Chapter Text
Kiibo found himself checking through his bag for the umpteenth time as he shuffled nervously outside the classroom door. His father had enrolled him in a public school in the middle of the school year saying he needed more social experiences. As a junior who had been homeschooled his whole life, to say he was anxious was an understatement. His baby blue sweater sleeves stretched and threatened to tear from his constant jittery fidgeting and his lip tasted of copper with his constant nervous gnawing. The teacher had told him to wait outside the class and go over his schedule before he would be introduced, but so far it'd already been 5 minutes and there was no sig-
"Kiibo?" A voice jerked the boy out of his thoughts and he looked up in a panic. "You can come in now." Kiibo gave a slight nod before shakily adjusting his backpack and taking a deep breath. Following the teacher obediently, he kept his eyes locked to the floor until a sudden screech demanded his attention.
"NEW KID!!!" A boy from the back of the class shot up to his feet and practically sprinted to Kiibo, hands snatching his sweater clad arms. "Hi!! I'm Ouma Kokichi, what lunch period do you have?"
"7th period..." He murmured, perplexed by his straight forward behavior.
"Great!!! Sit with me and my friends, okay?" The Ouma boy's eyes practically sparkled as he tugged at Kiibo's sweater.
"Please let go of my shirt, Ouma."
"Will you sit with us?"
"...Sure. Just please don't pull my sweater or you'll stretch it." He conceded. He needed to make friends anyway, so he was going to take any chance he could get.
"Great!! Come sit with me in this class, too!"
After an instance like that, Kiibo felt no nervousness during his seemingly lackluster introduction before taking a seat next to the strange boy. His hair was a poorly dyed purple and his skin seemed as if it never saw any sun. His nails were painted in chipped black polish and strange swirls, lines and dots covered his arms that seemed to be of sharpie.
"Those are from my friend Himiko." Ouma explained in a cheery voice that seemed too happy to be real. "She gets nervous easy so my friends and I help her out to calm down; she likes painting nails and drawing sigils."
"I see." Kiibo replied awkwardly.
"So, Keeboy, is this really your first time in a school?"
"K-Keeboy?" He stammered in shock
"It's a nickname!" A childish giggle spilled from pale lips. "Answer the question, Keeboy!"
"Y-Yes, this is my first time in a school. I've always been homeschooled by my father, but work has started piling up and he no longer had the time to teach me. He also thought I should get some more social experience, so this seemed like the best option." A frown took over his face and he looked around the class. "I'm not too sure on how friend making works, though..."
"Don't worry about it! My friend group is huge! It has, like, 10 million members!" When Ouma didn't receive a believing look, he gave another laugh. "Okay, okay, you got me. But still, it's pretty big. We have 15 of us, and adding you it'll be 16!" Kiibo gave a slight nod of relief, comforted by knowing he was closer to completing his father's request of making 3 friends.
The class went by agonizingly slow considering how he had already learned these materials last year with his father. The syllabus also claimed that they would be reading books like To Kill a Mockingbird and The Book Thief, which he had already read in his spare time.
The bell rang and everyone sprang from their seats and exited the class. Ouma took his time and waited for him, saying he'd walk him to his next class which was just next to his own.
Clearly, with an already possible set of friends and a head start on the material, this school would be a breeze.