Shy x Popular

Chapter 1

My name is Jebothy Mawce, and my entire life I've felt like a background character. I'm not sure how to describe it, but I've always felt insignificant, and I've got no idea why. Today marks the last day in my old home, New Coloradosville, , and my first day in my new home in Shimbletown. I've had to change schools many times, and even moved towns before, but this time feels different. Shimblestown is one of those "new urban" suburbs, kind of like a mini city, where everyone is close physically and socially, but there isn't nearly as many people living here as there would be in a city. From the moment the car departed the highway and made a turn onto 27th ave, I could feel it, the overwhelming sense that everyone here was perfectly fit into a puzzle, except for me. I was stray piece, left to collect dust under mom's china cabinet.

"Look, there's your new school!" My mom said, and pointed out the window at what looked like an ordinary highschool. Two stories of brick, cinder blocks, and slightly moldy plaster, with covered walkaways connecting five oddly placed buildings. In the font, there was a one story building with huge glass windows and one of those glass school doors that you would think is a push from the inside, but is actually a pull. (Embarrassing) 

Wow, it would sure suck if there were a shooting. Or a threat of any sort. All that glass.

"Do you think they'll be a lot of people of our... Kind?" I asked my parents.

"You mean your kind as in autistic or as in a ghast?" My dad remarked.

Asshole. 

I should probably explain. There are different "kinds" of people, which go as follows:

Avians - Winged people

Ghasts - People who can float and phase through objects, if they focus their power they can become invisible briefly.

Gargoyle - People with bat - like wings and long spiked tails

Affra - People with horns

Sassa- People with sparkly skin and constellation / star patterns

Those are all fairly easy to remember, except for Affras and Sassas. The way I remember it is "Sassas are ass - a's because they have pretty privilege, and Affra... are the horny ones?" Weird, but it works. 

"Jeff, what did we talk about earlier?" My mom clenched the armrest and stared at him. Her voice was cool and collected but her eyes said it all.

We don't mention it. We all act like its normal. Because Gaslighting is cool now I guess.

"AHAHAHA!" My brother laughed. He was the only one laughing yet my dad smiled, feeling satisfactory in his shitty joke. Mom sighed.

My brother is 4 years younger than me, a whole 10 years old, and the most stereotypical little boy ever witnessed. He's a bit hyperactive, a bit of a jerk, and a fan of everything any 4th grader would like. Cars, Dinos, games, brainrot, the latest Youtoob sensation-- you name it. He's so normal it makes me jealous. When I was in 4th grade I was reading depressing books and watching videos on niche indie horror games -- even though they gave me nightmares -- at the corner of the lunchroom where all the kids who didn't fit in sat. All the lost puzzle pieces, spaced perfectly apart so that they never connect, but close enough to where they can be grouped together and gawked at by the rest of the puzzle. 

"Well, we're here!" My mom exclaims like some sort of announcer. We pull into a pale blue townhome. The short driveway slopes down into a garage where we park. The house is two stories, three counting the garage and attached (unfinished) Basement. Downstairs on the main floor is the kitchen, living room, dining room, guest bathroom, and master bedroom arranged in a closed "homely" floor plan. Upstairs is two equally sized bedrooms and a much smaller one, with a bathroom near the stairs. I pick the room that faces the backyard, leaving the other room for my brother, who's convinced his room is bigger even though it factually isn't. Its decided that the mini bedroom will be a guest room for my Grandmother to stay in when she comes around.

After two days worth of moving our junk in, its time for me to officially start school at Shimbs High. It's late October, school has already been in for a while. I have the same courses I did in my old school though, excluding electives, so I won't really be behind. I look down at my schedule after getting off the bus, school starts in 10 minutes and I waste no time mapping out everything physically, then mentally. I walk by all my even day classes twice, tomorrow I'll do the odd day classes. On even days I have Reading, Biology, Math, then theatre. I have Theatre both even and odd days but the class is only an hour instead of an hour and 30 minutes like the others. 

On my way to reading, my mind draws a blank. I feel a choking feeling in my throat, like I'm about to cry, but I wouldn't cry here, I can't be caught a loser on my first day. My thoughts race through my head,

Where was my class? It was in this building right-- No? Why can't I remember, I just saw it TWICE! That makes me such a failure-- Wait that's an English classroom-- No wrong number! Wait classroom number! It was... 209! Right building wrong hallway-- But which hallway, man I should kill myself, okay this is 226, 225, getting warmer... No, No! The hallways are emptying I'm going to be late-- It'll draw so much attention-- And the teacher will be mad, such a bad Impression! Okay calm, calm, don't cry, this way, 214--

SLAP!!

I almost ran into a guy when turning the corner, and in avoiding him, tripped on the doorway and almost faceplanted. My vision gets blurry, and I feel like I can't breathe as hot tears run down my face. I get up, but the guy I almost ran into stops me. My blurry vision clears for just a second, just enough to see the most dazzling dark blue eyes I've ever encountered meet in a perfect eye contact.

"Are you alright, pretty boy?"