"Nothing gold can stay."
Astrid's P.O.V
Chatter filled my third-period math class. The plain white bricks seemed to do an excellent job of holding the sound in our classroom. Of course, the class hadn't started yet and, the teacher wasn't here, so that sent a message to all the kids to talk as loudly as possible. Everyone in the room was talking except for me. None of my friends are in this class. You may ask why not speak to someone who is in your class? Well, my classmates don't like me, and I enjoy the time to myself. I'm probably one of the only people who enjoy being alone. I'm weird. On a typical day, I have five classes and, two of them I have friends in so, I'm not entirely alone. The room seemed to grow louder by the second. I desperately wanted to tell the 'popular' girls to shut up but, I'd only get glares before they would talk even louder, so I remained quiet. By popular, I don't mean what you're thinking. As soon as someone says popular, it's easy to picture a blonde in a skimpy cheerleading outfit who was chewing gum and twirling her hair but, that isn't what I mean. Our school doesn't even have a cheerleading team. Anyways, back to the point, by popular, I mean a large group of girls that talk, know a lot of people, cause a lot of drama, and are entirely boy crazy. They can be nice if you stay on their good side but, if you get on their bad side, they'll show you a whole new level of 'outcast.'
Mrs. Martin marched through the door with a stack of books and papers in her hands. She quickly threw them onto her desk and made her way to the front of the class. Students now sat in their desks. Mrs. Martin was only lovely when her orders were being obeyed, which, with the people in my class, doesn't happen very often.
"Class, we will be copying notes today, but I have an announcement first." Mrs. Martin started. Her subject didn't catch my interest, so I looked down at my notebook and began to re-read the lyrics I wrote earlier.
"A new student is attending this school!" She continued with enthusiasm. This caught most of the classrooms' attention. However, I mentally laughed. Good luck to whomever the new kid is. I heard Victoria (the center of attention in our school) ask if the new kid was a boy or a girl.
"Good question, Victoria. The new student is male. His name is Carter Daniels, and I'd like you all to give him a warm welcome." She answered. Great, a new toy for the girls at our school to obsess over. I heard whispers from the girls such as, 'I wonder if he's hot.' I rolled my eyes a kept them glued to my notebook. How can people care so much about looks? It's personality that counts.
"Carter, come in." The teacher ordered in a polite tone. I heard the sound of feet against the tile floor but, I didn't bother to look up because, honestly, I didn't care.
"Pick any seat that is free so, we can begin copying notes." Mrs. Martin told him nicely. There are two free seats in the class; one in the front and the other next to me. I knew this 'Carter' kid wouldn't sit next to me for two reasons, the first being that I'm more invisible than air particles and, the second reason was that I sit in the back of the class. From where I'm sitting, you can barely see the board. Mrs. Martin put me back here because I don't talk or disturb the class and, I'm the person who understands math the most. Not to sound cocky because I have no self-esteem or confidence but, the people in my class don't pay attention. They could all get good marks if they tried. I like sitting alone, anyways. It gives me privacy and, sharing a table sucks. I was broken out of my train of thought by the sound of a chair scraping against the floor. My eyes remained glued to my notebook. No. No. NO. I gazed at my right to see the new boy, Carter.
"Hi, I'm Carter." He told me in a deep voice as he gave me one of his smiles. Oh, this boy would be one of Vicki's toys.
"Astrid," I muttered before gazing back at my notebook. Everyone in the class was staring at us, some of them glared at me, others wanted to be me, and some looked at me as if I was the new kid. Rage filled every inch of my body. Why can't I sit alone? I heard whispers shoot across the classroom. Most of them were along the lines of 'Why her?' or 'Ew, I would never sit with her.' Great. The teacher began to prepare the lesson.
"Hey, you write music?" He questioned. I didn't feel like responding, but I was curious... What is this kid's connection to music? Can he play? I grabbed the paper and stuffed it into my bag. I think he got the message since he turned to face the front of the class. I quickly began to scribble the notes into my notebook while she explained it to the class. Most people weren't listening, and my mind kept thinking about fourth period, which, for me, is music. All three of my friends are in music; it is easily my favorite class of the day. In case you're wondering my schedule goes:
Period 1- Ancient History
Period 2- English Language Arts
Period 3- Math
Lunch - 1 hour free.
Period 4- Music
Period 5- Art
The class seemed to be full of notes and explanations. However, five minutes before the bell that signified class was over, Mrs. Martin stopped the class.
"Alright, Carter, you can pick someone from this class to show you around the school. Anyone willing to show Carter around put your hand up, please." As soon as those words left the teachers' mouth, about ten different girls' arms shot straight into the air.
"Wow, it looks like you've got quite a selection. The choice is your Carter." She told him. Carter bit his lip as he looked around the room.
"Um, if Astrid could show me around, that'd be great but, it's okay if she doesn't want to." He answered. I got at least three glares from that. I mentally sighed before looking at the teacher.
"She'll do it! She's a great student, so; you should be able to find your way around here with her guidance." Mrs. Martin answered for me. Usually, I'm not angry, but right now, I am. I like to be alone, but Carter decided to sit next to me. I can work around that but, all the glares are unnecessary, and Mrs. Martin signing me up for something I didn't even want to do just fantastic. Note the sarcasm.
The bell sounded, making students rush out of the classroom to get to lunch early. They began to talk even louder than at the beginning of class, which is kind of hard to believe. I grabbed my notebook and hugged it against my stomach before walking towards the door. I took one step out of the class before I got called back.
"Astrid!" Mrs. Martin called. "Wait for Carter." She finished. I rolled my eyes, not even going back to get him. I just stood in place.
"Are you sure you don't mind showing me around?" He questioned once he caught up. Yeah, I do mind, Carter. But, of course, I didn't say that.
"I guess but, there were at least ten girls to pick from. Why me?" I asked. He just shrugged his shoulders and remained silent.
"So, what is your locker number?" I inquired. I don't know why I actually made an effort to talk to him, but I guess it was since I was FORCED to show him around. It'd be a pretty dull tutorial without someone talking, wouldn't it? I pushed the door that led to the stairs open and began to go down them.
"Um. 426." He replied while looking at a piece of paper.
"Oh, okay, your locker should be on the main level. It should be near the music room. You're lucky." I told him.
"Really? That's good. My fourth period is music, so; I guess I won't be getting lost." He answered. Are you kidding me? I mentally sighed. The last thing I wanted was this Carter kid to ruin my favorite class of the day.
"We have an amazing music program here," I replied while trying not to sound annoyed. We were now on the main level. I led him to the left and down the hall of the music room and shop class. His locker was right outside of the music room! I've always wanted one of those lockers. That way, when I forget my sheet music, I wouldn't have to run up a flight of stairs and down a hallway.
"Thank you." He whispered before he opened the door and quickly shoved his books on the top shelf. He turned to me, his sky blue orbs peering directly into mine.
"You still have your books; do you want to put them in my locker?" He asked. I thought about this. It WOULD be easier, but that would require seeing him again.
"Nah, I'll carry them," I answered.
"At least let me carry them for you." He offered.
"It's fine," I told him. "Um, look, I'm busy this lunch period... I can show you around tomorrow, after school, or if you want, you can find someone else..." I added. I was hoping he would find someone else so that I could rid myself of the new kid, the glares, and go back to my friends.
"I'll wait. Would after school be good for you?" He inquired. This kid doesn't give up, does he?
"Uh... Sure. Here, I'll bring you to the cafeteria. You know where your fourth period is, and, during the break, I'll take you to your fifth." I told him while heading back down the hall. We came down. Once we got to the stairs instead of going up, we took a right, which led you straight to the cafeteria. His eyes seemed to wander all over the artwork, posters, and pictures that hung on the used to be plain walls. I suppose if you've never seen it before you would be interested but, I see this every day. Once we entered the doors, Vicki and every girl called him over. However, he didn't leave my side.
"Go ahead," I told him. He did as I told him to and sauntered over to the table, they quickly made room for him and, I was free. I grabbed a slice of pizza and headed to the table where Aiden, Jayden, and Harlow were. Yeah, we get a table all to ourselves.
"ASTRID!" Harlow called.
"HARLOW!" I imitated.
"I missed you, prostitute." She told me as she took a bite of her burger. Harlow and I's relationship is one of those irreplaceable ones. I'd be lost without her. She's my better half. Since she was sitting down next to Jayden, I sat across from her, with Aiden. An essential fact about our friend group: Harlow and Jayden both like each other; they're both too shy to say anything, though. Harlow went off into a conversation with Jayden about the time we got kicked out of Wal-Mart. I smiled at the memory.
"Band-Aid, I wrote a song in second period today-" I started but, I was cut off. I called him 'Band-Aid' as a nickname. Why I love my three friends so much is when I have a horrible day, they're all there for me. I bottle everything up and find it almost impossible to tell anyone anything, but; when I feel ready to explode, Aiden always makes things feel better, just like a band-aid.
"Who's that guy who's staring at you, Astrid?" Jay asked. I turned to see Carter's eyes glued to me.
"Some new kid that I have to show around." I casually answered while turning back to our table.
"Ooooooooooooooooooooooooh." Harlow and Jay sang in unison. I felt Aiden become tense. He always was a little protective over me.
"No, not like that," I told them, and they gave me skeptical looks before they jumped back into their previous conversation.
"Want to show me in the music room? We have ten minutes..." Aiden offered.
"Sure," I said while smiling at him and getting up from my seat.
"Race you." Aiden challenged before he took off running.
"Not fair! You got a head start!" I yelled while sprinting after him. The whole way down the hall, I tried to catch up. I reached the music room door a second after he did. I almost caught up. I began to take deep breaths.
"Tired?" He questioned while raising an eyebrow.
"Pfft, not even," I answered. He chuckled at my response; his deep laugh brought me comfort.
"You only won by one second," I argued.
"One second later than me!" He bragged.
"To my defense, you started first." I continued while walking in and pulling a guitar off the rack.
"I would never!" He said sarcastically with a gasp.
"Alright, now play me that song." He ordered. I began to strum the familiar chords and took a deep breath before I began to sing. During the song, Aiden would send me smiles.
This is why I enjoy spending time with Aiden. With Harlow, we watch YouTube videos, go on Tumblr, watch movies, eat and stuff like that but, spending time with Aiden reminds me of being a child where no matter what, everything was so great, and we were always looking for a new adventure. With Aiden, we write songs, climb trees, give each other silly nicknames and act immature. So dawn goes down today, nothing gold can stay.