She woke up to the dim light streaming through her misty window. Yet another bad dream, she thought. Lately she'd been having them more, for reasons unknown. Her life wasn't perfect, nor was it completely terrible. And yet, her nightmares were repetitive.
She sighed, getting up from under the warm duvet and swinging her legs over the side of her bed. She did her usual morning business, showering then putting her clothes on, before going downstairs to eat something quickly. Her mother was sat at the wooden table, reading the daily newspaper.
"Ah, you're up. Good," Her mother said, putting the newspaper down. The girl smiled, grabbing a green apple and slinging her bag over her shoulders.
"I'll see you after school, mum." She waved with her free hand before walking out of her front door, taking a bite from her apple.
When she arrived at school, nothing had changed over the break, except that the trees had turned a mixture of orange and brown, and that the ground was damp. She made her way silently to her registration class, not making eye contact with any other students. She didn't like much human interaction.
She'd finally made her way to her registration class when she sat down in her usual seat in the corner. Students slowly started filing in and not long after the teacher started calling out the students' names. Once that had been completed, almost with perfect timing there was a knock at the door. Mr. Lloyd opened the blue door with an unsatisfied look on his wrinkled face, until he realized it was the headmaster. His face changed to a fake-looking toothy smile.
"Sir, how may I help you?" He asked, his voice higher than usual.
"Well, Mr. Lloyd I'm here to welcome a new student in our school," He stated, walking slowly into the room of students, turning around to look into the hall while gesturing for someone to follow him.
The girl in the corner looked up from her book to look at the new student.
She noticed his messy, dark hair first. The fringe which could probably cover his eyes if he moved it slightly. Then she noticed his smile. She thought it was one of the most beautiful smiles she had ever seen; his teeth showing through his parted lips. She thought he was a half-decent looking human, unlike most of the other people in the school. Once she'd finished looking at him (slightly admiring, although she wouldn't admit that), she returned to her book, but she could still hear the conversation.
"Ten, here, is an exchange student from Thailand. He's fluent in English and Thai, so there's no need to feel like you cannot be friends with him. I'm sure you'll settle in nicely for your few months here," The old headmaster told the class, then smiling at him. The boy with many piercings in his ears smiled back, before the headmaster turned to leave the classroom and shut the door.
She continued reading her book until she felt a presence beside her. The person pulled the chair out and sat in it, putting their bag under the table. She looked up from her book at the person, and found that it was Ten.
"Hello. Nice to meet you. My name's Ten," He said, a welcoming smile on his face. She thought he had a nice voice. Usually, she wouldn't answer back or even look at a person offering a conversation, but for some reason she felt different with Ten.
"Skye." She spoke for the first time to him.
"Skye is a nice name," He complimented. Skye made a small smile, looking back at her book, though she wasn't really reading it.
"Ten doesn't really seem like a name of someone from Thailand," She noticed, thinking out loud.
"Ten isn't my real name. I only use it when I'm somewhere other than Thailand, to make it easier for others," He explained to Skye, who listened silently.
"So then what is your real name?" She asked further.
"Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul," He said, all too fast for her to hear. He chuckled lightly at her confused expression. "Chittaphon. Chittaphon is my real name," He shortened his previous statement. She nodded.
"I like Chittaphon better than Ten," She told him, glancing at him. He smiled slightly, blinking. She returned to her book.
"That's a first," He replied, leaning back in his creaky chair.
"Do you mind if I call you Chittaphon rather than Ten?" She questioned, looking at him for longer this time.
"Sure. Just, not in front of other people. I don't usually tell people my full name," He said. She nodded, smiling.
"I'm honoured to know your full name," She said sarcastically. He laughed.
"You better be. You're the only one that knows," He told her. She laughed silently to herself, leaning forward to read her book properly this time.
Time went by quickly and just as she finished her chapter the bell for break went. She got up, shoving the book into her bag. Chittaphon also got up, slinging his bag over his shoulders and walking behind Skye.
"Oh, Skye and Ten can you wait a minute?" Mr. Lloyd stopped them from leaving. Skye internally groaned, meanwhile Chittaphon turned around immediately with a smile on his face. Skye followed him over to Mr. Lloyd's desk, who sat with his glasses half way down his nose and his purple tie slightly off-centered. "If you don't mind, Skye, I'd like you to give Ten a tour of the school," He asked, looking at Skye.
"But, sir, that would take a long time and we have class in fifteen minut-"
"I've arranged for you both to miss biology so you can show Ten around the school. Is that okay?" Mr. Lloyd interrupted. Ten looked at Skye expectantly, tilting his head to one side. Skye nodded, more than happy to miss biology at 8:45am. Mr. Lloyd thanked her before he said goodbye to both of them, watching them walk out of the door.
"So, where do we start?" Chittaphon asked, a smirk on his face. Skye thought for a moment.
"Let's start with the English block. We'll work from the bottom of the school up." She decided. Chittaphon nodded, standing up straighter. He was only a few inches taller than her.
"Then lead the way, ma'am," He said, gesturing with his hands in the direction towards the door. He has a playful personality, she thought. She also thought that maybe it wasn't so bad to talk to someone for a change.