Oh you won’t need this one, trust me it doesn’t matter for you. It’s just a dino thing.” she said assuredly. Seemed a little weird but I chose not to question it.
“So what now?” I ask her.
Once again the school’s bell acts like a living being as it rings, signifying 1st period’s end. I hear a sigh of relief come from Kathy, maybe a little hurtful but whatever.
“Now, I can finally get on with my day. Oh yeah, you’ll need to go to second period now. See ya later, or not.” Kathy then turns to leave as she goes down the east wing of the school.
Heading towards my next class, I think back to what Kathy was telling me about that advice of hers. Doing the bare minimum? That wasn’t exactly my style. I wanted to have fun here, make something of myself for myself. Whether that included making friends or not I wasn’t sure at this point, I don’t think I’ll necessarily be making friends with Kathy anytime soon. She seemed friendly at first, though after we left Principal Bolick’s office, her friendly demeanor kept deteriorating into indifferent and slightly bothered, like her behavior at first was some sort of front for whatever reason. And again, that whole advice thing seemed rather pessimistic for someone whose job was to introduce me to the school. Well no matter, if some uppity student president who doesn’t care wasn’t going to help me learn how to thrive here, then I’ll just learn to myself.
The halls throughout the school quickly filled up once again with students transitioning to their next classes, as I became one with the sea of saurians surrounding me. Well, towering over me was probably a better way to put it. The average student was nearly a head taller than me. One would think I’d be used to this perspective by now, but in positions like this it always felt like the first time. I did my best to avoid running into anyone, or anyone running into me. That was more likely to happen.
Going through the west wing, I finally reached the gymnasium. I step through the doors and am met with the typical sight of a school gym, large open space occupied by a basketball court and some nets, bleachers, nothing too extravagant. I watched as others who were also coming in head for a set of doors that were on the left side of the gym, a quick glance at the signs adjacent to them made it clear they were bathrooms.
Ah, they were all going in to change into gym clothes I assumed. Before I could wonder what gym clothes there were to change into, I noticed that there were stacks of them sitting on the bleachers. Walking up to it, I grabbed my own pair that was in the pile for my size. A quick change in the restrooms and I was back out in my gym clothes, ready for class to start.
According to the clock on the wall, there were still a few minutes left before 2nd period began, so those of us that were ready just idled about. Looking around, I saw some people conversing with others, either catching up with friends or others trying to make new ones. At first it gave me the idea to try and make a friend here, but as soon as I even looked in the direction of someone here, I was immediately met with a particular look, one of judgment or as if they were sizing me up. Seems like they were only interested in beating me in whatever physical activities we were going to do in class, just by going on how they looked at me. Guess that rules out making any friends here, for now at least.
The bell rings, and immediately after, the main gym doors open as a teal colored austroraptor enters through. He was surprisingly lanky in physical appearance, and that look on his face was completely mellow and laid back looking. He was definitely much older than the rest of us. Was he seriously our gym teacher? He looked like the exact opposite of what you’d expect one to look like.
A quick and decisive tweet of his whistle got everyone’s attention.
“S’up guys?” he said, sounding even more laid back and chill than I thought possible. Was he on something?
“Welcome to the start of the school year, and the start of your time in P.E. I’m Mr. Sawyer. Those of you who know me, you know I like to play it a little less strict and uptight, we’re here to learn and improve, not destroy ourselves. That being said…”
He reaches for his whistle once more and blows it loudly, “Laps around the gym!” he shouted, somehow still maintaining his laid back demeanor.
Upon his words we all collectively started running laps. Some were jogging, just doing enough to count as running, others were going at a much faster pace, whether it was to show off or feel cool. I ended up being in the middle of the herd of saurians around me. As I was running I turned to look at Mr. Sawyer…to find him sitting on the bleachers and his head in some sort of book. Occasionally I’d see him raise a thumbs up without looking, even when nothing in particular was going on. Some gym teacher this guy was, a stark contrast from certain teachers I’ve had in the past.
We were about ten laps in when Mr. Sawyer snapped his book shut and blew his whistle again.
“Alright! Great warm up guys, good good good…” he trailed off. “Now we can get on to the fun stuff! Who’s up for dodgeball?”
There was a collective cheer of excitement from everyone around, and I don’t really blame them. Dodgeball can be really really fun.
“I was going to split you off into teams, but I think I’ll just leave you guys to fend for yourselves, the strongest survive and all that.”
It was at that notion that all the eyes that were on me previously intensified, it wasn’t just looking down on me anymore, it was like they were targeting me as some sort of prey. I was definitely going to get ganged up on, it kinda made sense with how much taller everyone was. But that’s good for me. Best part about being looked down on like this is that it means that everyone greatly underestimates me. I’m pretty average when it comes to just about any school class-except science-but thanks to certain activities, I definitely had an edge with my physical capabilities. If they were going to team up against me, I’d make sure they wouldn’t have an easy time with it.
Mr. Sawyer pulled out a tub full of rubber dodgeballs, and as soon as he blew his whistle yet again, he spilled the tub over as they rolled across the gym floor. It really was a free for all here.
The gym immediately erupted into a war zone, I lunged myself forward for whatever dodgeball I could grab, as did many others around me. In nanoseconds blurs of red flew across the gym, utter chaos ensued. Instincts and adrenaline kicked in, and I was going to make sure I made my mark around here. The gang up against me was already happening, my eyes darted in the direction of incoming dodgeballs, I ducked and weaved around them, even catching one. Maintaining my momentum, I threw the dodgeball in my hand, landing a direct hit against someone. I could see some of their faces, they were definitely caught off guard. I kept up with dodging and throwing, the confidence building up inside me, it felt good. Things were definitely looking good for me.
…
If only it stayed that way.
In the midst of weaving through these battlegrounds that were the gym’s floors, it snuck up on me. I was blinded by my confidence and created a giant opening for myself, for my greatest enemy to make its move on me, my one true weakness.
I am severely clumsy.
Tripping over my own two feet, I fell over and landed hard on the floor. It wasn’t the impact against the ground that was my worry, it was how exposed and prone I was now, and it was clear to see. Those predatory grins came back and were surrounding me, and in no time at all, my field of vision was surrounded by dodgeballs overwhelming me.
WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!
The taste of rubber filled my mouth as many of them hit me across the face, that signature sound of dodgeballs landing their hits rang through my ears.
I ate shit. Hard.
My vision goes blurry for a minute, and my body feels disoriented. My brain is telling me to shut down and lay on the gym floor, but my body refuses. Reeling from the sensation of the onslaught against me, I pull myself up from the ground, refusing to let what happened keep me down.
I didn’t hear no bell.
“Way to go! Keep that energy up!” I hear to my left, seeing Mr. Sawyer giving a thumbs up while reading whatever book he had.
I shook off his half-assed encouragement and kept my head in the game.
The rest of gym class went smoother compared to that slip up I had, all in all, I felt great. Sure, that instance of my clumsiness getting the better of me could’ve been avoided, but I still had fun with the class, even if the teacher just sits back and does the bare minimum. Getting back into my regular clothes, wrapping my yellow jacket across my waist, I leave the gym and make my way towards my next class for the day; Math.
Not the hardest class, but I’m sure something will come along and stump me through this semester. The classroom for math was on the other end of the school, so it was a bit of a walk for me.
On my way, I bump into someone. Or they bumped into me? I kinda zoned out while I walked so I wasn’t entirely sure. Looking their way and it’s a saurian girl, a spinosaurus judging by the sail on her back.
“Sorry.”
“Sorry”
We both apologized at the same time.
My pace was faster than hers, and she ended up blending back into the crowd of vibrant colors all around me. I continued my way and eventually made it to my third period.
I scanned the room and watched as others picked their own seats, so I followed suit. I ended up somewhere in the middle of the row of seats, which was just fine for me. Not too close to be particularly looked at and asked to answer questions, and not too far to be more likely suspected of dozing off or being distracted by something else. Where I was sitting was a perfect middle ground in this class. Soon enough, the tardy bell rang, and class began.
It was the first day, and most of what we were learning was just how the semester was gonna go for this class. So I didn’t need to worry about my brain spiraling over a confusing topic, the math teacher was talking about extra credit opportunities we could take, yeah right. I get that it’s more points to my grade, but when given the option to do math, I felt inclined to just be happy where I was. As attentive as I wanted to be, a whole class full of non-stop talking from the teacher was starting to get to me, and I couldn’t help but feel my eyelids grow a bit heavy and my vision was doubling. I tried to fight it as sleeping in class was not something I wanted to do, especially on my first day.
BEEP!! BEEP!!
I noticeably flinch in my chair.
Probably the loudest alarm I have ever heard pierced through the room and into my ears, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were bleeding. It definitely wasn’t the school bell or anything like that, this noise came from within the room. I turn around towards the source of this loud alarm, and a couple head turns point the way to the source, at least I think so.
In the back row, sitting at her desk, was the same spino girl I bumped into in the hallway earlier. This time I had a clearer look at her than before. Green scales, like the shade of sage. Her reddish brown hair was down and curled at their ends. She wore a loose pastel pink blouse that paired well with the skirt and thigh high socks she had on.
This entire time, she didn’t even look up around her, despite all eyes being on her.
Wait a minute…
Finally looking around, I realized that in actuality not many were looking at her, most just kept facing forwards. The teacher may have paused what they were saying when the beeping noise first went off, but they quickly went back to talking about the course work. Just about everyone was treating this like it was normal.
Despite how shaken up it had gotten me, I came to the conclusion that it was probably better that I not say anything and just carry on with the class.
The green spino girl reached for her little purse she had with her, and pulling out a phone, she quickly pressed down on the side button a few times before putting it back.
It was in this instance that she finally looked up.
Right at me.
Who had been looking at her this whole time.
I whipped my head back so quickly. Raptor Jesus. I don’t know how some alarm noise was getting to me this bad, but it caused me to completely zone out. She definitely knew I was looking at her, did she think I was being creepy? Did me looking away make it worse? God, my head is spinning over this. This is so stupid.
The class continues, and throughout it, I mentally take multiple deep breaths, calming my senses. I’m overthinking things for no reason. Nothing bad is happening, she’s probably thinking nothing of it. Those mental notes to myself didn’t spur me to look back at her though, I felt it best to just not increase my anxiety like that again.
DING DONG! BING BONG!
The far less alarming school bell rang signifying the end of third period. Finally I can get up and leave here.
Walking out of the math classroom, I’m eager knowing that next for me is my lunch period, as I was eager to dig into something. As I walked, a familiar dino girl had ended up walking beside me, the spinosaurus. Whether this walking in stride was intentional or not, I did not know. I did know that I wasn’t going to let it get to me, no more mental freak outs and the like for me.
From the corner of my eye though, I notice the bag she has with her has an open zipper, leaving a notebook inside sticking halfway out and prone to falling out. And just like that it did.
The notebook plopped right on the ground making a noticeable sound from landing flat on its back. Both her and I look in its direction as it meets the floor. I knew that she was there and saw it, and seemed like she was about to pick it up herself. That didn’t stop my mouth from blabbering for the sake of trying to help someone out though.
“Hey, you dropped something.”
Amazing work, captain obvious.
“Oh, thanks.” she responded in a neutral tone. She turns and bends down to pick it up…
…
…
…
I immediately start walking away, continuing down the hallway and away from her. I pointed out the book to her, that was all I needed to do, not like I needed to stay for anything further. That familiar rush of anxiety fills my chest, almost like I was having trouble breathing.
She had to have known. She had to.
Surely she knew bending over in a skirt like that…
Thank Raptor Jesus on his cross of rock I didn’t stay to actually see anything there, but how would she know that? That has to be all over her mind too right? Right??
Ok, new school plan; avoid the spino girl for the rest of the school year. Sure, I had one class with her, but if she’s sitting in the back then I can just ignore her and save myself from the stress and awkwardness of having to interact with her again.
Yeah, this’ll work.
I made it to the cafeteria. The aching within my chest is still ramped up high, but I think it’s subsiding. I just need to get my mind off of it.
Fortunately that wasn’t hard with what laid before my eyes in the lunchroom.
There was a crowd of students piled together in a corner, a cacophony of shouts and yells echoed through the large two story room. Jesus, everyone in the mass looked like they were ripping each other apart. Was a fight going on? Kathy did say it gets rowdy here.
Walking further into the cafeteria, I was able to get a better look at what was going on, and why the security guard by the wall, that I’m just now noticing, isn’t doing anything. It was then that I realized this pile of students wasn’t in some random corner of the cafeteria, I could now see lunch ladies standing behind counters on the other side of this riot.
This was the lunch line???
I now had to debate if risking my life was worth the possibility of food here at school.
…No, I’m hungry, and I want to eat something. I can handle that crowd no problem, I just gotta have confidence.
...
Ok, so that could’ve been a lot worse. By some miracle I got food. My drink got knocked off my tray and stomped on, and I unfortunately got a blow against the back of my head, but otherwise, I got out of that alive, so that’s a win for me.
Now, where to sit?
A question that went through every guy’s head at the start of lunch. A seat at lunch was tantamount to creating social circles with people. Looks like my real shot at making friends starts here. Looking around, I see groups already forming. I could join them, though inserting myself into an already existing group paves way for awkward moments. However a familiar black velociraptor sitting by himself caught my attention. Arnold, I think his name was.
Well why not? He was friendly to me before, and some one on one socializing would probably do me better than with multiple people at first.
I walk in stride towards his table, and notice that he doesn’t actually have a plate of food with him. Is he not eating or something? Regardless, as soon as I enter his field of vision, he shoots up straight in his seat as his eyes lock onto me.
“Woah, hey Uni! We got the same lunch period together! You sitting anywhere?” he asked enthusiastically.
“Well, you’re the only guy I really know currently, so I thought I’d sit by you.”
Arnold looked at me with a shocked look on his face, “Really? No friends yet in any classes? I thought people would be all over you for being the only human here.”
“Well they were certainly all over me in gym class.” I replied as the sensation of dodgeballs hitting my face tingles across my skin.
“Uh, what?” Arnold’s look changed from shock to puzzled.
I now realize how that came across with no further context.
“Never mind.” I waved my hand dismissively to try and change the subject. “So is it always this chaotic at lunch? There was a second I thought I was gonna get seriously hurt.”
Arnold gave a nervous chuckle as he looked back at the still very active rioting going on. “Yeah, that’s basically the norm here. I’ll be honest, I’m kinda surprised you got through it with food and as unscathed as you are.”
“Yeah well, being as short as me can help sometimes in crowds.” I give a light chuckle at the joke that’s at my own expense, Arnold smiles back.
“Yeah, I bet. I know a lot of guys that would blow a fuse over their short height. You seem pretty chill about it.” Arnold’s eyes widened as if he caught himself in a slip up. “Ah, that is-sorry, I didn’t mean to make assumptions.”
“Hey, it's cool.” I assured him, conveying to him it didn’t bother me, “It’s something that definitely got under my skin when I was younger, but I wanna say I’ve learned to adjust and accept it.” I take note again of his lack of food. “So did you not get anything ‘cause of the crowd or did you already eat?”
His face brightened a bit after I pointed that out. “Oh! No I haven’t had food yet, my friend is actually getting it. We take turns getting food for lunch, I’m sure she’ll be here soon.”
Ah, another person at our table. It would be nice to make another friend here at lunch. I wonder what they’ll be like.
“Arnold!” came an enthusiastic feminine voice. One that I’ve heard before, and sent a jolt up my spine.
Sure enough I saw her making her way towards our table with two trays of food. It was Janice.
“I got our trays! They were running a bit low on the meat selections but I made sure to get you-.” she immediately stopped in her tracks when we made eye contact.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Janice smile, let alone sound so cheery and happy. And yet in an instant, it all drained from her face when she saw me. She sat down at the table beside Arnold as she gave him the tray with nothing but meat on it, the whole time her eyes never left mine. For a few seconds we were just silent.
That was until my mouth spoke up before my brain even realized.
“Hey Janice.”
This prompted Arnold to look back and forth between us, and I could see Janice’s face scrunch up more ever so slightly.
“Oh, you guys know each other?” Arnold asked curiously.
Well, people are gonna know at some point.
“Yeah we’re-.” I’m cut off as a painful sensation erupts from my foot. Janice stares daggers at me from across the table as I connect the dots. Wow, she really doesn’t want to be associated with me. I wanted to understand that she was just scared of the change, I really did.
But this…it still hurt.
I watched Janice take a deep breath in. “We…just passed by each other between classes. That’s all.” she said facing Arnold, letting out the long breath she took in.
No we didn’t…
Arnold kept looking between us, trying to get a read on this obvious tension between us. I’m not sure if he exactly bought her little lie, regardless, he kept the conversation moving.
So we talked, well, in between moments when Arnold wasn’t scarfing down his pile of meat at least. What ferocity.
It was mostly him and I talking, Janice for the most part just sat there looking down at her lunch, though once or twice she’d chime in when Arnold said something in particular.
Arnold told me more about his hobby with photography and his time as head of the school paper. He even pointed out that Janice writes and is part of the school’s literature club. This got a reaction out of Janice as she looked at Arnold with slight annoyance, then a menacing look towards me that could cut through just about anything. Arnold just kept on talking, as if he could for ages.
Man this guy was a yap-fest, not that I mind too much.
“So Uni, you have any interests?” he asked me, prompting me to respond.
I zoned back in on the convo after that question, realizing I hadn’t talked that much. Well, there was the question, the one to get my foot out the door in this new city.
Go on Uni, tell them what you’re about.
“I like to do martial arts.” I finally replied.
Arnold leaned forward a little, showing interest in what I had to say. “Oh wow, that’s really cool. So are you like a black belt or something?”
I give him a nod, an instinctive smile growing on my face. “Yeah, I am actually.”
This seemed to impress Arnold more. “That’s crazy! You must be able to kick some serious ass then!”
Ah, there was that comment, probably one of most frequent ones I get whenever this gets brought up. I’ve probably had this conversation a thousand times already, though I’m not gonna blame my new friend here for it.
“Well, I don’t know about that.” I began, my words practically rehearsed at this point. “I train in Taekwondo, it isn’t exactly the whole ‘how to kick ass’ kind of martial art. It gravitates more toward the ‘art’ in martial arts. More about fitness and self-improvement.” I definitely felt like I improved myself thanks to it. “I’m sure plenty of people could still kick my ass.” I laughed, once again at my own expense.
Arnold gave a nod of understanding. “I see, that makes sense. You’re the black belt here, so I’m sure you know what you’re talking about.”
“Yeah! Before we moved, my mom and I found a place here that I could go to still maintain my training. I go after school and I’m so excited.”
I really was. This school wasn’t the only place I was going to make a first impression at.
This entire time, Janice still barely looked my way, more often glancing at Arnold whenever he spoke.
“Say Uni, you plan on joining any clubs or extracurriculars?”
I looked at my velociraptor friend, a multitude of thoughts swirling around in my head, I remember Kathy mentioning some from before.
“Extracurriculars? I can’t say I’ve given it much thought. Are they a big deal here?” I asked.
“Probably one of the biggest deals!” Arnold exclaimed. “There’s a wide variety of them, and they really help students here find their passions in life!”
Arnold went on another one of his tangents, listing off what felt like every single club or activity this school had to offer. I tried listening in for any activities that had any remote relation to martial arts. The only one that fit was wrestling, which never really appealed to me for some reason.
“Seriously though, you should give one a shot. You never know what kind of fun you can have here.”
His words of encouragement stuck with me.
I gave him an affirming nod. “Yeah, maybe I’ll try one out and see what it’s like.”
DING DONG! BING BONG!
The bell rang, signaling that lunch time was coming to a close.
Immediately after it rang, Janice shot up from her seat and went on her way. Arnold watched as she left before turning back to me.
“Welp, hope the rest of your day goes well. Later!”
With that he got up too, and went in Janice’s direction. “Hey, wait up Jane!” I heard him call out to her.
Looks like that left me on my own again. At least I was able to make a friend with Arnold, he seemed pretty cool. Though it was clear to see that Janice was also friends with him. I wondered if that would cause any problems.
The rest of the school day went by uneventfully. Biology went by with just explaining the syllabus and rubrics, and the same went for chemistry. Though with that class I had a distinct amount of dread radiating off of me, not looking forward to that class this semester.
As I left my last class for the day, I walked through the hallway and passed by a bulletin board hung up on the wall. As it caught my attention, I stopped to look at it.
Sure enough, it had the sign up papers for every club or after school activity VPA had to offer. Looking at them all, I realized how good Arnold’s memory was back at lunch. He really didn’t miss a single one when he talked about them all.
I thought back to what he said about these clubs. Maybe I * should* give it a shot. I wanted to have fun at this school after all, this was probably the best way to do that.
But which to choose…
Hmm…
Theatre club sounds like it could be fun, or ‘thespian’ as they call it.
I remember doing a little bit of something like that when I was much younger. Acting out stories, conveying thought provoking emotions, it just itched that creative side to my brain.
I looked over some other clubs just in case
…
Nope, theatre it is.
Grabbing a writing utensil off the board, I wrote my name down on the sign up paper, taking note of the other names on it. It seems like there’s a decent amount of people, and according to this the first meeting is tomorrow after school. Can’t wait.
I made my way through the school to leave for the day, as was just about everyone else around me. As I entered the foyer area of the school, I saw her again.
That girl from the math class.
Somehow in the sea of colors that filled the halls, I was able to pick her out from the crowd. She was walking a little ahead of me when she stopped to sit down on a bench.
Oh god I was about to walk past her.
I’m too far into the foyer space to turn back, that would just make me look even weirder. Plus I was stuck in the current of students surrounding me, forcing us all in one direction. Looks like I’m forced to cross her path once again.
Just breathe Uni. Just walk past her, don’t make eye contact, it should be easy.
…
Too bad my clumsiness had other plans.
I think I took the whole ‘no eye contact’ thing a little too seriously, as I chose to stare rigidly straight in front of me, nowhere else. That included the floor, where her legs were sticking out and my own collided right into her’s. With the unexpected halt of motion from my legs, I went down like a tree, face planting right onto the lightly carpeted ground.
Here I was, eating shit for the second time on my first day at school.
Life is certainly treating me well right now.
As soon as my face meets the floor, I can hear the sound of a gasp. Based on how it sounded, I figured it was from my ‘assailant’ so to speak.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” she expressed pleadingly.
I quickly shot up, waving my hand at her. Her face conveyed a sheer amount of mortification.
“No, no! It’s ok, really!” I quickly responded.
Shit, I already said too much. Talk like this will just invite more conversation between us, and after what happened before in that hallway, I don’t think my anxiety can take this, she already thinks I’m a creep, I just know it.
As soon as the last words leave my mouth, I turn back forward and make for the exit. Free from this school for the day, free from the stress I felt around this girl. I didn’t dare look back.
I walked out of the school. The hard part of the day was over, at least I think.
As I made my way to my still locked up bike, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. Pulling it out showed a text notification.
Mom: Hi! Hope your first day at school went well! Here’s the address for the Taekwondo gym, best of luck Hot Shot !
There goes Mom with that nickname again. I always went back and forth between hating it and tolerating it.
After that text she attached a link from Gruugle Maps, changing the transportation setting to ‘bike’ showed it was thirty minutes away.
My first Taekwondo class since moving here, it’s been a little too long since I’ve gone to a class for my liking. I was stoked to get back into it. Hopefully it’ll go a little better than my school day.