Sempiternity (COMPLETED)

I

That sort of look was what he hated the most.

With a grunt, the boy turned his head back to the window and readjusted his stance in the seat. As quietly as he could while staying audible, he stated his name. “Arend Vitalis.” 

Natalia stood in place, somewhat taken aback at Arend’s rude actions. Once again she chuckled nervously, and withdrew the hand she held out. “Um, alright then, Arend… Well, if you need anything, feel free to ask me, okay?” She looked down and then back at him from beneath her eyelids, but he neither moved nor said anything else to her. Natalia bit her lip and awkwardly stood where she was. Just as she was about to open her mouth and say something else, the door to the classroom opened once again and a group of chattering teens walked in and migrated to their seats. With a final glance back at Arend, Natalia turned and quietly sat at her own seat, two rows diagonally away from the boy’s.

After that, the rest of the class’s students trailed into the room and its seats were gradually filled. The boy, undisturbed by another classmate for the time being, continued sitting in his position and watched as the school lot quickly emptied. Just as the last visible student ran into a building, the final bell rang, and the class’s chatter quieted some.

The boy welcomed the level of quiet and the new peacefulness found in the school yard below. There were no longer any idiotic people scurrying around, no more disgusting practices taking place on the otherwise well-structured grounds. Unfortunately, that meant some of the people had moved to the class around him. He shook his head slightly and let out a quiet sigh. It looked like this school would be no different from the last.

The teacher, a handsome middle-aged man with stubble across his entire square jaw, entered the room a minute or two after the last bell. He greeted the class, handed out new textbooks, and went about taking down names from everyone in the room. The period varied little from petty jokes and vague directions on how the rest of the year would go for the class. Arend didn’t pay attention to any of it.

When the bell rang to signify that the class was over, little more than an hour into the beginning of it, Arend was the last to leave the class. The teacher, whose name the boy didn’t even bother to remember, called him over to his desk, but Arend ignored him and continued walking. He missed watching the courtyard already; there was a certain tranquility to be found in an area devoid of human presence. 

Outside of the classroom, the hallway was already mostly empty. Arend walked through the thin crowds to his next class, the second of the five he had in a day. His hands were perpetually in his pockets. The boy made eye contact with nobody and spoke not a word. To do so out of turn would have filled him with complete revulsion.

The rest of his first day in the high school went on mostly as it did in his first period. He arrived last to every class, right before each bell rang, and sat in a seat in the back of every class. He spoke to no one, and bothered to look at few. As it was the first day after a long holiday, there was little work handed out, but he finished what was assigned quickly and with little effort. Due to his attitude and aloof looks, nobody else bothered to approach him, which was just as he wanted. 

Arend Vitalis was, for the most part, completely alone. The view from the first class’ window, which was never again replicated in any of his assigned classes, was the only thing that Arend enjoyed, and he missed it greatly after he left the first class.

After the last bell of the day rang, Arend left his final class and began to walk towards the third floor of the second-year’s building, where he had attended the morning class. Within minutes, the students had mostly absconded from the campus, no doubt returning to their homes or participating in a social life. The small amount of leftovers who stayed for sports or club practices entered their respective buildings and soon closed themselves off to their work. In other words, the courtyard would be clear when Arend returned to his view. That was pleasing, at least.