Laws of e(Motion)

Six: #647792

It didn't make sense to Emilia, that her new maths classroom looked nothing like her old one. The blue 'school' carpets and white walls were the same, but the layout of the room, maybe its whole shape actually, were entirely different. The disorientation and pressure to just choose a seat instead of looking around for five minutes made her anxious, and out of habit she gravitated towards the far table at the very back of the room, currently only occupied by one other student who was tall enough compared to her that she didn't catch his face in her peripheral while staring ahead and slightly downwards in effort to focus on less, and ground herself more.

"Hello, you look a little lost. I'm Zane—" It seemed like it took a second for his facial recognition to kick in too, only realising who he was talking to as she looked up at the boy talking to her. "You're Emilia, if I remember correctly?"

"Yes," Emilia smiled, relieved. She knew someone, and she was thankful to have got a seat close to him, even if that was purely because her subconscious trusted his blue argyle sweater vest. "I didn't recognise you for a second."

"You look uncomfortable. Is everything okay?" Zane was refreshingly simple and easy to understand, interaction didn't feel like guesswork which had been exactly what she'd needed now more than ever. He also never sounded accusatory, but genuinely caring towards her.

"I'm struggling with the changes a bit." It didn't feel as embarrassing to admit to him as it did other people.
"I see, I too struggle with change," he explained, and Emilia found comfort in the fact he could relate. "It's usually easier for me to stay frozen in routine." She would never have guessed it from how collected he seemed, but his openness about his own feelings made Zane seem even more trustworthy than he had before.

"Me too," she smiled. At the clear end of their brief conversation, she copied him in beginning her usual routine again of getting her things out, and feeling mildly ready to pick up where the curriculum had left off last year.

Only midway through the first independent set of textbook questions did Emilia notice Clara. Admittedly she'd been too distracted by everything else, probably talking to Zane or organising her pens, then focussing on interpreting the mannerisms and teaching style of Mrs Richards, but the disappointment that someone who called her a friend didn't even look her way sat heavy on her chest. The weight soon transferred to anxiety. This was yet another class they shared and again Clara had chosen not to engage with her.

"It's cool to be doing mathematics with a new friend," Zane contextlessly mused. He had already developed a talent for picking Emilia up and taking her back to the present moment when her talent for getting lost in another time and place got in the way. She just smiled back at him in gratitude, while replaying what exactly the kind words he'd just spoken were so she could respond properly, but Zane just continued on his train of thought. "You're welcome to join me and my friends for lunch, if you'd like."

"That... thanks," Emilia replied. "I think I would like that." Zane smiled back. Her speech patterns were as unique as they were familiar to his own.

The eventual end of the class couldn't have arrived sooner. Mindless maths always took a toll on Emilia's energy levels, and the added anxiety of moving a new class only multiplied that. Combined with the warmth of the room, she was drowsy enough to take a nap over the desk had the class lasted much longer. Zane waited for her to pack her things away so they could leave together, the pair sticking around just long enough for their plans to be interrupted as Clara decided to give Emilia a second of acknowledgement.

"We're studying at lunch, right?" she asked, choosing only now to acknowledge Emilia's existence. "You said you'd help me." Emilia had apparently mistakenly figured that after being told Clara didn't need her help, that she wouldn't be helping her.