Ambivalence

02 | "i'm sorry, did i stutter?"

Waking up late was not part of (Name)'s plan for her first official school day. When she finally opened her eyes, she quickly realized that Whitney had already left. The alarm clock, which she swore she set, read '7:45 AM'.

Fantastic. I have 15 minutes to get ready and find my classroom. (Name) let out a loud, annoyed groan before jumping to her feet, rushing to the bathroom to tug on her uniform and brush her teeth. Quickly scraping back her hair into a messy ponytail, she grabbed her backpack and keys before stumbling out of the room in ten minutes flat.

Knowing she had no time for breakfast, (Name) headed straight towards Building C, where her first class of the day was. The campus was nearly empty at the moment, since most kids were already in class. That didn't help improve her anxiety over the situation at all. She picked up her pace to a sprint, her mind already going frazzled over the possibility of being late to her first day of school.

(Name) stumbled into the classroom a second before the bell rang. She was breathing heavily, with her hair a mess, and choking out, "Sorry I'm late!"

Snickers could be heard throughout the classroom, but she simply ignored them. After all, she was used to it.

"Look what the cat dragged in," a girl (Name) recognized as Clair proclaimed loudly. In response, nearly everyone in the classroom burst into laughter. If this was six or seven years ago, she would've burst out crying on the spot. But now, she only glanced at Clair blankly.

Making sure the teacher wasn't looking, Crystal, who sat behind Clair, smacked her on the back of the head, hard. Clair's screech could be heard throughout the classroom. Now everyone's amusement was directed at the blue-haired girl. She shrieked, "Teacher, teacher!"

The elderly professor looked up tiredly from her desk. "Young lady, settle down before I send you to detention for a week." That quickly shut her up. Clair shrunk back in her seat, her glare still focused on (Name). If looks could kill, the (h/c)-haired female would be six feet under.

Crystal and Gold immediately started snickering, giving each other high-fives. (Name) planted herself in one of the two empty seats at the table, breathing a sigh of relief that Silver wasn't with them.

"I knocked on your door this morning; no one answered. I assumed you already left," Crystal apologized with a slight frown.

"Don't worry about it, I'm a really heavy sleeper." (Name) gave her a reassuring smile. Still, would it have killed Whitney to at least give me a warning?

"Gold is, too. Once, I literally had to knock him in the head with a textbook before he could get up." Crystal rolled her eyes.

Gold winced at the memory. "I think she permanently bruised my skull." They all laughed lightly, and (Name) felt her heart swell at their easygoing manner.

"Class!" The teacher clapped her hands loudly. Everyone begrudgingly turned their attention to her. Professor Fern gave a brief introduction before diving right into a rather monotonous lecture on molecular compounds. No one seemed to pay her much attention, but she didn't seem to mind. Professor Fern just chattered along happily.

"It's because she gets paid really well to talk nonsense for five class periods every day," Gold whispered in explanation. (Name) bit back a laugh as she retrieved a pen and her notebook from her bag.

"You're actually going to take notes, (Name)?" Whitney snarked from a nearby table. Indeed, (Name) was the only one whose pen was moving for a purpose other than doodling or passing notes.

Yeah, because unlike you, I don't have the privilege to buy my success with my parents' money. She kept her mouth shut, however, because saying that would be referring to the entire classroom. (Name) really didn't want a band of rich kids to get mad at her... after all, she was a firstly, a foreigner, and secondly, a mere middle class.