Burn

CHAPTER 2

Despite the intensity of the previous night, arguments with Ryu were common, and by 7am the next morning he was his usual aggravating self.

"No, for the last time, we are not setting Ms. Ferguson's apple orchid on fire," Carter sighed, rubbing tiredly at a stress-induced knot across his brow as he trudged through the school gates. Thankfully he'd remembered to restock his instant expresso a few days prior, and if it weren't for the scalding drink in his travel mug, Carter suspected he'd be an unintelligible mess until at least lunchtime. "She's eighty, for god's sake."

"You're no fun," Ryu pouted, and Carter nearly sighed again in relief; this usually marked the end of Ryu's pyrotechnic suggestions. "What do you even do for fun, if you don't set things on fire?"

Carter huffed in amusement as he weaved through the bustling crowd, wincing as a group of Seniors carelessly brushed him aside. "Oh, school is plenty of fun," he drawled. "Almost more fun than I can handle."

Ryu snickered, then thankfully fell silent when they entered the school building. Although no one but Carter could hear him, Carter found Ryu heard to ignore, and openly conversing with him in the middle of a bustling hallway wouldn't exactly attribute to his sanity.

And I'm not exactly popular to begin with.

No, his classmates certainly didn't need another reason to avoid him.

As Carter opened his locker and began to collect his books, the early-morning chatter of his peers washed over him like a wave, travelling through the hallway with the easy routine of a synchronized dance.

"Dude, did you catch the game on Saturday?"

"I know, and then I told her not to bother, because I had to work, obviously, and-"

"Listen, okay, I didn't do the homework because I was too busy!"

"Don't worry, we have a sub today, History should be a breeze-"

"Hey, did you hear we have a new girl in homeroom?"

Carter paused and turned to glance at the locker next to him, where a group of boys from his homeroom were talking in loud, animated voices.

"Really?" asked one, leaning closer with interest.

"Yeah," confirmed the first, flicking a brown lock from his eyes, "I've heard her name is Margaret, or Maggie, or something-"

"-God," interjected a third, "I hope she's cute."

The morning bell rang shrilly overhead, cutting off further conversation, and Carter shuffled slowly after his classmates as they made their way to homeroom. Ryu chattered incessantly in his ear, attempting to dissuade Carter from attending class-"Come on," he pleaded, "let's have some actual fun"-but Carter, diligently ignoring him, settled in his usual desk at the back of the classroom with a frustrated huff.

"Morning, everyone," Mr. Leighton called, sweeping into the room with his usual stack of binders crammed under one arm. He was a reasonably young teacher, with a thick British accent and an endless collection of striped button-ups, and Carter found him to be one of the better teachers at Riverside Secondary. "Let's take attendance, shall we?"

But before he could open his laptop, the door swung open a second time, and a girl stepped in.

At once, every gaze snapped to her, heads turning like flowers leaning into the sun. A stilted silence settled over the room.

"Ah, yes, Ms. White." Mr. Leighton cleared his throat and beckoned the girl forward, a wide smile disturbing the pale curls of his short beard. "Welcome to Homeroom 11B. Class," he added, turning back to his students, "please give a warm welcome to our newest addition, Margo White."