Like Gods

[3] jet black locks

Felicia frowned deeply, making Dylan quiet down.

"What?" He asked, taking another bite of his food. Felicia swallowed the food she'd been chewing on and put one hand on the table.

"You're telling me that you got a project on the first day of school?" She said quietly. 

"Well-" he started, but she interrupted him.

"Because that is just cruel," she groaned, "evil and cruel and vile."

"Don't be so dramatic," Dylan laughed, taking a swig of his water bottle. "And besides, we haven't technically gotten it yet, she just gave us a quick introduction. We'll be receiving the rubric and all that stuff sometime next week... I think." This didn't seem to calm Felicia's nerves, or whatever you could call it.

She leaned back in her chair and threw her head back, making a few students look at her strangely. "I don't want to have a project. Especially not in biology!" 

"You haven't even had biology yet, so chances are that you won't get it before two weeks from now." Dylan attempted to assure her. "We're getting ours on Thursday, so you might get yours on Tuesday the following week. Plus, I'll help you. You know I got your back." 

Felicia smiled wide, revealing the tiny gap between her teeth. "Thanks, Dyl." Dylan only waved it off and continued eating. "What do you have after lunch?" 

"History." He'd tried to memorize his schedule when he'd gotten home the previous day. He'd almost succeeded, and there were only a few hours that he'd forgotten. "Then math. You?" 

"Well, I had history yesterday, so probably not that... but I think I have math last period, too." After a few moments of looking in her backpack, she got her schedule out. "Yeah, I've got art and then math." 

"Nice, then we'll have that together." 

They sat in comfortable silence, or at least as close to silence that one could get in a crowded cafeteria full of teenagers. A few minutes passed, before the familiar sound of the PA systems fluttering filled the room.

"Dylan Brooks, Dylan Brooks, please report to the principal's office." The vice principal's voice sounded far away from the mic. "Dylan Brooks, please report to the principal's office."

Dylan froze, Felicia's eyes now on him. Had he done something wrong? That was always the first thought when he got called to the office, even after so many years in school. No, he hadn't, he never did. It was probably nothing. 

"Well, are you going or what?" Felicia's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He nodded, packing up his stuff and hurrying out of the cafeteria and to the hallway. It wasn't far too the principal's office, only a few classrooms down the hall. 

He knocked softly before entering the large office. Mr. Evans, the principal, stood behind his desk, a bright smile on his lips.

"Mr. Brooks, thank you for coming so quickly." He held out his hand for Dylan to shake, making eye contact the entire time. Dylan wasn't great at eye contact, he wasn't gonna lie, and it got a little uncomfortable. After the greeting, Mr. Evans gestured for him to take a seat in the chair that he stood beside.

"I bet you're wondering why I called you in here," he started, a sentence that would have sounded way creepier had it not been for his genuine smile and sunlight streaming in through a large window, "I would like to reassure you of that you're not in trouble, quite on the contrary. I find that many students get very tense when called to me." 

Dylan nodded slightly, a polite smile plastered on his lips. At least the guy could read body language. 

"Alright, I'll get right to it." Mr. Evans got a folder out from his desk, placing it in front of Dylan and not making him calm down whatsoever. It felt a little like an interrogation, even though he hadn't really been asked a single question. "You are one of our best students, and you excel in especially the sciences. I've been told that you plan on going to college, or at least I hope so, what are you planning on majoring in?"