Chapter Text
It was a typical first day at Crossland High, the halls bustling as people excitedly reunited after a summer away from one another, as if they hadn’t seen each other the entire summer. Rodrick and his bandmates (Ben, Bill and Chris) walked to their lockers as Ben tells the other three about some girl he’d been talking to over the summer.
“I’m telling you, she’s so hot” He insisted as Chris had questioned the existence of this girl who “went to another school”.
Rodrick tried to listen but he would have rathered be anywhere else but at this Hellhole of a school (preferably back at home, in bed… asleep).
He began shoving his things in his locker as he half heartedly nodded along with something Bill had said, he shoves his bag in unceremoniously which lands with a slight shuffling noise as the items in his bag rattle. He pauses as he hears a slight crack and groans, there goes another pair of sunglasses.
“Dude, you need to stop putting those at the bottom of your bags” Ben said, seemingly managing to come away from the topic of his mysterious girlfriend.
“Yeah well, Mr P says I’m not allowed them in class” Rodrick mutters in irritation, shutting his locker and making sure it was firmly locked - the lockers here weren’t known for being the most secure. The sunglasses would have to wait till later as they were already running late for class.
Eventually, Rodrick, Ben, Bill and Chris make it to lesson, garbling out false apologies to Mrs Winters who puts her hands on her hips “Heffley, this is the third time this week. You’ll be sitting detention.”
Rodrick simply nods and mutters something vaguely similar to an apology. It wasn’t his fault he got out the house late because his mother called a family meeting… again. She was getting good at that and Rodrick hadn’t quite worked out how to avoid them yet.
After sitting down, Rodrick noticed someone stood awkwardly at the door, they seemed to not quite know whether to announce themselves as Mrs Winters continues ranting about tardy students and how she hated wasting class time on people who can’t get out of bed on time.
Eventually Ben rolls his eyes, putting his hand up (something the whole class learned to do if they didn’t wanted her to actually listen) “miss… there’s someone at the door”
Mrs winters turned, ready to scold the new comer until she noticed the vise principle with them and she smiles sickly sweetly “ah… vise principle Owen…”
The vise principle waves her off and guides the new person in. “Everyone, this is Y/N L/N they’re new to the school, make them feel welcome” he says abruptly, not seeming to actually care if people did or didn’t treat this person well.
Across the room, there was giggling from heather and her friends, after last year, Rodrick had found himself rather disillusioned with Heather after how ungrateful she was when his band played at her birthday party - they thought the music was sick but apparently she hated it. Clearly she had bad taste.
Rodrick however doesn’t feel the need to say anything, he still sort of wanted the popular people to like him and his band, after all, popular people were the way to fame.
Y/n moves to sit down at the back, ignoring the looks as they put their pencil case on the desk, Rodrick’s eyes following them curiously, they’d never last at this school if they didn’t speak up a bit, he thought to himself. He shrugs, deeming it not his problem for now as lesson began.
Rodrick hardly listened in lesson - who needs science anyway? He didn’t need to know about ironic bonding to be in a band, so he ended up half asleep through most of the lesson until the bell rang, everyone scrambled to leave the room as Mrs Winters tried to say she dismissed them, not the bell. But no one listened to her.
Y/n however seemed a little lost, they walk up to the front as Rodrick huffs, his pen clattering to the floor after one of the guys at the back knocks his desk. He’d have left it except he had Mr Peterson next and he couldn’t be bothered to listen to a lecture about why he didn’t have a pen.
Y/n walks to the front, giving Mrs Winters a polite smile which was returned with a raised eyebrow, making them force back an eye roll and mutter “I’m not sure where my next class is…”
“Well… I can’t show you, I have a class in a minute” Mrs Winters says briskly and sighs, noticing Rodrick reaching under a desk. “Heffley!”
Rodrick jumps and hisses as he hits his head on the desk as he grasps the pen and he stands up, “yes Miss?” He grumbles
“You can show L/N where their next class is. You’ll be in together anyway” she instructs rather rudely, she seemed to think she was above manners when it came to the students.
Rodrick considered arguing but figured he was going there anyway so he may as well show them where to go - better than listening to Mr Peterson whinge at Y/N for being late.
“Fine, come on” he nods to them as he walks towards the door, glancing back to check they were following along.