"So what bus do you take?" Dad asks and I roll my eyes.
708.
"And you get off where?"
I raise an eyebrow. In front of my school?
He laughs. "Yes, but which bus stop?"
Wilston High School, obviously. I respond and he nods.
"Correct."
Jesus Christ, dad. I smile as I shake my head.
"I'm sorry! I'm just a worried father." He takes a sip of coffee from his mug and I laugh. Of course he is. It's my first day at a new school after all.
~
The bus is loud.
Correction: The people on the bus are loud. I plug in my headphones and let rap drown out the rest of the noise, always keeping an eye on the display near the ceiling to see when I'll be at the school.
~
Turns out that's not even necessary, most people on here appear to have the same goal as I do and get off at the same stop. I put my hands in my hoodie's pocket as I follow them all and enter the school building. Room B103. I have no idea where that is, but as I enter through the main doors, a gigantic sign practically shows me the way. Apparently the D, E and F rooms are somewhere to my right, and A, B and C on the left. G is somewhere across the schoolyard. I turn left, trying to navigate through the school and follow a few people my age, always looking around like I did everytime I changed schools before.
Another sign.
B001-008 with an arrow towards a door, B101-108, B201-208 with an arrow pointing at a flight of stairs. I manage not to stumble on the extremely steep stairs and enter a hallway, signs on each door. B101. B102. B103. I stand in front of the open door, hesitating. Everyone's probably already sitting somewhere. Should I just walk up to a random desk or wait at the front of the class? The last would be very... awkward. Oh well. I try to ignore the nervous feeling in my stomach and walk in. The decision between awkwardly standing in front of the class like a lost toddler and just going anywhere is taken from me as the teacher, who's already in the room, looks up and notices me. From what I've understood, he's Mr. Cass, my English and History teacher. He's tall and sleek and definitely in his fifties. Glasses, short dark hair with several gray streaks and a piercing stare from his blue eyes. He smiles.
"Hello. Class is about to start, just wait for a moment and I'll introduce you to everyone then, okay?" He suggests and I nod.
After a few minutes of just standing there and doing nothing(most people ignored me, a few smiled, a few looked at me like I was doing everything wrong I possibly could), the bell goes and Mr. Cass gets up from his desk and stands next to me. "Good morning, everybody!"
"Good morning, Mr. Cass." Everyone responds. I smile, tapping on the back of my phone in my pocket nervously. I feel like I'm in the entirely wrong place right now.
"Everyone, this is Jesse, the new student I told you about." Mr. Cass waits a few seconds for everyone to process the shocking news they knew for a while now, then he adds: "Jesse, you can sit next to Diane, she knows sign language and-"
The student in the front row he's referring to raises an eyebrow. "Mr. Cass, remember what I've told you about my name and pronouns over a year ago?" She- He? They? asks and the teacher shakes his head.
"I do, and remember what I told you? That that isn't a real name and those aren't real pronouns."
"No, you're just transphobic, Sir. I personally don't like your last name, I preferred Mr. Willow, but you got married and changed your name, so I respect that and call you Mr. fucking Cass." The class giggles in the oh-shit-someone-just-roasted-our-teacher kind of way. "So you can refer to me with the name Cheeto and the pronouns ze/zir and it/its, and I don't give a shit if you don't like that because that's what I feel comfortable with and it doesn't harm anyone. Jesus fucking Christ." Di- Cheeto turns its head towards me. "I'm sorry, that happens a lot here. Guess you'll have to get used to it."
I shake my head with an encouraging smile. It's okay. I'm glad you have that confidence. I sign, and Cheeto smiles back.
"I don't hear this often enough. Thanks."
"Okay, enough lovey-dovey conversation, now go sit down next to Diane."
Cheeto literally just said "Don't call me Diane" I think. What bigotry is this? Following an impulse, I take my notebook out of my bag and my pen from my pocket to write Who the hell is Diane? I've only heard of Cheeto until now. and show it to Mr. Cass. He reads it and opens his mouth to say something, but I just walk to the free seat next to Cheeto and sit down before smiling at the young person.
"What did you write?" Cheeto whispers and I hand it the book. It reads the sentence and presses its lips together, trying to suppress a smile. That doesn't exactly work and it just gives up and grins widely as it hands the book back to me. "Thank you."
~
"You definitely have to meet my friend. I really feel like you guys would get along perfectly!" Cheeto says as we exit the classroom after a double lesson of History. "He's not here today, though. Headache, sickness, dizziness the full-on program. Happens about every three or four months for some reason."
Poor guy. I sign with a worried expression.
"Yeah. Honestly, if I were him, I would have given up on breathing." Cheeto laughs. "He'll probably be back tomorrow, though. Nothing, and I mean nothing, can shatter our precious Lewis! No, seriously, we'd need Thanos for that with his magic finger snap. Anyway. I need food."
Meanwhile, we've arrived by a table with two benches at the side of the schoolyard. Cheeto throws its bag onto the table and itself after it. Sitting on the table now, it opens its schoolbag to take out a bag of... Cheetos. I smirk.
Really? I ask.
"Really. Want some?" Cheeto rips the bag open and offers it to me. I shake my head, still smirking, as I sit next to it and open my own box with a sandwich and some carrots. Just in that moment, some guy from my class walks by and shoots me a death glare. Jeez, what have I done to him?
"Freak." He whispers and I can't help but laugh. Really? That's all he can come up with? Kind of sad. "Yeah, now you're laughing. But-"
"But what? In five seconds, she'll be punching you in the face, Tyler? Better be careful, honey, don't underestimate her. You made that mistake with Lewis and remember the bruise his shoe left on your cheek after he hit you with it?" Cheeto chimes in. "Goodness..."
The boy goes entirely red as he seems to remember the incident. "Just wait, bitch." He says and walks away. Just like that.
Cheeto leans back and takes a few Cheetos from its bag as I almost burst into laughter again. Lewis hit him with a shoe. With a shoe. Also, what kind of weak "bullying" tactic is that? Calling someone a freak, getting reminded of something apparently embarrassing and leaving?! And then acting as if that could hurt anybody.
"Sorry about that, Jesse. He's not even funny, he's just... Annoying. And has no life, from what I know." Cheeto interrupts my thoughts and I shake my head.
I find him quite entertaining.
Cheeto laughs and eats another Cheeto. "That's great, I'm glad you liked that clown!" It shouts with a wide smile and way too much enthusiasm.
Cheeto is tall and rather skinny - I'm constantly asking myself how that is possible considering the amount of junk food it seems to eat - with very dark skin and a shaved head. It has a nose piercing, a silver ring on its left nasal wing, and wears black lipstick, eyeliner and rather alternative-style clothes. Its eyes have this sparkle of joy, but at the same time look like those of someone who... How do I say this? Someone who knows what certain things feel like. Things nobody should know.
I'm interpreting way too much again, that's probably not even true. But I'm glad I found a friend so soon.