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Realistic or Modern A Slice of High School Life

MiraRei

Junior Member
It was the start of a new school year. The sky was a clear, bright blue as clouds lazily floated by. The last of summer's heat hung in the air of the school's courtyard, where a multitude of teenagers gathered to mingle with their friends. Freshmen whispered excitedly among themselves about the joys of high school while seniors prepared themselves for their last year of familiarity and comfort. The grass beneath their feet was bright green, and short trees grew along the sidewalk that led to the doors of the building. The name of the school was spelled out in bold black letters above the main entrance, and the symbol of the school was plastered on each door and window. The buzz of the new school year had everyone on edge, mostly for the better.

Among the sea of multicolored backpacks, a single black backpack sat apart from the rest. It sat, empty and dejected, held together with duct tape and marred from years of use and abuse. Its owner was a teenage boy, about 16 years old. A mop of blonde hair sat on his head, hanging into his dark brown eyes. The teen wore a black t-shirt with a red logo of a rock band on the front, a pair of baggy, beaten up gray cargo pants, and a pair of black tennis shoes. The chain of a necklace hung around his neck, though it disappeared underneath his shirt, and he wore a black leather band around his wrist. The teen kept his eyes down, not meeting the eyes of anyone that walked past him, and his hands in his pockets as he waited for the bell to ring to let them all in.

"Hey, new kid!" A group of three teens, all in their mid to upper teens, approached the loner. One of the teens was a short guy, maybe 1.5 meters tall, dressed in a plain green shirt under a grey hoodie, a pair of green pants, and a pair of dirty black and white tennis shoes. He wore a blue beanie that hid his eyes, and the tips of his long black hair were dyed blue. The second teen was a tall, lanky guy with glasses, smooth brown hair, freckles, and a set of braces. He wore a red t-shirt, khaki shorts, and a pair of white tennis shoes. The third guy, the one who called out, was a little taller than the first guy. He wore a black tank top that showed off the muscles in his arms, a pair of black sweat pants, and a pair of black running shoes. The guy had spiked up red hair and dark brown, fiery eyes that seemed to be itching for a fight. He seemed to be the leader of the group, and looked the new kid up and down. "Haven't seen your face around here... Whatcha doing over here by your lonesome? Think you're too cool for school or somethin?"

The blonde guy lifted his gaze to study the group, then lowered it again. He didn't say a word, but he didn't seem scared or even annoyed. He really hoped these guys would just move on...

"Hey, I'm talkin' to you! What's the matter, you deaf or somethin?" The red head grabbed the blonde guy by the t-shirt and brought him up to his face. This guy's eyes... they looked empty. And for some reason, that pissed the red head off. "You seem to be new here, so let me give you a quick lesson... Here at big boy school, we treat each other with respect..." He tightened his grip on the blonde's shirt. "That means you do what I say, or I get rough, got it?" The red head's lackeys snickered as they imagined how scared the new guy must've been, and shot glares at any students who looked their way. Their group had a smaller reputation than they believed they did, but they made it clear that getting involved with them meant trouble.

The new kid kept his gaze down until it was forced up, and at that moment he just stared into the eyes of his new bully. That fire... he'd seen it somewhere before... And for some reason, he really couldn't bring himself to care much past that.
 
Moving towns is hard on any person - an exhausting, time- and energy-consuming activity, that often left people regaining their strength for days or even weeks. But for some reason, the newcomer thought it would be easy on him. I have no real family to leave behind, neither lots of old friends, he said to himself, as well as not as much personal things to transport; why would it be so hard? But truth was... it nonetheless crashed hard on him. A few hour travel is one thing, but dragging boxes, and unpacking, and trying to make your new apartment look good - that was something he wasn't prepared at all. Never actually going to the gym, or working out too much, the young man, just out of college, obviously overestimated himself, thinking that starting his new (and first) job in two days would be a good idea. He was exhausted, and sleepy. Usually quite enthusiastic, cheerful, and just idiotically easy-going, today he was rather slow, and maybe a little grumpy for his usual self. That is why, walking closer to the scene of high school crime, he didn't react as quickly as he should have been.

Teen fighting was nothing out of the ordinary, or in the need to be controlled too tightly, in his opinion. Teens had a lot of energy and even more emotions, a whirlpool of feelings and desires they had to find a vent for. Until a fight or a wrestle doesn't turn violent, he thought, it should be left be, else the kid, suppressing his emotions and energy, might get serious psychological deterioration. However, stepping a few metres ahead, he stopped, as the words on one of the kids finally got to his ears. He considered for a moment if he should interfere or not. He was new here, and did want to get a certain reputation in the school, but not with teachers - with the students instead. Kael had way different understanding of learning process, and he remembered himself as a child too well not to try and empathise with teens, and try to be the best teacher for them. Or, well, so he thought. After all, his head was filled with theory, but this year would be his first practice.

The group might have been punishing a troublemaker, but what if they weren't? It didn't sound like it, however, it wouldn't be the first time words taken out of context would be interpreted the wrong way.

The man approaching the group on the first glance looked nothing like a teacher. He wasn't too tall, neither short - maybe a standard 180, but his image was far from what one would expect from his job. He looked like a millennia kid, one of those who was a 'cool high schooler', with ears (and not only ears) pierced, pale skin richly peppered by freckles, and bright ginger hair bearing the pinkish tint from an old, washed dye by now. The school asked him to wear a shirt for the lessons, but they never specified which shirt should it be, and thus, he just chose a bright plaid purple one, over a black t-shirt, and a pair of jeans with some comfortable snickers - something his colleagues won't be too fond of, as well as a few childish-looking wristbands. They were, in fact, actually made by kids, kindergarteners he tended to for a few months.

"Morning, gents." - He said, with a small, slightly crooked smile, placing his hands on the riveted belt. He might not have been going to the gym a lot, but the man had thick bones, and looked quite massive compared to the teens here, and especially the leader of this pack. His gaze fell upon the leader the next moment, eyes calm, their colour of a duller, darker blue, looking purplish as his shirt reflected in them. - "I seem to be a topological cretin." - He smirked. - "Could you take me to the principal's office, please?" - He sked, eloquently arching his brow. This, he thought, would leave the blond kid out of trouble for now, and might scare this pack off, if they really did something vile here. No one really wanted to get near the principal's office. Oh, Kael himself spent so much time in it, trying to prove that it's not him who's being an asshole in class - those are teachers who cannot explain their course properly. Learning is supposed to be interesting! Not a 'sit on your chair not moving not doing anything and just listening to some oldfag yap for five hours a day'! These kids, however, seemed the type who got to the office for another reason.
 
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"Huh?" The head bully released the blonde kid and stood toe to toe with the newcomer. He couldn't place it, but there was something about this guy's attitude that rubbed him the wrong way... Almost like he was looking down on them. And that made him even more angry than the other kid's apathy. "Are you talkin' to me? Can't you see we're kinda busy here? Go find someone else to kiss up to, pretty boy."

The short kid laughed at his friend's remark. "Whatcha want at the principal's office, huh? Don't recognize you either... Oh, I know!" He clapped his hands and looked to the head bully. "Hey Ty, I think this kid's trying to save his buddy over there." The short kid pointed to the blonde guy, who was gathering his backpack as they spoke.

It was the lanky kid that noticed something wasn't quite right. The newcomer's outfit looked kind of like a high schooler's, but there was something about the way he talked... He sounded smarter and more mature than most of the other kids at their school. "Tyson, Kipp, maybe we should get ready to go before the bell rings. We won't make it through the crowds otherwise."

"Are you telling me what to do, Liam?" Tyson glanced toward the lanky kid, who instantly shook his head and hid behind Kipp. The hotheaded bully looked about ready to start throwing punches, but then the bell sounded from the speakers by the main doors. He wanted to teach these new kids a lesson, but detention on the first day back wasn't worth it, so he shoved his hands in his pockets and stepped away from Kael. "You'd better hope you don't find me in the halls, got it pretty boy? And you." The teen cracked a grin at the blonde kid, who had just begun to walk away from the scene. "I'll be seeing you around."

The blonde kid stopped where he stood as he was addressed, then stepped back as the bullies turned to walk past him. This had turned into a big mess, and he just wanted a quiet first day... He peeked up to study the other newcomer. There was something about his eyes... That hint of shadow beneath them, that sense of exhaustion beneath the surface of those purple-blue orbs. The kid lowered his gaze. "...Thank you." His voice was small, quiet, and distant, and his gaze calm and reserved. Despite the fact that the bell just rang, he didn't seem to be in any rush to get to class on time.
 
With all the words exchanged, Kael was so amused, he just watched things unravel, even if on a few occasions he wanted to add something, or warn the teens not to be this bold with their new teacher. However, the exchange was so fast, he could do nothing more than just watch, and chuckle, murmuring a small entertained "thank you" as he was being called a pretty boy. Mostly because, although just out of his own school, and merely twenty four years of age, he looked nothing like a teen himself. His face was too formed, thick bones made for a massive figure that gave out fake impression that he was athletic, small wrinkles already appearing on his eyes, and more importantly - the way he held himself in front of the others. There was no awkwardness, and uneasiness typical for teenagers, still not comfortable with their growing body. He was too big, and too confident to be a "boy". Thus, he was massively taken aback and entertained by this.

'Are you serious?' - He thought, arching his ginger brow at the attempt on intimidation from the little teen. - 'Are you fucking serious? Okay, you have no idea that I will probably be teaching you in two classes, but, man, you're looking at my belly button, and you try to threaten me? How the hell do you manage to keep your nose unbroken, if you seem the type to go around insulting local jocks?' - Kael was so obviously not scared, it looked intimidating on its own. As a kid, he was never a bully, being confident enough not to insult others to make himself feel better. But he was a popular kid. And this somewhat transferred into his adult life.

He obviously held back a laugh as the last words were exchanged, and shook his head, seeing the young men leave, when he turned his gaze to the other boy. Maybe, he thought, it was just an unpopular emo kid. Back in the days, in their school there were a few goths. They were pretty cool, as far as Kael was concerned, kind of smart and artsy - he was somewhat hanging out with them. Not exactly being friends, but feeling quite confident to approach and talk. He wasn't one of the 'cool kids' in the school for nothing, after all.

"For what?" - He asked, narrowing his eyes a little, and cocking his head in curiosity. He didn't think that showing publicly he came here to 'save' the blond guy would be a good thing to do. One never wants to be a victim. - "I jus'..." - He pointed behind him, to the school. - "...forgot the way to the principal's office. It's been a few long days. Perhaps, you can point me to it?" - There was a small, but pretty obvious accent in his voice - English certainly wasn't his first language, and he seemed to try and hide it... which probably made things even worse.
 
The blonde kid studied the man before him a bit more, then glanced back toward the front door of the school. Those bullies were loud... and the display they put on showed they weren't exactly intelligent either. Then there was this man, who seemed fairly confident in himself, but not to the point of being cocky. The teacher obviously didn't want to talk about what had just happened, so the boy dropped it. That had probably been a fluke, anyway. He couldn't expect someone to charge in every time someone wanted to pick a fight with him, not that he had to begin with. He had a feeling he'd be needing to know where the principal's office was too, if those guys kept to their word. With a sigh, he glanced back toward the teacher. "It's probably in the main office... Don't know where that is, though." He was new here too, after all. The kid slipped his hands into his pockets and lowered his gaze. No need to grow attached to someone, even if he did have a few things in common with them. "If that's all..." He turned his back on the teacher, walking slowly just in case that wasn't all the man wanted.
 
The behaviour of the blonde kid seemed to be somewhat show-offish to Kael, but he just shrugged it off. Teens were like that, after all.

"Ah. A newbee here as well?" - He inquired, hearing the young man had no idea where the office was. Not that such schools were absent of pointers, of course, but he thought that walking up there together might make the teen think about approaching the principal with the problem he had. But then again, no one wanted to be a snitch. Kids preferred to endure beatings over telling on someone. Sometimes it was because of the fear of being bullied and beaten even more; but more often, it was a matter of a reputation.

"Do you... um..." - The older man ruffled his hair a little, looking around at the few teens dragging themselves inside. - "Do you want me to see you to the class, maybe?" - He asked, unsure if the accident with those three other kids might repeat itself. - "T'is not a big deal, I've time."
 
The boy stopped in his tracks and glanced back toward the teacher. He took a moment to think about it, then shrugged. "You can do what you like." If the guy was offering to walk him around, his meeting with the principal might have just been for show. He reached into his ratty backpack and pulled out a piece of paper, studying it. It looked like his first class was on the second floor.
 
Even thought the answer was of a passive-aggressive type, nothing could kill the spirits of the ginger man today. He shrugged, saying:

"Suit yourself!" - And moved towards the school entrance. As he passed the gloomy teen, he turned around, not slowing down, and added:

"But remember - it's never a shameful thing to ask for help!"

He meant that. People liked being asked to help. It made them feel empowered, relied onto, qualified in something. Especially it was the truth for teachers and coaches, as this was something they chose for their career - helping others. In knowledge, sure, but even then, they were always happy to help with anything their students asked about. Times when one would teach kids because of the lack of other choice have long gone.

Kael hurried up to the building, looking for the office needed. He had been here just twice before in the summer, and usually, due to the fact he had to travel a long distance,he was tired, and sleepy, and less energetic than usual. He had to spend some extra time searching for the needed place, but even then, a simple "sorry" would be enough. He didn't have classes up until around the noon - his first was the third one, and the time before them, he was going to spend going through the halls, making himself comfortable with the corridors and rooms, memorising everything; as well as introducing himself to all the staffers he meets on his way.

He was excited, but just a little. He had some practice with smaller children before, and found them to be... quite a handful. But Kael had spent six years in university to teach older students. He preferred those who understood what he wanted and what he meant. Kael was teaching literature here. He was infatuated by history, but wasn't in for other classes of social studies. So he picked literature as his profession, deciding it was close enough, and tied to history in more than one ways. You should like what you teach and study, the man thought, being a terrible supporter of a Montessori method, and having a desire to transfer it on high-schoolers. He didn't want to admit it, but this year, these kids, were going to be his guinea pigs for this.
 
The blonde kid studied the strange teacher for a moment, then followed him into the school and went on his way. No shame in asking for help... Shame had nothing to do with it. He'd dealt with enough bullies in his life to know that they would never truly go away. The strong preyed on the weak, just like predators in the wild. He could handle a few strikes from the big cats of the world. Whether that made him strong or weak though, he wasn't sure, and he didn't have the time to pursue the thought further.
Kael would find several teachers during his exploration of the school that morning. The chemistry teacher, who also assisted the physics teacher, was a young woman with short brown hair and a warm smile who wore a pair of chocolate brown rimmed glasses, a pair of dress slacks, and a bright purple blouse with small pink flowers on it. The teacher was easily shorter than most of the people in the hallway, so her attire was really the only way to tell her apart from the other students. When Kael greeted her, she returned it with a cheery smile and a welcome to the school. "I'm Megan Scintilla. If you need anything at all, just let me know and we can get it figured out." Kael would find several other teachers who wished him well on his first day of classes, including Leonard Vinn the psychology teacher and his wife the PE teacher, Ericka Vinn, Rita Hale the school nurse, and Nathan Spencer the algebra teacher. The school was a two story building with stairwells on each corner. Hallways twisted and turned throughout the school, lined with lockers and doors to each teacher's classroom. The main office was near the front of the school, and housed the principal's office, the guidance counselor's office, filing office, and a few empty conference rooms. On the east side of the building sat the cafeteria, and on the west was the gymnasium. The building was neither new nor old, a perfect fit for new teachers to learn the ropes of their craft.
 
At any other given time, Kael would have been delighted to meet new people, and maybe even try to hit on someone. He liked active and simpler people, the ones that didn't dwell too deep in life's problems and enjoyed simple pleasures, and while no one struck him as such, Megan in particular was the closest to his image of interesting time. However, at the moment, he was too concerned with exploring the halls, trying to memorise them more by touch rather than by looks, trying to feel when to turn and where to go before the class. His was the third one, and so, there was at least one break when he was flooded by children, different ages and origins, and different looks, all so much different from his own school years, and yet, very similar indeed. The speech had changed, the looks had changed, edges and contrasts became smoother; nerds were hanging out with goths who were hanging out with jocks here and there, while it was a preposterous thing to assume in his youth. He was swallowed by the kids, going about their business, and, honestly? - if not for anything but adolescent figure and formed face, he might have been taken for one of them. Kael was fun and simple, and never quite tried for pretentious gloss so many adult tried to pull off, pretending they knew everything in the world, and trying to show what adult life would be. He was fair. Adult life is what you make it to be. He still wore silly t-shirts, listened to lots of music, tried to pet each cat he saw, and got drunk the night before work.



Closer to the end of the second class, the young man got somewhat bored, and thus, decided to find anyone free of work at the moment (which probably were just cafeteria workers, but it never hurts to try), to ask about local unspoken rules, and traditions, and other ritualistic dances with tambourine he wasn't told officially. Perhaps the principal hated green colour, and so no one actually wore it around. Perhaps, no one used a phrase "pardon me", because local English teacher had a weird heatred to it? He met a lot of small unspoken rules like this in his lifetime, and wanted to inquire, but if he would be completely honest, after so much time of just "hellos" and walks around the empty corridors, peaking into the rooms and eavesdropping on the classes, he was very tired, and wanted some social attention. Even if he'd soon get plenty.
 
Upon scouring the halls, near the end of the second class Kael would find a single teenage girl, clearly a student, wandering the empty halls. She kept her dark chocolate hair in a pair of messy braids that rested on her shoulders and fell against her plain gray sweater. Her matching big gray eyes had a spacey-kind of light in them that shone from behind her slightly crooked black rimmed glasses and took in everything around her. When the girl spotted Kael down the hall, she offered him a smile and stopped where she stood to look around.
 
The man was simple when it came to such things. He continued walking towards her, until there were just a few meters between - a respectful distance for strangers to interact.

"Skipping?" - He asked with a small smirk, turning his head a little in a gesture of curiosity.
 
"Skipping?" The girl tilted her head curiously as she studied Kael. "It's such a strange phrase, don't you think?" A nostalgic smile lit up her face as she returned her gaze toward the other end of the hall. "When we were children, skipping was something we did when we were excited or happy, so full of energy..." With that, the girl skipped a few steps ahead. "And now that we're older, it has such a negative implication... Would you say it's because of the English language, or is it maybe just a part of growing up?" The girl spoke, though whether it was directed toward her company or the empty hallway was uncertain. It was clear that she wasn't quite as grounded as many other people Kael had seen that day, but behind that aloof light in her eyes was something intelligent, maybe even wise depending on who you asked.
 
The man was entertained. Pe put his hands into his pockets, smiling crookedply.

"Ha. Nice try." - He pronounced, entertained, but not impressed by overly poetical to the ridiculousness observations. - "But this is just a word, not even a phrase as you called it. You know what it means. You know what I meant."

He might have been in for literature, however, Kael was simple. He rolled his eyes all too often over such dramatic and poetic people who found joy in chewing onto the feelings and expressions, instead of just enjoying life as it is. In his head it tied to people being overly protective over their names, for some reason. He didn't know exactly why he thought those two were related, but... Bu in his head, it was like this: when reading, people didn't know how to call him. Some said "Kael" as "kale", some as "kel", some as "kyle". He thought that those who would argue and correct the other person for doing this just got this wicked obsession with words, and feelings, and emotions, being among those people who theorised about the colour of the dress in an old novel, and how it dignified the main character's hidden depression. He, himself, was a simpler kind. He never corrected others when it came to his name, and he didn't much care for the choice of words, if the meaning was transferred across. When the thought formed in his head, he smiled. It was so silly: connecting names and leaning to dramaticism, but... it wasn't as silly as theorising in the middle of the corridor about the word "skip".
 
The girl blinked and continued to study the hallway. "That's true. I misspoke." With that, she returned her gaze to Kael. "Skipping is a word, not a phrase... But the topic did bring a smile to your face, so it was a wrong word worth using... Wow, try saying that five times fast." A small giggle escaped the girl's lips, and her eyes lit up a bit more as she noticed that the obscenity on the wall just left of where Kael stood had finally been scrubbed away. "So are you a teacher or just someone who pays attention to the proper usage of terms?" She figured he was probably a teacher, but he certainly wasn't dressed like one. Whether she was intentionally avoiding his question about skipping or not was anyone's guess, as she was genuinely curious about the man in front of her now. He was something new in the hallway, and she welcomed anything new or different in her otherwise average life.
 
"You don't have to do a lot to bring a smile on my face." - He said in a quieter voice. He wasn't an edgy teen - he was an easy-going, simple guy who was so grounded, he could be considered hedonistic.

Kael laughed to the question, not exactly replying it, when he said:

"Why is it one or the other?"
 
The girl thought for a moment before answering. "It doesn't have to be one or the other, as one would expect a teacher to care for proper use of English. In this case, you would be a teacher as well as someone who cares for proper use of terminology, hence the lack of 'just' compared to the person who cared for the subject but lacked the status of teacher. Plus for most students, talking to a teacher is a bigger deal than talking to a random visitor to our school. Although, a new teacher would technically be a visitor, since they are visiting the school... I suppose that would make us all visitors though, wouldn't it?" The girl had seemed to work herself into a new question, and she took a moment to ponder it carefully before disregarding it. "So what is a possible teacher doing wandering the hallways?"
 
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Trying his hardest not to roll his eyes, - after all, he wasn't talking to a friend, - Kael smirked, looking the girl over, as if looking for something that would tell him about what she actually is.

"Why aren't you obsessed with words." - It wasn't exactly a question. - "And you still didn't answer the question." - He was almost expecting 'no, I didn't' in response. He couldn't say he was a big fan of such people, but teenage solipsism wasn't something uncommon. If her extreme was words and phrases, it was quite good - much better than doing drugs and stunts just to spite. Was it an adult, Kael would be very much irritated, but with a teenager he's always more down-to-earth.
 
The girl studied Kael a bit more, then sighed. "It would seem my little game is about finished." She'd been hoping to keep the conversation going a little longer, but she'd grown quite adept at determining when a person began to grow irritated, given how often it happened. She had to admit though, he lasted longer than most people. "I had been given permission to go to the restroom and was taking the long way back. It is syllabus day, after all, and nothing is much more boring than listening to someone read a piece of paper to you for an hour." With a shrug, she turned back toward the hallway she'd been walking toward. "This was an enlightening discussion, Mr. Possible Teacher. Maybe I'll see you around again sometime." She offered the man an understanding smile.
 
"Tired on your first day?" - It made little sense to the man, as they were all just out of the vacations, but he accepted this. Kael actually thought that maybe this was a reason, in fact, - having so many days off , it was hard to get into the rhythm. But after just two classes!? - "Yeah. See you around." - He looked a little surprised as he said that, walking away, and gazing over his shoulder every now and then to catch a glimpse of a weird girl. He tried to remember if he had kids like that in his own school, but couldn't put a finger on it. No one was really obsessed with anything like that girl did, and he was more than a little confused.

'Well, this should be fun. Maybe there are more?' - He asked himself, kind of eager about seeing what else the place had to offer. Not right of the batch, of course. He had a lot of weeks to spend here, and a lot of people to meet. If there as a girl who was obsessed with words, not yet brainwashed by her family and the school staff, there was a great chance of meeting other, more original than usually people.
 
As Kael continued to wander the hallways, he would find the same bullies from before slinking toward a classroom chuckling among themselves. The boys seemed to not take notice of the teacher as he came into view, though the rattling of a locker door on the other end of the intersection made them all laugh some more. The leader of their little group was a proud teen who lived for the thrill of smashing those around him into the dirt. The shorter member of the group looked up to their leader, visible by the sparkle in his eyes whenever they demonstrated their power over their peers. Finally, the lanky kid was clearly afraid of what his friends could do, but being their friend was safer than being their enemy, and even he seemed to feel a sense of satisfaction from pushing other students around.
 

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