On that Monday morning, Connor swore he had never seen a sky that grey. And that was saying something, considering he lived upcountry for the totality of his life and a grey sky is by no means a strange sight.
The slight nakedness of the trees and the colored leaves on the pavement signaled fall, as he watched from the back seat of the car, wearing his same worn out jeans and jacket and allowing his eyes to loose themselves amongst the road. To his right, Alexis sat with a grim expression, studying closely a paper form which had all the courses she would have to take this year written on it, according to what the Estate had established for foster kids.
Today was the first day at their new school, and because there was a lot of paperwork to be done and some other stuff that deemed it an especial occasion, Grace was driving them and Mikey to the school before she left for work. Mikey sat in the front co-pilot seat, listening to some music on his headphones, still half-asleep. Grace took a glance at the other two in the back seat through the rearview mirror.
-"Starting tomorrow, you three will all take the bus, like Mikey has been doing so far."—Grace said with a smile and a tired tone on her voice—"Today I must go with the two of you to the reception so that we can get the final papers signed... and then you'll be good to go! Isn't this exciting?"
Connor could come up with one hundred and one ways in which it was anything but exciting, but as usual he kept them to himself. Alexis on the other hand spoke up, with doubt written on her voice.
-"Eh... why aren't the papers... signed?"—she asked shyly, barely lifting her eyes over the red beanie she always wore.
-"Oh, it's not anything serious"—Grace said—", it's just a formality because Brittany hasn't been able to send her own documents yet."
-"Brittany hasn't contacted the school?"—Connor asked, for once concerned on the subject.
-"Oh, she has—in fact, she's coming to visit us soon! I believe she'll be here next week or so, I bet she'll be happy to see you both."
Ms. Taylor, or Brittany, like how she insisted to be called by Connor and Alexis, was their social worker. She was the one who represented them legally, within the Foster care system and as citizens of the Estate, since they didn't have any parents to do so. It had been quite a while since either of them had seen her, but she kept in touch with them a lot, she really did care. But they weren't her only case, and of course it was troublesome to get kids moved from one foster house to the other. The few times they did see her were when they had to do some legal stuff done or their staying period with their current foster home had expired, and that meant of course moving to a new place yet again. It was as if she were the bearer of bad news.
-"I know you must be worried since the tuition period for your last school almost expired last time"—Grace said, reading Connor's mind—", Brittany told me about it. But nothing of the sort is going to happen this time, I guarantee it."
Connor grunted in frustration. He wasn't angry because of missing the trial periods of the other schools, he was already used to that kind of stuff happening. He was just tired that the same thing had to happen over and over again. The routine was exhausting.
Eventually, they arrived at the parking lot of the school, which was deserted in the visitors' lot, and they were on their way towards the blue building that was the school. Grace's white car looked so tiny and so lonely in the middle of the concrete square that it was almost a sad picture to watch. At the main gate, Grace stopped everyone before they parted ways.
-"Ok, so Connor and Alexis will come with me, and then you'll both be given your schedules."—Grace said—"Classes are over by 3, so you must all come back home together. Mikey will you meet you both at...?"
-"The main door!"—Mikey said with a smile—"I'll meet you guys there and then we can head back together."
Mikey's last sentence was interrupted by the bell that signaled 7:50 am.
-"Damn! I must get to class..."
-"Wait, Mikey!"—Grace called.
Mikey stopped on his tracks and turned around to face Grace, who gave him a tight hug and a smooch on his forehead.
-"Have a great first day, ok? Stay out of trouble..."
-"Grace, you don't have to worry, I'll be fine!"—Mikey said, giving Grace a kiss on the cheek—"Bye guys, I'll be seeing ya! Maybe I'll see you in one of my classes, Alexis?"
-"Y-Yeah!"—Alexis stammered—"Yeah that would be fun!"
-"Good luck with the papers!"
Mikey turned his back on them and left running towards the main gate, were kids of all ages were heading into, while the rest of them headed into the lobby. As they walked a few steps behind Grace, Connor took a smirking glance at Alexis and asked in a whisper.
-"That would be fun?"—Connor asked, mocking the young girl—"What was that supposed to mean, Al?"
-"S-Shut up, Con! I just didn't know what to say..."
-"Yeah, yeah... You're socially awkward as they come, Al."
And it was true, Alexis always had some trouble dealing with people. She had been that way since the day she and Connor met, and probably all her life before that, too. One of the many side effects of being a child in foster care, probably. She hated it, but Connor found it quite endearing, and he also loved mocking her from time to time.
The school's secretary, a woman in her early thirties with large round glasses, a top hair bun and a sharp tongue, was having a phone conversation when Connor, Alexis and Grace arrived at the principal's office. She seemed quite entertained, because she wasn't making any effort to drop it and pay attention to Grace, who was already sat in front of her desk with an awkward smile and the time on the run to get to her job. Connor and Alexis sat at each of her sides, neither of them really amused with the warm welcome.
-"And I told her that there was no way we could get that form for Friday! And yet, she insisted—isn't she unbelievable?"—the secretary said, avoiding eye contact with Grace and taking notes on a notebook—"I keep telling Mrs. Hart that we need to change her as head counselor, but then again, she never listens to me..."
Grace however was running short on time, and Connor assumed that he was supposed to get to class eventually.
-"Ehm... excuse me...?"
-"One second ma'am, it's a quick phone call."
Grace's shocked expression was worth the look at. Alexis' was as well, but it was Connor's face of disbelief that won the grand prize. And so did his sharp tongue.
-"Lady, I don't know if you've noticed, but you are keeping us all waiting with your gossiping, so cut the crap?"
Now it was the receptionist's turn to have the most shocked expression in the room. Alexis snorted under her breath, but Grace looked at Connor like he had just insulted the pope. Connor remained serene, quite indifferent from all the stares.
-"I'll call you back."—said the receptionist, hanging her phone and then typing something on her computer before addressing Grace—"Ms. Helbig, I see you have come here to sign the forms?"
-"Yes, if it's possible I'd like meet Principal Hart to have it done as soon as possible, please."—Grace replied with a winning awkward smile.
-"Unfortunately Mrs. Hart isn't available right now, she is attending an important meeting."—the secretary said, typing on her keyboard—"However the forms are ready; if you please..."
-"Oh, ok. No problem, then..."
The receptionist handed Grace a couple of paper forms that she signed with haste, and then took two filers from her drawer.
-"So, this two must be Ms. Alexis Zall, in her freshman year..."—Alexis gave a nod—"... and Mr. Connor Franta, who is a junior?"—Connor raised his left eyebrow with his arms crossed—"That's sort of strange for somebody who turns eighteen this year... but it can't be helped. These here are your schedules, classes have already started. Next week when Ms. Taylor is here the last steps of the tuition service and the declarations for the State will be terminated. So, that should be it for now."
-"Thank you! That was so kind of you..."—Grace said, managing to appear even more awkward somehow—"Come on, kids, time to go..."
The three of them headed out towards the hallway, and Grace seemed to be trying to find the best way to scold Connor. But from the looks of it, she was sort of new to the entire situation. In fact she almost seemed like she wanted to laugh, but was trying her best not to.
-"Well, we'll have to talk about that later..."—Grace said—"But for now, I want to make sure the two of you have all you need?"
-"I think we're good."—Alexis said with a wide smile, then turning to Connor—"We should head to class."
-"Ok, then. I'll see you both at home when I'm back from work by six. Stay out of trouble!"
Grace gave both Alexis and Connor a tight squeeze in their arms, very affectionate for just a squeeze. They weren't in the hugs level yet. It was always sort of complicated between foster parents and foster kids. But surely enough, she was gone towards the parking lot, and the two of them walked in the opposite direction, towards the classes.
-"It says here that my first period is English, with some... Ms. Ballinger."—Connor said, turning towards Alexis—"What's yours?"
-"Advanced Algebra... with Ms. Akana. Oh, no, not another advanced class..."
-"An Asian teacher for maths... lucky you..."
-"Connor! That's offensive..."
-"Then why are you laughing?"
-"I didn't say it wasn't sort of funny... but hey what you did in the reception? Quite badass, but you might get into trouble like that..."
-"You don't have to lecture me, Al."
The two of them reached a staircase, where they stopped.
-"My class is on the second floor."—Alexis said—"We don't have any of the books yet, though..."
-"Don't worry about that, Grace said we're getting them today after school. Today's the first day, so it's just introduction classes and stuff..."
Connor patted Alexis's head, with was still covered by her red wool beanie.
-"Listen I know you don't take it off, but if the teachers ask to, you have to, ok?"—Connor said.
-"I-I know..."
-"We meet at three o clock sharp?"
-"By the main gate."
-"Try to find Mikey, he looks like the friendly kind..."
Alexis wrapped her arms around Connor. She was so tiny that she was only tall enough to wrap them around his back and bury her head on his chest.
-"Good luck, Al."
-"You too, Con."
Alexis walked upstairs, turning back one more time to say goodbye to Connor, and then she was on her way. With one last sigh, Connor walked down the hallway, towards his first class in Yule Town High.
---
The school's blue colored walls sure did have some sort of effect on the winterish atmosphere, even if it was autumn. Connor had little trouble finding the class, and now he stood before the door. It had a small glass window through which he could see whom he assumed was Ms. Ballinger, a tall, tanned skinned woman with tangled hair and a persuasively warm smile, and judging from her floral dress, a total hippie. She was giving a class on clauses, one Connor probably had a million times already before. He usually would've ditched, but he figured that perhaps it was best not to cause trouble on the first day. With his look on the ground, he gave three sharp knocks on the door.
Ms. Ballinger turned towards the door and her smile shot up twice as more. She went to open it, her dress's skirt seemed to flow with the wind. When she opened the door, Connor could see she had an engagement ring with a tiny diamond on her right hand.
-"You must be Connor!"—she greeted—"I'm so glad you could make it to the first class; usually it takes a while with the paperwork on the first day when it's on such short notice..."
Connor probably should have said something, but he just nodded and bit his lip to refrain from speaking at all.
-"Come on in! I'll introduce you to the class."
Connor walked into the classroom, which was brightly lit in comparison to the dark hallways. It was also painted blue, but the endless amount of Broadway musical posters and charts on English writers that plagued the walls made it look like every other single color other than blue. Ms. Ballinger instructed Connor to stand in front of the entire class, and so he did. It wasn't too crowded, twenty something people at the most, most which didn't seem to particularly care much about the newcomer. One girl was even blowing a chewing gum balloon.
-"Class! This is your new classmate, he's just moved here to Yule and he'll be attending this school, so please be friendly! His name is Connor Franta."—Ms. Balligner then turned towards Connor—"How would you like us to call you, Mr. Franta?"
-"Just... Connor will do."—Connor said, barely audible and mostly to himself and Ms. Ballinger—"I don't really like being called by my full name..."
-"Then it's settled! Everyone be nice to Connor! Let's not forget what it means to be new in town and new in school, as we have had many several before..."
As Ms. Ballinger rambled on at incredibly high speed, Connor's eyes darted towards the students, scanning all the people in front of him. He could categorize them almost by the second; there were the jocks, the popular kids, the nerdy ones, one or another lonesome geek... and then, by the last row, wearing headphones and staring outside the window with his head on his chin, was familiar face. The same guy who had taken the bus with them when they had arrived and who had paid for them at the gas station sat with little to no attention at the very back of the class. He wore the same jacket and his hair seemed even messier than before. He also looked quite skinny, fact which Connor hadn't come across before. Seeing him made Connor feel extremely frustrated. He was the kind of person to hold grudges, and he considered that payment quite the offense. He didn't care what where the circumstances, he didn't need anyone to take care of him.
-"So, Connor, we should get on going with the class."—Ms. Ballinger said—"There's a spot there by Lilly's left, why don't you sit there?"
Connor saw the empty desk Ms. Ballinger meant. It was in the middle row, the closest to the left wall of the class. On its right sat a girl with olive skin and long, black straight hair which she kept under a baseball cap, who Connor assumed was Lilly. She looked towards him and the teacher when she heard her name. She seemed a bit shocked to be called out. From that, Connor got that she probably was the troublemaker kind.
Connor took his seat, still a bit tense from finding out that the mysterious gas station kid was in his same classroom. It probably was a little obvious, because that Lilly girl whom he was sat beside to shoved a little bit further away from him, seemingly uncomfortable with his presence.
The class turned out to be exactly like very single other clauses class Connor ever had before, and given it was just a review. Still he managed to endure it towards the end. Throughout it, when he wasn't taking notes, Connor took a small notebook and he wrote down his thoughts. It was something he did often, it was sort of a little productive hobby of his. Probably his only productive hobby. He learned from a previous foster kid housemate that the best way of letting go of your thoughts was to write them down, so Connor wrote down what he had gotten from the first day of school so far. He wrote about the mean receptionist, about Alexis and how he worried for her, about meeting the new class and disliking the fact that the mystery gas station kid was there. He even dropped a couple of rhymes into it. He wasn't sure, but from the corner of his eye he thought he could see that Lilly girl eyeing his writing.
Surely enough the class got over with due time, and it turned out that Alexi's Advanced Algebra teacher, Ms. Akana, also taught Calculus in his year, which meant of course she was the sort of teacher who dealt with a lot of stress. After what seemed to be the longest two hours of math of his life, it was lunch time, and Connor found himself in the large dining hall. Today's serving consisted of mashed potatoes and fish, which was definitely not one of his favorites. Almost all of the tables were crowded, with every single clichéd high school clique placed properly. Connor found a furthermost empty table, were he took his seat and ate quietly. The peace was short-lived, however, as he was joined by a surprise visitor when that girl Lilly from his first period class sat across from him, carrying a lunchbox.
She gave him a toothless grin and took out what seemed to be a lettuce, tomato and something that may or may not have been cheese out of the lunchbox, which seemed pretty childish for someone who is a year away from finishing high school. Why childish, you ask? Well, it did have a unicorn drawing on it.
-"Pretty lonely first day, huh? I'm Lilly, by the way. Lilly Singh. But you already knew that."
Lilly took a bite from her sandwich. Connor looked at her for a brief couple of seconds, and then went back to eating his fish. She started to move on her place, trying to erect her back so that her shoulders could appear to be broader.
-"But you know... Just... Lilly will do. I don't like being called by my full name."—she mimicked with a grave voice, and then went on eating—"That's how it goes, isn't it?"
Connor avoided to make any sort of conversation. It wasn't like he totally hated this Lilly girl, he just didn't care, that's the way it had always gone. Her efforts to befriend him were pretty much pointless.
-"You're not of many words, eh? That's alright, I don't mind. I'm a new student myself too, you know? Well, technically. I moved here from Toronto two years ago. It's not like I'm new now but with these people it's hard to come around... get what I mean?"
Connor still wouldn't reply, and frankly, he was getting a bit tired from listening. He had a hard time recognizing people's good intentions. But he couldn't force that Lilly girl to leave, he wasn't that much of an asshole. It was just easier to ignore her. She didn't seem to mind after all, from what she had said.
-"You know, I saw what you were writing during class."
Connor stopped chewing and squinted at her from his lowered gaze. So she had been eyeing his notebook after all.
-"It's very sweet, that you worry for that Alexis girl. She's your sister, right?"
Connor swallowed down what was on his moth, and took in another piece of fish. He wouldn't have talked about anything in the first place, but that topic, was out of line. Lilly continued on her sandwich unceremoniously, unbothered by his cold shoulder. She seemed almost too cheery for living in such a gloomy town.
Once he was done with his lunch, Connor stood up from his place and carried his tray towards the trash can. Lilly stood up as well, picking up her leftovers and placing them inside her lunchbox.
-"Great chat!"—Lilly said with a smile—"I guess this means we'll be lunch buddies now? That's good to know! So I'll be seeing you around!"
Lilly skipped towards one of the exits of the dining room and into the hallway. She was such a strange kid, very tomboyish; but she was also quite friendly so surely she must have some friends that did actually care to talk to her during lunch. Connor couldn't understand why she wouldn't go with them instead. But that wasn't none of his business. He took his almost empty backpack, and walked towards his next class.
---
By the end of the day, Connor had gotten to the conclusion that this was probably going to be the longest school year yet. Not only were all of the classes extremely hard and most of them boring, but they also required several group projects that he had absolutely no clue on how he would manage to get done, thanks to his amazing social skills. At least he thought that would have to be it for the time being, and that he could spare himself from most of the work by the end of the first half of the term.
At three o'clock sharp with the ring of the bell, Connor headed towards the accorded spot on the main entrance. Mikey was there on his own, looking around, and seemingly a little bit flustered. Kids of all ages walked from one place to another towards their bikes, cars of busses, and some even left walking. Connor walked directly towards Mikey, a bit too tired for the day.
-"C-Connor!"—Mikey said, a little bit intimidated—"How was... the first day?"
-"Where's Alexis?"—Connor asked dryly, cutting straight to the chase.
-"She... she's not here yet. I'm waiting for her."
-"Have you seen her all day?"
-"I... I have. She's in my English class, with Mr. Dawson..."
Mikey seemed to be worried about something, and Connor noticed he got more nervous by the second when discussing Alexis. Behind his squared glasses, he was blinking rapidly. Something was off.
-"Mikey."
Mikey took a look at Connor, and Connor tried his best to soften his glance.
-"What happened?"—he asked, in a hushed tone.
-"... Do... do you know why she doesn't want to take off her hat?"
All of what Connor could think on that moment, was "Fuck."
-"It's a long story."—Connor said—"Why?"
-"Well, Mr. Dawson doesn't like us to wear hats in class... he asked to take it off, and she got all pale and asked to talk with him, and after that he didn't mind anymore. So she could keep it on."
Connor sighed.
-"So?"—Connor asked—"Is that what's bothering you?"
-"Well, no, I wouldn't mind about something like that..."
-"Then?"
Mikey was having a hard time continuing with the story.
-"Mikey, what?"—Connor asked cuttingly, losing his patience.
-"Well, some kids in class thought that was weird—a—and they were saying mean things, that's all..."
So that's what the problem was. It was just the first day, and Alexis was already earning herself some bullies. That was definitely not part of any plan.
-"Shit..."—Connor whispered, rubbing the back of his head.
This was an issue. He couldn't go around trying to find Alexis every five minutes to make sure she was ok, and kids in freshman year could be the biggest of assholes. Connor remembered that year well, he hated it with all his might. It had been hell for him, and that was saying something, taking into consideration that he knew what it was like to be in a living hell. He wanted to come up with a way of dealing with the issue, but he couldn't hear himself think. Some kids were making a lot of noise by the parking lot to their right. It was quite the ruckus, almost like there was some sort of trouble...
Connor and Mikey both looked towards the noise. There was a crowd of about twenty kids in a circle, watching something happening up close. From the looks of them, they were probably about Mikey's age, which meant they were also Alexis' age, which meant they were in their year. And from the looks of it, whatever was going on, was bad.
Connor walked firmly in the direction of the mob, with a quick and steady pace. He was hoping that it wasn't what he thought it was.
-"W—Wait, Connor! Wait for me!"
Mikey had to sprint to get to Connor's side. When they reached the outer side of the crowd, Mikey seemed to recognize one kid. He tapped the kids shoulder, and he turned around to face them. He had blonde bangs, which were rather long on his forehead.
-"Mikey!"—the kid said, clearly concerned with whatever was going on.
-"Luke, what is happening, dude?"
-"It's that new girl from today—that ass Tyde is picking on her."
-"What!?"—Connor asked in shock, immediately getting closer to see what was happening.
Alexis was in the middle of the circle, looking scared and clutching strongly to her backpack's left handle, like she did when she was very, very scared. It was safe to say she was scared. In front of her was another kid, some boy with a white t shirt and a lot of zits on his face and who seemed to be quite amused. He was tan and had very short black hair, which seemed to have been shaven recently. For being just a kid, he was pretty big, but still, Connor was way bigger.
-"So you're adopted, eh?"—the kid mocked in a strange accent, which Connor found somehow familiar—"Your parent's left you?"
-"I—I—I'm not adopted..."—Alexis said, stammering of fear.
-"Oh, so nobody wants you?"
-"You don't know what you're saying..."—Alexis said, shaking her head—"Why are you doing this?"
-"I may answer that, if you tell me why you won't take off your stupid hat!"
Connor could feel his blood boil with rage. He clenched his fist so much it hurt. But he didn't do anything; he couldn't afford getting into a fight with some kid, despite how much of an asshole he was. He hoped that, for that kid's sake, he would drop it at that moment. Mikey seemed to be extremely nervous as well.
-"T—that's none of your business..."—Alexis replied, this time with more certainty, though she still stammered.
-"Oh, is that so? Then the way I'm acting is none of your business either."
The kids around were expecting some sort of fight, as Connor could tell from their whispers. Some even started saying things like "yeah, tell her!" and "that's right, Tyde!". He didn't like how any of this looked.
-"Why don't you just stop being a jerk?"—Alexis asked.
-"Why don't you stop being a freak? What happens if I take off that ugly-ass hat? Do you turn into a vampire or something? Are you bald under it!?"
And without warning, the Tyde kid grabbed Alexis' red beanie and took it off, exposing her brunette hair. Her eyes were starting to tear up, and people started laughing.
-"GIVE IT BACK!"—Alexis called out, trying to get it back from the kid—"GIVE IT BACK TO ME!"
-"Or what?"—the bully asked, lifting the hat way too high for her to get it—"Will you tell me on your mommy? Oh, that's right... you don't have any!"
That was it.
Connor pushed away the kids that separated him from the center of the circle. He heard Mikey call his name, and many of the kids gasping at the sight of an older guy who looked like a senior entering into the scene. Pushing Alexis away gently to the side, the struck a single blow to the face of the bully kid, Tyde, who fell on his ass on the pavement, dropping the beanie in the process.
But Connor wasn't done, he was furious. He got down on the kids and started to beat the crap out of him, a single punch to the face at the time. But he wasn't able to hit more than twice, because before he knew it, somebody else grabbed him from the back and tossed him away with force. Connor saw how a couple of other kids who surely where friends with this Tyde person taking him away from the crowd. He wouldn't allow that; he tried to get up on his feet again, but the same person who had pushed him off did so again, pushing him to the ground.
He saw it was another guy about his age, because of the height. He was walking away, but Connor wouldn't have it. He sprang up and lounged towards him, throwing him off to the ground, and punching him without even bothering to look at his face. He could hear both Mikey and Alexis calling out his name, the latter probably in tears. But he didn't care; he was going to give this son of a bitch what he deserved. But his adversary was very strong, too, and managed to somehow throw Connor off, and strike back a couple of punches himself. It was a very even fight, and Connor was sure he was bleeding.
Then, the two were separated by a third person, but this time they were stopped for good. Connor took a look at the man who had just separated him from his fight, and knew immediately he had screwed up big time, because he definitely was a teacher. He was a tall, very muscular man with brown hair and a beard, and form the white shirt, black shorts, sport shoes, cap and the black whistle tied around his neck, Connor gathered he was a gym teacher.
-"THAT'S ENOUGH! THE TWO OF YOU, STOP!"—yelled the teacher—"YOU HAVE GOTTEN YOURSELVES IN SOME BIG TROUBLE!"
Connor panted in exhaustion, taking a hand to his nose. He was bleeding, and he was certain he had been hit in the stomach, too. And then, he looked towards his adversary.
Just as badly hit, with a cut on his lower lip, and panting on the ground in front of him, was the mystery gas station guy. His blue eyes were bloodstained, and if his brown curly hair had been messy before, well now it was all over the place. He looked at Connor with a mixture of shock and disbelief, which Connor knew he probably had on as well, only that Connor's would have been full of hatred, too.
Connor looked to the other side, searching for Alexis with his sight. She was crouching close to him, with her red beanie clutched between her hands and with tears down her face. Mikey and Luke were both beside her, just as shocked and astonished at what had happened. And then, Connor saw Lilly right by their side as well, her olive skin pale on her face from the look of utter shock on the display before her.
So much for staying out of trouble.