Dreams // Newtmas

2.Room Hunting

 Thomas's second problem of the day came right after that in the form of having no idea where his classroom was.  Yes, he had been attending the same school for three years, but his time table wasn't all that specific in which classroom he actually had for homeroom. From what he could gather, the classroom was somewhere between the science labs and the forest at the edge of the school grounds since the school didn't have a Room 37. At least one that Thomas was aware of.

The bell soon went and there was no one left in the hallways except Thomas. Of course he was the only one who didn't have a clue were he was going. The rest of the class must have known of some magical Room 37 that he hadn't been told about.

After rambling through the halls for a bit, with no sign of anyone else except a few sophomores who were obviously late to class, Thomas gave up on searching and headed towards the reception. It would be better to have a witness to testify that he was actually trying to find the room. You could never trust teachers to believe you.

On his way to the reception, Thomas noticed a neon pink sticky note stuck onto the windowsill of a large window that faced the forest. Being the curious person he was, Thomas went over to investigate. Scribbled on the note in bold writing was:

For those of you looking for Room 37, use your eyes for once.

Thomas felt the urge to laugh and punch the person who wrote the note. But he did as the note said and used his eyes. Looking out of the window, he noticed a pole sticking out of the ground in the middle of the large grassy area that led down to the forest. There was something stuck to the pole but it was too far away for Thomas's just about average eyesight to make out. What he could see was that it was an awful long way out and that he didn't feel like walking into what was most likely to be a trap.

Thomas decided on using the safer, lazier option. He took out his phone, went into the camera and zoomed in as close as he possibly could on the sign. Why walk the entire way out there to be possibly humiliated when his phone could do all the work? If there was one thing Thomas was good at, it was avoiding putting himself into awkward positions. Not that this particular morning was a good example of it.

And as he squinted at the screen of his phone trying to make out the words, he was very glad of that ability. Written on a piece of cardboard stuck to the pole was:

I said use your eyes not your legs. You didn't have to move to see it. Now go back to where you started and find the real classroom.

This teacher better be worth it. They were going to need to be prepared at least for the group of furious seniors that Thomas could see beginning to make their way onto the grass. Poor shanks. Thomas on the other hand, had more pressing matters at hand. He backed away from the window and tried to find any clues as to where the classroom might be. He was beginning to be grateful for being late, otherwise his friends would have dragged him outside without even giving him a chance to think. Speaking of which, he thought he could see his best friend Minho stomping out onto the grass with the others in tow. Thomas couldn't help but laugh. Idiots.

Upon resuming his search, Thomas found what he was looking for almost immediately. A small notice was stuck to the wall inviting anyone and everyone down to Room 6 for some fun and games. It didn't specify why or who the teacher was and honestly sounded a bit creepy but, since it was the only thing on the wall, Thomas figured he was right. Room 6 also overlooked the green so it made perfect sense for whoever this partially insane teacher was.

Thomas walked through the school, his footsteps echoing down the empty corridor. Even though he knew it wasn't his fault that he was still out there, it felt weird to be walking down the hallways alone. Like a teacher could appear out of anywhere and dump a detention an him. He started walking faster.

When he got to Room 6 there was no one outside. Slowly, Thomas opened the door to reveal a room that was completely empty except for a man who he presumed was the teacher. The man had longish blonde hair and a beard and was staring out the window at the students who had finally reached the pole. Thomas was surprised that none of them had just run over but he guessed no one wanted to stand out like that which was completely understandable.

Thomas took another step into the room and cleared his throat. The man by the window whipped around in surprise. He clearly hadn't been expecting any visitors any time soon. The surprise faded away quickly though, and he smiled as he looked over at Thomas.

"You're here early" he said. Then "I don't remember seeing you come past my window. Don't tell me you actually bothered to look before you leaped."

Thomas held up his phone in response. "Technology can be very helpful at times. Especially when you don't want to go outside any more than necessary."

"I see" the man replied. Then he beckoned for Thomas to come join him at the window. "My name is Mr. Rogers but since you're the first here, you can call me Vince."

Thomas was completely not okay with calling his teacher by their first name but still joined him over by the window. He could clearly see Minho now, in a very angry discussion with Frypan and Winston. Thomas shook his head, chuckling "Poor shanks"

Vince looked back at Thomas then, recognition in his eyes. "Ahh, so you're one of them. Let me guess, Thomas Greene."

Thomas nodded slowly. That was a surprise. "You know about the Gladers?" he asked. It was the nickname Thomas and his friends had gotten as freshmen and it had stuck around ever since. Thomas had not thought that the teachers knew about it though.

"Of course I know about the Gladers," Vince said "it's the only friend group I've ever seen with a name in all my years of teaching and I heard that you have quite the story to back it up."

Thomas found himself smiling "I guess you could say that." he conceded.

"And there's also the fact that two of you are co captains of the track team and have been winning medals for this school since you got here and another one you makes the best cafeteria meals anyone's ever tasted." Vince added. 

Thomas nodded in response. He watched the ever increasing group of furious teenagers gathering at the pole. Without realising it, he found himself searching for Newt among them. He probably wouldn't be there but Thomas just couldn't help it. What was he supposed to do? Just casually ignore the fact that he saw Newt in his dream that morning? It was constantly nagging at him and that was pretty much the only reason he wanted Minho to hurry up and find the classroom. Thomas needed someone to talk to. Other than that, Thomas was more than happy to watch his best friend since kindergarten stomp around outside like a three year old.

"You know their going to be pretty pissed that you led them on a wild goose chase, right?" Thomas said.

"I know," Vince replied "which is why I am so glad I have you to use as an example of what using your eyes is."

Oh no. "You are kidding right?" Thomas asked panic building inside of him.

Vince looked at him, concerned "Of course I am." he paused "Not a big fan of the spotlight are you Thomas?"

"Not when it's a bunch of angry teenagers I'm around, no." Thomas tried to ignore the relief that flooded him. He wasn't the biggest fan of crowds or attention but there was no need to let the whole school know. So long as he was with his friends Thomas knew he would be fine and he was good at one on one contact, so why would a little stage fright matter? 

Vince seemed to be able to tell that Thomas did not want to talk about it as he turned back to the window. "It seems that I should go prepare myself." he laughed moving to the large desk that sat near the window.

Thomas knew what he meant without having to look up. They were coming.