The Newfound's
~
April 5th, 2019
Staten Island, New York
St. Peter's Private School
Xavier's P.O.V.
1:02 pm.
"My mom is going to be so pissed," Aleksander muttered. I raise my eyebrows before grabbing the paper from his hand that he was shamefully offering me. My eyes found seventy-one percent on the top of the test. I cringed internally, glancing at my test which was in my other hand.
Suddenly, my test was snatched out of my grasps. "What'd you get?" Aleksander asked before his eyes landed on my test. His mouth fell agape. "Ninety-seven percent?" He shouted incredulously. My cheeks blushed red before I snatched back my test when I noticed a few students around us were staring at me with widened eyes.
"Xavier? That high of a grade? How?" Some guy in my class, Tyrell was his name, I think.
Aleksander wrapped his arm around my shoulders, a habit he never stops doing, before saying proudly, "It's 'cause he has me, that's why." He smirks before I shove him playfully and chuckle.
Tyrell laughs. "Good job, man," Tyrell says as he offers his fist. I bump mine with him before turning my head towards Aleksander.
I give him his test back. "Do you want me to help you study or something?" I asked in a concerning tone. He softly shook his head. I raise my eyebrow at him as I crossed my arms.
He scoffs and turns it his desk right next to mine where his backpack sat.
"Okay, class! We will be starting unit seven on Monday. Don't forget about the project that's due on Monday as well! That's your final grade for this unit and a big part of your grade. Have a good day, guys. Class dismissed." My chemistry teacher announces before returning to sorting the messy stack of papers on his desk.
"Shit!" I heard Aleksander mutter underneath his breath. My eyebrows knit together as I sling my small backpack over my shoulder. "Are you okay?" I asked him.
He froze before softly nodding. I squint my eyes at him. He shakes his head as we both start to walk out of the classroom that was beginning to empty. "I forgot about the project." He whispered as we passed by the teacher who was waving us goodbye.
My eyes lit up as we exited the classroom. "Let me help you." I offered. He shook his head immediately. "No, I'm not taking advantage of you." I was about to say something before he interrupted again. "And besides, the project started a week before your first day." He added as he stopped by his locker in the crowded hallway. He punched in his combination before opening the locker door.
I roll my eyes as I lean up against the locker next to his. "How would you be taking advantage of me when I'm genuinely offering?" I ask as I cross my arms. "Plus, I love chemistry, so let me help, please." I persuade eagerly. Science was my favorite subject ever since I was a child. How the world worked had always fascinated me.
"Yeah, weirdo. I still don't know how someone can love science." He says disgracefully. I roll my eyes and smile. He grabs out the economic's textbook after placing his chemistry one away safely in his locker. He sighs. "I don't know anything about chemistry. I don't want to make a big fool out of myself if you tutor me or whatever." He mumbled shamefully.
I cock my head over. "You won't. You forgot how bad I am in history. Without you, I would be failing that class. Think of it as an eye for an eye." I explain. He purses his lip and nods after hesitating. "Thanks." He mumbles. I nod my head as I felt my smile reach my eyes.
"You got your textbook for economics?" Aleksander asked and I nodded. "In my backpack."
The warning bell that notified the school we had one minute until we had to get to class rung. We all rushed into our last class of the day. For Aleksander and I, that was economics.
Once all of the students rushed into their classrooms, the final bell rung, signifying that class has begun. We took our seats and my assigned one was a few chairs behind Aleksander.
"Good afternoon, eighth period! It's Friday, guys. Stop looking so glum." My economic's teacher, Ms. Naleeni, says as she walks into the classroom. The class groaned weakly. She chuckles as she plops onto her desk chair.
"I understand, but we have to finish our review packets today before our big test on Monday. Please study over the weekend too. I want you all to pass and I do not want to re-teach any of you. No offense, by the way." She says. "Grab out your textbooks and packets, please. The sooner we finish, the faster we—"
She was cut off by a knock on the door before the principle stepped in with a boy I've never seen before around in this school. "Principle Aldwin!" Ms. Naleeni says. "How may I help you?"
He nodded and smiled. "Boys! We have a new student here with us today. His name is Octavius. Make him feel welcome."
"Oh shit, that's Jo." Someone whispered. My eyebrows knit together before glancing at Aleksander whose mouth was agape.
Who was this Jo?
The principle and our teacher talked quietly for a moment before the principle said his goodbyes. "When did you get back?" Aleksander asked aloud into the empty classroom. Everyone started to erupt into questions about Octavius instantly.
"That's Xavier. He replaced you if you were wondering." Aleksander said in a jokingly tone to Jo or Octavius as he pointed towards me. My cheeks blushed as Jo and the class stared at me. I hesitantly waved at him as I threw a small one his way. He chuckled before offering his fist towards me. I bumped mine with his.
"I'm Octavius, but I prefer Jonah. Jo for short, though." He introduces himself as he sits in the empty seat next to mine. He was wearing a small smile and I returned a soft one too. "Hi," I mumbled.
"Class! We can fully welcome Octavius later. Let's continue with our assignment." Ms. Naleeni interrupted which caught all of our attention.
"What are we doing?" Jonah whispered into my ear. I showed him the review packet before replying, "We have a test on Monday, so we're studying for it." He nodded as he pursed his lips.
"Xavier, why don't you catch Octavius up to date with our assignments? You won't have to take the test on Monday by the way, Octavius." My cheeks heated as everyone's attention was back on me.
"Okay," I mumbled before Ms. Naleeni pleasantly nodded, returning to clean the whiteboard.
~
April 5th, 2019
Staten Island, New York
St. Peter's Private School
Xavier's P.O.V.
2:39 pm.
I opened my locker and placed my viola case on the ground as I grabbed my homework and placed it neatly into my bag. Once my last period ended, I had to get my instrument from my band class causing me to leave Aleksander behind.
"Hey." I heard from beside me. I looked at Aleksander who wore his familiar smile, standing next to Jonah.
I threw a soft smile. "Hey," I reply before zipping up my backpack and closing my locker. Aleksander opened his locker next to mine and did the same I did; grabbing his things.
"Aleksander mentioned you just moved here about a month ago," Jonah spoke up. My cheeks warmed up and I nodded. "Yeah," I mumbled before my eyes returned to my locker, pretending to grab more things out.
"You don't talk much, huh?" Jonah questions. I shook my head. "Not really," I answered before Aleksander's face was in my view again once he closed his locker.
"Let's go. By the way, are you two able to hang out today? We can hang at Xavier's if it's okay with Vera?" Aleksander asked.
I shrugged. "I'll ask her."
~
April 5th, 2019
Staten Island, New York
St. Peter's Private School
Xavier's P.O.V.
3:38 pm.
"Thanks for letting us hang here, Vera," I say as we entered the mansion with Jonah and Aleksander trailing behind me.
"Of course. If you need anything, I'll be around with Lilly and Norah. We're hanging near the game room. You guys want to hang out there?" Vera asks as we were walking through the corridor.
"Hell yeah." I heard Aleksander's reply.
She began guiding us towards where the game room was. Once we arrived after walking for a couple of minutes and entering many corridors, we were met with a big flat-screen television against the wall with all sorts of consoles hooked up to it.
"The door next to the T.V. is where all the games are. They're organized, by the way. We're outside on the patio. Just put the games back where you found them, please." Vera says. "Then the arcade games in that little nook there. We have it all, boys."
I nod before she smiles and makes her way out of the room.
"This is sick, dude," Jonah mumbles under his breath as he walks towards the arcade games in the room. I glanced around seeing Pac-Man, Foosball table, and more. There were countless games in here that I was eager to play.
"I wish I had a cool game room like this one. My brother has a small one at his place, but he hasn't touched it in a while since he's working all the time." Aleksander mumbles as his hands run along with the arcade games softly.
It was quiet for a moment before Jonah spoke up. "How'd you guys meet?"
Aleksander chuckles, walking towards the center of the room where the couch was. "Quite a long story, but I'll keep it short for you. I met Vera, the one who you just saw, at a party and then she introduced us both since he was new here."
I nodded in agreement. I bit my lip before asking, "And how about you guys? You two seem like you know each other." I sat down on the U-shaped couch that was in front of the T.V. that took up the whole wall length. I lazily threw my backpack next to me as they joined me.
"We were best friends before I had to move. I moved to a different country which had different time zones, so Aleksander and I lost touch until now." Jonah explained. I nodded as I unzipped my backpack.
"What made you move here?" Jonah asked.
I bit my lip as flashbacks from when I met Lilly and Vera roamed my mind. "I was homeless," I mumbled as I grabbed out my chemistry textbook and placed it on the table in front of me.
"What?" I heard Jonah say.
I nodded softly. "Vera and her friend took me in and they brought me here. I don't know why me though." I replied quietly. The sound of the console starting up on the television filled into the silent room.
"I'm sorry to hear that. I'm glad I met you though. You seem pretty cool." Jonah said. My cheeks warmed up and I threw him a small smile. "Thanks. You too."
Aleksander squealed which caused Jonah and me to stare at him in a concerned way.
"You good?" Jonah asked. Aleksander nodded eagerly as his smile reached his eyes. My eyebrows knit together. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah." He managed to squeak out, his deranged smile plastered on his lips.
I clear my throat before I realized I needed some water. I was still getting used to my familiarity with the mansion, but yet I'd still get lost in here. I hummed in reply before I stood up. "I'm gonna go ask Vera where the kitchen is to get some water. You guys want some?" I asked.
They looked at me strangely before glancing behind me. I turned around and my eyes met a small glassed fridge. I clench my jaw before returning back to their eyes. "Okay, snacks then?" Their eyes were glued to something behind me again. I looked back to see small packets of snacks on the little counter bar that was on the other side of the room. I sighed before Aleksander chuckled.
"He has a little crush on her friend who's here." Aleksander not so subtly whispered into Jonah's ear. Jonah's mouth fell open before smiling. "Score her, man." He says before my cheeks turned extremely hot. I coughed profusely before I jogged over to the fridge and grabbed a cold water bottle. After I took a few sips, I wiped my lips with the back of my hand. "That's not true," I mumbled embarrassingly.
Aleksander raised his eyebrow at me while playing a smirk on his lips. I rolled my eyes as I wanted the ground to open up and eat me alive.
"I'm going to go now. Bathroom." I mumbled.
"There's a bathroom in here, FYI," Aleksander shouted as I rushed out the game room.
How could I be so stupid? I completely and utterly embarrassed myself. I shut my eyes as I rubbed them when I neared the patio. I heard the door open. As I was just about to open my eyes, my body crashed into a petite body as I heard a feminine yelp.
My eyes snapped open as I saw a girl in front of me. She wasn't Lilly or Norah.
"Do you know where the bathroom is? Vera told me where, but I still don't know. She's not really great at giving directions." The mystery girl asks as she was bouncing up and down with her legs clenched together. My cheeks warmed up as I scanned her petite body. She seemed around my age. I still didn't know who she was.
"Hello? Earth to stranger?" She waves her hand in front of my eyes. "My eyes are up here." She clarifies distastefully. My eyes snapped up to hers as I cleared my throat. I shook my head profusely as I tried to use my voice. "I-I'm sorry. I wasn't looking at you in that way. I—"
She interrupted. "You can finish later, but please show me the bathroom. I really need to use it as you can see." She explains. I nodded. "Y-yeah. Follow me."
If I was being honest, the only bathroom I knew that was near us was in the game room. I rushed over to where the boys where before I pointed towards the bathroom door. Aleksander and Jonah's confused eyes were glued to the mystery girl who practically ran into the restroom.
"Who is she?" Aleksander says as his glued eyes moved to mine. I shrugged my shoulder. "I-I don't know," I replied.
After a moment, Aleksander adds, "She's really hot." Jonah stifled his chuckle as I heard the door open. There she stood before rolling her eyes. "Unoriginal, but thanks." She mutters before turning towards me. "Thanks for showing me the way. Now, I'm going to talk to you about eyeing my breasts earlier." She crosses her arms and raises her eyebrow at me before stepping closer.
"Woah, what?" Aleksander jolted up. "Xavier would never eye a woman like that." He instantly defends.
"Well, that's what Xavier was seemingly doing." She muttered my name distastefully which felt unpleasantness chill down my body.
Aleksander palmed his face. "There must be a misunderstanding—" He says, now leaning over the couch as the mystery girl and I were standing on the other side.
"—Yes. I'm sorry to make you think I did. Y-you just look very familiar, but unfamiliar." I mumbled nervously under my breath as my cheeks were probably blazing hot now.
I heard her sigh when I averted my eyes to my fiddled fingers. "People say I look like my sister." She mumbles under her breath. I look back at her. "You know my sister?" She asks me. I furrowed my eyebrows and cocked my head to the side. "Norah?" She clarifies.
I nodded in understanding as I realized. "Makes more sense," I mumbled. "She's your sister?"
She nodded as she pursed her lips. She looked way more beautiful than her sister.
We all stood there for a moment, acknowledging the awkward silence. Jonah coughed before the room filled with sounds from the video game he played on the T.V.
"I should get back now." She mumbled as she softly pointed towards the door. I snapped out of my haze. "Y-yeah sure. You want me to walk you back?" I asked, wishing I didn't have a stuttering issue.
She nodded sheepishly.
"Or I can take you back," Aleksander says before winking her way. I looked back at her where she had a nauseated expression on her face. She faked gagged before replying, "No, thanks. I'd rather have Xavier eye me up again." Jonah coughed up a small chuckle before hiding his smile as Aleksander scoffed and I was now wearing a horrified expression.
The girl chuckled at my reaction before walking out of the game room with me trailing behind her.
"I'm sorry about all that," I mumbled, still feeling my warm cheeks before I brushed my hair behind my ear.
She chuckled. "It's okay. I could tell you're not like that. I just wanted to tease you. Now, I'm sorry about that." She explained before letting out a small giggle.
I bit my lip as we neared the patio door. "See you around, Xavier. Thank you." She says as she abruptly hugs me which was not expected at all. I stopped breathing as her silky arms wrapped around my body. I have never hugged a girl before.
"It's okay to hug back, you know." She mumbles near my ear which caused my body to erupt in chills.
Good chills.
I hesitantly bring my arms up and wrap them around her petite waist.
She let go before walking towards the patio door. Once she opens it, I intervene. "Wait, what's your name? It's only fair s-since you know mine, right?" I stutter nervously. I wanted the ground to open and swallow me again. I was tired of my shyness.
She smirked before walking out. "You'll find out soon enough. It adds to the mystery though, am I right?" She teases before leaving my sight. I nervously gulp before turning around and walking back to the game room.
I had a goal. A goal I was persistent to achieve.
To find her again.
• • •
HI GUYS! I KNOW, WHAT A SURPRISE!!!!
i don't know what happened, but after i posted my last chapter, a sudden burst of ideas rushed to my head and now here i am with a new chapter(s)!
;)
i am SO proud of myself. and yes, this means i am back officially until said otherwise.
i am having trouble figuring out my path to my mental health, but i have hope so i believe i'll get better! writing does make me feel better and if you feel like i could do better, don't hesitate to let me know. i want to push myself. but that also means, it's not fully guaranteed that i can write like i used to but i feel like i can (but who knows my mind likes to be their own and plot against me)
with that being said, i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to check out my other—i don't know what to call it—thing, Mariah's Stories. it's a collection of short stories i wrote in my sophomore year in my creative writing class and i don't want it to go to waste!
love you all and thank you for the support and kind wishes on my last chapter <3 that genuinely made me feel better!
and...
Don't forget to Vote, Comment, and Share!
- alli