when I'm with you [ fierrochase ]

Chapter 03

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MAGNUS

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If there was anything worse than regular mornings, it was cold mornings. As soon as Magnus stepped outside that morning, he was blasted with a cold front of air. Why it was so cold, he couldn't say, considering it was hardly fall. He considered going back to get a thicker jacket, but being lazy, decided against it and continued walking to the school building.

As he was about to turn the corner, Magnus heard a voice behind him call, "HEY! Blondie!" He turned to see Alex Fierro jogging toward him, Sam with her arm linked through her sibling's, laughing as she got dragged along. Magnus grinned, shoving his hands in his pockets to wait for the two.

"Hey, Alex, Sam," Magnus greeted as they finally caught up.

"Hi," Sam said, grinning. The trio began walking towards the school.

"Don't you live in the next neighborhood over?" Magnus asked Sam. "What're you doing over here?"

"I wanted to walk to school with my baby brother," Sam explained, ruffling Alex's hair.

"You're not that much older than me," Alex complained. "Oh! Pronouns are he and him."

"Understood," Magnus said. "We're gonna have breakfast in the cafeteria today, you two are welcome to join us."

"If none of the teachers need help, I'll be there," Sam said.

"What's with you and helping teachers so much, anyway?" Alex asked.

"She's a TA. Teacher's Assistant," Magnus replied.

"That sounds boring," Alex said.

"Not really. I get pulled out of class quite a bit, which is annoying," Sam said. Alex gaped.

"You get pulled out of class and call it annoying?" he asked.

"Well, I miss a lot of the lesson-"

"That's why getting pulled out of class would be amazing-"

"Alex you can't just-"

"Watch me!"

"You don't even know what I was going to say!"

"No, but I know you would have gone off on me-"

The two bickering didn't seem to end, which Magnus found somewhat amusing, seeing as how, according to Sam, they didn't spend much time together for a couple of years. By the time they reached the school, the argument had turned to something else - something about the colour yellow - and they were starting to attract stares.

"Alex, you gonna come to the cafeteria?" Magnus asked, breaking up the argument.

"I'm not that hungry," Alex responded.

"You can just chill with us if you want," Magnus offered. "It's better than being alone." Alex hesitated, then shrugged.

"I- okay, I'll come," he said. Magnus grinned.

"I'll go check the teachers and make sure they don't need any help, and then I'll join you," Sam promised, waving as she walked off. Alex followed Magnus to the cafeteria, where they sat at the same table as yesterday with Mallory after grabbing some food.

The cafeteria had an unspoken rule of a seating chart. Certain groups of friends sat in certain places. Much like in Mean Girls, the popular kids sat in the middle (or as close to the middle) of the room, so they could be the centre of attention. Magnus and his friends sat in one of the corners, pretty close to the line, which worked out well, since the five of them, now six, all seem to like food. In terms of social status, they were pretty much the biggest losers. The anime weebs and cosplayers were a close second, since they were dubbed the weirdo losers by the popular clique.