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“Mr. Carl? I hope you’re paying attention to our lesson.”
Aesop’s glance moved to the teacher. He gave a small nod before returning to his drawing. He was sketching out a detailed drawing of a skeleton. He shaded the eye sockets absentmindedly, letting his mind wander.
He never really paid any attention to this stupid history class led by Mr. Desaulniers. Why did he have to take history anyways? He planned to go to mortuary school and live out the rest of his days as a recluse embalmer. History didn’t matter. Mr. Desaulniers droned on about some war Aesop didn’t care enough about for another twenty minutes or so.
“Alright, everyone. This class is now done for the day,” the teacher said, his thick French accent making his words almost impossible to decipher.
Aesop sighed, packing up his things and resting his sketchbook atop his binder.
“Before you all go, I have an important class announcement to make. Tomorrow, we will be having a new student joining us. Treat him kindly, yes? Make him feel welcome… I suppose.”
Aesop raised an eyebrow. A new student? It’s been a while since their class had a new student joining. He picked up his things and walked out of the room.
“Heeeeeeeeey, Aesop! What’s up?”
“Oh… hello, Mike,” he said quietly. “I’m fine. How about you?”
An energetic boy with blond hair bounded down the hallway, catching up to Aesop. He wore a colorful sweater and ripped blue jeans.
“I’m good! Soooo. Didja hear about that new kid comin’ to school tomorrow? I’m toooooootally curious about what he’s gonna be like! I wasn’t really paying attention to Mr. Grouchy Mc Grouch until then, but that new kid totally caught my attention! You excited?”
“Hm. Not particularly. I’m… pretty indifferent, I suppose,” Aesop muttered, adjusting his grey pencil case so his colored pencils wouldn’t spill out. “What does it matter, anyways? He’s probably nothing special.”
“Becauseeeeeeee… you need more friends!” Mike exclaimed.
“I have plenty of friends, Mike.”
“Nuh uh!”
“Yes I do, Mike.”
“Oh really? Then tell me who, dude. I’m really curious,” Mike said, a sly smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Aesop paused. Now that he was forced to think about it… he really didn’t have a whole lot of friends. Mike was definitely one. And there was Demi… but she was friends with everyone. Norton…? Not really. They were acquainted, but never friends. They shared a science class. But not much, besides that. Naib… was only his mutual friend with Norton. Vera and him were gossip buddies… but they didn’t talk outside of that.
“Well…? I’m waitinggggggg…!” Mike said.
“Fine… you win.”
“Heh. Yeah. I know. Buuuuuuut…! That can change! This new kid could be your chance to make another friend! Not that I don’t like being your friend! I just think you need to widen your roster, so to speak!”
Aesop shrugged. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re the only friend I need.”
Mike smiled softly. “Aw shucks. You really know how to butter me up, don’t you?” He clicked his tongue. “But seriously, dude. You do need more friends. It’s good for you!”
“It’s almost last period, Mike. Did you do your math homework?” Aesop said, skillfully changing the subject.
“Shoot… I completely forgot!” Mike said, groaning. He shoved his face into his stack of books.
“Well… luckily for you, I did the homework twice. And I’ve managed to memorize your handwriting and… vocabulary almost exactly. So I think you’re all set.” He fished the work out of his folder before handing it to Mike.
“For real? Lemme see!” He said, snatching the paper. He skimmed it over. “Sick! It’s exactly like mine!”
Aesop nodded, a satisfied smile hidden under his mask. “But don’t go making a habit of forgetting… I just covered for you today because I knew you had a lot going on…”
Mike smiled, looking at the sheet. “Thanks, Aesop. I really do appreciate it. For real. I owe you one!”
With that, the bell rang throughout the halls. Aesop flinched, speeding up his pace. “Come on, Mike. We have to get to math.”
“On it!” Mike said, running to catch up with Aesop.
//timeskip to after math class//
Aesop walked to his locker, looking down at the floor. He wasn’t in the mood to converse with anyone at the moment, so drawing less attention to himself was absolutely crucial. He packed his black backpack before making his daily commute home.
Dragging himself back to his tiny apartment wasn’t his favorite way to end the day, but he knew he’d be able to relax at home. He jogged the rest of the way home before hiding up in his room. He threw his bag in a random corner, flopping on his bed.
He pulled out his cracked, silver iPhone and scrolled through his messages, trying to find Vera’s contact. He and Vera got along pretty well, being gossip buddies and all. Aesop tended to pick up small things from observing, while Vera had a whole school-wide network of gossip sources. It was… rather impressive.
//start of text conversation//
Aesop: Hi
Vera: Aesop? What is it?
Aesop: What do you know about the new person coming to school tomorrow?
Vera: Ooh! You want to know about him? Why is that, Aesop?
Aesop: … I’m just curious, is all.
Vera: I don’t believe that for a second, Mister Aesop. But okay. I’ll tell you what I know.
Aesop: Thank you.
Vera: So. According to my sources, he’s, obviously, a male. Apparently he’s also albino.
Aesop: That’s all…?
Vera: Well *excuse* me, Aesop! I didn’t realize I was supposed to know more about someone who doesn’t even attend our school!
Aesop: Sorry…
Vera: Ah. It doesn’t matter. But, I shall update you when I find more! But for now, ta ta!~
//end of text conversation//
Aesop rested his phone on his chest. He was albino..? Interesting…
Aesop continued to scroll on various social media apps, mindlessly liking posts here and there. Eventually, he felt himself grow tired. He set his phone on his bedside table before forcing himself out of bed and hauling himself to the bathroom. He brushed his teeth quickly and washed his face. He returned to his room and changed into something more comfortable. A black MCR tshirt and grey sweatpants. He finally laid back down in bed, staring at the wall. For some odd reason, his mind wouldn’t stop focusing on this new student. He rolled over a few times before finally dozing off around three in the morning.
//timeskip to morning//
Aesop’s alarm blared throughout his room, scaring him awake.
“Jesus Christ..!” He muttered, sitting up. He felt horrible. Staying up late almost nightly really did a number on him.
The grey haired boy got ready for the day before finally lugging himself out of the house half an hour earlier than usual. He walked to the nearest gas station and purchased a monster energy drink. He cracked open the can and took a long swig. Aesop then walked to school, sipping on his energy drink.
The day droned on so slowly that Aesop thought he might die of boredom. He continued to sketch out various pieces of human anatomy, not paying attention to the teachers. Eventually, history class rolled around. Aesop sat down at his usual desk before continuing his sketching.
“Okay, class. The new student is here,” Mr. Desaulniers said. He turned to the door, nodding slightly.
Aesop looked up at the new kid walking into the classroom. He was, indeed, albino, by the looks of it. And very tall. He also wore a black hoodie and loose, ripped, black jeans.
“Class, this is Andrew Kreiss.”
Andrew… Kreiss. Hm.
Andrew nodded, looking down at his shoes.
“Alright, Andrew. You may sit down next to Aesop,” he said, pointing to an empty seat next beside Aesop.
Aesop’s head shot up to look at Mr. Desaulniers. Shit. Really..? He had to sit next to the new kid?
Andrew nodded, walking to his seat. He slowly sat down, looking at his desk. So the new kid was quiet..? Good. Aesop wasn’t interested in making a new buddy or anything. He just wanted to survive this school year and graduate.
Eventually, history ended. Everyone stood up and grabbed their books, chatting in their cliques and walking out of the classroom.
“Heeeeey, new kid! What’s up?” Mike said, running towards Andrew.
Andrew glanced at him, eyebrows furrowed.
“Not much of a talker… huh..? Well, that’s okay! My friend Aesop wasn’t much of a talker, but I managed to get a few words out of him! Now we’re, like, best friends. Cool how that works, isn’t it?” Mike rambled.
Andrew nodded. So the person he sat next to in class was this guy’s friend? He couldn’t picture it, honestly. He would never have expected that. He continued walking silently, listening to the blond ramble on and on about him and Aesop and their friendship. He was probably saying more than his alleged “best friend” was comfortable with, but it wasn’t his place to comment on that.
“So..? What class do you have now?” Mike asked.
Andrew pulled out his schedule and pointed to the class in question. Math with Mr. Luchino.
“Ooooh! Me and Aesop have the same class now! Looks like you share it with us!” the blond said. It was clear to Andrew that he was an easily excitable person.
“Heyyyyy. Just a quick tip,” Mike said, lowering his voice. “If you decide you don’t wanna listen to the lesson anymore, you can always ask Mr. Luchino about some random theory or equation. He’ll go on for the whole period. It totally saved my ass a few times when I forgot to do the homework.”
Andrew nodded. Good to know.
The two of them walked to their math class, Mike rambling about whatever came to mind.
“Ah! You must be Mr. Kreiss. Take a seat next to Mr. Carl, please,” Mr. Luchino said, pointing over to the seat next to Aesop.
Really? Dammit, Luchino. Aesop was already bothered enough that this new kid sat next to him in History. But in Math, too? That was almost too much. He stared at Andrew as he walked down the rows of desks to sit next to Aesop.
Aesop decided to throw all hopes of a simple senior year out the window. He could already tell this new kid would complicate his life even more.