Trust Your Instincts

-4- Isaac

 It felt like no time had passed since the flight when the night before the start of school came around. Mark had got his supplies earlier that day; calculator, pens, pencils, even a highlighter. Mark never bothered with anything more than a blunt pencil and a half shattered ruler back in his hometown, but this was a new start, and Mark was gonna make the most of it.

 He got to bed reasonably early, somewhat excited for the start of his Senior Year at high school, and to meet his schoolmates for the first time, but a sense of dread loomed over him as he drifted off to sleep, a worry that he wouldn't be well liked at all.

 He woke up at 3:15am in a fit of panic, his bedsheets tangled tightly around his sweat covered body. It was the dream again. He got up and shuffled sleepily over to the bathroom next to his bedroom, standing in front of the mirror and staring at the bags under his chocolate brown eyes. He splashed cold water over his face and decided to go back to sleep, checking to make sure his alarm was set for 6:30 that same morning.

 3 hours! That's all I have left?! Mark thought, a feeling of exhaustion seemed to consume his body, and within 5 minutes, he was asleep again, dreaming that same dream, as if somebody had pushed the replay button in his head. Again.

 He had reached what might have been his 30th punch into the concrete when his alarm woke him. He checked his phone. 6:31 it read, and so he slipped out of bed, now somewhat unaffected by the nightmare that consumed every moment of his slumber. He went straight into the shower, washing off the sweat from that sleep's nightmares, spending a long time under the steady stream of hot water, thinking of nothing in particular. He got out and brushed his teeth, and picked out his nicest clothes, he had to make a good first impression after all. Once his bag was packed and he was wearing his favourite flannel, he made his way downstairs to breakfast. His dad had already left for work. It must have been when he was in the shower, but he left a note saying that his lunch money was on the counter and to have a good first day. Mark smiled slightly at this. It was a good feeling, knowing that he still had a family member who cared, even if that particular family member didn't used to. He ate his breakfast in a rush and started to head off to school.

 He was content with the walk, it was only 10 minutes from his house. He reached the reception a good 20 minutes before classes started, but told himself that it was better to be early than to be late on the first day. The school was really large, compared to his old one, but it was modern and clean, and he could tell that it had a good reputation just by looking at it.

 He walked up to the receptionist and told her that he was a new student, and that he needed a school schedule. The receptionist was a quirky woman in her 30s, she wore a tight pink dress with black tights, and her bleach blonde hair was dyed a lovely maroon at the bottom. She flickered through the schedules rhythmically before falling upon what she believed to be Mark's.

 "Let's see...." she said in a high voice. "Um.... Sharp?"

 Mark shook his head in reply.

 "Okaaay..." She said thoughtfully as she sorted through the papers once again, "Ah! Here's one! You must be Fischbach then?" 

 That's me!" Mark said joyfully, relieved that he wasn't forgotten by the school and he actually had a schedule. He also got his locker combination, but didn't know where to find the locker, so that didn't bother him at the moment. He thanked the receptionist and went over to sit down and study his schedule. He had six periods a day, a break after his second, and lunch after his fourth. His first period was math, followed by history, and then after his break, he was to go to music. He liked music, he was hopeless at most instruments, but he enjoyed singing. He decided to wait a while before going to his first class, he didn't wanna seem too eager.