forum Hey! I'm feeling in the mood for something crazy. Uh... I guess since I got an idea from someone else...

Started July 31, 2019 by @saor_illust school

tune

"Thank you!" Gracie responded, and took a seat near the front-ish, but to the side. She didn't want to have to squint, as this classroom was longer than usual, though she didn't want to block anyone's view.

Miran glanced longingly at an open seat in the back, then sat down next to Gracie. "We have two classes together so far." He commented. "That's pretty good."

"Yeah… This is the last class before lunch. Wanna see if we can catch up with Kai?" Gracie added. Her eyes sparkled with enthusiasm, she was so excited to make new friends.

"Yeah!" Miran nods happily. "I don't know if he'll be with his other friends, but let's see if we can convince him to come with us instead." He smiles mischievously.

The teacher announced what they would be doing in the next couple of lessons. The students had to form groups of 4 or 5 and to make a mind map of artists that they liked or who inspired them.
"Does ourselves count?" Opal whispered to the group. The rest of them shook their heads reluctantly. Very few people knew about them being their own little band, and they wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible - despite wanting people to know about their music. Confusing, but oh well. The class promptly set to work on their task.
"So, Kai," Alexis turned to him with a sly grin on his face. "I saw you with the new kid earlier, what do you make of him?"
"In September's words, he's cute." Kai replied, shrugging. "If you're thinking of picking on him, I wouldn't."
"Of course, we wouldn't touch anyone you approve of." Toby winked, rewarding them all with a slight scowl from Kai. A moment of silence before they all started chuckling, including Kai.
"And you can tell Lily and her cronies to back off as well, he's in my territory, and she doesn't want another fight, does she?" he glanced over his shoulder in the direction of where a couple of Lily's friends were listening in on their conversation. He smiled at them, his eyes wild, before turning back to the work.

The history class passed rather uneventfully, at least for Miran. The teacher introduced themselves and gave them a basic overview- it appeared Gracie was right about this being a project-based class. Finally, the bell rang for lunch. Miran grabbed his backpack and followed Gracie towards the lunch area. As they're were walking, Miran noticed Kai with a group of other kids.
"Hey, Kai!" Miran waved quickly, feeling slightly out of place. Kai and Gracie were nice, but others… who knew?

(I have a question, how old are our characters?)
The whole group turned around in sync to hearing Kai's name called. Other students walked around them, keeping their eyes averted so as to avoid confrontation. Kai's eyes lit up a little upon seeing Miran, and the rest of the group relaxed a little.
"So that's him, huh?" September looked Miran up and down before letting out a little 'heh'. "He's not too shabby."
"Hey Miran." Kai smiled, ignoring September's comment. "Have fun in History?"

"Oh hey! I didn't get to properly introduce myself earlier… I'm Gracie! Nice to meet you!" Gracie told Kai.

"Oh, so much fun." Miran rolled his eyes. "I think I'm going to get kicked out of this school, and it's not for starting a fight this time." He continued in a quieter voice. Miran looked at the other kids. "Are you up for eating lunch with us? I don't want to steal you away from your friends." He smiled teasingly.

"I know who you are." Kai told Gracie. "I know all about you and that horse of yours."
"Be nice Kai." Opal scolded him, clipping around the back of his head with her false nails. "Sorry about him." she smiled apologetically to Gracie.
"He'd be more than happy to have lunch with you, Miran." Toby smiled, bowing down to Miran with a wink. "He's been talking none stop about you all lesson, it's nice to finally meet you."
Kai was pushed towards Miran by Alexis, who had a huge grin on his lips. As the group walked off down the hallway, September called over her shoulder. "We want to hear all about it when you get back, Kai!"
The four of them waved without turning back, leaving Kai in a state of amazed horror. He turned to Miran and Gracie with a sheepish expression. "Lets go then…"

"Where do you propose eating?" Miran asked, an amused expression on his face. "Also, you have nice friends. They really don't care about making a scene, do they?" Miran took a few steps closer to Kai. "Did you really talk about me all lesson? There can't have been much to talk about." Miran smirked. "What with me being the mysterious new kid and all."

"I wasn't talking about you," Kai huffed, turing his head away from Miran. "I was simply telling them that you're not to be touched, and that they can tell other gangs that you're off limits too." The more Kai thought about it, the more he realised that there was a literal gang system in their year, and it half disappointed him. "In any case, I think we should eat in the canteen, that way we can give you a proper run down on exactly who to avoid and who to become friends with, because there are far more than what Gracie told you back in LA."

Gracie laughed. "Hm, I guess we'll see what they have in the cafeteria?"

"You told them I wasn't to be touched?" Miran smiles. "That's sweet! Once again: my knight! Telling me who's good and who's not. Slightly concerned that's needed, but…" He looks at Gracie. "Is the food good, or is it rubbish?"

"Nah, it's neither. It really depends on your food tastes. Some days they have only stuff like salad, they always have salad though for the vegetarians, and some days they only have meats, besides the vegetarian meals. Other times it's like pizza and whatnot." Gracie explained.

"Well didn't Gracie tell you that there are a few people to avoid? I simply told them to avoid you. They don't want to have to deal with me that's all." He smiled weakly, rubbing the back of his neck. Kai wasn't as scary as the other kids made him out to be, but now he had built up that reputation he wasn't about to let it go down the drain. "As for food, I just bring my own. It's a lot less hassle." He never really liked the food in the canteen anyway, it tasted fake.

"Okay. I'll have to keep that in mind." Miran smiled at Gracie. "And Kai. Thank you for doing that, although, again, I'm slightly concerned it's needed." Miran frowned. "What would happen if you didn't say I was to be avoided? Nothing, right? It's just a precaution?" He looked at Kai hopefully.

Kai sighed. "Stop asking so many questions, you're thinking way too deep into it."
They passed Max in the hallway, who was listening to music by himself. He looked up and nodded to Kai with a wide smile. Kai himself had no idea as to why the boy was smiling, but no doubt he would be told later. Max glanced at Miran with a gentle smile, then back at Kai with a wink. Kai only let out a chuckle as he flipped the other boy off.
"Come on Miran, you need to eat."

"Right." Miran nodded. "I'm thanking someone that I brought lunch from home today." Miran looks back at Max. "What was that about?"

"Nothing you need to be concerned about, just a little inside joke." Kai chuckled nervously, itching at his bottom lip, scanning around the canteen for a place to sit. He found a bench in the far corner by an open door. He took Miran's hands, weaving through groups of students who were hovering around tables, sighing in relief when he got to the corner table. "We get a good view of everyone from here."

"I like your choice of table." Miran nodded in approval. "In the corner, away from people. And, of course, a good view, as you said." Miran looked at Kai. "So. Who's good and who's bad?" He asked, sitting down at the table next to Kai.

Kai pulled out his pad of paper and quickly sketched the layout of the canteen. On a couple of the tables he put large red 'X's, some of them had blue question marks, while others had green ticks. One table, in the center of the room, had a green cross.

"On the table in the far left, the closest to the door we came in from, is where Lily and her cronies like to gossip about everyone else. Lily herself doesn't actually care about anyone else on that table about herself, but her followers are super protective over her pride and honor." he pointed to the other table with a red cross. "That is where Oscar and Riley sit. No one else dares to go near that table, it's probably booby-trapped or something. Either way, no one really wants to find out. I've been dared to a couple of times, but they act all innocent when I'm around."

He explained that the tables with blue questions marks were tables of either older/younger students, or students who hadn't shown any loyalty to a specific group. They were alright, but you always had to be careful with what you shared with them.

"Finally, the green ticks are students who are neutral or who are too busy with their club activities to get involved in the rest of the school's drama. Included in these are the nerds and athletes. If you need help with any technology, the nerds are your people. I haven't found anything that they don't know how to fix or reconstruct yet. They're safe to befriend because they're actually nice people who have a sense of what family is." Kai scanned over the piece of paper again before nodding his head slightly. "I think that does it."

"Wow. Very thorough. Thanks." Miran pulled out his notebook and quickly copied the map, making notes on the tables and in the margins. "This place is… very interesting." He looked at Kai. "What's the table with the green cross?"

Kai fell silent for a moment, before grinning wickedly. "That's my table."
(Sorry it's so short, I couldn't think of anything else to say)

"You have your own table?" Miran raised his eyebrows. "Wow, I befriended someone with their own table!" He wrinkles his nose. "A shame it's in the middle of everything."
(That's cool. Happens to the best of us.)