High Life | ✔️

7

DARKNESS WAS UPON mankind when I awoke from my nap.

One glance at the clock confirmed that I was, for the second time in the week, late. I stumbled for my undergarments on the floor, before hopping into my discarded sweatpants from several days ago. I threw on the first shirt I could find, which happened to be one with a Leviticus quote on it. The 20:13 one.

I rolled my eyes, deciding to pull on a sweatshirt over my embarrassing shirt as I did not have the time to change out of Leviticus shirt. Luckily, the night was a cold one. So my winter wear did not elicit too many stares.

My cellphone, thankfully charged this time, guided me to Room 201 of the Bernadette block with no issues. I was five minutes late. I took in a deep breath before I pushed the door open.

I counted the heads within - there were 23 - before hastily apologising for being late.

"Ah, the newcomer," Jaxon, who was at the front of the classroom gave me a tight lipped smile. "Come here."

For some reason, my heart thrummed as I made my way to the front of the classroom. Jaxon was seated at what would have been the teacher's desk. There was a girl beside him, a bespectacled one who had a laptop before her.

"Introduce yourself."

"What?"

Jaxon nodded.

I became very self conscious all of a sudden. I searched the crowd for three specific faces. I was almost relieved to realize that the ghost, the Indian and the ginger weren't present. I took in a deep breath.

"Hello, I'm Andrea. I moved here from Philadelphia..." I turned to look at Jaxon, like, what the hell was I supposed to say?

"Talk about your interests, favourite book, anything," Jaxon replied. I could sense something in his voice - impatience? Annoyance?

I decided that this was my only chance to make friends. I couldn't fuck this opportunity up. I had to appeal to the crowd, one way or another. My hands became clammy out of a sudden, as expectations began to weigh heavily on my shoulders.

"I like to... read," I said slowly. "I don't have a favourite book."

I squeezed my eyelids shut. I would pat myself on the back if I could. I would pat myself so hard my entire spine dislodged itself. Because what the fuck was that? I would be surprised if these people didn't start laughing at how bad I was at introductions.

But Jaxon just shrugged. "Okay. Go take a seat."

I was almost relieved to have the spotlight taken from me. I took a seat at the back, alone for the umpteenth time. I affectionately recalled one of the questions on the questionnaire; it was the only one I answered honestly.