Vanilla & Smoke || A.I.

Thora is a name made out of thunder, and the girl who wears it fits the description perfectly. Pale pink skin is contrasted against the darkest black she could find, whether it's in the hair dye she uses or the lipstick she dabs at all day long, or even the makeup that lines her eyes. Thora is a name for a thunderous girl, and Thora is just that, from her combat boots that don't exactly follow the school uniform, to her cocky demeanor.

But as she's walking into school, her steps don't thunder, and her voice doesn't shake the hallways. Instead, her quiet giggles echo as she sways arm in arm with her best friend, a guy who likes black nail polish and waterline eyeliner a bit too much. Calum Hood was too big to be in high school, yet here he was, repeating his senior year for the second time. His tattoos were out of place in the cutesy building, and his hair was unruly, but he filled out the uniform quite well, leaving the female teachers- and some of the male ones- too flustered and in awe to bother correcting him on his breaking the dress code, especially if it was such little offenses such as a too loose tie or his tattoos.

Thora found herself competing with the larger boys beauty, playing up her own to try and see who could make more boys and girls alike swoon. It was a big joke to them anyways, as Calum was only wanting to loose his virginity to someone as beautiful as him, and Thora was asexual. And no one, not one person in the school, not even Thora, could live up to Calum's beauty, so he wasn't getting any anytime soon.

They were late. They'd be written up if any teachers caught them, but alas, all the teachers were too busy teaching their own classes to bother correcting their unruly behavior.

It was a private school, which meant uniforms, strict teachers, and detention. However, it's already been shown that they aren't that great about keeping up with the dress code, so one can only assume how strict the teachers could really be.

Calum and Thora were both missing the same class at the moment, English Literally Arts, or ELA. Not that it mattered. They'd had a substitute the entire school year so far, as the facility struggled to find a new teacher. Unfortunately, their standards were too high and their options were too limited.

But when the two entered class, it was clear to see that something was different. The class was surprisingly quiet, and Thora tried to hide her initial surprise with a cocky grin as she marched towards her seat, not trying to be quiet.

At the front of the room a tall, curly haired man was frozen, his hand holding an uncapped expo marker halfway to the board, frozen in place.

"It works better if you let it touch the board," Calum suggested lazily, slumping in his seat across from Thora.

The man stood up straighter, turning around.

"I love the look. Sunglasses inside, it's really taking off."

Someone gasped. A few people snickered, but most just waited for someone to say something.

The substitute teacher was the first to move. He forced a half grin, looking in Thora's direction, but not quite at her. "You came in too late, the attendence has already gone to the office. You'll be counted as absent."

Thora shrugged, thinking the motion was enough of a response. But the teacher still waited for an answer, looking intently towards her with his blackout glasses.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you staring is rude?" She asked, her voice raising slightly. She didn't like the way he was looking at her.

He licked his lips, turning around again and lifting the marker back to the board. "As I was saying before you interrupted class, I am Mr.Irwin." He scribbled his name on the board, the letters trailing off slightly. He turned around and looked towards the student aid desk on the side, where a senior was shuffling through papers. "And, as most of you already know, I am blind."