Home (Reddie fanfic)

Chapter 4

The shrill ring of the bell was all Eddie needed to jump up and away from Richie. Having to endure a painfully long 15 minutes, it was safe to say that he was more than glad that first period had come to an end. He shoved his book and pencil case in his backpack, quickly zipping it up in a hurry to get out of the classroom and dodged the large cluster of students that had suddenly formed, almost blocking up the whole door.

As soon as he stepped out into the corridors, a small blast of heat hit him, the warmth radiating off of the hundreds of sweaty bodies crammed into a narrow hallway, all gossiping and catching up between classes, as if they wouldn't all be sitting with the same people at lunch.

 
Who the fuck designed this place, was something that ran through his mind everyday as he edged speedily down the corridor jam packed with people, keeping as close as he could to the rows upon rows of blue lockers lining the walls, knowing that if he kept close to them there was only a 5% chance he would end up face down on the floor, and although he could get his face squished into the lockers with a single wrong move or shove of a backpack, it was worth the risk.

 A sacrifice that needed to be made if he wanted to get out- because it was extremely unsanitary, Eddie could have gagged at the smells that clogged up the hallway, but as he didn't want to throw up all over the 15 people surrounding him, so he sucked it up and shuffled down hastily.

One left, two rights and finally, he had finally made it out of the swamp of students, relishing the way that he could breathe freely without inhaling the fumes of sweat.
He adjusted his bag on his shoulders, walking into an empty art classroom, where their next period would be.

Do they ever clean this shit? he thought as he examined the tops of all the desks, that were either splattered with blotches of brown paint, had random bits of wood chipped off, or sported dried lumps of some sort of artsy thing that had hardened on the surface. He grimaced as he tried to scrape some of it away with his fingers, the lump not budging, then groaning in annoyance as some of the substance wedged itself in the whites of his nails. Too busy trying to clean his table, he didn't notice anyone walk in behind him, only just glancing up at the clicking of heeled boots and a soft but stern voice

"Excuse me? didn't you see the sign? I instructed my class to wait outside the classroom so as not to fiddle with anything in here."

The woman, who eddie recognized as the new art teacher, was a pretty, young lady, not more than 22, called Miss Harrington, who wore a flowy maroon dress, her hair in a loose bun at the back of her head, and small heeled boots, and was waiting for Eddie's response with her hands resting on her hips.
Eddie blinked a couple of times, not having seen a sign of any kind and feeling a bit confused, stuttered, "S-sorry, I uh...I didn't know."

The teacher let out a sigh, walking over to the door and said, "That's alright, just please pay attention next time," and then opening it, poked her head out, calling to the rest of the class, "Come on in please, and line up at the back of the classroom," Eddie stood awkwardly, fiddling around with the zip of his fanny pack, as all the students trooped in, casting him a weird glance or two and slowly filled up the back of the class, making sure to stand away from Eddie. All except one.

"Jesus Eds, blind as a fuckin bat aren't you today?" he heard someone whisper from behind him, in his ear, he could practically hear the smirk in the voice.

 
Fuck my life.

 
"Don't call me that. And are you planning on following me around everywhere?" Eddie whispered back harshly whipping around to face Richie, again.
"It's not my fault we have all our classes together," shrugged the other boy nonchalantly, but a small grin forming on his face, as he watched the shorter one's eyebrows furrow in annoyance, getting all worked up, at knowing that Richie would sit there bothering him yet again.