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AS I WALKED IN CLASS with Annick, I noticed we were the last ones to enter the room, and like previously, the boy's loud voices had quieted, and we were being stared like earlier. Briefly analyzing some faces, I realized that some of the boys were familiar, but I only knew Applebaum, since my father was very close to his, and Henri Pichon. We were very close friends as children since our mothers loved to spend the afternoons having tea in the backyard of my house. After my mother's death we didn't keep in touch, but sometimes I would hang out with his younger sister, Heloise, even though she wasn't the best example of friend. He noticed me looking at him and smiled crookedly, and I did the same. Then, I noticed that the only empty seats were next to him, in the first row; and in the last, next to a skinny boy with curly hair. He was wearing a yellow linen shirt that I looked older than my grandfather's, given its faded appearance, and he had deep dark circles under his eyes. Other than that, he didn't seem like the other boys, as he didn't even bother to look at us when we entered the room. Annick was faster and sat next to Pichon, who turned red as a tomato, which made me mentally chuckle. That left me to sit next to the boy in the back row. As I made my way, some boys were still staring at me. 'Is she going to sit next to the orphan?' I heard a whisper, but I pretended not to hear, this wasn't the place where I wanted to know other people's business. "Hello! Is this seat taken?" I tried to look as friendly as possible. He just shook his head, smiling without showing his teeth "I'm Laubrac, Alain Laubrac. Nice to meet you." He also tried to be polite, holding out his hand for me to shake. "Genevieve Baudelaire," I replied as I shook his hand, "but you can call me Viv." He smiled, nodding, and with that our brief conversation ended. I took this time to analyze the other classmates and couldn't help but notice the boy of the bench earlier. Maybe I stared too long, because, again, he caught me. I quickly glanced across the room, as if I hadn't been looking at him seconds ago. Unlike before where he just smiled, he let out a small giggle, realizing that I was clearly embarrassed. Then, he returned to the conversation with his friends as the room was filled with the male voices; until a tall woman, who appeared to be around 50 years old, entered the room. Unlike me or Laubrac, she didn't seem very friendly.
As she cleared her throat, she introduced herself. "I'm Madam Giraud, your homeroom teacher" When she was about to continue her introduction, something caught her attention. "What is your name, mademoiselle?" she squinted her eyes like she was testing my newest friend. She stood up, stating her name 'Annick Sabiani', however, the teacher was still displeased. "And where do you think you are mademoiselle Sabiani? Do you think is okay to sit next to a boy? Pick up your things." I couldn't see Annick's face but I'm sure she felt embarrassed, even I was feeling. While she was collecting her stuffs, Mrs. Giraud was quicker and shook her head, "No, you." She pointed her hand to Pichon, who was sat next to Annick signaling for him to move somewhere else. "Get up and sit at the back." She was scary. "But there's no seat back there, ma'am!" As soon as he practically grunted, Mrs. Giraud stared at the back, and her piercing eyes where worse than any of the boys stares earlier, it was mean, as if she had seen the most disgusting thing in the world. "And who are you, mademoiselle?" Now she was referring to me. Quickly, all my classmates turned towards me, curious. "Gen-Genevieve Baudelaire" I answered her, but it sounded more like I was asking if that was my name, the situation was making me nervous and I started to sweat coldly in the palms of my hands. "Did you not understand the message, or you think you have free will just because your father is the town's mayor?" The revelation shocked my classmates. Of course, some already knew about the influence of my last name on town, but those who didn't were really impressed, I was really privileged. I felt Laubrac's curious gaze next to me as I swallowed, shaking my head desperately, hearing some giggles. The last thing I wanted on the first day was problems and unnecessary attention. "I'm sorry." I whispered, slowly gathering my things. "Now you can sit in the back" Mrs. Giraud turned to Pichon, who was still contradicting her, "But I can't see from there!" "Back row now!" She practically screamed, scaring everyone. As soon as I gathered my things, I walked forward, just as Henri walked to sit next to Laubrac. But he was interrupted by a boy whisper-shouting "It's not your day, piggy!", as he stuck out his foot making Pichon trip. It was the boy I was staring before, who I felt attracted to, but now I was shocked, how could he look like an angel and be so mean? The whole class laughed along. I noticed that Alain got up and helped the boy who had tripped, making me smile, he really was friendly. But then I looked back at the boy who had made the horrible joke, he was staring at me as if he was waiting for me to laugh too, but when he noticed that I was looking at him with a disappointed face, his smile fell a little, and he looked at me confused. Before our interaction would go any further, Mrs. Giraud spoke again with her evil voice "And why are you still standing, mademoiselle Baudelaire?" She addresses me, pronouncing my name ironically. "Chop, chop!" She said clapping her hands signaling me to hurry up. The whole room laughed again, making my cheeks flush with embarrassment. "Quiet!" She shouted, while I sat next to Annick smiling at her, who whispered a simple 'Hi'. "As I was saying, Mrs. Giraud with a D as in discipline."
