Tintin: the Modern Life

High School

The day had come.  He never thought it would, but here it was.  Here it was, and was he prepared? The answer was no. No, absolutely not. 

Physically, yes, of course he was prepared.  He had gone shopping with the Captain nearly a week before, and had gotten all of the supplies he needed, including pencils, notebooks, and even a backpack he had had his eyes on for a while, which was a side shoulder bag, covered on the front with dark green plaid.

But mentally...of course he wasn't ready! He had no idea how to fit into a highschool, which was no surprise seeing as he had never been to school before.  Only libraries, where he could study what he wanted when he wanted to.  To his misfortune, this had to change, according to Haddock.  Tintin had protested, saying that he didn't need highschool, but Haddock had of course seen things differently.

So here he was, sitting in the passenger's seat of the Captain's car, his shoulder pack sitting next to him, on his way to highschool. 

Thus far, the car ride had been silent, aside from the rumble of the engine and the low sound of the radio in the background.  This was of no matter to Tintin however, because he had busied himself with his phone, playing different games like 2048 and Crossy Roads, but that was mostly to help calm his nerves.  Finally, it was the Captain who spoke.

"So...uh...lad?". Tintin looked up at this to face the Captain, giving a low 'Hm?' as a response.  "Are you, uh...are you excited for your first day of school?"

Tintin was silent for a moment, not in contemplation, but in awkwardness.  He didn't really enjoy opening up to people about his feelings, especially when his nerves were rattled.  "I...guess so.". With this he turned his attention back to his cell.

"That's good, that's uh, that's great." The Captain said.  The silence continued, so the Captain decided to try again to strike up conversation.  "You know, I was very nervous on my first day of highschool."

Tintin sighed and turned off his phone, seeing as the Captain probably wasn't going to give up trying to talk to Tintin, or get him to 'open up' like always.  "Were you?" He said, trying to sound interested as not to be rude.

"Yea.  My older brothers were giants compared to me, both figuratively and literally, so everyone knew about them,"

"Naturally," Tintin said, once again trying to be interested, but his mind still racked with nerves.

"So, it was hard for me to, y'know, live up to the legacy." The Captain finished.  Tintin answered his statement again with a low 'Hm.'

"Y'know, you gotta live this day to the fullest.". The Captain continued.  "Take risks, meet some people, it's highschool one of the funnest, uh, funnest times of your childhood life and-"

"'Funnest' isn't a word Captain." Tintin said, his expression vacant, as well as his voice.

The Captain was silent for a moment.  "Well, looks like someone is going to be in advanced grammar, hm?"

"Grammar isn't a subject, Captain.". Tintin fired back.

"Uh...no...i suppose it...wouldn't be." The Captain trailed off into a whisper and decided that silence was probably his best option, considering he had a cranky teenage boy with shot nerves sitting next to him for the next 3 miles.

XXX

As the Captain pulled into the drop off loop of the highschool, Tintin didn't think that he had ever been more nervous in his life.  The Captain slowed down to a stop next to the front door.