Chapter Text
The chilled air outside of the car blew softly, gently thudding against the windows as the vehicle drove down the rainy streets, sending puddles splashing into the air each time the car’s tires collided with one. Soft droplets of water fell onto the top of the dark vehicle, fitting into the gloomy day vibe the morning seemed to show.
Collei sat in the passenger seat of the black car, staring out the window and into the fog, one hand nervously twisting the strings of her olive colored hoodie she wore. She watched as distant cars passed by, curious as to where each vehicle’s destination was on such a foggy day. She turned her gaze to the drivers seat, watching as the dark figure turned the steering wheel calmly. She couldn’t remember their name. Names weren’t disclosed to experiments. Collei also didn’t know why she was being forced to go to school. You’d think lab experiments like her would be stuck in that dark, wet lab forever. Maybe the Fatui saw something in her that she didn’t?
Her thoughts were soon cut off as the car screeched to a stop, halting in front of a tall building that loomed over them. It was bigger than she imagined. Why did the doctors trust her to not run away and escape from their grasp in such a huge premises? The car doors unlocked, and the tall figure beside her turned their head to look at her.
"Don’t forget your bag, kid. I’ll pick you up here."
Collei stiffly nodded in response and retrieved the dark green backpack from the back seat. Huh. Green. Was everything she was given gonna be green like her hair? She shrugged her shoulders and opened the car door, taking a step out and pulling on her hood to protect herself from the cold rain above. Her thoughts were still busy with wondering why the lab sent her to school as she walked towards the huge building in the distance, feeling the eyes of the person that escorted her latched onto her back with each rigid step she took. Collei’s pale hand found the door’s handle, and she pulled it open, before slipping inside.
Inside the school was loud, louder than the laboratory, filled with students loud chatting and wet sneakers squeaking against the smooth flooring. Collei’s pale hand winced at the booming voices, wiping her shoes on the rug most usually just walked over before continuing forward, quietly pushing through the crowd in an attempt to blend in. She didn’t belong here. And she knew that. She didn’t even know where she was supposed to be heading now.
Collei’s eyes traveled around the crowded halls and soon landed on a door, tilting her head to the side curiously. She quietly crept up to the door and peeked through the glass window carved into the door. In the wide room stood a desk, and a lady behind. This was probably where she’d get her schedule from, Collei thought as she pushed the door open and took a step inside.
The woman looked up as Collei walked into the office, and sat up straighter, a smile growing on her face.
"Hello there, sweetie. May I help you?"
Collei wasn’t expecting this type of kindness nor warmth, but it wasn’t unwelcome. She nodded and halted infront of the white table.
"Uhm, yes. I’m here to, uh, pick up my schedule? My name’s Collei."
She awkwardly introduced herself, not used to asking for things as she waited patiently. The older woman nodded and leaned down, presumably flipping through folders, before pulling out a slip of paper and offering it to her, her face still owning that warm, comforting smile as Collei took the paper into her hands.
Collei looked down at the sheet of paper now firmly in her hands, memorizing the classes into her mind.
"Thanks."
She murmured, before turning around swiftly and walking away, back out into the bustling hallways that awaited her. She took another glance down at the slip, noticing that she had algebra as her first subject. Room 216.
Collei glanced around, before simply deciding to just mindlessly wander and pray to the Archons above that she found the correct classroom before the bell rung.
—
After a while, Collei had finally found the assigned classroom on the second floor. She took a deep breath, before hesitantly opening the door and walking it. The classroom was almost bare, with only a few students having already arrived and the teacher preparing for the upcoming class. Huh. Seemed like students here preferred being late for class. Collei shook away the thought and awkwardly stood there, having no clue where to sit.
Eventually, the teacher—a man, probably in his thirty’s by the looks of it—looked up and finally noticed the girl standing at the door. He gave a soft smile and stood up, walking over.
"Hey. You must be Collei, right?"
Collei looked up at him and nodded in response, preferring to not speak.
"Well, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Mr. Albedo. How about you go sit… next to Amber?"
Collei followed his finger as he pointed to a brunette sitting by the window alone, tongue slightly out as she folded a piece of paper. She grimaced, before letting out a sigh of reluctance and walked over. Amber looked up as Collei pulled out the seat to the two person desk and sat down, and her expression lit up. She widely smiled at Collei and gave a small wave.
"Hey there! I’m Amber!"
Amber greeted with a big grin. Collei stared at her and slowly nodded. This girl was like a hyperactive dog, she thought as she took out a notebook from her backpack and slid the bad under her desk.
"Hi."
She spoke quietly, before focusing on the notebook she placed infront of her, opening it to a fresh, clean page. She wasn’t used to somebody like Amber, somebody who was so excitable and… smiley. Amber continued smiling, reaching into the pocket of her red jacket and offering the green haired girl an eraser. Collei looked over and hesitated, before reaching out and taking it.
"Thanks."
Collei murmured, looking back to the paper. Amber was gonna speak up, maybe ask for her name, but before she could, the bell rung and students began barreling into the classroom, plunging the small room into chaotic talking with no remorse. Collei winced at the loud voices and slouched slightly. This was going to be a long class…
Albedo cleared his throat from the front of the classroom, the sound barely audible over the chatter of the students still settling into their seats.
“Alright, everybody. Sit down before I start assigning extra homework.”
A chorus of dramatic groans filled the room, though most students obeyed anyway, dragging chairs against the floor as they sat. Collei flinched at the screeching sound and lowered her gaze to her notebook again, fingers tightening around the pencil Amber had handed her earlier.
The classroom smelled strange.
Not sterile like the laboratory.
Not sharp with chemicals and disinfectants.
Instead, it smelled faintly of wet jackets, pencil shavings, and something sugary she couldn’t identify. It was oddly warm, too. Comfortable. The kind of warmth Collei didn’t know how to trust.
Albedo began writing equations onto the board, his handwriting neat enough to almost look printed. Collei stared at the numbers carefully, forcing herself to focus on them instead of the constant movement surrounding her.
A student behind her laughed loudly.
Another tossed a crumpled piece of paper across the room.
Someone near the back was whispering while watching something on their phone beneath the desk.
Nobody was paying attention.
Collei blinked in confusion.
Back at the lab, mistakes were punished immediately. Silence had always been expected. Here, though, the students spoke freely without fear, slouched in their chairs, even laughed whenever they wanted.
It felt wrong.
Or maybe she was the wrong one.
This whole school thing was tough on her thoughts.
Collei’s pencil hovered stiffly over the paper as Albedo explained the equations at the front of the room, though she could barely even understand the words he was speaking. Being in the lab for so long really messed up her knowledge, she barely knew how to spell beautiful, so how did she get into a school like this? She was so screwed…
—
"Alright! That’s it for today, class. I’ll see you all tomorrow."
Albedo spoke as the bell loudly rang, and the sound of students packing up filled Collei’s ears. She mechanically slid her notebook back into her backpack and flung the bag over her shoulder, preparing to leave, before Amber’s hand caught her shoulder. Collei flinched and looked over at the taller girl behind her, eyes fearful as Amber showed off a smile.
"Hey. What class you got next?"
Amber asked curiously, which caused Collei to gulp and pull out her schedule, eyes tracing the written words.
"I have English."
"Me too! Wanna walk there together?"
Collei hesitated, before giving a slow nod in which Amber grinned at. The brunette motioned for her to follow and skipped off. Collei faltered, before hurrying after Amber, trying not to lose the girl in the crowd. Why was this girl so fast?
—
The two girls came to a stop in front of a wooden door labeled "134", and Collei attempted to catch her breath, watching as Amber looked completely fine despite the long and fast journey. Seriously, was this girl’s hobby running?! She looked up to find Amber beaming down at her, and her wrist was suddenly taken into the brunette’s hand and dragged into the classroom. Collei struggled in her grip, panicking until she realized that the girl was just making sure they sat together. Her body slowly lost its rigid form as the realization came upon her, and she allowed herself to dragged to a pair of two desks in the back of the English classroom.
Collei let out a sigh and slumped into the chair, dropping her backpack into the floor by her chair as she fixed her posture. She took a glance around the classroom, grimacing at the sight of the students slouched forms and blaring voices. It felt… too safe. Like this was a trap. A test? Were they testing how strong she was mentally? If so, then where were their windows to watch? Their cameras? Her teeth gritted in discomfort at the thought of being watched, instead settling on looking ahead, eyes aimed at the front of the room.
On the board was written that they apparently had a… free period? She didn’t know what that meant, but maybe it explained why the students were rowdy and ignorant of the teacher? She turned her gaze back to Amber, spotting her glued onto a rectangular device. What was that? A tracker? A taser?
"Hey? What’s that?"
Amber looked up at Collei’s question, looking confused as she pointed to her cellphone.
"This? It’s a… phone? Everybody knows what a phone is, silly!"
Collei’s face stared at the other girls, fully bewildered. A… phone? She had no clue what a "phone" was due to being locked in that lab for archon knows how long, but she gave a fake, nervous smile is response.
"Yeah, I know. Just… joking around?"
Amber gave her a weird look, before shrugging and looking back down at the screen.
Collei immediately looked away, pretending to be interested in the scratches carved into the desk instead. Her stomach twisted unpleasantly. That was close.
She needed to stop doing that.
Needed to stop acting like every little thing was unfamiliar.
The laboratory staff always said blending in was important.
Clearly, she was already failing.
Around them, students continued talking loudly amongst themselves. Someone near the front of the classroom was tossing a pen into the air repeatedly, while another student had their head fully resting on their desk, asleep despite class technically having started.
Collei frowned slightly.
Nobody here followed rules properly.
It was unsettling.
Amber suddenly leaned closer to her desk, lowering her voice dramatically.
"So, where’d you transfer from?"
"Huh?"
Collei looked over, her heart in her throat. Did she know? Was this a lab in disguise? Was she a transfer patient?
"You know, what school?"
Amber tilted her head curiously, and Collei let out a small sigh of relief.
Phew.
But now… how could she answer this? She couldn’t exactly say "an underground Fatui lab", could she? So she went with the next best thing.
"A small one. Far away. You wouldn’t know it."
Amber nodded easily, thankfully not pressing further.
"That explains it."
What?!
"Uhm… explains what?"
Collei spoke up nervously, shrinking back slightly like a wounded animal as Amber began to reply casually, twirling her number two pencil between her fingers.
"Why you act super skittish. Like you think someone’s gonna yell at you every five seconds."
Collei’s chest tightened.
Amber had said it so casually.
So carelessly.
But somehow, it felt like the girl had ripped open her thoughts and read directly through them.
Collei nodded nervously as a response and turned back to the scratches etched into the wooden desk she was sitting at, suddenly very intrigued at their story.
When would this day be over?