Making his way to his first period, Danny walked through the hallways of the school with the world around him seemingly slowed to a crawl. He didn't have to deal with the drama that the other students had, he didn't have to push his way through the hallways to get somewhere; all he had to do was walk. It was definitely a new feeling for him but it was definitely welcome as he smirked and strutted his way to a wooden door with a little plastic window stuck on the left side of it.
Once he opened the door, the world returned to normal, and Danny walked right into the classroom. From the moment he walked in, Danny could see various instruments hung on the walls with sheets music pinned under them by thumb tacks. Drum kits fully assembled near the back end of the class and bass guitars sat on a rack near a small box-like office in the classroom.
Danny feasted his eyes on the wide range of instruments and his face lit up like a Christmas tree. Smiling from ear to ear, he took his seat in one of the many chairs in the classroom. There was only one desk for the teacher in the center of the room and a bunch of red cushioned office chairs that the students could sit in.
Once he took his seat, the young man placed his backpack on the ground, opened it up to bring out his recently finished packet, and just left it in his lap for a bit. Danny had a bit of time to kill before class actually got started so he mainly just spent the rest of his time spinning around in the office chairs, getting dizzy, while other students made their way into the classroom.
A couple of people finally made their way in, one being a guy with a shark for a head, a girl with large orange wings and another student with a mustache that seemed to reach his shoulders. None of them really said anything; they just sat in their chairs and waited with Danny.
After some time, more and more students would flood in to the point where there was only one seat left and it was right next to Danny. Nobody wanted to sit next to him, which he felt was kind of weird. ["Dang, ain't nobody wanna sit next to me this year, their loss."]
Class was going to start soon and with nobody sitting next to him, Danny was ready to just sit alone, After all, this was a class that he liked and being alone wasn't all that much of a con to him in here. But just as he thought that he was going to rock this class solo for the rest of the school year, a short-haired girl walked through the door.
She had a cold plane stare to her and looked around for a seat. Danny turned his head, hearing the door open and looked at the girl, who seemed to just stand there for a moment. The thing he noticed immediately was her attire, as she had on a blue wool hoodie that seemed to be a bit too big for her.
Another thing that caught his attention were her blue, almond-shaped eyes and shiny, light skin. He could assume that she was more of the quiet type, looking at how she had her mouth covered by the collar of her hoodie but ironically, she decided to take the last remaining seat next to Danny.
Once she took her seat, the lights in the room would dim and cut off as class began to start up. The lights would cut back only for a man with dark skin and a large afro to be standing on top of the desk in the center of the classroom. In his hands was an electric six-string guitar that didn't seem to be connected to anything.
Danny had a bright smile on his face, seeing the man, as it seemed he knew what this meant. He, along with the rest of the class, would be delightfully surprised when when the man lifted his right hand in the air, holding the sign of the horns, before strumming away at the guitar.
The sound that came out of the guitar could only be described as majestic and the students could hear the guitar screeching throughout the classroom despite it not being plugged into any speaker or power source. The dark-skinned man had his eyes completely closed as he let his fingers guide him along the guitar, He could feel the heart and soul of the instrument in his hand and he let that soul radiate throughout his technique.
With the man playing his song, the very notes from the guitar began to come to life in a literal sense, projecting off of the guitar strings and flying around the classroom color-coded depending on which note he hit. The spectacle was enough to completely choke the attention of the students and the song wasn't too bad either; it left a lot of the students wonder just where it was from but Danny knew that song anywhere. "Stand on your own, by the Sudden Drifters. I loved this one as a kid."
After a bit of playing, the man would end the song by holding a note for a period of time and letting it play out before finally stopping and opening his eyes to the class. He spoke with conviction and freedom, like a man who was at peace with himself.
"Class, now that i have your attention, I am Mr. Thaddeus."
The class started to clap and cheer at the display of skill and his abilities, all except for the girl that was sitting next to Danny. She seemed to just keep her hands in her pockets and watch.
Getting down from the desk, Mr. Thaddeus put the guitar down onto it gently before taking a bow. The music teacher seemed to be wearing rather basic attire, with a white dress shirt and tie, along with some brown pants and dress shoes.
"Thank you, thank you; you guys are making me feel like I'm on stage again."
Chuckling to himself, Mr. Thaddeus clapped his hands together and looked around the room to get a glance at everyone's face. Some faces he saw were students he had last year but then there was Danny, who he took notice of but didn't say anything to at first. After getting a good look at everyone, Mr. Thaddeus spoke up to the entire class.
"Alright, so here's how I roll. The first few days are always chill. I feel the best way to get used to each other is to speak to one another, so for today, you guys can have at it. Conversate, catch up with each other, do whatever, and next time I see y'all, we'll be ripe and ready to feel the soul of music."
Danny couldn't help but smile; he was excited for this class ever since he found out Mr. Thaddeus was teaching at the school. The person sitting next to him didn't seem to share the same enthusiasm, which he didn't exactly pay all that much attention to.
Now that the class was talking and conversing, Mr. Thaddeus made his way over to where Danny was sitting and held out his fist in front of him.
"Ahh shit, is that Nash' boy who finally stepped foot in my classroom? How's ya pops doing?"
Looking up at the music teacher, Danny raised his fist and bumped fists with Mr. Thaddeus. He let out a sigh at the mention of his father; it seemed to be a bit of a rough spot for him.
"He hasn't been doing any better, that's for sure."
Mr. Thaddeus seemed to be a bit disheartened hearing that being the case with Danny's dad. He sat down next to Danny, not in a chair but on the floor, which made him appear a lot smaller than he was since the students were sitting in chairs.
"Damn I'm sorry to hear that; he told me you got your powers over the summer, so whatcha get?"
Now that the topic had changed, Danny was a bit happier not talking about his dad. It wasn't that he didn't like him, but talking about what's going on with him always brought some pain to his heart.
"Velocity control: I can control my own velocity and the velocity of things I touch."
Looking at Danny with an extremely confused look on his face, Mr. Thaddeus questioned if that was really his ability. To him, that sounded a lot stronger than what someone his age would normally get if they awakened their powers.
"Really? Aren't you only eighteen? That sounds like a power someone my dad's age would get."
Thinking about it for a moment, Danny did find it a bit weird how strong his ability was, but he didn't really think about it. He just chalked it up to him being lucky, but that was something he should probably think more about.
"That's what the doctor told me I had, so that's what I roll with."
The girl next to Danny was listening in on their conversation, not really saying anything and just looking at the two of them, not saying a word. Mr. Thaddeus would come to notice for a moment but wouldn't say anything to them about it; instead, he'd continue on with his conversation with Danny.
"Huh, well, I guess all that waiting was worth it. You still play nine-string?"
Trying to think of the last time he was able to get some practice in over the summer and how little time he really had over those months, Danny really could only get out a response that made sense to him.
"I've been trying to squeeze in the time from here and there to get some practice in, but I never stopped."
Hearing that Danny was still playing guitar made Mr. Thaddeus smile a bit. Although the conversation would change when he noticed that Danny had a clear backpack near his seat,. He'd also see the packet through it, which would remind him that he should probably collect them.
"Clear? You been giving the students hell up here, huh?"
Questioning what the whole clear backpack thing even meant, the girl next to Danny lifted an eyebrow, still listening in on the conversation. Danny, on the other hand, didn't feel like it was that big of a deal; he earned his clear backpack before he even got his powers so he didn't think much of it.
"Eh, that was before i got my powers. People around here know i'm just the goofball anyway."
That didn't exactly make the issue any better in Mr. Thaddeus' eyes; in fact, that kind of made it worse since he made his class a lot more reliant on getting into groups.
"Danny, that could cause some co-operation issues. This class requires a good bit of teamwork and getting a reputation like that while having powers is one thing, but getting them after already having it makes a lot of the students feel like they can't hang with you."
Maintaining his casual demeanor and still not seeing it as much of an issue, Danny leaned back in his chair and put his arms behind his head while giving his response. ["I'll figure something out."]
"It's not like I'm actively going out of my way to beat people up. Plus, i don't aim for faces; I can't mess up the money maker, ya know."
Shaking his head Mr. Thaddeus couldn't help but laugh at Danny's response. It was like he was looking into a window to the past and staring an old friend in the face. ["Whenever there's an issue, it's never a big deal, huh. Some things just don't change."]
"Just like your old man. Alright converse with some of the other students and see for yourself. I have to packets to collect; I have to make sure that these kids get exempt from the testing season."
Hearing that his teacher was picking up packets, he immediately took his out of his back pack and held it out for him to take. Holding the the packet in his hands, Mr. Thaddeus stood up and tapped on the packet twice, which seemed to gain the attention of the students in the classroom. He held the packet up to show the class so they can be ready when he came around.
"Hey! I'm picking up packets. I suggest you turn them in unless you want to spend a month of your school year in a testing booth!"
After making his announcement, the music teacher walked around to pick up packets that the students would be quick to pull out. Some would pull out completed packets while others wouldn't give anything, showing that they either forgot it at home or didn't do it at all.
In the meantime Danny had to find someone to make conversation with and who better than the person sitting right next to him. So he turned to her and the two of them just looked at each other in awkward silence for a bit. The girls cold neutral stare contrasted Danny's southern hospitality and it was almost like the two of them were having a bit of a staring contest.
Trying his best to break the silence Danny did what he did best and that was talk.
"Well since you probably heard that my name's Danny. What's your name?"
The girl just sat there in silence, looking ahead at Danny without saying a word like she was thinking about something to say but she just turned away from him and looked down at her feet. She kept her hands in the pockets of her oversized hoodie and didn't say a word.
At first Danny thought that she was just being shy, not wanting to speak to him but then he thought about what his teacher was telling him.
"Hey don't worry about the clear pack thing, it ain' nun major. Lots of folks with em are just normal everyday pe-"
With a bit of a nervous look on his face Danny tried his best to explain himself but the girl with the hoodie cut him off before he could finish. Her voice was soft yet stern and commanding at the same time which somewhat caught Danny off guard for a moment. She still didn't look at him instead the girl just looked up at the ceiling not paying any mind.
"I..."
Hearing the girl finally say something this entire class period got Danny interested to hear what she had to say. It didn't seem like she finished what she was saying but he did lean closer so he could get the full message without miss hearing it.
"hm?"
Once Danny was interested in what she was about to say, he was put in her trap. It was over for him, with one simple phrase she had completely got him when he least expected it.
"I don't care."
["Did she just prank me? ME?"] His jaw dropped to the floor while the girl chuckled to herself a bit at his reaction. Danny was at a loss for words, getting pranked like that by someone who he thought was some shy girl who didn't want to speak was not what he expected on the first day.
But now that he knew that she wasn't afraid of a bit of jokes Danny felt as if he should definitely know their name now.
"Alright you got me, but now you have to tell me your name."
The girl turned over to Danny and tilted her head to the side, she wondered why he cared so much about her name but she gave it anyway, rather just the first part of it.
"Yon."
One thing Danny took note of was how little Yon actually spoke to him, only giving responses with few words. She obviously wasn't the shy type but he did wonder what was going on with her.
The name Yon sounded Korean and given that he managed to pay attention in history class last year, Danny picked up on it immediately.
"Korean? That's Interesting, you from the northern or southern region?"
Instead of giving an audible response, Yon pointed to the ceiling with her right hand while fixing the collar of her hoodie with the other. She wasn't moving the collar down but moving it up to cover more of the lower portion of her face, making sure that her mouth wasn't visible.
Now Danny was back to square one although at least Yon gave the direction so since she pointed up that must have meant she was from the northern region.
"So how long have you been living on the country side?"
Once again, Yon gave somewhat of an actual response. It was like she was ping ponging, going back and forth between actually answering with words and not.
"Five months."
Danny squinted his eyes, not because of the amount of time she's been living in the country but because she was able to answer that question perfectly fine while some of the others she couldn't. It wasn't like she didn't understand him, since she could answer them with actions rather than words but something more was going on here but he couldn't really put his finger on it.
Seeing Danny squint his eyes made Yon squint her own eyes, imitating his actions while pondering on what's going on with him ["Why do you talk so much?"]. Danny caught onto her game quickly and lifted his right hand up which caused Yon to do the same.
As soon as Yon put her hand up, Danny waved his around to see if she would do the same which of course she did. Now that he had full confirmation that she was copying him, Danny pulled downward on the collar of his shirt and Yon almost did the same but stopped herself before she could reach it.
There wasn't anything Danny could understand from the girl but given that she didn't want to pull down the collar of her hoodie to show her full face made him think that there was something going on there that made her this way.
"What is your deal? I don't get you..."
Out of sheer curiosity Danny reached over to Yon and tried to pull down the collar of her oversized hoodie only for Yon to speak once again.
"Don't touch me."
He could feel it, it was almost like an invisible force stopping him in place from going any further. No matter how hard he tried Danny couldn't move forward to reach for the hoodie, eventually he'd give up and go back to his normal seated position.
"Ok, don't check under the hoodie. Got it."
Yon quickly spun her chair to the left side, not facing Danny anymore and looking off to the wall and other students near by. Even though she turned herself around she still gave a slight apology for using her powers on him.
"Sorry."
The whole thing left Danny questioning what transpired and what he just experienced. But he knew that there was definitely a reason why she had that big hoodie on her, the only thing he needed to know now was why.
"Nah it ain' your fault, i just got too curious is all. Won't happen again."
Even after Danny's apology the two of them would just sit there in silence for a bit. Not really talking about anything until Danny stood up and started walking over to other students to see if he could conversate with them.
He'd walk up to them one by one, trying to speak to them like he normally would in any other school year but nobody wanted to talk to him. He'd walk up to people, introduce himself if needed and sometimes they'd ignore him or they'd tell him that they're good on a conversation and move along. This would go on until Danny was right back in his seat.
Despite being turned down for a conversation, Danny didn't seem to be all that affected by it. Staying calm and collected while relaxing in the office chair, he pulled out his phone and started to play some games.
Yon watched Danny walk around the room and fail to make conversation with the other students and only thought about how sad it was. ["I wonder what he did to get people to not want to talk to him."]
After a bit of time, the bell would ring signifying the end of class and since class was over it was time for Danny to leave. So far his impression was that things were going to be a bit rough for the most part since he was going to need people to actually communicate with him for the class but it shouldn't be anything he couldn't handle.
Now that he was free, it was time to check in with Sasha see where she's at. He was kind of hoping to get a pep talk after that strange first class period.
Once he finished up his conversation with Sasha Danny used his ability to make his way to the east wing to meet up with Val and Sasha. He had the time before he had to go to his own second period class, might as well meet up with his "siblings".