lost //brance

9

vance's pov:

it's been two weeks since bruce left my house that night. i haven't been to school since but ma has ran out of excuses to tell the school secretary and i have to go back or i'll be expelled. not that it matters to me, it only matters to ma. i let out a sigh as i pull on some clothes from my bedroom floor, not caring if they were dirty or not. i hadn't got much sleep last night and it showed. i stumbled down the stairs after brushing my teeth to say good morning to ma. she stood at the stove cooking bacon and eggs and turned as i reached the kitchen door.

"hey there hon, grab some food before you go."

"alright."

i walk into the room and grab a piece of bacon from the pan. i blow on it to cool it down before taking a bite and heading out the door.

"see you later ma."

i hear her say goodbye to me as i shut the door behind me. i'm a little earlier than usual and the bus wont be here for another 9 minutes. if im quick enough, i could walk to the school and get there before the bus, then i could go to first period and get my mark but say i'm ill. then i will be able to spend all day in the nurses office faking sickness. i realised i was already five minutes away from the school as i finished thinking of my plan for the day. i did not want to bump into bruce under any circumstances. after a little more walking i headed into the school and walked through the corridors to my first class. first period was physics, that teachers a sap so if i fake it well enough, he will write me a note.

as i reach the classroom i can hear slight chatter coming from inside. some people do like to come in early to talk to their teachers. weirdos. whoever was inside would just have to deal with my acting skills. i take a breath and then walk into the class, trying to make my entrance loud so that the teacher notices me. as i walk in i scan the class to see who is about to witness this and my eyes land on bruce in the front row. right in front of the door. i immediately panic and turn around to walk out of the class. i quickly shut the door and walk to the nearest bathroom. i lock myself into a stall before letting out a deep sigh.

well shit.

i wait until i hear the bell signalling the end of class before i head to my next class. it was spanish. i knew that bruce didn't have that because he chose to take french. i quickly scurry through the corridors to avoid him. how embarrassing. the empty seat at the back of the class looked extremely inviting as i make my way towards it. as other people start coming in i notice that the usual spanish teacher isn't here and that there is a confused looking substitute standing at his desk. when the bell rings to signify the start of class, he goes to the front of the room and clears his throat so the quiet chatter stops.

"hello class. i'm your substitute for today. my name is mr rump, today we will work in partners to complete a worksheet left by your teacher."

quiet laughter fills the class at the sound of the teachers name. i smirk a little as he begins reading out the partners.

"abigail bushel and tony wright. vance hopper and robin are.. arel.."

"arellano. robin arellano."

"yes, sorry about that. get into your pairs and begin to work through the sheet please."

i look over to see robin pulling his chair up to my desk. he is a good fighter, i saw him fighting moose just the other week. he packs a good punch for how small he is. the chair creaks loudly as its dragged across the floor.

"hey vance."

he takes a seat and places his worksheet on the edge of the desk, which was now a bit cramped.