How Does One Become Straight?

Chapter 1- i like to huff hydrochloric acid too

"Get into pairs and start the lab! Read through the Section 20c if you have any questions and all the materials are on the cart", my Chemistry teacher bellowed over the sudden erupted conversations and scraping of chairs against the cement flooring of the classroom. There was a panicked frenzy to get with either a person's best friend or someone who knows what they are doing, and yet the cacophonous group of teenagers disinterested in Chemistry didn't affect me considering I would simply pair up with the last available kid.

This is how it had always happened. You see, although I have one of the highest GPA's in the school, no one knew this considering all marks are posted according to student number, not name. And because of how I look, they think that I am just an incoherent, soon-to-be high school drop-out. With my unruly, slightly wavy short blue and green hair, my always present jean jacket and flannel and an assortment of punk t-shirts, I am made out to be "trouble". So as I leaned back further in my chair and let my gaze shift from person to person, I noticed the one other kid who didn't have a partner. Bingo.

I sauntered over to him, all the while figuring out how to appropriately greet him. He had short black hair that was tapered on the sides and swept across the top of his forehead. His dark eyebrows were furrowed as he studied the instructions slightly hunched over, occasionally mouthing the words that appeared to be important. He had slight stubble lining his jaw which surprised me considering most shaved quite often in this school. He wore a simple stormy grey hoodie with moss green jeans, whose ankles were hooked under the desk in an awkward angle. As I reached the desk, his eyes darted up and I was slightly taken aback by just how green they were. They had so many different shades, with the colour being a light seafoam green in the centre and a deep, almost black around the rims and pupils. They were lined with long dark lashes that brushed his brow bone as he looked at me.

"Hey, you don't have a partner either?" I asked, although I already knew the answer. He fidgeted slightly under my stare. "Uh, no. We will have to work together then, I suppose." His voice was unexpectedly deep, and rougher than I thought it would be. He stood up and I was stunned by just how tall he was, as he towered over me. "Alright, go get the stuff from the cart", I said as I begun to walk over to grab some glasses and an apron. "This'll be fun".

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"Heads up, the bell is gonna ring in five minutes! Tidy up! No one take off your glasses until all of the chemical are safely disposed of as they can cause you harm. Damon! What did I just say!" The guy, Damon, had just pushed his glasses up into his hair and had stuck his nose in the top of the flask. The teacher, grumbling, hurried over to him as he began to spill hydrochloric acid all over himself. Imbeciles, the whole lot of them, I thought derisively as I took off my apron and shut my textbook.

"That went well, well at least I think it did. The results should be conclusive as..." The boy went off and I zoned out slightly, waiting impatiently for the bell to ring. That's when I realized that I didn't know mystery boy's name. "What is your name?" I inquired, accidentally interrupting him mid sentence. "Ah, my name is Caine. What is yours?" "I'm Kathleen, but most just call me Kat". He looked at me out of the corner of his eye and smiled slightly. "Kat, I like that. We should sit together from now on. What do you say?"

I shrugged " Why not?" It's not like I have anyone else to sit with anyways. The bell rung and everyone started to head towards the exit. "Well I'll see you around." I said and he smiled, "Definitely".

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Bio went by quickly, and then it was lunchtime. As I was opening my locker and shoving in the various textbooks in my arms, one of my friends shows up on the other side of the door as I am closing it. "Do you have like $2?", Drew asks as he fumbles around with his lighter in his left hand. " Might I ask why?" I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, once again already knowing the answer. "I need smokes." He said, pleading with his eyes that I give him it. " Fine, though you know that I hate fueling your addiction" I said, opening the locker door once more to grab my wallet out of the front pocket of my bag. "Thank you!" He said, smiling as I handed it to him. "But!" I called after him, "let's go to Timmy's. I'll buy you a coffee if I can get a ride." He laughed and smiled. "Deal"