Stereotypes [Calum Hood AU]

Chapter 1

"For your new assignment, I'm going to pair you up with groups of five and you're going to write an essay about racism and how it is important today as it was back then," Mr. Forester explained running his head over his bald spot. "And I want it at the end of the marking period."

Calum internally groaned. He absolutely hated group projects. Especially in classes he didn't like. Not one of his friends was in Mr. Forrester's Social Studies class, he was all alone in a room full of psychos.

"I'm going to pick your project partners," Mr. Forrester said, earning a collective groan from the class. "Not only do you need to do research for this project about it online but I'm also going to partner you up with one of each race in the class."

Everyone in the class took a chance and looked around at each other. They acted like they haven't seen an Asian or a Hispanic before. Just as Mr. Forrester was going to continue, the lunch bell rang and everyone practically sprinted out of the room. Just as Calum was getting up from his spot in the back of the classroom, he accidentally knocked down a girl's books out of her hands. Her name was Kiara. Calum noticed she was only black girl in the class. There were a few black guys but for all he knew, she was the only black female. Kiara groaned and bent down to pick it up. Like a gentlemen, Calum bent down to help her up.

"I got it," she snapped.

Calum mumbled sorry before walking around her and out of the classroom. Before he decided to go to the cafeteria for lunch, he went to his locker to drop off his books. His locker buddy for all of high school, Michael Clifford, appeared beside him. Michael was the type of high schooler to never do his homework and he was constantly in detention. Calum sometimes got detention but not quite as often as Michael.

"Hey," Michael spoke, grabbing his lunch out of his locker. Michael decided not to get the school's crappy food. Calum on the other hand didn't mind it. He quite enjoyed the cafeteria lunch.

"Hey," Calum replied. "How was class?" Michael took home economics which basically teaches you how to learn to cook. Michael's favorite thing in the entire world was food. He had to take the class. Calum wanted to take the class also since his sister was always complaining how he should start learning how to cook, but the class was too full. Michael shrugged, closing his locker.

"It was okay, next week we're learning how to make a proper Christmas dinner even though it's like months away," he scoffed. "But I'm excited to eat it afterwards."

Calum chuckled, slamming his locker and walking towards the cafeteria with his best friend. The cafeteria was crowded like always as Michael went to sit at their table near the exiting doors of the cafeteria. Calum stood in line for lunch behind a sophomore. Calum and Michael were both seniors. Their friend, Luke, was a junior since he was a year younger than them and their other friend Ashton, graduated last year since he was a year older than them. They often saw Ashton everyday after school since Ashton's house the major hangout between them. After grabbing his lunch which consisted of macaroni and cheese, an apple and some chocolate milk, he headed towards the table that Michael sat at.

"It sucks that Luke isn't in the same lunch period as us," Michael spoke, biting into his pizza. He practically ate pizza everyday. Since Luke's a junior, he has lunch before Michael and Calum.

"I don't get why you bring pizza everyday for lunch when they serve pizza for lunch at school," Calum said, opening up his milk carton.

"Have you tasted the school's pizza? He tastes like dog shit."

"What tastes like dog shit?" Jake O'Connor, who was in Michael's home economic class, asked as he sat down across the round table from Michael and Calum. Calum frankly didn't like Jake all that much. He was the stereotypical jock who played football and dated a cheerleader. And that cheerleader was in Calum's Social Studies class. Jake was a downright douchebag but Calum doesn't have the heart to tell him that.