Renaissance (boyxboy)

Chapter 6

Finding Biology was so easy on the map that I’m embarrassed to admit that I spent the rest of lunch and break period in the library.  Compared to the library at my old school, this was almost intimidatingly small.  Oddly enough their nonfiction area was really good, but their fiction was a bit lacking.  Some of the stuff looked like it hadn’t been checked out since the seventies. 

By the time I made it to Biology some of the class had already filed in, other early starters like me, though mine was more on accident.  That icy feeling returned when I saw who I’d be sharing this class with, Edward was sitting by himself at one of the blacktop tables and I’d hoped that he wouldn’t notice me since he was looking out the window.  I made my way to the teacher, speaking with them quietly about where I should sit and grateful that they weren’t expecting me to introduce myself to the class.  All of that ease was dashed away when he pointed towards Edward’s table though, apparently it was the only free spot in the class, and what perfect timing: he looked straight at us despite how we’d been speaking quietly.

Great, just great.  Well, maybe it’d be easier this way, maybe working with him in class would help with whatever problem he’d had with me in the cafeteria.  Hopefully that was just a coincidence.  It was kinda egotistical of me to think that he’d targeted me for anything negative anyways.  Still, why was his table the only one with an empty chair…?  Man back at home girls would have flocked to be the lab partner of someone that looked like him, and then I remembered their island of a table at lunch.  Were they really that ostracized…?  Did the other students even realize that they were doing it?  It was sad.

But, trying to be as optimistic as I could be, I moved over to our table and sat down.  Immediately he tensed, his hand on the table tightening so much you’d think someone had just stabbed him.  What the hell…?  I guess he just liked being alone at his table, or maybe it was some heavy case of social anxiety.  That’d sure explain a lot.  Nonetheless, I attempted conversation, a rarity for me with someone so new but I wanted the school year to go as smoothly as possible,

“Hi, I’m Adam.” And smiled. 

He didn’t smile back, but his eyes flicked over at me in acknowledgment with one stiff nod.  All right then.

“So, I guess you guys aren’t the newbs anymore huh?”

I was referring to his family, but unlike my introduction this time he barely even acknowledged I’d spoken to him. 

“Ooo…kay then.”

That was the most conversation I could muster up, especially with someone that was so obviously unwilling.  Well, I knew if I wanted left alone I’d be appreciative of the other person’s silence, so that’s what I did.  Thankfully the teacher started up class in five minutes and in the meantime of that I just flipped through my text book.

My shoulders slumped down as the lesson started: I’d already learned this back at my old school in the earlier semester.  I guess for a little while this would be a bird course, I still had a lot of my completed assignments on my flashdrive, so hopefully that’d make homework a breeze.  I’d take a break wherever I could get it here.

His chair barely slid to the side and I moved just my eyes over.  Was he…was he moving his chair further away from me?  It was then that I realized he wasn’t even breathing.  What the hell?  What was his problem?  His other hand lifted up and I don’t know if he was trying to be nonchalant but it didn’t come off as that way, not to me, when he covered his mouth and just under his nose.

No way.  No way I smelled bad.  I hadn’t even eaten anything offensive at lunch.  I’d showered freshly that morning, didn’t put anything on to make me smell different other than some lotion on my arms and the smell of that had long since worn off throughout the day.  So what was his deal?

My jaw locked and my heart slowly picked up.  What an asshole.  I whispered quietly over to him, hoping that maybe it wasn’t me that was causing such a reaction from him,

“Dude, what’s your problem?”

His hand pressed more against his mouth and he leaned more heavily on his elbow.  I guess to people not at our table it’d seem like he was just lounging, but I knew what that asshole was doing.  Seriously, what was his problem?

“Listen, if this is some-”

“Shh.” He cut me off with a sliced shush and my jaw nearly dropped.  That jerk!  I wanted to lay into him, but I tried hard to just bite my tongue for the rest of the class and ended up immaturely shadowing his movements.  See how he liked it. 

All he did was narrow his eyes whenever we met eyes and I narrowed mine right back.  There was a moment, so brief that I wonder if I saw it wrong, just before the bell rung that his eyes flashed with something like amusement.  Before I could question it the bell sounded and he was the first person out the door, leaving me to watch after him.

There was something I wasn’t getting, but as everyone packed up to leave I subtly sniffed down towards my underarm.  Nothing.  My hair was clean, all of me was clean from the shower.  Maybe he was just trying to mess with me or something, I don’t know.  Hell this might be why people didn’t go around him or his family members, not if they acted like this.

And yay for me, I had a whole three months to spend sitting next to him every day.  This was gonna be the slowest trudge to summer I’d ever had.