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Ruby let out an oof as someone headed the opposite way bumped into her. “Watch where you’re going, brain donor,” she muttered under her breath. What freak of nature made everyone at Beacon Academy a foot taller than she was? At least! Okay, yeah, her dad had gotten her early admission so she’d been 13 when school started, but there was no way people could grow an entire foot in a year, right?
At least it was finally her birthday today. Maybe it would cut down on some of the dumb jokes. Speaking of which…
Blocking the door to her chem class was the Beacon Academy’s biggest waste of space and oxygen, in more ways than one. Cardin was standing there talking to somebody’s white-haired grandma. “Hey, I need to get through,” Ruby said.
“You can wait, shrimp. I’m busy talking with this girl.” Cardin tried to shove Ruby away, but she sidestepped.
“Actually,” Ruby did a double-take as she realized the ‘grandma’ was young enough to be a student, “you were talking at me. Talking with someone requires dialogue, and since you obviously haven’t listened to a word I’ve said, we’re done. Now move, this is my class.”
Inside, Ruby headed for the lab bench she shared with Jaune and Pyrrha, while the white-haired girl stopped to talk to Mr. Port. “New student,” she said quietly as she pulled out her books.
“Yeah, we saw her get cornered by Cardin,” Jaune said. “Didn’t look like he was charming her.”
“Nope,” Ruby agreed.
Up at the front of the class, Port nodded at whatever the new girl had said, his eyes scanning the paper she’d handed everyone. Turning to face the class, he gave a laugh. “Life never ceases to provide surprises. Always remember that, everyone. Always. Today we have a new student. This is Weiss Schnee. Now,” he scanned the room, then nodded. “Well, she will need a lab partner. Miss Rose, as much as I hate to separate you from your friends, we’ll pair her with you. move over to that empty bench; I’ll make sure it’s stocked before our next lab.”
“Have fun changing the baby’s diapers,” somebody muttered not-too-quietly as Weiss wandered back to where Ruby had shifted her books.
“Hi, I’m Ruby,” Ruby whispered as Port started into his lecture.
“Weiss,” was the answer as the white-haired girl scribbled in her notebook.
Ruby looked around, then leaned toward Weiss. “Uh, probably should tell you this first: I’m only a freshman. Today’s actually my fourteenth birthday.”
Weiss’s hand stopped. “A freshman in AP chemistry?” How did that happen?
“Yeah, I’ll explain later, but, uh,” Ruby looked around again, “I’m really good at chemistry. So if you need help, uh, catching up, I could help you. Or something,” she finished weakly.
Now Weiss turned to look at her and smiled. “Thank you.”