1
The class bell rang and a storm of teens rushed into their neat and organized classroom. The students chatted absentmindedly while the teacher got her things together. The students seemed as cheery as the day outside. The school year had begun the week before and people were still exchanging stories of their summer adventures. As the teacher got up to give her first words to the class, the door in the front of the class opened slightly. A brooding girl almost halfway between 5 and 6 feet tall came through. She had straight light blue hair going just past hers shoulders and a white ribbon over the top of her head. She wore a tan dress shirt and flowy shorts that could easily pass as a skirt. Her eyelids were halfway down and she didn't really take the time to look over the classroom. She had an air about her that showed lack of concern. Despite this, she got a few infatuated stares from a few students in the class. "oh, you're here are you?" The teacher turned to write her name on the board. "My name is Ms. Juline." She handed the girl the marker. "Would you mind writing your name on the board to help the class?" By now, the class was paying attention. The girl took the marker from Ms. Juline's hand and turned with her back to the class. She began writing with sloppy technique, but the words on the board themselves were perfectly written as if they were typed. "Jayden? Jayden Hutchinson? What a nice name and such lovely handwriting." The class stared at the boeard, looking for any imperfections in her seemingly flawless handwriting. "Class, this will be our newest addition to the class. Please make her feel welcome." The teacher turned to the firl. "Please take a seat in one of those two empty desks over there." She pointed to the empty desks in the back left of the classroom next to the window. Jayden walked slowly to her desk, looking straight ahead and not making any eye contact with class. A few kids looked behind themselves to see her sit down ,turning back around to give the teacher attention. "Well then, since last week was just a review of what you learned last year, I see no point in waiting to start on this year's curriculum." She took out a science book. "We'll begin with-"
A sharp swing of the door interrupted the teacher. A boy in tan khakis and a T-shirt with a sushi restaurant logo printed on burst in breathing heavily. "Sorry, I'm late, teach. I admit that I overslept." he said, still catching his breath. The Asian American boy had short black hair and an athletic build. He had a wide grin with an apologetic countenance. "I promise it won't happen again." His surprisingly honest words went well with the teacher.
"Try to be on time tomorrow. Okay, Sosuke?" Ms Juline said aloud, her back now to the class. The boy bowed slightly, still with the grin on his face. He walked back to the empty seat near Jayden. He took off his backpack and sat down. Giving a minor look at the girl, it wasn't long before he gave a double take.
"Hey..." Sosuke began. He made sure to whisper so the teacher wouldn't notice him. "You're really cute. Are you new?" His face had already turned a bit red. He didn't seem to be as subtle as the rest of the class. Jayden simply ignored him and continued to stare at her book. This didn't seem to deter the boy. "Don't worry. If you need someone to show you around, I can do it." He held out an arm and began to pat her on the back. This certainly got Jayden's attention. She didn't expect anyone to touch her and her face showed that. "My name's Sosuke, but not everyone can remember that, so they call me Lee." He smiled wide. Out of everyone in the class, he was the one who made the best effort to make her feel welcome, but Jayden seemed the least interested in talking to him.
"Sosuke!" Ms Juline shouted, interrupting her own lecture. "Are you going to be late AND disruptive?" She had a disapproving look on her face.
Lee's face became flustered as he flailed to get his papers together to look as if he was working. "No ma'am!" He put his face into a book to block the lower half of his face. He snuck another peek at the girl before blushing and returning to his studies.
---
"Hey, Jayden! since we got out early today and it's lunch time, why don't you sit with us?" A long haired blonde girl of about the same height called to her from a few feet away.
"No thank you." Jayden said after a quick glance.
The girl had a confused look on her face. "Umm.. maybe you are new in town." She tried to be perky, but it looked a little fake. "I'm Melissa Morgan and my daddy is kind of the richest guy in town. It's kind of a privelege to sit with me." Her friends behind her shook their heads in agreement.
"No thank you." She repeated, her head in a book.
By this time, Melissa was getting frustrated, but put up another fake smile. "Listen. You really don't wanna make an enemy of the richest and most popular girl in the school. Just sit with us so we can teach you how the school works and stuff." This time Jayden didn't even acknowledge her presence. This time, a frown crept on the girl's face. "You really-"
"Hey, Jay-chan!" A familiar voice called from afar. It was the boy from before, Sosuke. He ran over with both hands in his pockets and a silly grin on his face. He looked like a dog seeing his human after a getting home. Sosuke ran over to the group of girls and stopped just behind Jayden. "Heeey. I've been looking for you, Jay-chan!" He seemed to be using a nickname for her that showed familiarity, despite him only having a brief conversation with her.
"there he goes again." one of the passing guys muttered.
"Want to eat lunch with me? If you don't have a lunch, you can have some of mine. I made it myself!" Sosuke looked very excited. If you weren't sure he was human, you might think there was a wagging tail behind him. Jayden simply got up from her spot and began walking back into the school building. Sosuke perked back up. "Wait for meee~" He shouted as he skipped over to follow. Melissa, who was left behind, gave a glare before walking over to a table to eat. Her friends followed shortly after.
As Sosuke followed Jayden into the school, he quickly lost track of her. "Jay-chan?" His voice could be heard in the hallway. Jayden had snuck into the school's library. He probably wouldn't be able to find her. Jayden looked through the isles to find a certain section. No one really seemed to be there. No teachers, no students, no staff. She should be safe in there. "Oh, the history section." She said to herself. Jayden walked fast, looking through the isle. Therew were dozens of books that she was looking for. "I'm going to be here for a few hours." Hayden said to herself. She was lucky it was a half day. She could still get home on time. Jayden quickly cracked open the first book labelled 'Morgan Town History' and sat on the floor, leaning on the bookshelf. Her eyes were burried in the book. With no real staff around, she couldn't check out the book, so she had to get her reading done there.
---
"Jaaaaay-chan?" Jayden's eyes lifted slightly. She had fallen asleep on her third book. "Ugh..." She groaned. A tiny bit of dried saliva sat in the corner of her mouth. "Jayc-han!" A familiar face shot over the corner. of the isle. The same boy from before had come back. "Jay-chan, you're so adorable when you're sleepy." He seemed so happy to find her.
"You didn't go home yet?" It was the first time he had heard her speak so loudly. Jayden got up and grabbed his collar. "You are so annoying!" Jayden waited for a response, almost feeling bad for the comment.
"Jay-chan...your voice is deeper and..." He had a confused look on his face. Jayden loked confused as well. But it soon that he realized the abnormality.
"Crap, what time is it?" Jayden lokoed around for the cell phone in the nearby backpack. 7:30. Jayden had been there for over 5 hours. The young student's face grew grim.
Sosuke looked confused. The person before him was certainly dressed the same way as Jayden and even had the same attitude but had an eerie difference. Jayden's chest was flat now and the slightly below the shoulder length hair was somehow now just slightly longer than his. There were now oddly male features on the other student's face. "Are...are you really Jay-chan?"