Transient (On Hold)

4

She was all but pushed into her first class of the day without any time to prepare. Mrs. Ashley followed her through the door before promptly closing it behind her, as if sealing any hope of escaping from her worst fear. Her face flared red with embarrassment, and her palms started to moisten. Everything had happened so quickly without her having the chance to adjust to her new situation.

Students' eyes were drawn away from their teacher the moment the door had opened, and Autumn was the subject of many curious gazes. She refused to look anywhere but out of one of the many windows running along the length of one wall of the classroom. Outside the sky was overcast.

"Mr. Breville, this is Autumn Stewart," She heard Mrs. Ashley say to someone who was presumably the teacher. "She'll be a member of this form from this day forth." Autumn spared a glance across the classroom, and she was relieved to see that most students had dropped their gaze and had resumed doing whatever they had been doing before her arrival. Something moving in the corner of her eye drew her attention away from her new form members. 

A tall bean pole of a man, Mr. Breville, had stuck his hand out for her to shake. She took it hesitantly, hoping that the man wouldn't notice her sweaty hands. 
He looked like a strict man. His face was unsmiling as he gave her hand one vigorous shake before letting go. Mrs. Ashley had assured her that her form tutor was a kind man, but she couldn't quite believe it from the stoic expression on his face. His eyes were cold chips of ice and were framed by dark and thick eyebrows partially concealed by a pair of round spectacles. His nose was narrow and beak like, and his mouth seemed to be permanently set in a grim line. 

"I'll leave you to it, then." Mrs. Ashley smiled warmly, ignorant to Autumns growing fear, and with that, she left out of the door, leaving her stood awkwardly at the front of the room with heat blazing from her cheeks. 

"Take a seat." Mr. Breville's voice was gruff and sharp, the type that brooked no argument nor left any room for humour. She did as she was told, eager to get out of the spotlight as soon as possible. She scanned the room for a spare seat, and found one near the back of the room by one of the windows. 

A few heads swivelled in her direction as she made her way through the aisles of seats, but no one made any attempt to strike up a conversation with her, for which she was grateful. 

A cold draft rattled the small square panes of the window her seat resided by and washed over her as she deposited her bag on the floor and took her seat, while a wave of dry and musty smelling heat engulfed her from below her neck. It was an uncomfortable sensation, but having a window to look out of lessened the discomfort some.  

The rest of form passed by without much interruption or interaction. Mr. Breville spent the entire time seated behind his desk shuffling through paperwork with a grim look about his face, and the rest of her form members spent their time freely, either bent over paper themselves, or else chatting to one another. When the noise level got to high, Mr. Breville would clear his throat, which was seemingly a warning sign all of his students had come to know as quiet. 

Autumn pulled out her timetable, anxious about what she would have to face next, but was relieved to see that her next period was self study. After that, she only had Literature- an elective she'd chosen without any clue as to what she wanted to do with her future. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, happiness flooded through her and brought a small smile to her lips. 

"I can't imagine a timetable is that entertaining."

The smile fell from her lips, and the timetable slipped from her fingers onto her desk. Her heartbeat sped up as she searched for the person who had talked to her. 

The boy who occupied the seat next to her had a gloomy look about him. His hair was dark and slightly long. It framed his face and fell across his forehead in waves. He wore his uniform rather laxly, his top button undone, his collar slightly skewed, and his blue tie loosened just enough that he wouldn't get in trouble. His blazer was thrown haphazardly over the back of his chair, and was threatening to slip onto the floor if he moved slightly. 

He watched Autumn with an easy smile on his face, in such a way that she couldn't tell if was a smirk or a genuine smile. His arms were thrown over the desk in front of him, under which was a rather tatty looking sheet of paper. 

She was saved from replying by the piercing ring of the bell. 

She gathered up her belongings with lightning speed and followed the rest of her group out of the door without so much as a glance back, leaving the boys statement hanging in the air. 
Mrs. Ashley hadn't assigned anyone to her to help her get around on her first day, and she couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not. She wanted to be alone, but she still didn't have any idea on how to navigate her new school building.

"Need help?" It was the voice of the boy she hadn't answered in the classroom. He lent against the wall out of the way of students squeezing down the hallway, fumbling with the zipper on his bag. He looked up briefly through a mass of wavy brown hair before focusing on his bag, cursing slightly as the zipper got jammed.

"I'm fine." Autumn managed to mumble, before turning away from the boy, intent on navigating the labyrinth of the old building on her own. She decided her best bet would be to follow the tide of students pouring out of rooms along the corridor until she reached a place she could recognise, but before she could move, the boy called out again.

"Hey, wait! I don't mean any harm! It's just that the first day in this place is a little daunting." He had finally beaten the zipper on his bag, and closed the few gaps she had put between them while slinging his bag over his shoulder. His blazer was balled up in his hand. 

He gave her a wide smile, and what a perfect smile it was. His teeth were straight and pearly white. It was the kind of smile that reminded her of the Cheshire Cat, but much less creepy, and much more mischievous.

"My name's Ben, by the way."

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Hello again, dear readers!

I must admit that shortly after posting this story and seeing the read count increasing (albeit slowly) is a huge spur to continue writing, because it means that people are actually interested in what I'm putting my time and effort in to. It's an addicting feeling.

Also, if you were wondering, the type of smile I envisioned Ben to have is similar to that of Kim Young Kwang (Below), because I really like his type of smile, and also because he was the only person I could think of to refer to.

Thank you for reading this far!