Daughter of Luka (LGBT+)

Two 🌑

As soon as I had got to class, I scrambled to get my stationery out of my backpack as discretely as possible. Of course, this would have been a much easier feat had everyone not been staring at me. I was the new girl. The new girl spotlight would follow me everywhere for the next few weeks or so. At least, if people decided I was important enough to pay attention to, that is. 

"Dude, who is she?" I heard one guy ask his friend, who was throwing a rugby ball across the classroom. 

This didn't last long before the teacher arrived and immediately shut his behaviour down. 

The teacher's eyes scanned the room for a few moments before they settled on me. 

He smiled. It didn't look like a genuinely kind smile but rather the sort of smile that you forced out of necessity. 

I managed a smile back, feeling that it was important to stay positive in all of this. 

"Ah yes, we have a new student. Welcome, Ophelia Amarilla. Now, boys," the teacher added, his tone becoming more authoritative, "It is not the time to stare as though she is a trophy," he said. As he said it, his expression towards me became a little more sympathetic. 

The girl beside me sniggered. 

"Ophelia?" she asked. 

I turned to her with a sweet smile. 

"I know, right? Like the Shakespearean play. Hamlet. Sort of fitting," I said. 

The girl just gave me a look as if to say, 'how exactly is that fitting?'. 

"I'll have to explain later," I said. 

To my surprise, the eyes of said girl brightened slightly. 

"I'm intrigued," she replied. "My name's Kate, by the way. Kate Azule." 

"Nice to meet you," I said instinctively. I hoped that it would be nice, anyway. It would be nice to make at least one friend, I suspected, just so I didn't feel quite so alone in this new place. 

Once everyone was settled and seated, the teacher began to drone on about mathematics. 

"Is this going to get any better?" I whispered to Kate. 

She turned to me with a sympathetic expression. She didn't say anything but her response was clear enough- doubtful. 

When we were asked to answer some questions written on the board, I attempted to answer them to the best of my ability. Nevertheless, after a short while I lost focus and began to stare out of the window again. I had only been at school for a mere half an hour, but I already felt as though the day was going to drag out. 

I didn't have a clue what my mathematics professor was talking about and I wasn't sure if I would ever truly understand. 

"Now pass your papers to the front of the class and I shall mark them," the teacher, who I had somehow managed to discover was called Mr. Z, (his lanyard helped mostly), said. 

There was a loud ruffling of test papers as they piled high on Mr. Z's desk at the front of the room. 

Mr. Z marked them while we got on with some simple equations. 'Simple', my ass. I had to wonder whether I was ever going to crack this. 

"Y equals m x plus b, right?" I asked Kate. 

She turned to me and amusement flickered in her eyes. 

"C," she said. 

"C equals m x plus b?" I asked. 

She gave a small shake of her head, as she chuckled softly. 

"No, Y equals m x plus c," she said. 

I felt an eye-roll coming on. 

"What's the difference? You're just switching out one letter for another," I said matter-of-factly, only looking up when I felt Mr. Z's presence beside my table. 

"And you're switching your first break out for further practice, it would appear, Miss Amarilla," he said, as he placed the paper down with a bright, shiny red 'U' on the front of it. 

"How the hell did I get less than an F?" I complained out loud, not realising that Mr. Z hadn't walked off just yet. 

"By staring out of the window instead of focusing as you should, it would seem," he said and a small smirk made its way onto his face, as he wandered past my desk. 

Ugh. Stupid teachers. 

When he was gone, I turned to speak with Kate again. 

"What did you get?" I asked her, as my eyes settled upon her bright, shiny red 'A'. "Oh." 

"I could tutor you," she suggested, "It'll cost you, though." 

"Do you accept payment in foot massages or pinecones? I live near a forest and my job doesn't pay great," I joked. 

Kate smiled in good-natured humour. 

"It's no trouble. I love to help people," she said. 

It was then that I noticed her Head Girl badge pinned onto her grey cardigan. Figures. 

"Really?" I asked. 

"Yes," she replied kindly. 

"I have just met you, and I love you," I said, as I quoted Dug from Up. 

"Are you going to start hiding under my porch next? Should I be concerned?" Kate asked me. 

"Only if you have a porch," I replied nonchalantly. 

Mr. Z shot me a look. 

"Get back to work Miss Azule, Miss Amarilla. I'm sure you know how to operate a calculator?" he asked. 

I nodded. 

"Well, sort of. What do all of these extra buttons do?" I whispered to Kate, who turned to me with a warm gaze. 

"I'll tutor you," she said, "For free." 

"Again, I love you," I said. 

Kate released a gentle laugh again. 

"I'm serious. In a world filled with assholes, you not being an asshole is a complete God send, or Goddess send. I don't discriminate," I said. 

As she began to finish off her own calculations, Kate gently shook her head. 

The bell soon rang and once again, I put my stationery back into my bag in a scramble. However, I felt a little lighter. I may have failed my first maths test and my father might possibly be completely annoyed with me, but I felt as though I had made a friend.