Nathan Collins winced as daylight hit his eyes. He was not just waking up, he had just emerged from the subway station, and he had not enjoyed his first ever ride on the New York subway. It was not a trip he was looking forward to making every day. After moving from England his parents now lived outside of Manhattan, in a fancy house in Long Island. But as no other school would take him, and their new house was too far away they were paying for an apartment for him in Hell’s Kitchen, under specific rules of no parties and random spot-checks. He had to keep the place tidy, clean, and drug and alcohol free because they had keys, and could come and search his apartment when he wasn’t even there.

Once his eyes readjusted to the sunlight he checked the time. School started at 9am, and it was now 9:10, and he was still a 10 minute walk from the school. 
“ Fuck’s sake...” he sighed under his breath. He wouldn’t particularly be bothered about being late if it weren’t for the fact this was his first day. He pulled a small tin from out of his bag, and opened it up. It was his cigarette case, of which it contained multiple roll ups he had pre-rolled the night before. He placed one to his lips and lit it, before putting the lighter and the case back into his bag. He continued down the busy streets to the school. As he saw the main gate but hadn’t quite reached it yet, he stopped, took the last few drags of his cigarette and stomped it out under his shoe. He placed a piece of chewing gum in his mouth, and pulled some deodorant from his bag, quickly spraying himself before dropping it back in his bag. He headed through the main gate and into the reception area, walking up to the main desk.

“ Hey, err, it’s my first day, I’m new here. I know I’m really late, but I need, like my timetable or whatever you call it?” He said to the receptionist.
“ Huh, English kid. Name?” The receptionist responded. Nathan gave her his name and she handed him some papers, which he rifled through to find his timetable. First lesson, English literature. It took him a further 10 minutes to find the room, by this time it was 9:35. He poked his head through the door, looking at the class, and the teacher, before stepping inside completely.

“ Uh, I’m sorry I’m so late, I’m just new to the school, new to the city. New to the whole country I suppose…” Nathan gave an awkward laugh. He looked around the class, seeing students whispering to each other, presumably about the new kid with the english accent. He looked back to the teacher.
“ Is there something you need to do, ‘cause I’m late, or do I just sit down? Is there somewhere you want me to sit, or do I just sit anywhere? Sorry, unsure how this whole thing works.” Nathan stood there at the front of the class awkwardly, unsure of what to do. He looked back at the students in the class, a few of them standing out. There was some emo looking dude joking around with a girl at the back. Another girl with bright purple hair and a mixed race girl sitting next to her. Was she mixed race or fully black but just light skinned? Probably not the first thing to ask if he spoke to her. Some other guy with long, frizzy hair. Hopefully one, some, or all of these people would be good to make friends with.