Breaking

The New Student

Leo let his feet guide him through the halls of the great school. His messy black hair shading his eyes from others. His black skinny jeans ripped, and his sweater, huge, at least two sizes too big. Leo kept his head down, wary of people who turned to stare at the odd boy. Leo hated this; going to a new school; he knew that no matter where he went, it would be the same. He ducked his head as a horde of kids came walking through, on their way to class. Eventually, Leo navigated through the kids and found the office. Inside, Leo saw a pert older woman typing away; her graying hair pulled into a tight bun, her eyes focused on the task ahead of her. It took Leo mustering all of his courage to speak to her. Once he did, the look the woman gave him was that of 'Can't you see I'm busy here?'. Leo did his best to speak up, his whisper-like voice:

"Hi, I'm Leo, the new transfer student." The woman barely looked at him, her mouth pulled into a straight, small line in displeasure:

"Last name?" Leo's dark eyes dropped down to the floor; he had hoped he would not have to say it:

"Young," his voice this time was hardly heard, causing the woman to bark at him to speak up. Leo repeated as loudly as he could. The woman rifled through the filing cabinet for his name, before roughly giving Leo the schedule. She then went back to typing, not sparing a further glance or second for the boy. Leo raked his fingers through his black hair as he searched for the first class he had that day... singing, however dance class was right afterwards. Leo's father was making him attend a school for the arts; hoping that somehow Leo will come to be of worth. At least Leo liked singing, but he was uncomfortable with the idea of just being a puppet, dancing, and smiling for large crowds. He had always hoped to be a music teacher; instructing the little kids that he adored. His father would never approve of it however, so Leo was forced to place that dream aside, hide it away from the world.

Leo was searching for the classroom, however the school was so big, that he couldn't find it. He was beginning to worry that he would be too late. That's when he bumped into a boy who looked about a year or two younger than himself with light auburn hair and green eyes. The boy was wearing a green sweatshirt with the words, 'Friday is my second favorite f word'. Leo decided that it would be best to quickly apologize and get out of there as quickly as possible. However, just as Leo was about to leave, after apologizing, the guy grabbed Leo's wrist roughly, causing him to slightly flinch, which thankfully for him went unnoticed.

"Hey, are you new here? I haven't seen you around here before." Leo quickly nodded. The guy smiled, but it was kind, unlike what Leo had expected, "Why don't I help you get to class. It will take a while to find it on your own." The guy took Leo's schedule. "Oh hey! You're in the same classes as me! C'mon, let's go before we're late, I'm Hadrian by the way." Leo nodded, then he realized that Hadrian was probably expecting a name in return.

"I'm Leo," cursing himself for his soft voice when the boy's beside him was strong and confident.

"You're not much of a talker are you Leo?" Hadrian chuckled as Leo nodded. This caused him to feel conscious; he tugged his sweater sleeves down, further trying to hide his disgusting hands and arms. Hadrian led Leo a bit farther through the halls, around a few turns, and stopped at their classroom. Leo was beginning to feel nervous, what would happen if they didn't like his voice? Leo shivered at the thought. Hadrian, however, ushered Leo in, forcing him to face the faces staring at the newcomer.

"Oh," the teacher glanced at Leo before turning away again, "You must be the new one, come introduce yourself and find a spot to sit at." Leo quickly spoke his first name and thankfully found a seat as far away from others as he could. Hadrian, thankfully to Leo, sat near a group of four that looked like his buddies. They were passing a few notes around, and occasionally cracked a few smiles. Leo let his eyes drop to the floor again, shrinking, if possible, further back into his seat. His messy black hair still shadowing those dark eyes of his. Leo pulled out his hands just far enough out to play with his pencil; not before making sure that no one could see them. His fingers were shaking as he fidgeted with it. Leo took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly, the shaking stopped, almost. He wanted to get out of there so badly; Leo knew that wasn't possible. He sat there quietly the whole class, not looking at anyone, not speaking with anyone, lost in his own thoughts. Thankfully no one asked him to sing, though that was because he gave off a scary air to others; the teacher was too scared to ask it of him. Finally, after what felt like eternity for the whole room, the bell rang. Leo was the first one out, not wishing to stay in there another minute.