Tempest [BNHA]

Chapter Two

~Ariel's POV~

"First day at UA, are you excited, Mistress Ariel?" Gloria, the head maid, who'd been working for my grandfather for thirty years, asked me with a smile as she set a plate of food in front of me.

I looked across the absurdly large dining table to the empty chair at the head of the table where my grandfather usually sat during meals. He wasn't here, despite it being my first day of high school where I'd be attending his alma mater, UA. I gave Gloria a polite smile, "yes."

Gloria set an expensive teacup in front of me and poured me a breakfast tea, "and will Mistress Ariel be making any friends this year?" She asked me with an inclined brow.

I folded my hands in my lap as she finished pouring my tea, "...it's not like I don't try to make friends, Gloria..."

Gloria sighed, "you know, Mistress Ariel, in all your life you've never once brought a friend over or gone to a friend's home. I do hope that changes this year..."

"I'll try my best." I bit my lip nervously.

"You do that." She gave me an affectionate pat on the head.

Gloria had really been counting on me making friends this year, but hardly anyone would even look at me. I looked down at my lunch tray, Gloria had tried to insist on sending me to school with a packed lunch but I begged her to let me be a normal high school student and eat the school food like everyone else. The food was nowhere near as pretty looking as what I got served at home, but it still looked fairly appetizing.

Gripping my tray somewhat nervously in my hands, I looked around the packed cafeteria. Most the tables were full, I spotted a table with some of my classmates and noticed a few empty chairs. Gloria would tell me I should greet them all with a smile and ask if I could sit with them. I understood the mechanics of interacting with people and I knew I did a good job helping people in a crisis according to my grandfather and all of his staff, but when it came to just everyday interactions, I was awful. I never knew what to say.

I slowly approached their table feeling anxious and self-conscious. They were all talking loudly amongst themselves. "Um...excuse me..." I spoke up softly but it didn't seem like any of them had heard me. "Um, hello? Is this seat taken?" I tried again a little louder.

One of the girls, who I think sat two seats in front of me in class, glanced my way and realized I was asking about the open seat in front of her. She kicked up her feet onto the chair, "taken."

"O-oh, s-sorry." I bowed my head, "and the others?" I glanced at the other empty chairs.

The other students kicked up their feet.

"All taken."

I bowed my head again, "o-okay, s-sorry to bother you, s-see you all in class..." I turned away in search of another table. A few tables nearby realized what had happened and I noticed people start to put their feet up on empty chairs at their table as they'd seen my classmates do. Nobody wanted me to sit with them. This was how it always went whenever I tried to make friends. My hands trembled as I gripped my tray tighter and wandered the cafeteria in search of a place to sit. As I walked away the tables I passed erupted into laughter.

Keeping my head down I moved in the direction of the farthest end of the cafeteria hoping to find an empty table to sit at or a corner to cry in, at this point I was getting desperate. I spotted someone in my periphery and realized I was about to smack into them and managed to come to an abrupt halt. The water bottle on my tray went flying from the sudden jerking stop. The boy I'd almost run into caught it with amazing reflexes.