Friday Snippet and the missed week between them

I realise that I missed a week. I've been super busy with exams, but they'll be over soon and I won't be so hectically studying!

But for now, here's the second scene of M+D. Disclaimer, unedited first draft etc, do not steal etc. All that. And a note that the first few scenes are a bit uncertain as I got into the characters viewpoints. Later on they get shorter and 'sharper'.


POV: Meira

I twisted around in my chair to watch the building fight in the back row. That new girl had chosen the worst seat in the whole room, right next to Julian. From the look of her, though, she and the jerk might be well suited.

With short, ragged blonde hair, a dark outfit with tiny splashes of bright, clashing colours, and a scowl to rival my brother’s, she looked like a punk gone wrong. Or maybe not quite punk enough; she’d definitely need black hair to really look the part. I watched, semi-curious, as Mr Hayes broke up their scuffle. We hadn’t had anyone new for over a year now, and everyone kept glancing at her even when the fuss had died down and Mr Hayes went back to assigning lockers.

I copied my own number down neatly and then watched quietly as the class proceeded. I always felt the first few days of the year were pointless, because we never got anything done except ramble on endlessly about due dates and plagiarism and homework and God knows what else. I tended to tune out most of the irrelevant stuff and talk to my friends. Thank goodness, we were the smartest in the class, so even when they did care about the introductory babble, it never took long for them to have completed anything we were asked to do. I did it when I felt like it, or when it was being marked.

“Hey,” I said to my best friend, Lauren, who sat beside me. “What do you think of her?”

She didn’t need to ask who I meant. “Bit… brash, isn’t she? A real tryhard, but not a snob. Sort of like the opposite. I don’t understand why anyone would bother actually trying to look bad.”

I shrugged. “Well, she did have to put up with Julian. Oh, sorry, Jules,” I added sarcastically.

Lauren laughed, and straightened her books up on her desk. “That is true. Maybe she’s not too bad. But…” She glanced behind us again; I mimicked her to see Devi still writing, head down. “Well, I wouldn’t bet on it.”

I giggled too, and shook my head. “Guess we’ll have to wait another year to find someone else interesting.”

“Yeah. What locker are you?” Lauren turned to ask our other friends too, and I waited until she faced me again before answering.

“103. Anywhere close?”

She sighed. “Nope. I’m way up the other end, in 523.”

It wasn’t quite as far away as it sounded; for some strange reason, our lockers worked in batches of thirty, beginning at the hundred and counting up to the hundred-and-thirty, and then moving onto the next hundred. We’d all long since given up asking why; none of the teachers knew either. When I enquired further, I found that no one was closer than about fifty lockers away from mine.

“Ah well. Maybe I’ll actually be able to get to class on time, without you lot bugging me in the morning,” I kidded, elbowing Lauren.
She grinned back at me, knowing full well that we were always at least a few minutes early to every class. I did it because there was really nothing else to do around here; I think they did it because they seriously worried about losing marks if they ever turned up late. Devi had shown us before that it didn’t do anything except get a reprimand, if that.

The bell rang. It wasn’t recess yet, but I picked up my bag anyway. We had two morning classes before that first break in the day, and it was never long enough. How could twenty minutes be anywhere near enough to relax and eat and catch up with friends? However, today, as on all first days of the year, we had lockers to find and pack. Our class was allocated this second period to get this done before recess, so that we weren’t stuck in the busy corridor trying to do it.

“C’mon,” I said, standing up. Lauren grabbed her bag too and followed me out.

I paused, watching the miniature crowd milling around the lockers and rolled my eyes. Didn’t anyone understand the concept of taking turns? Then again, it’s a small town. Probably not.

I waded through the sea of people to my locker. Alright, it wasn’t really that many; when I went to the city, the first and only time ever, I was shocked by how many people were crammed into such a small area. Out here, where we lived, it was so different. Wide, open, spacious. But I knew people who’d lived around here all their lives, and I wanted to scream at them. Why didn’t you get out and explore?

A bag caught my shoulder and someone shouted an apology; I didn’t know them, which meant they came from one of the other localities. Brought back to school, I went in search of my locker. I knew where to look, and dropped my bag right at the end of the locker row. I had one side open, a great spot to have.

Not so great were the jock guys gathered only a few lockers across, their joking painfully loud. I rolled my eyes and dug my old lock from my bag, ignoring them. My books were all neatly packed, so it was easy for me to transfer them from my bag to my locker. Textbooks on this side, folders and notebooks on the other. Space for lunch above, space to put my bag beneath. There, easy. I glanced down at a guy throwing his stuff into his locker haphazardly and shook my head.

The jock guys still stood by their lockers, and I noticed the new girl standing waiting for them to move. Strange; for such a ‘brash’ girl, I hadn’t seen her until now, but she looked like she’d been standing there a while. Shifting from foot to foot, her bag dropped on the floor beside her, glaring at the jocks, but not saying a word.

“Hey,” I said, taking a few steps towards them.

The looked at me, half curious. I shook my head sharply. “No ideas, guys. Get a move on, though. You’re holding up the queue.” I waved my hand at the new girl. Devi, that was her name.

“Oh, sorry,” one of the jocks sneered, but with a wide grin. He raised one eyebrow at me.

I gave a short laugh and turned my back on them. “Find someone else,” I threw over my shoulder, only to see a dark shape move up behind me.

“Who do you think you are?” Devi stood close to me – too close.

I stepped back, looking up at her just a bit. Her eyes were narrowed, and there was a muscle pulled tight in her neck.

“Just helping,” I said, shrugging with my hands. “You’d been there for ages -- ”

“I don’t need any help,” she snapped before I could finish. She brought her hands up, not quite in fists, but didn’t touch me.

I took another step away and waved my own hands, brushing hers away. “Geez, I won’t help next time, then. Give it a break. Are you afraid of them or something?” I added, glancing over her shoulder at the jocks, who were now hanging around in the middle of the corridor.

“I’m not afraid of anything,” she said, her voice low and furious. She looked around too, and scowled as the jocks burst into laughter at some stupid joke or other. “Especially not them. Jerks.”

“Jocks, actually.” I grinned, and held out my hand. Maybe if I let it go she’d calm down? Couldn’t hurt to try. I didn’t even have a clue why she was angry.

Devi slapped my hand away, and I snatched it back. “What was that for?” I snapped.

“Leave me alone,” she hissed, and turned to her locker. She grabbed her bag and hauled it up to her chest height. I stared at her for a few seconds, absently realizing that she was keeping her locker tidy as she put everything in. Then I huffed and turned away. I made sure my own lock was shut properly before leaving her to her mood.

Lauren was waiting for me a short distance away. “What was that about?” she asked. “I was about to come over when you left.”

“Something stupid,” I said with a shrug. “Cracked it when I told the guys to let her get to her locker.” I brushed my hair back and blew out a pfft of air. “Who knows.”

“Sounds like a bitch to me.”

“Well…” I glanced over to a gathering of girls in miniskirts and tight singlets. “Maybe not quite a bitch.”

Lauren followed my gaze and laughed. “No, maybe not quite.” She looked back at Devi, in her black clothes – in this heat! “I couldn’t see her in one of their skirts.”

I laughed too. “C’mon. Let’s get back in.”

“Right.”

We headed back over to the classroom. I glanced at Devi once more, and was surprised to meet her eye for a second. She held my gaze and then looked away dismissively. I shrugged. I didn’t need any petty fights. I had enough already.