Solo

Chapter 2

It had been a long time since Wes was the new kid to school, but it was something he was familiar with. Ducre Talent Agency took his family to many places in its beginning. His father had to spend time at every company building as the inheritor of Ducre. They lived in London, Amsterdam, Seoul, and New York all within two years. Wes's grandfather passed away his freshman year of high school, leaving the position of CEO to his father. Since then, they lived in L.A. where the main office was located. Wes made friends, fully adapted to his soccer team, and even had some colleges lined up. Then suddenly his father decided to move the last semester of his senior year. And out of all places, to the Midwest. It made no sense. His father had several cities to scout for their new Midwest location and needed to be in a central location for what could be the next eight months.

Wes hated the way his father's company interfered with his life. Ever since his childhood every activity, vacation, weekend, or friend was all for the betterment of the company. To keep the loving family image, Wes had to move with his parents. He insisted on staying in L.A., but his father refused. Wes was angry. The company always came before him. He didn't want to move. He knew it was important, but it wasn't his preference. Especially starting a new school right before graduation. 

Wes looked up at the sign above the door "Room 106." Here we go. Wes walked into the classroom. It was smaller than what he was used to at his old school. He could tell it was the Midwest. The number of kids that looked the same bothered him more than he was expecting. "Hi, I'm a new student here," Wes says as he approaches a small older woman sitting at a desk. She stands up and gives him a slight smile, "Well hello, glad to meet you. I will find an open spot. I think I only have one, but I will double check when everyone sits down." The bell rang as she finished her sentence. She grabbed the class's attention, "Good morning class. Take your seats. We have a new student today and I need to help him find an open seat. So, get to your places quickly." The class quickly sat down, and the teacher scanned the room. She pointed in the direction of the empty chair. "It seems like your seat is right over there- - oh, remind me of your name." Wes turned to look at the seat and looked straight into the eyes of the girl who shared the desk with the empty chair. Oh- The girl instantly looked down at her book and Wes remembered the teacher asked for his name. 

"It's Wes. Wes Ducre." She pointed to his chair again, "Well welcome Wes, go ahead and take your seat." He walked to his seat and slightly observed the girl he would sit next to. Her dark skin and natural hair were an unusual sight for what he had seen of Greenport thus far. He had only seen basic girls who looked the same and acted like every girl you saw a Time Stamp. Her two braids immediately caught his attention. He loved her hair. It reminded him of his best friend Lia from middle school. The girl looked up at him as he approached his seat at their now shared desk table. "H-hi." She could barely talk. She seemed shy. I wonder if that's why she sits alone. Wes gave her a head nod. He thought she looked nice but was determined not to make any friends while he was there. He would only be there for a few months. What's the point in making friends? 

The girl leaned over to whisper, "I'm Isa. Nice to meet you." Wes keeps looking forward at the teacher ignoring Isa's attempt to get to know him. "Well?" Isa whispers somewhat aggressively. Wes gives Isa a puzzled stare, "Well, what?" "Well, aren't you going to tell me your name?" He slightly chuckles trying to wrap his mind around her expectations, "Excuse me?" Isa turned her face toward him. She looked at him with her deep brown eyes. Her lips were full and brown and perfectly complimented her what some would call a large nose. She was pretty. Very pretty. "Usually when you sit next to someone in class, you get to know their name. It's kind of normal to do." Wes wasn't looking into getting to know anyone, but he felt he'd probably have to introduce himself at some point. "I'm Wes." Isa turned back to look at her book and sighed, "Nice."

                                                                                              ~

"Could you believe that new guy in class today? What was his deal?" Isa was fired up from her interaction with Wes. All she did was ask for his name and he was so cold to her. Isa normally didn't care to connect with new kids, but Evie insisted she should find out who he was since she thought he was cute. "Gosh, I'm jealous. Why didn't I choose to sit by myself in first period?" Evie jumped at Isa, "Trade me spots!" "Evie, you know if I could have, I would've suggested it myself. Mrs. Hart won't let us change once the seating chart is established." Evie's head dropped in disappointment, "Ugh- You're so lucky." Yeah, well how come I don't feel that way?

"You have to find a way to introduce me to him." Isa gave Evie a shocked look, "Did you see the way he responded to me? I think he just wants to be left alone." "C'mon Isa! You have to at least try. For me? Please?!" Evie was the type to always get what she wanted. It was hard to say no to her. In the friend group, Evie was the most like the other kids in the school. She was rich, blonde, had a perfect body. She didn't need Isa's help to win over Wes. If he was like any of the other guys at Greenport, she was sure he'd like Evie. She was already someone that everyone wanted to be with. Isa didn't completely understand why she didn't attempt to be friends with any of the other kids. She already fit in with the other students and was asked to hang out by the popular crowds regularly. But Isa was thankful she chose to be her friend. She was convinced that her friendship with Evie was one of the reasons Lacey left her alone.  "Fine Evie I'll help. But you owe me big time." "Eek- Thank you, thank you. Okay, I've got cheer practice. I'll see you two later." Evie ran off to the gym leaving Myeong and Isa in the hall. 

"Isa did that guy bother you a lot. You seemed weird today in class." Isa felt weird about her interaction with Wes, but her mood wasn't from that alone. "Honestly, that was infuriating, but I'm more bothered that I might have gotten on Lacy's bad side today. I bumped into her, and she was not happy about it. Thankfully it was time for class, or it could've been bad. You know how she is towards me." Myeong sighed. "I'm sorry, Isa. I wish I knew what to do. She never seems to have an actual reason for why she's that way towards you. Why don't you come over to my parent's shop after school? I'll make you a black milk tea with boba and it'll cheer you up. I'm sure it was just a bump and nothing that will cause her to go off on you as she has in the past." Myeong always knew what would make Isa feel better. Isa wouldn't feel as safe at this school without her. She always had her back and that gave her confidence. "Thanks, Myeong. Me too."