Wings of Fire as Humans

friends<3

Turtle pov  (flashback to grade 7)

Turtle walked into his new homeroom and wanted to turn around and leave the second he did. Only half the class turned to look at him as he went to the teacher's desk, but they all went back to what they'd been doing after a second or two.

The teacher looked up from a stack of papers and took her glasses off. "Hello! You must be Turtle!"

Turtle nodded.

"New school! Are you excited?"

Turtle knew what the right answer was even if it wasn't an honest one. "Um... yes."

"Well my name is Miss Sharma and I'm really glad to have you in my class." She stood up. "Class!" Everyone turned their attention to her. "Isn't it crazy that it's already the third semester?"

A girl with bright pink hair beamed at her. 'I know, right! This year went by so fast!"

Miss Sharma returned her smile. "Before we talk about our spring break, I want to introduce a new student joining us! We're lucky to have Turtle in our homeroom for the rest of the year! Do you want to say something to the class?"

Turtle had zoned out by now. It took him a second to realize the teacher was talking to him.

"Um.... I used to go to a different school and now I go to this one."

The girl with pink hair let out a few giggles and Turtle got even more self conscious.

Miss Sharma waited a few beats, probably wondering if he would say more. He didn't. "Thank you, Turtle. You can sit anywhere you like."

"Turtle! Sit with me!" It was the girl with pink hair again. Turtle was never one to willingly sit in the front row of any class, but he couldn't pass up a chance to make a friend. Also, she was really cute.

He silently made his way over and sat in the empty seat beside her.

"I'm Kinkajou!"

He put his shaking hands under the desk so she wouldn't see them. "Um... Turtle."

"I know! Miss Sharma said it like six times." She laughed. "I totally needed a friend in this class. All my friends are in a different homeroom. It's so sad."

Turtle couldn't imagine that Kinkajou didn't have friends. She seemed like the type everyone would want to be friends with.

"What classes do you have?"

Turtle pulled out his schedule and showed it to her.

"Ooo, we have like, all our classes together! So fun!"

He smiled a little.

Maybe school won't be so bad.

Kinkajou spent the rest of homeroom telling him everything he should know about the school. The bell rang, and students filed out of class.

"Here's my locker! Which one's yours?"

He pointed to a locker across from Kinkajou's.

"Good, it's close to mine. I can totally help you find your way around. Ooo there's Qibli!" She waved over a guy who was walking down the hall with his focus on his phone. He definitely turned a few heads as he walked by and Turtle wondered what that felt like. "Qibli! Over here!"

He looked up from his phone and grinned at her. "Hey,"

He looked even more unreal up close. He had his ears pierced and was taller than Turtle by a few inches. He was definitely someone who would be cast as the main character in a movie that entered the scene in a dramatic slo-mo. Turtle didn't understand why or how, but he knew that nature picked favorites.