Chapter Text
Another day, another latte, thought Matthew. He was mentally reading a sign that his Mom hung on his room wall. He couldn’t really see it, though, since he hadn’t had his contacts on, but the sign was already burned into his memory. Matthew’s Mom owns a coffee shop, so it was only natural to have some coffee related decor. He rose from his bed, and carefully put on his eye contacts; which were on his nightstand next to his bed. As he started to make his bed, his Mom (Cecelia) walked in. “Big day today, huh?” he asked. “You bet!” she replied. Ever since her permit to open a cafe was approved, she’s been working, cleaning, fixing, and more working. And now, all of that work will finally pay off; since today's Grand Opening. “Maybe you can invite some of your friends!” She said, “But don’t expect them to get a discount!” she added jokingly. “Maybe…” he replied nervously. That was the thing, though, it had been at least two weeks of school, yet he hadn’t made any friends. Very small acquaintances? Sure. ACTUAL friends? Meh. It’s not that he wasn’t social, it’s just that this school was different. Back at his home town in California, he was able to make them easily; they usually came to him, not the other way. When his Mom announced that would be moving to Arkansas, he was not pleased.
But that moment was a year or so ago. He’s moved at least three times around Arkansas now; so he’s getting used to it. He had already finished making his bed when his Mom left, so he brushed his teeth, and changed into a teal uniform shirt. When they first went shopping for the uniforms, his mom actually left the clothing section when she saw it. It was an eyesore, and the ugly murky sand water teal would look even worse against his muted beige skin! And Ava gagged a little. Sadly, they had to get it. He put on his off-beige jacket. He liked that one the most, because it has a small husky icon sewn on the top right corner. He exited his room and went into the kitchen. He saw his younger sister, Ava, still in her pajamas; eating cereal. She was on YouTube watching a Lilly Singh skit. She was wearing her headphones; which only meant one thing. “I don’t feel like talking right now.” was written all over her. She went to a different school, and it starts an hour later than Matthew’s school for her. But today she has a doctor’s appointment at around the same time class started for him (9:10 am). Speaking of time… “Oh, god.” Matthew looked at his watch. How does he suddenly have thirty minutes to get to school?! Well, now twenty nine. “I’ve gotta go.” “Well, at least grab something to eat!” his Mom replied. He shoved a mandarin in his pocket, and gave his Mom a kiss on the cheek; he did the same for his sister, but she covered her cheek with her hand before his lips landed on her cheek. She then rubbed her hand on her shirt. “Okay, bye!” he yelled over his shoulder as he bolted out of the door and onto his bike. As he pedaled as fast as he could, he realized that he forgot his backpack. He cursed under his breath and turned back to get it. How could he have forgotten the most OBVIOUS thing to take to school?!
After retrieving his backpack, Matthew finally arrived at school, with 10 minutes to spare, completely out of breath. He locked his bike in the bike rack. He quickly found his locker and started to organize his things for the day. He closed his locker and saw one of his acquaintances, and he nearly jumped out of his skin! “AH- Wait, it’s just you. Thanks for the free heart attack, man!” It was Leon. His smile was blindingly white, almost as blinding as the glare in his tortoise shell glasses. Leon was thought to be one of the most active (and smartest) people in the school. And, of course, his height said it all. Leon was wearing a pastel green sweater, with the collar of the actual uniform shirt being popped up and over, which (despite being completely repulsive on its own,) added a nice accent against his dark olive skin. The sweater also accompanied his green eyes, which aren’t very bright, since it has a tinge of brown mixed in. “Hey man, you okay?” Leon asked. “Yeah, just a little out of breath,” Matthew replied, trying to catch his breath. “Lemme guess, you forgot something at home?” Leon joked. “Actually, yeah… my backpack,” Matthew admitted sheepishly. Leon laughed and patted him on the back. “Don’t worry about it, it happens to the best of us.” There was an awkward silence, and it looked like Matthew would have to be the one to break it. “Uh… Listen, I really need to get going now. I’ll probably see you later?” he said, already speed-walking to his first period. “W-wait!” Leon called as he “walked” away, but his voice had already faded. Matthew breathed a huge sigh of relief, thankful that he didn’t share any of his odd day classes with Leon. It’s not that he didn’t like him, it’s just that he’s pretty loud, and he gets migraines from him. He can already tell that this school day is going to be mediocre, just like all of the other ones. He sat at his desk and took out his journal, some pencils, and his secret sketchbook. He likes to doodle in class. It wasn’t exactly a “secret”, because there wasn’t any rule saying that you couldn't bring a sketchbook to class, but he liked calling it that. The classroom started to fill up when the bell rang. “Okay, class,” said Mrs. Levin, the Language Arts teacher, her voice barely audible over the chatter of the kids in the class. “I hope you all took the time to construct the poem for your homework that goes with the theme: ‘Who Are You?’.” Matthew smiled to himself. When he first started, he didn’t really like LA as much as he did now. And that was only because they started the Poetry Section of the curriculum. “Why don’t we start with… Beth?” “Okay,” replied Beth. “This is a haiku:
‘The rain banks the fire,
Lightning strikes the ground,
and I am asleep.
Good night.’ I really like falling asleep to thunderstorms. Look! Do you guys like my earrings? I made them for this occasion.” She said, shaking her head, causing her lightning bolt earrings to jiggle. Huh, thought Matthew. Wait- WE HAVE TO READ THIS ALOUD?! There’s no way that Matthew could have forgotten something so important like that! Matthew took some deep breaths (or, at least tried to) as she called the next person. “This one’s a Villanelle about my dog, Daisy:
‘My beloved pup,
a special friend,
So playful and loyal until the end,
A love that knows no bounds,
so true my dog I will defend.
Her eyes so bright, and her fur so soft,
Sleeping by my side,
so gently aloft,
She's a one-of-a-kind,
an angel of our family croft…’” When he finished he said: “Out of all of my 2 brothers and 3 sisters (and annoying Mom and Dad), she’s really my favorite family member.” Finally, after a few students had their turn, it was time for Matthew’s. “
‘I am not defined by my past or my mistakes;
but my ability to rise above them.
And so, I take a deep breath,
filled with determination,
and step forward;
ready to face what the future holds.’ When I was working on the assignment, I kept drawing blanks–I didn’t know what to write. Then I was reminded that mistakes are just happy accidents (I was watching Bob Ross at the time).” “Thank you, Matthew,” replied Mrs. Levin, “Okay class, let’s listen to some more of our classmates' poetry, and then we can review yesterday’s chapter for the quiz we’re having in 2 days.” After some time, class was over. It was time to go onto the worst period of the day: M A T H .