Anderson Means A

Chapter 8 - A New Student

It was the first day of the new schoolyear and it was Charlottes last year before she would go to university. She didn't really look forward to it, but she also wouldn't miss the boring courses, annoying teachers and the dreadful school uniform they had to wear: dark blue trousers, a white blouse and a blue jumper in the winter. In the summer, the girls could wear a dark blue dress or skirt and the boys could wear shorts. The only one who actually looked good in them, was Evelyn, because she looked good in everything. Harper only looked good in it, because she'd adjusted the blouse so her large breasts would almost pop out and drew all attention towards them.

Charlotte was sitting on one of the benches with Evelyn next to her, staring at the new third years entering the school. In the meanwhile, Chloe was complaining about her boyfriend again and Harper was giving bad advise to Chloe. Charlotte knew Chloe wouldn't listen to any of them, so Harper's bad advice wasn't very harmful.

"Who's that?", Evelyn asked loudly. She pointed at a boy entering the school gate, looking very out of place. His shorts seemed a little too big and he wore a very old backpack. His skin was light-brown and his hair dark and short. Most kids at the school were white, which made the boy look even more out of place than before.

"Oh, that", Harper said as if she was looking at a cockroach: "You haven't heard? That boy's father died due to a medical mistake and his family got an enormous financial compensation for it. My dad told me about it. His mother wanted to give her son a better chance in life, unknowing that sending him to a better school for the last two years of his childhood, won't make him a genius."

"Harper, you're a bitch", Charlotte snapped. "That's a really sad story!"

"I just don't like stupid people", she snapped back: "They can't just send their children to our schools, expecting they will get all the chances we worked so hard for."

"Harper, what the hell?" Chloe looked at her with disbelieve: "That's the stupidest and most racist thing you ever said."

"Mark my words", Harper answered.

"I'm going to say hi", Charlotte decided and she stood up, ignoring Harper's disapproving expression. When she was almost in the boys eyesight, Liam appeared in front of her, blocking the boys path.

"Hi, I'm Liam. You're new, right?"

Charlotte was already standing next to Liam, causing the boy to look from her to Liam and back with two gigantic dark brown eyes. He almost looked frightened. Liam frowned, but smiled when he saw Charlotte. She hadn't seen Liam since they broke up, almost a week earlier. He looked good.

"I was about to do the same thing", she explained.

The boy gave them both a shy smile. "I'm Diego." His face was soft and kind and he reminded Charlotte of her little brother, although she didn't really know why.

"Hi, I'm Charlotte", she said, "Nice to meet you, Diego."

"If you want anyone to show you around, I would be happy to do that", Liam continued. Charlotte had not expected Liam to be so friendly, especially because his stupid friends were all watching. "Being the new kid can be quite overwhelming."

"I went to a public school", the boy answered: "A small public school. Thank you for talking to me." His voice was overly polite, as if he was talking to a superior. Maybe he felt like he was?

"You'll love it here. We're one of the best schools in the country. Do you like sports? We have so many sport teams!", Liam said.

"I like reading", the boy answered in a quiet voice.

"We also have a library", Charlotte said with a ironic smile. "A big one."

"And a reading club", Liam added, genuinely.

Diego looked at them both: "Thank you." He seemed a bit overwhelmed with all the information they'd just given him. "I'm going to get my documents and books." He smiled again and hurried inside.

"Why did you come over here?", Liam asked, when Diego was out of sight.

"Harper was being a bitch, so I wanted to say hi and prove I'm not like her." Charlotte looked at Liam again. Somehow, she'd missed talking to him the past week, even though she hadn't forgotten he let her kiss his freaking drug dealer. "And I felt sorry for him. Why did you come over to him?"

"My friends were laughing at him, so I guess we came for the same reason."

"To prove were not like all the other rich kids?" Charlotte had an ironic expression on her face. "Doesn't that mean were just as fake as they are?"

Liam laughed: "I do like him, I think. He seems genuinely nice."

"You can start a reading club, then", Charlotte joked. She didn't like reading, she was always much slower than the other students.

"Maybe I will", he said, to no one in particular.