Young Love (NovaHD)

Young Love (NovaHD) Chapter 4: The Invitation

Sorry for this being so late I'm a terrible person ~Abby

~

The rest of the week passed by with the blink of an eye. Aleks was caught up to speed quickly, and was already known by staff as "The Brainy Foreign Boy". The name didn't bother him in the slightest; he liked being somewhat of a role model to his fellow classmates. And being treated like a prince was pretty nice, too. Many of the younger students whispered and gawked when he passed in the hallway. Some of his peers hated all the attention this 'new kid' was getting. But Aleks simply ignored their hushed curses as yet another teacher used him as a model for some assignment.

The only teacher that didn't treat him as such was Mr. Greyson; in fact, he acted as though his IQ was that of an elementrary student. While it frustrated him greatly, Aleks understood that his language barriers were a handicap, and he strived to please his mentor.

~

"No, Aleksandr," Mr. G sighed once again that Friday, trying to teach Aleks the different parts of grammar. "To, too, and two are all different. Just like 'no' and 'know'." Aleks broke the tip of his pencil in frustration, trying to finish the day's handout. American people were stupid; why couldn't they just use the same word for everything?

"Aleks-" Mr. Greyson tried to write the answer for him, but Aleks slapped his hand away.

"I know!" Aleks spat, gripping his curled hair with his free hand as the bell rang out in the hallway.

"Clearly, you don't," Mr. G muttered under his breath as Aleks grabbed his bag, shoving the contents of his desk inside, not speaking. "Finish that for Monday, and we'll go a little slower next session, yeah?" Aleks made a noise in his throat to show he understood, and left without a word.

As Aleks walked to Calculus, he was stopped by a familiar voice. "Hey Aleks! Over here!" It was Jordan, who was standing by his locker with James. Feeling his temper cool, Aleks approached them with a forced smile.

"Hey, guys." Jordan glanced over at James, a smirk on his lips.

"Hey, I'm gonna go try and talk to Monica before math. See you there, Aleks?" Aleks nodded, and Jordan left him in the now almost-empty hall with James. A silence fell over them again. Aleks cleared his throat, about to ask what class James had next, a common icebreaker Aleks had grown accustomed to using, but James stopped him with a hand.

"Here." James gave Aleks a slip of paper with someone's number on it. Aleks peered down at it, trying to decipher which digit was which. James pulled at Aleks' forearm, pulling him close.

"Call that when you get home tonight. You have a landline, right?" James whispered into Aleks' ear, his warm breath creeping around to the back of the Russian's neck. Aleks' first reaction was to shiver in pleasure. James chuckled softly, tracing his fingers along Aleks' lower back. "Look, we're gonna be late. Get to class." James broke their embrace, and strode down the hall. 

Aleks stood frozen, relaying what had just happened. Does that mean he likes me? He thought to himself. Aleks walked down to Mr. Greyson's room, arriving just after the bell. Mr. G looked up in displeasure at Aleks' tardiness.

"Mr. Marchant, why are you late?" Aleks pulled his binder out of his backpack. Jordan looked over at him from his seat across the room, near the front. This was the only class that Aleks didn't want to be in the front for; he wanted to be as far away from Mr. G as possible.

"I was talking to someone." He simply spoke, opening to his notebook to a fresh page to begin the day's morning work. Aleks heard footsteps climb closer to his desk, a face lowering itself to his height.

"I should grant you a detention, Aleksandr. This isn't Russia, child, this is Denver High. We have higher expectations." The class grew silent at his words; no teacher in the entire school would even dream about giving Aleks a detention. They would let him get away with anything.

Aleks furrowed his brow, looking up at his teacher. "Don't you think that's a little harsh for my first time being late?" Some kids held their breaths; no one talked back to Mr. Greyson.

Mr. Greyson rose in realisation. "Ah yes, I must have forgotten! Mr. Marchant is thought of to be a 'godly figure' in this class, due to his above-average intelligence. Teachers compensate his irate attitude and treat his aquaintances as though they are paupers; they COMANDEER other student's special rights and responsibilities, just because he is dissloute!" Mr. Greyson had moved back to the front of the room, his eyes focused on Aleks. Others turned to look at the student's look of fear. "Now, Mr. Marchant, would you please come to the board?" Aleks looked around confused, and rose from his seat. He made his way through the isles of chairs and bags, and face his teacher, who was writing a set of different words on the board. "Define these, if you are so intelligent, Aleksandr." He shoved the Expo marker into Aleks' hand, and stepped back, giving him free reign. The words were comandeer, dissolute, pauper, compensate, irate, intelligence, and aquaintance. Aleks felt sweat grow in the palms of his hands; he couldn't define any of them.

"This, class, is why Mr. Marchant is no different then the rest of you! While most of you could easily come up here and write the meanings of these words, Mr. Marchant struggles! His IQ is much lower then all of yours, because he cannot complete this simple task!" Aleks felt his face grow red. He moved the marker over to the word 'intelligence'. It sounded familiar.

"Go on, Aleksandr, define the easiest word up there! We are all waiting!"

Aleks panicked, and wrote the first thing that came to mind. His entire face was beet red as Mr. G checked his definition. 

"Intelligence means information found by police?" Mr. Greyson questioned. Some kids laughed, and Aleks felt tears sting at his eyes. "Wrong. Go again."

~

Finally, the bell rung, signalling the end of the day. Aleks avoided everyone, already hearing the kids in his class gossip about the Hell he was put through. Jordan tried to console Aleks, but he just pushed him away. As he walked through the doors of his house, he was surprised to find no one was home. Then, he remembered the number James had given him. He rushed into the kitchen, punching in the numbers to this mystery phone. It ran a few times, Aleks leaning against the kitchen counter. A familiar voice finally spoke.

"Hello?" James' voice crackled through the old landline.

"James! Hey, you waned me to call?" Aleks felt butterflies wander in his stomach; he loved hearing the sound of James' voice.

"Yeah, uh, I was wondering if you'd like to come with Eddie, Seamus, and I to the mall tomorrow. Just to, y'know, chill out, relieve the stress."

Aleks felt himself perk up. "Of course! What time?"

"Eleven until six, if that's good for you."

"That's awesome, see you then!"

"Uh yeah, see ya..."

The line crackled, and Aleks fluttered up to his room. Even though it had been a shitty day, he had survived the week, and his reward was spending time with the man of his dreams.

~