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AMARA'S FATHER HAD ALWAYS BEEN PROTECTIVE BUT TODAY HE WAS ACTING AS IF HE WAS HER BODYGUARD. She barely managed to get him to leave the train station as her train to school stopped in front of them.
"I can come with you if you want, I don't start work until this afternoon." the man insisted.
Amara couldn't help but laugh at his over-protectiveness as she shook her head.
"Dad, I'll be fine," she reassured him, subtly moving towards the train, the man following. "Really, I'm fine. But if you don't let me leave, I'm going to miss my train."
With a sigh, the man nodded. "You're right, you're right."
Amara engulfed her father in what was supposed to be a quick hug and he wrapped his arms around her tightly causing her to wheeze.
"Too tight, too tight."
Pulling back, he apologised profusely but his daughter only laughed, wrapping an arm around him once more before stepping onto the train just as the doors began closing, almost snapping her body in half.
"Bye!" they both yelled through the small gap in the doors before they clamped shut and the train began to slowly move away from the platform.
The girl waved through the small window on the train door, her father returning the gesture. Once the train sped away, Amara turned from the doors and to the many people sitting in the seats around her and others standing in the small space around the doors. A few judging glances were sent her way and her cheeks immediately began to heat up. She looked to the ground and stayed in place, not wanting to attract any more attention by trying to search for an empty seat.
The journey to Midtown School of Science and Technology was shorter than Amara expected, so she had been in lost in her thoughts when almost half of the compartment barged past her and through the train doors. Due to the continuous shoulders slamming against her own, she began to lose her balance and grabbed onto anything she could. The closest thing happened to be the arm of a boy walking out of the train doors.
Amara's eyes widened when she realised what she was holding onto and she looked towards the torso connected to the arm she had grabbed, followed by the neck and the face. The boy seemed to be around her age and looked as surprised as her.
"Sorry!" she squealed abruptly, backing away from the boy.
She worried that she was about to be yelled at on her first day at a new school before even stepping inside and not even by a teacher, but an extremely confused student. However, an amused look spread across his face, filling Amara with relief.
"It's fine." he dismissed her apology before stepping off the train which reminded her that she had to do the same if she wanted to make it into school for her first day.
As she began walking across the platform, directly behind the boy she had just used as a support beam, she cursed herself for being so clumsy. All that went through her head on her walk to the school building — which she had to follow said boy to and hope for the best since she had no idea where she was going — was how easily she could have avoided that embarrassment if she had simply been paying attention to her surroundings.
Her thoughts were only stopped when she had been about to cross the road to the front of the school when a car came zooming past, the driver heckling the boy in front of her who was mere inches from being hit. A few laughs came from bystanders but the boy acted as if it was nothing and continued walking. Furrowing her brow in confusion, Amara sped up her walking and caught up with the boy.
"Are you okay?" she questioned, looking behind them in search of the car that was far gone by now.
A look of surprise crossed the boy's face and he tugged his earphones from his ears, "Sorry, what?"
"You kind of just had a near death experience, are you okay?" Amara repeated.
"Oh, right. Yeah, I'm fine." he nodded, seeming slightly embarrassed that she had witnessed that moment.
"What a dick," Amara shook her head with a scoff. "I'm Amara by the way."
"Peter, not Penis despite popular belief." he joked, Amara letting out a small laugh.
"And here I was thinking you just had a really creative name."
Peter laughed at the girl's comment as they entered the building. Just as they walked inside, a drone flew in the direction of Amara's head which caught Peter's attention before Amara could even look its way. Immediately, he grabbed her by the waist and dipped her down until she was only a few inches from the ground.
Amara let out a gasp and locked eyes with Peter, a taken aback expression on her face. Once the drone had whizzed by and was out of sight, Peter pulled her back up to stand straight. Still startled, Amara stared at the boy for a few more moments, wide eyed before letting out a breath that she hadn't realised she had been holding.
"Woah."
Peter's cheeks flushed as he realised what he had done and attempted to stutter out an apology — key word; tried.
"Twice in one day, you really are my hero," Amara spoke before Peter could form a proper word.
Peter almost let out a laugh at the irony.
"Good first impression, huh?" he laughed nervously.
"Definitely," Amara chuckled. "I need to go to the principal before class, first day stuff."
Peter only just realised in that moment that it was Amara's first day and felt like slapping himself at his own stupidity. That was why he hadn't recognised her.
"Oh, see you later then?"
"Yeah, see you later." Amara smiled at the boy and walked the other way.
Today had been the most eventful school day both had ever experienced and it wasn't even first period yet.
A/N; I really wasn't planning on Peter literally dipping Amara to the floor on their first meeting but the opportunity was presented to me and I took it even though I probably shouldn't have.
