Chapter Text
New year, new me!
As many would say.
Today marked the first day of junior year! Aka the so-called WORST year for highschoolers. But, the students were just a year closer to graduating! So that’s good? Right?
A sunny day in mid-August, attempting to brush off the summer funk officially as students begrudgingly woke up early for the first time in months.
Rajesh Yadev, better known as Raj, tossed in bed as he heard the blaring alarm go off. Reaching out a hand to press the snooze button but failed as the alarm clock fell onto the floor. Accepting his defeat, he got up and began getting dressed.
Raj knew who he was at a fairly young age, he just didn’t know the label until he got into high school. He likes dudes. He’s gay and still has never been in a relationship. Was it his most important priority? Not exactly. No one at school caught his eye.
Coming out to his family and best friend was a huge obstacle. Much to his surprise, they all seemed pretty okay with it! Sure, it took a bit for everyone to settle in and learn but overall, it went great!
Would he ever tell his hockey teammates or someone else at school? God no. It was terrible enough to hear what certain students would call those that they suspected were “gay”. And he’d rather not have to switch schools or just fully drop-out from the harassment. Being the alternate captain for the Snow Owls was enough pressure. As long as he plays it cool, he can get through the year. I mean it’s worked for this long!
More than half an hour passes, and Raj is now eating breakfast in the kitchen.
*Knock Knock*
At the door was Raj’s childhood best friend, Wayne Cruz Kalosky. Not only is he the captain of the Snow Owls, he is also a very trustworthy and loyal friend to Raj! His academics on the other hand are a piece of work, hopefully he can keep his grades up to continue leading the hockey team to victory.
“Hey Rajie! You ready for the first day back?” Wayne immediately pulled the other into a hug, as if they hadn't met up over the summer. “Sorta.. Also don’t you remember my mom said you didn’t have to knock all the time? You know where the key is!” Raj returned the embrace.
The blonde chuckled, “Yeah well I don’t remember where she said it was..”
“Did you want something to eat before we head out?” Raj gestured to the plastic bag of frozen waffles that was next to the toaster. “Sure!” Wayne perked up as he followed Raj into the kitchen. “Didja see what classes you’re taking this year?”
Raj: “Mm yeah, looked pretty solid to me. What about you?”
Wayne grabbed his backpack, opening it hastily, and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, “Got it right ‘ere!”
The brunette passed Wayne the now prepared waffles, “Hopefully we get some classes together man.”
“Don’t worry about it dude. ‘M positive we’ll at least get something together.” Wayne slid the paper over to Raj as he began to scarf down a waffle.
“If you say so.” Raj sighed, as he grabbed a similar piece of folded paper in his pocket, opening it up to compare the two:
Rajesh Yadev Yr. 3 Wayne Cruz Kalosky Yr. 3
(1) Physical Education (1) Physical Education
(2) Math 3 (2) World History
(3) World History (3) Spanish 1
(4) Creative Writing (4) Math 3
(5) Health (5) English 3
(6) English 3 (6) Science (Human Bio)
Raj’s eyes widened, “BRO?! We only have one class together?!” Wayne glanced at the two schedules, “Aw man… I think the teachers hate us or somethin’.. Maybe Mr. Bernard from English class last year did this.”
“Were we that bad?” Raj sounded surprised. “Eh.. Dunno honestly...” Wayne thought about it. The two used to talk way too much and way too loudly. “Hey, at least we have some of the same teachers, bud! We can help each other out!” He gave Raj a pat on the shoulder. The two were used to not getting all the same classes, but it would make Raj a little nervous every time. But, he was not going to let it get into his head this year. “..Yeah! This year will be a breeze. We should start heading out, maybe we can see who else made it onto the team!”
“Race you there!” Wayne gave Raj a light shove as he swiftly grabbed the paper and his backpack, running out of the house. The other quickly grabbed his belongings and left the house, locking the door behind him.
~
Mary-Kate Jiang wakes up to the sound of her phone ringing. She looked to see who was calling her, multiple times in a row. The perpetrator being her friend Damien Reid. She picked up the phone:
Damien: [“FINALLY YOU’RE AWAKE??”]
Mk: “Dude… Calm down we still got..”
The noirette checked her clock.
Mk: “Like 40 minutes before school starts.”
Damien: [“Okay, yeah I know it’s a bit early.. But the time you take to get ready plus driving AND adding onto that, we still have to see where our classes are. Also please hurry up, Zee is threatening to hotbox my car.”]
From a distance, Mk could hear Hezekias Truxillo Cuautli, aka Zee, snickering.
Mk groaned, “Ugh… alright just give me a minute. You can park in the driveway since no one’s home. I think the door should be unlocked… Can you grab my backpack and stuff?”
Damien: [“I guess..”]
“Thaaanks!” Mk said before hanging up the phone. She got out of bed and began to quickly find an outfit for the day.
The front door could be heard opening and closing.
*Fifteen minutes passed.*
“Woah, a new record!” Damien commented, checking his watch. “Yeah yeah, let’s go before you start crying about being late again.” Mk said in a sarcastic tone as she fixed her hair in a mirror. “Ooooh, she got you there.” Zee looked over at Damien. “You guys can walk to school.” He said, clearly lying as he began to walk out. The other two quickly followed close behind, just in case he wasn’t.
Mk and Damien became close in middle school, ever since mutual friends set them up on a date which ultimately failed due to no equal feelings. Or more like Mk is a lesbian and Damien was not going to out her, so they told their friends it didn’t work out. However, since the situation they continued to talk and it led to them being inseparable. Along with that, they eventually began associating with Zee.
Zee always had the ability to become nearly friends with anyone, so at school everyone knew him, even if he wasn’t considered “popular”. The trio ended up being in the same school project in eighth grade and the rest was history. Include one late night sleepover in sophomore year and suddenly Damien and Mk are the hosts of a podcast/blog called, “The Show With No Name!” Which they record at Zee’s place, because he lets them and he has a pretty large house. They talk about anything they want really and surprisingly have avid listeners that are from their school as well as from other schools. They do keep it lowkey at school though, just because they don’t want teachers to be aware of it.
Damien turned the car on as he handed Mk the aux cord. “Soo.. Do you think Principal McAdam is still going to let us be hosts at the hockey games?” Mk asked, while buckling her seatbelt. “I mean I don’t see why not? I think we did fine last year. If anything, I can ask later today.” The capped boy shrugged as put the car in reverse.
“Yo, apparently there’s a new girl this year.” Zee spoke out loud. “I mean I’d assume new people would be coming in this year.. Like freshmen?” Damien began to drive towards the school.
Zee shook his head, “Nah, like a new girl in our grade. She’s supposed to be coming in from that private school… Uh… I don't know what it’s called.”
Mk’s neck quickly snapped towards Zee then to Damien, “Cambridge Academy?! Oh hell no. Damien, what if it’s her ?!!”
Zee: “...Huh?”
Damien, hopeful: “Relax, I doubt she would switch to a public school. If she clearly has a huge reputation at Cambridge.”
Zee: “Dudes.. Who are we talking about?”
Mk: “...Someone.”
Zee, whining: “Awwe come on dude.. I wanna know!”
The girl winced slightly, “We would tell you man.. But 1, you know everyone and 2, you suck at keeping secrets.. No offense.” Zee had a ‘shocked’ face, “Ouch.. But I get it.”
“She’ll tell you eventually, man. Or I think?” Damien glanced quickly at Mk but then set his eyes on the road. “Maybe.. Or maybe you already met her.” She waved her hand in front of Zee’s face as if she was hypnotizing him.
With a couple more turns, the car pulled into the student parking. The three grabbed their bags and walked into the school’s entrance while maneuvering through the clusters of students. Welcoming back to their totally beloved Seneca High School.
~
First Period.
*Calculus 1*
As the bell rang, students began to file into the classroom, having the freedom to choose their own seats. To his demise, Damien knew absolutely no one in this classroom. Sure, he has seen them around in the hallways but he has never spoken with any of them. He quickly decided to take a seat near the teacher’s desk, he didn’t mind really, he’s a good student.
The bell rang once again to signal that classes are now obliged to start. The teacher gave her introduction, she was to be addressed as Professor Mary. Which did sound a little… Bland. But who was Damien to judge? The teacher was interrupted by a knock at the door. Walking through was a student being escorted by what seemed to be one of the administration office ladies.
Damien observed that she wore a lot of teal, but it fit her. Could this be the new girl Zee was talking about?
Sheepishly, the girl took a seat, conveniently near Damien. Professor Mary spoke to the lady for a couple of minutes before she left the classroom. The professor then pointed the attention to the student, “Welcome our new student, Priya Sridhar. Be sure to help her out on her first day. From what I’ve heard, she’s an incredibly smart girl.”
The girl- Priya, her eyes widened as she looked around the classroom with a smile, as if it were a greeting. Damien could tell how nervous this girl was, made him feel a little bad.
On the other hand, the professor swayed the attention to the syllabi. The rest of the class became the introduction of what was going to be taught throughout the year. Thankfully, no homework was assigned for the day.
*World History*
The teacher gave a google slide presentation, talking about themself and the outline of the school year. For the rest of the time, the students got to interact with one another while the teacher replied to emails.
Zee turned to Mk who was nearly falling asleep at her desk. “The teacher’s so chill.. Are you awake?” He patted her head. “..No.. Just wanted the cold desk to touch my forehead.” The other scoffed as he pulled out a laptop from his backpack. “Wanna play Fireboy and Watergirl?” Mk lifted her head up, “...Sure, why not.”
~
*Physical Education (PE)*
“Sucks that we don’t really get to start actually doin’ stuff till next week.” Wayne groaned, sitting at a bench in the locker room. “It also sucks that we start with track n’ field.. Not somethin’ cool like.. Basketball..?” Raj added, looking through his locker, grimacing at a piece of chewed gum in the corner.
“Ya think Coach Tyler got that promotion?” Wayne asked. Raj shrugged, “I hope.. The other dude was a dick..”
~
Second Period.
*It goes normal, it’s just a lot of class introductions.*
~
Third Period.
*Statistics*
“Psst… Axel.. What the fuck is happening...” Mk whispered, occasionally peeking at the teacher’s desk on the other side of the room. “I don’t know. Stop bothering me.” She hushed back, looking down at the paper in front of her, another syllabus.
Alexis Estrada, aka Axel, she scared a lot of people at Seneca. Not only because of her attitude but also with how much of a ‘Try-Hard’ she could be when it came to athletics. She constantly berates people with her zombie apocalypse theories, saying how quickly they would not survive. But her? Oh, she would survive. She already knows what to do and has everything prepared in her house and her locker. She once had to get investigated by security because they thought she was hiding marijuana in her locker, but in reality, it was food that had expired in her locker.
The classroom was too quiet. The students were too skittish to start talking, all they could hear was the clacking of a keyboard coming from the teacher’s desk. “She just told us to read over the syllabi. For the rest of the class I suppose..” Millie whispered. “Thank you, Millie. At least someone is nice enough to respond.” Mk stared at Axel, which made the other grunt lightly. The poor student that had to be grouped with these three just kept looking at the paper.
The keyboard clacking become softer and slowly it fizzled out. Millie looked at the direction of the teacher, “Did she fall asleep?”
“No way..” Mk said in a genuine surprised tone, smiling, she pulled out her phone and began to keep herself entertained.
Mk: “You guys wanna ditch?”
Axel: “No.”
Millie: “I’m okay..”
Mk: “Lame…”
She stayed seated. Taking a quick photo of the dozed off teacher from a distance. The students continued to speak at a low volume just to make sure the teacher would not wake up and scold them.
~
*Science, Human Bio*
“Ohh! That’s right! I met you at the..” Priya snapped her fingers as she thought, “The parties the hockey team would throw back at Cambridge!”
Zee nodded his head slowly, “Mhm.. Didn’t think I’d see you here at Seneca.” The girl gave a small laugh, “Yeah it’s a little complicated..”
He noticed her mood change slightly, wanting her not to be uncomfortable, Zee changed the topic, “Thinking about joining any clubs or sports teams..? We got a pretty killer girls volleyball team.” Priya propped her head onto her hand, elbow on the table, “I haven’t checked out the different groups yet.. But I’ll take volleyball into consideration! Sounds fun to try something new. I mean I’ve played volleyball before but actually being in a team would be super cool! Trying out still gets me all anxious though.”
“Yolo it.” Zee shrugged, “It’ll be all good. If you don’t make the team, there's still a ton of other stuff you can do. I can find out when the tryouts stuff happens so you can start practicing, ‘kay?” Priya’s eyes brightened up, “Yes! I owe you!” She grabbed the other’s hand to shake it, which Zee thought was a bit.. Strange, but he smiled.
~
Fourth Period.
*AP English*
Advanced English with Mr. Khalil. From the advice of upperclassmen, apparently this class is one of the most challenging to pass. Due to how strict and particular this teacher grades assignments.
Well, that's what Millie was told
Millie Calliope, a straight ‘A’ student, always excelled in her academics. This made her a target for bullying but also many people would pay her for homework answers. As much as she hated doing it, a couple bucks for lunch money didn’t seem too bad. Braces are a hassle but she made it work. She didn’t speak much if she didn't know you, some students say she got along better with the school faculty more than the actual students at Seneca. Some would also add that Millie is extremely observant of the students' antics.
By sitting arrangement, a student Millie has never seen before was placed at the desk next to her. Accidentally staring, she watched as the girl got her pencil out and began writing on a sticky note. The girl, being Priya, looked back at Millie giving a small wave and secretly handed her the note.
Millie cautiously took the note and read what was inside.
‘ Hey! What’s ur name? :P - Priya ‘
Millie smiled a little as she grabbed a pencil and began to reply.
‘ Millie. Priya is a nice name. - M ‘
The two girls smiled at each other, the teacher’s announcements quickly became background noise.
The note continued to pass through the two for the rest of the class period.
~
Lunch/Break.
“I ran into Josh earlier, turns out he isn’t doing hockey this year.” Raj said as he ate a chicken sandwich. “Really?! He was the best leftwinger?!! Why did he quit?” Wayne said, almost spitting out his drink.
Raj: “Probably cause he broke his leg over the summer… Said it was from skateboardin’...”
Wayne: “Oh… That sucks, let me guess… His left.. Leg? Eh?”
Raj bursted out laughing.
~
Fifth Period.
*Yearbook*
Yearbook class was practically a journaling class. Students would be assigned to do many different things around the school, update the Seneca School News blog, assist at sports games, help assemble the yearbook for the year, and more!
Millie, Damien, and Mk have been taking the class for all three years so far.
Miss Holmes, the teacher, is a nice lady. She’s always passionate about her work and is a sweet person overall. A lot of students like her class.
The teacher walked up to the desks the three sat at, “Hey kids, the Principal just emailed me about if you guys would like to help out at the hockey games this year?”
They looked at each other, with a small nod, “Yeah, it went smooth last year. So why not?” Damien smiled. Miss Holmes gave them a thumbs up, “Alright, I’ll tell him, and I’ll send you the schedule for the games later this week.”
As she walked away, the trio started talking. “Did you even want to do it this year? Sorry for just answering for you.” Damien asked Millie. She tilted her head, “It’s okay, I didn’t mind. As long as I get to do the photography then It’s okay.”
Damien: “What about you, Mk?”
Mk: “Dude you know I’m already doing it.. Plus it goes well with the sports med class I’m taking. So I already have to be at the games.”
Damien: “Oh right! You’re taking that class, how did it go?”
Mk: “We haven’t started doing anything, just more about how the year will go and stuff.”
Millie: “...I don’t mean to interrupt, just wanted to double check. So we’ll split the roles like we did last year?”
“Yeah!” Damien replied.
To sum it up:
Millie was in charge of taking photos for the hockey game and also helped out with the footage/playback of the entire game that would be given to the hockey coach. It was basically so the team can see what they can work on.
Damien and Mk are announcers at the game. While there are actual licensed people, all the boring stuff. These two get to talk on the mic and make sly comments during the game, while counting the points, write down major events that happened during the game if any, and some of the more simple things. There is an adult that is there to help them out just in case but they have gotten better through the years.
Mk now has an added role, sports med/nurse. Since she is in the sports med class, she is required to go to school games (in this case, the hockey games) and help with injured hockey players. Once again, there are licensed people there to help with more severe injuries and such. If she was being honest, she had no clue why she chose this class. She could care less about these dumb hockey boys!
~
Sixth Period.
*Science, Human Bio*
Finally the last class period of the day. Everyone was so ready to get this last class over with and go home, probably.
Damien and Millie spoke with each other as they stood with the rest of the students at the back of the class. The teacher, Professor Ellody, was grabbing a seating chart that she made.
“Damien!”
A little frightened, he looked around, confused at who was saying his name. “Did you hear that?” He looked at Millie. “Uh.. Hear what?” She replied. A shiver ran down his spine, “Ugh.. Creepy. Thought someone was calling me.” Damien tried to laugh it off,but Millie was looking at something else? As if someone was behind Damien?
Damien slowly turned to see who was behind him.
Wayne was waving at him with a toothy smile. Damien sighed in relief.
They’ve known each other for a while, since 8th grade. They just aren’t as close because of how differing their schedules and extracurriculars are. The hockey games sort of helped them talk to each other.
Before they could start talking, the professor began calling out names and students began to go to their assigned seats. Millie waved at Damien as she departed, going to her seat.
After standing there for what felt like forever.
Who would’ve known.
Damien and Wayne are assigned to sit next to each other for the school year.
~
*The school bell rings, indicating..*
Classes are over for the Day!