Mandela catalogue headcanons

New kid

As mentioned before, Mark was a scaredy cat. He never liked talking to other children but that never meant he had no friends. Sure, just like ordinary friends, they came and went but one stuck with him till the end.

Mark was in 7th grade despite being twelve. Of course, people teased him for being twelve but he would ignore them. He didn't care what they said, he got used to what they said about him.

School started after the holidays. Mark was ready to deal with this hell at the start of term three. He hated school just like any other kid but it wasn't fun when you had no friends. 

"Okay everyone, settle down," the teacher said "Textbooks out and I'll get the roll ready." Mark sighed and rummaged through his bag until he found his textbook and pencil.

He turned his head toward the window and simply stared out. He rested his head against his hand, giving out another loud sigh. Mark was enjoying his time, that was until he was rudely interrupted by someone waving their hand in front of his face.

"Uh helloooo? You good there?" The kid asked.

Mark was startled by the sudden interruption. He sat up and turned towards the kid. "What is it?" He asked.

The kid pointed towards the chair next to him. "You don't mind if I sit there, right?"

"No, yeah, sure, go for it."

"Thanks!"

Mark returned to his former position while the kid proceeded to empty all the contents in his bag onto the table. Mark groaned in annoyance.

The kid muttered something and turned towards Mark. He shoved his face in front of Mark's face, blocking his view again. "What now?" Mark huffed.

"You don't suppose you have a spare pencil or pen I could use on ya?" He asked. Mark gave another groan.

"Here, have this," He said while passing a spare pencil to the kid.

"Thanks," the kid smiled "By the way, haven't caught your name."

"Mark. Yours?"

"Glad you asked! Cesar. Cesar Torres, for full of course. I just moved here."

Now Mark seemed more interested. "Huh. Why'd you move?"

Cesar's face fell a bit but he attempted to keep his smile. "Uh, actually, my parents are divorced. Yeah, my mum is the one who is looking after me. Kinda moved here cause we aren't doing so great. Financially wise, of course, but yeah, here I am." He gave a sad chuckle and looked down at his lap.

Mark felt a pang of guilt. He had no idea Cesar was in a situation like that. His upbeat personality made it seem like everything was going fine. "Oh, sorry 'bout that, didn't know."

"No, no, it's fine," Cesar assured. "No, really. Hey, don't give me that look! I said I'm fine." He gave Mark a playful shove and laughed. Mark gave a quiet laugh and bumped Cesar back.

"Quiet down class," the teacher called "I'm marking the roll now."

"Yeah, she's 'Marking' the role," Cesar teased.

"Oh shut up," Mark chuckled.

***

Both of the boys enjoyed each other's time during the class. They had given a brief idea of who they were and how their life was. For Mark, it was nice to finally have some company after years of being alone. For Cesar, it was great he made a friend on his first day. 

They spent the entire day talking to each other and asking multiple questions. Both of them entertained each other with their answers. It had already seemed on their first day, that they had made an inseparable bond and all it took was one conversation.