His puppet

A New Student

POV: No one
Location: AP Lit class, second floor

Today was like any other day to the students of Littlewood High, waking up in the early hours of the morning to the burden of school. This was your typical Monday morning with groans and complaints about how short the weekend felt sounding out around the room as it did every Monday. Even teachers despised Mondays since it meant they had to get back to grading hundreds of papers and putting up with the attitudes of teenagers.

Groups of students chatted away while waiting for their teacher to arrive in AP Lit, combining desks with friends and moving chairs. As soon as one tall man entered the room the seniors rushed to get everything back in order to avoid facing the male's wrath. He leaned against the chalkboard with his arms crossed and an amused look as he watched the panicked students. Once everyone had been seated the male stood up straight and adjusted the collar to his undershirt with a soft chuckle, his amber eyes softening in appearance as a way to calm the tension in the room. Though his eyes were sharp and his hair worn in a more elegant style, he always wore clothes on the softer side as a way to be more approachable to students just showing what kind of man he is.

Clearing his throat, he greeted his class good morning which earned him the monotone roar from the class, "..Good morning, Mister Zhongli..." He sighed once more for their tones but let it go to get on with the news. "Well... I wish for you all to have an easygoing day, it being a Monday after all, in advance. Anyhow, I must get on with today's subject but first- I have to introduce a new student to you all." ,He stated just before the mood of the classroom changed with students who were half asleep now raising their heads up in unanimous curiosity.

"Hey.... Psss.... Hey Bard. Who do ya think it's gonna be? I heard there was a fight in world geography between Daniel and Alister on Friday- you think they had to switch them out into here?" A male with two black braids slightly turned his gaze to the male who was whispering to him, a senior he's known for years named Kaeya. The bard sighed and turned his chair to face the other male completely while explaining his thought process, "mmm... I don't think either of them are seniors though, I doubt they'd switch them to an AP class this early- no? It's someone switching schools." ,he concluded in baseless confidence to which the other male just chuckled at.

"Venti. I don't want to repeat myself again, now turn around and show some respect as a senior." Zhongli coldly interrupted the two men's conversations, sending chills down the spines of the whole class. The bard, Venti, turned his chair around instantly and shot him a mischievous smile while rubbing the back of his head where it felt like daggers had just been glared through. "Ahem... The new student is a foreigner and I do hope you can find some things in common with him. He doesn't have anyone here from back home and I'm sure he'll explain when introducing himself. As you may know, this is a senior class but the student being accepted in today is going to be put down as a junior- don't worry he's very close to your age group. Please be respectful and if you disrupt the learning environment we provide for everyone here, including him, you will be sent to the principal's office, understand? Good." The teacher concluded before turning around to start writing on the board in chalk.

The class was in slight shock from the information they had just received. Not only were they getting a new student who was actually new but the kid was also a foreigner and had to be a special case to be attending a senior AP class rather than a junior one. Soon kids left and right were whispering back and fourth about who he could be and where he could be from. The snap of the slim piece of chalk being used by the teacher was enough to silence the room, "...What did I say about-!" ,Zhongli was about to discipline the seniors but just as he started yelling there was a small voice that called out to him. It was the school counselor Yae Miko, better known as Miss Miko who had interrupted the irritated teacher. He quickly apologized for his tone around both a women  such as herself and a new student.

"Mm? I see Monday has just begun and already you're struggling to handle your kids, Morax~. Well here's your new one and.. be gentle please- the principal has a reputation to keep." She warned before taking her leave, a seemingly distant male left to stand alone in thought. A gentle hand reached out to the mysterious male's shoulder, softly rubbing it with his thumb to help the boy come back to reality.

The class watched their teacher tower over someone who stood just barely out of sight from them all, trying to make out what they were discussing. Zhongli turned his gaze to the class which straightened them up immediately as he fully reentered the room and returned to his spot in from of the board. Facing the class with crossed arms he gestured for the stranger to enter the room and stand before the class to introduce himself. Everyone watched as a male entered the room with his eyes closed before turning to them and bowing. He wore what seemed to be casual clothing but his face looked the complete opposite with his eyes sharpened by the use of red eyeliner and crimson eyeshadow dusted under his golden eyes. His forehead had a small purple rhombus in the middle, probably weighing some cultural significance. Speaking of, his charcoal hair was unnaturally designed in a way where it was short towards the back but had two random pieces left uncut with a few strands being turquoise alongside his roots. After he bowed he opened his mouth to speak, quickly interrupted by the class's inability to contain their thoughts.

The young male awkwardly stood still about to just go find a spot to sit down rather than dealing with a bunch of "idiotic Americans." The teacher cleared his throat one last time to no avail. "Alright- tomorrow expect a thirty question test and essay!... continue, young man." ,he announced out of frustration. A collective groan came from the class before going back to listening to the unique male. "....Fukushima, Xiao. I come from Hidakagawa if you know where that is..... that's all, Sir." He announced then was directed to a seat in the back of the class. The students for the most part were interested in hearing more or just wanted to get out of starting class.

The bard looked over at the black haired male in the back, taking note of him before going back to using Morse code to talk to a close friend.

'Fukushima Xiao, huh? Sounds interesting....' Venti thought to himself.