Not Your Average Family

First Days and New Friends

Hector's POV:

I wake up to my alarm blaring beside my head. I shut it and glare at it through my blurred morning vision, trying to figure out the time. I put on my glasses and realise I would most likely be late on my first day of school.

I bolt into the bathroom, hurriedly brushing my teeth, doing my business and showering in record time. It was 6:30 when I woke up. I've been in here for fifteen minutes. School starts at 7:30, and it's a 20 minute walk according to Mom. I've got to be there 10 minutes early today, so I have 15 minutes to eat and calm down.

I walk into the kitchen to see Mom ready and having her morning coffee. 

"Morning Mum."

"Morning Torque. Ready for the first day of school?"

"Nervous, but ready."

"That's my boy. Now eat up, you've got about 10 minutes before you have to leave. I'll walk you there and pick you up today, and maybe you can go on your own from tomorrow. That sounds good?"

"Perfect. What will you do while I'm gone?"

"I'll settle into work and maybe check out for some cars."

10 minutes later, I find myself tying my high-tops, with Mom locking the inside door and slipping on her shoes. I finish up, check myself one more time. I'm wearing a blue hoodie, a white Spiderman shirt underneath (not that anybody would see, but yeah) and black jeans. I walk out as Mom locks the front door and we set off walking to school.

The jitters in the pit of my stomach increase as we get closer to school. Mom drops me off at the gate, and I watch her retreating figure until it disappears round the corner. With a deep breath and a determination to have a blast this year, I start walking towards the school building. Smiles come my way and they seem fake, but at least, people are trying. With that thought, I step foot into the building, looking for the front office.

When I get there, I see a girl about my age, clutching her satchel, a couple of papers in her hand. She was wearing an oversized navy blue Iron Man hoodie, with a pair of black leggings and white converse. She seems to be waiting for someone.

"Is this the only front office or do I need to go somewhere else?

"This is the only one. Will you be joining us today?"

"Have you ever seen," I gesture at myself, "this here before? No? Then I guess the answer to your question is yes. Now, if you will excuse me, I've got to get settled in here." I take hold of the handle, and try to open the door.

"The office is closed now. What's your name?"

"If it is closed, why are you here? Got in trouble?"

"Not yet." She mutters. "What is your name?" She asks, emphasising on each word.

"Hector Butterworth, and you are?" I soften, seizing the opportunity to try and make friends with this girl.

"Rhea Greenwood." She stretches her arm out for a handshake, which I accept, taking my hand off the door. "I like you. I've been waiting for you. The front office would be closed this entire week. The lady quit and the school could not find a replacement. I'm relatively new here as well, three months in to be precise, so they thought it would be a good idea if we both stick around and help each other." She hands me the papers she was holding. I glance at them to see they are my locker combination and timetable.

"Great! I hope we can put this behind us." She nods. "Can we, uh, go to my locker first? I need to put away some stuff. Then, can you show me to the-"

"Math, Chemistry, History."

"Did you memorize my timetable or something?"

"We've both got the exact same timetable and your locker is right beside mine, so we're good. It is also part of the reason why the school thinks we should be buddies," she smiles a real, genuine smile.

"Oh, okay. Cool. Is there some sort of a social hierarchy I need to know about?" Her face falls.

"There is, but as long as you are not a loner, as long as you always have a buddy, you'll be fine. Which is why, as you'll see in lunch, the "loners' table" doesn't exist. Stick with me and you'll learn pretty quickly. I hope you wont ditch me like the others?" Her expression is so sincere that I am compelled to believe her.

"Nope. I might stray away though. Lead the way, m'lady," I bow, faking a British accent and gesturing her to lead me forward. She chuckles and starts walking as I trail behind her, trying to memorize my timetable.

We walk down the corridors and I notice that there is, indeed, not a soul that is alone. Everybody is with at least one other person. People who spare Rhea and me a glance narrow their eyes for a second, before returning to their own businesses. I wonder if she's higher on the hierarchy than I should be. I bump into her back when she stops by her locker, because I am so lost in my own thoughts.

"Ouch. Watch it, dude. You need to be more attentive while walking." That's when I see her face up close. She has blue eyes the same shade as mine, and her chocolate brown hair looks almost exactly like mine, down to the texture. The nose reminds me of someone I can't quite place. It's like I should've been knowing her my whole life, but I don't.

"Sorry. I was thinking."

"Never mind. Just be careful. That," she said, pointing her finger to one of the lockers, "is your locker. This is mine." She jerked her head to the side, indicating her locker, which is right next to mine.

"Thank you. Gimme two minutes to dump everything and I'll join you again."

"I'll come over, since I'll be done faster, and maybe help you. That sounds good?" The last phrase struck me again, making me think I should've been knowing this girl, again.

"Yeah, okay. Thank you."

"Not a problem, dude." She raises her hand for a fist-bump. I bump it and begin putting my stuff away.

"Earth to Hector?" Rhea pulls me out of my subconscious reverie.

"What happened?"

"What are you thinking so intensely about?"

"Do you feel like you should've been knowing me?"

A/N : Sorry for the late update. I'm on vacation with my family and had no time to write enough to publish, so I've been compiling all of this until now. Wednesday updates will be back on track next week. SORRAYYY!