[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/Ab0C0KR.png[/img][hr][/center][color=568203]“Hey, Neu, mind giving me a hand on differentials?”[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“Not another- I’m busy, so can’t you find someone else to harass?”[/color]

[color=568203]“Agh, alright.”[/color]

James went to Ella. [color=FFCFC0]“Is Jackson around? I need math help and he seems to do okay in class.”[/color]

She shook her head repeatedly. [color=FFCFC0]“Don’t ask him for help. I love the guy, but he’s useless, you know? He kept derailing. I ended up doing worse on that test than I did studying on my own.”[/color]

[color=568203]“Ah. Attention span of a fifth grader. Got it.”[/color]

James went to his normal spot at the Semookstian table. Emma was off somewhere. Just the boys today. Shame. Emma usually answered questions in class.

[color=568203]“Guys… I need a hand with differentials and nobody else is being helpful. Mook?”[/color]

Mook grinned. [color=FFCFC0]“Sebastian’s good at math,”[/color] he said, giving him a hard pat on the back. Sebastian flinched from the force.

[color=FFCFC0]“No, I’m not,”[/color] he said.

[color=568203]“Please..? I lost track after the third example problem… I just need a bit of explanation…”[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“I can’t help you. Don’t know how.”[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“Seb, don’t be like that! You’re so good. You helped me with all that stuff last year. You can help James too,”[/color] Seth chimed in.

James smiled. [color=568203]“Just a few problems. You can lord your superiority over me too.”[/color]

Sebastian looked around at the table. He stopped on James, blinking a few times.

[color=FFCFC0]“Yeah, okay.”[/color]

James pumped his fist. [color=568203]“Thanks. Knew I could count on you.”[/color]

The tutoring went alright. Sebastian was a surprisingly good teacher. He got a little irritated whenever James didn’t get something, but he went over things the best he could. It was almost like a completely different person.  James eventually figured out what the hell he was supposed to do, and finished the set.

[color=568203]“Oh man, thanks! Math isn’t my strong suit at all… I only got 20% on the mathematics portion of the entrance exam..” [/color]James leaned back and sighed, his hand aching from writing so much.

[color=FFCFC0]“Twenty? You’re either rich or a god of English,”[/color] Sebastian muttered. [color=FFCFC0]“Anyway, don’t mention it. Seriously, don’t, or Mina’s gonna start annoying me to help her. Let’s head back now. Seth said I could copy the Chemistry homework off him, and I haven’t done it yet.”[/color]

[color=568203]“Just a bit of both. My folks aren’t crazy rich, and I looooove Lit. Thanks so much. I uh, won’t talk about it around Mina.”[/color]

Sebastian smiled slightly. [color=FFCFC0]“No problem.”[/color]

[hr]

The library. A place to read, to study, to…

To gossip.

[color=FFCFC0]“But he’s kinda cute, right? Like, you know, in the way that a stray cat is cute,”[/color] a girl said, much louder than was acceptable. Her chair creaked as she swung on it. Mina Mason, the girl. who was barely clinging onto her place at HAGAY. Despite that, she wasn’t studying at all.

James grabbed a book and sat down to read for a little. He wasn’t super close, but Mina was being rather loud and he couldn’t help but overhear.

[color=FFCFC0]“I don’t see it,”[/color] Porche sighed. [color=FFCFC0]“I really, really don’t, Mina.”[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“I liked his old hair way better,”[/color] Emma replied. [color=FFCFC0]“But his jawline, I gotta say…”[/color] The rest of the table nodded vigorously. Except for Yam, who watched them with mild interest, head in her arms and lying on the desk.

James got up and moved behind a bookshelf, trying to block out the noise. Unfortunately, the study room wasn’t very large; he couldn’t escape their chatter.

[color=FFCFC0]“Okay, [i]Emma[/i], we can’t all be dating total catches,”[/color] Mina whined. [color=FFCFC0]“Bit short, but it’s your fault for being tall.”[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“There aren’t enough people in this school,”[/color] Porche said. [color=FFCFC0]“The boys in our class just aren’t it, honestly.”[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“Seb’s good looking. Mook too, sort of. He just reminds me of a ferret,”[/color] Mina said.

James could see it. He kept on looking at the book, but hearing gossip was too good of an opportunity to pass up. 

[color=FFCFC0]“Mook’s not really my type,”[/color] Porche said. [color=FFCFC0]“Good point about Sebastian- Seb, though. I’d go for that, but he seems like kind of a pain.”[/color]

Mina nodded. [color=FFCFC0]“Yeah, and dating your friend’s ex is a no-go. Gotta pass on that ass.” Emma broke down into laughter.[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“Mina- Mina, I told you to stop telling people that!” [/color]she cackled. [color=FFCFC0]“We were seven!”[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“And you broke up when you were nine, which is old enough for it to count. Jeez, people our age can’t even stay in a relationship for that long.”[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“Oh? Aren’t you the player, Emma?”[/color] Porche said. The table dissolved into giggles.

[color=FFCFC0]“Leave me [i]alone[/i],”[/color] Emma said, but she wasn’t angry. Quite the opposite, she was struggling not to laugh. [color=FFCFC0]“We never did anything but hold hands. I swear!”[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“Date a man for two years, break up with him, and then go out with his best friend? You fiend!”[/color] Porche gasped in mock horror. [color=FFCFC0]“Absolutely horrific.”[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“How could I ever atone?”[/color] Emma grinned. [color=FFCFC0]“Oh, I have pictures of Seb as a kid. He’s super lanky now, but he was worse before. Hang on, let me find them.”[/color] The table quieted in anticipation, then began to laugh even harder.

[color=FFCFC0]“Awful, awful,”[/color] Porche gasped. [color=FFCFC0]“I can’t believe that. I’m never going to be able to talk to him again. Hey, what’s the exchange student like?”[/color]

Elise swiped across a few photos. [color=FFCFC0]“Here.”[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“Ohhhhhh,”[/color] Mina said. [color=FFCFC0]“Finally, some good fucking food.”[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“Cute, but not really my type,”[/color] Porche said. The other two looked at her like she was an alien. [color=FFCFC0]“Leave me alone. I said he’s cute, that’s enough.”[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“What is your type, then?” [/color]Emma asked. 

[color=FFCFC0]“Hmm… dark hair, dark eyes, all that.”[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“Explains Seb. The other new kid’s kinda like that, isn’t he?”[/color] Mina said.

[color=FFCFC0]“Yeah, but the rest of him doesn’t do a lot for me, y’know?”[/color] Porche replied. [color=FFCFC0]“That sounds kinda mean. Whoops.”[/color]

James snorted softly from behind the bookshelf. [i]Thanks[/i].

[color=FFCFC0]“Oh, Porche! What if he was in here too? His poor feelings!”[/color] Emma laughed.

[color=FFCFC0]“No, no, that’s not what I-”[/color] The conversation stopped in favour of laughing once more. Yam turned her head to the bookcase, chuckling a little. James could see her through the gaps above the books, long dark hair covering most of her face. He smiled and gave a small wave. She winked in return before sitting up properly.

[color=FFCFC0]“He’s probably in the canteen,”[/color] Yam said to Porche. [color=FFCFC0]“Don’t worry about it. It’s just us in here.”[/color] She slumped back down into her seat, but didn’t look back at James.

[i]Yam Lee, huh? Seems like a funny girl,[/i] James thought. [i]I’ll have to thank her later for all this tea.[/i] The book sat on his lap, abandoned. He picked it up and continued to “read.”

[color=FFCFC0]“Right,”[/color] Porche replied, sounding uncertain.

[color=FFCFC0]“Wow, that’s more words than I’ve ever heard you say before,”[/color] Mina said. 

[color=FFCFC0]“Maybe I just felt like talking,” [/color]Yam mumbleed into her arm.

[color=FFCFC0]“Well, don’t stop,”[/color] Emma said. [color=FFCFC0]“Come on! Who’s the best looking guy in the class?”[/color]

Yam paused to think. [color=FFCFC0]“That foreign exchange student. Let me sleep now, okay?”[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“Really coming out of your shell,”[/color] Mina cooed. [color=FFCFC0]“His name’s Axel, right? That’s hot.”[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“Careful, careful, don’t want Blue getting jealous,”[/color] Emma said.

[color=FFCFC0]“Blue?”[/color] Porche said.

[color=FFCFC0]“Oh, right. Neu. ‘Cause every time he leaves the house he doesn’t wear anything but blue. Like, I see him around town sometimes and he’s only ever in a different colour when he’s in school,”[/color] Emma said.

Mina rolled her eyes. [color=FFCFC0]“Please. If he could make me spend time with someone else, he’d pay for it. I just harass him for tutoring. I think he plots my murder in class, you know.”[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“Well, if you die, we’ll know who did it,”[/color] Porche said. [color=FFCFC0]“We’ll avenge you, I swear!”[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“Maybe I should ask him too,”[/color] Yam said into the table.

[color=FFCFC0]“Oh, what did you want it for?”[/color] Emma said. [color=FFCFC0]“If it’s maths, I can help, you know. I’m pretty good! If you’re free Friday, you can come over to mine or something. I’ll teach you some stuff.”[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“Seriously?”[/color] Yam said. [color=FFCFC0]“I’ll text you later. Thanks.”[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“If you need help, Porche, I can do that for you too. But not Mina. She’s a lost cause.”[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“I’m fine for now,”[/color] Porche grinned. [color=FFCFC0]“But thanks anyway. I’m sure I’ll need you soon.”[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“You’re so nice, Emma,”[/color] Mina moaned. [color=FFCFC0]“No wonder you’ve got a boyfriend. But I can’t believe you’re ditching me for your date.”[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“Sorry, sorry! I told you, we can go on Monday instead,”[/color] Emma said. 

[color=FFCFC0]“Not a problem,”[/color] Mina replied. [color=FFCFC0]“I’m not mad. Have fun, yeah? It’s about time.” [/color]She turned to Porche. [color=FFCFC0]“They’ve been making heart eyes at each other for months now.”[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“You poor thing,”[/color] Porche laughed. “Third wheel!”

[color=FFCFC0]“Sometimes it feels like I’m thirdwheeling Seth and Seb,”[/color] Emma groaned. [color=FFCFC0]“It’s so hard to get him on his own! It’s only when we text that it’s just us.”[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“Bros before hoes. You gotta respect him,”[/color] Mina said. 

[color=FFCFC0]“I can’t even be classed as ‘hoes’ like this!”[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“Don’t think about it too much,”[/color] Porche advised. Emma slumped into her chair, Yam-style.

[color=FFCFC0]“Yeah, yeah, I know.”[/color]

[color=FFCFC0]“Think about more important things. Like… we have Chemistry next! And I’ve done the homework really shittily,”[/color] Mina said.

[color=FFCFC0]“We had homework?! Oh wait, I’ve done that,” [/color]Porche sighed. [color=FFCFC0]“Let’s get going, come on.”[/color] The girls began to rustle around with their bags.

James grabbed his stuff and ducked out the door, trying to avoid being seen. He stepped back and tried to make it seem like he was just passing by the study room. Porche gave him an apologetic look as they walked out, but none of them said anything. Yam lingered in the room, having told the others that she was looking for a book. Once they’d walked off, she slipped out, giving James a small wave.

[color=568203]“Thanks for the save there, Yam.”[/color]

She raised an eyebrow. [color=FFCFC0]“Not like they were gonna notice you. Forget about what Porche said, okay? Then we’re even.”[/color]

[color=568203]“Oh, no problem. If I took everything that was said about Mexicans to heart, I’d be turning myself in for drug crimes I haven’t committed. [/color]

Yam blew air out of her mouth pretty hard. [color=FFCFC0]“I get that. Anything else you wanna praise me for, or have I gotta go to Chemistry early?”[/color]

[color=568203]“You do a great job of not committing to conversation! I can feel the responsibility just [i]sliding[/i] off you,”[/color] he joked.

She rolled her eyes. [color=FFCFC0]“Something like that.”[/color]

[color=568203]“Alright, let’s get to class.” [/color]

Yam nodded, sliding off of the wall she was leaning on, slowly making her way to the classroom. The way she walked was unusual, but it seemed intentional - not that it was how she normally moved, it looked more like she was just having a bit of fun, staring at her feet as she placed them right in front of each other.

James followed her to Chem. Interesting girl. Definitely one of the types to sit and watch the rowdy social interactions, then go in with a sly comment or two. One that lived for their own amusement.