part 1

once the principal finished her speech, everyone ran off in different directions. some went straight to their dorms, some wanted to see the club list. many of them arrived even before august ended, knowing the building was going to be extremely crowded once september started.

the younger students had their parents with them, waiting to sign guidelines and pay for anything the school asked.

the older ones, however, were expected to know the rules by now. they had to remain patient and considerate.

"so many people, for fuck's sake." a guy let out a visibly exasperated sigh as he tried to get through the hallway.

"you have the patience of a dog, theo." his friend exclaimed and urged him to keep going.

"there are so many boys this year," another girl said. she held bea's hand as they left the crowd behind. the trio bumped into a few people while trying to get past them. they got a few unhappy faces, but no one really cared.

"yeah, so? is that a bad thing?" bea asked and dropped the girl's hand. she led them into their dorm. it was on the opposite side of the building. it took a while to get there, but no one was in their way this time.

"could be, yeah." the brunette responded, not fully serious.

"they're kids, astrid. can't be that bad." bea said, slightly amused.

"as bad as it gets," said astrid and nudged bea. they let out a chuckle and both looked at theo. they liked to tease him a lot, astrid especially. she was his sister, after all.

astrid took out the keys and unlocked the door. she shared the dorm with bea, and theo had his own. he asked for a single room three years ago, just like the one he had back home. 

the three of them stayed inside for about twenty minutes before noticing it was time to head out for dinner. the cafeteria was usually the fullest between six and seven o'clock, even though it opened at five.

bea and astrid always tried to be as early as possible so theo didn't have to deal with four hundred people at once. not that it was possible to fit all of them in.

theo had been dealing with anxiety since he was young and his social skills were lacking. he was a quiet person by nature. he was clever and had strong opinions, but most of the time he simply had nothing to say. 

theo's only friends were his sister and her childhood best friend, bea. even then, it took him three whole years to feel fully comfortable around her. she could write stories about how hard it was to get him to open up sometimes.

astrid, on the other hand, got along with everyone. she had a best friend and a brother. other people were just acquaintances to her. she called people out if it was needed. though, she helped them out when they asked.

when they got into the cafeteria, it was emptier than expected. no complaints were made. 

the group sat down somewhere in the corner, just in case. that didn't stop bea's other friends from joining them. "i hope we aren't interrupting."

the siblings had no bad relationships with them, yet they barely knew their names. but they weren't bad people, so it was fine. theo didn't necessarily hate them and astrid enjoyed the small talk. 

bea turned to look at the girl. her hair was short and dark. she cut her bangs last summer and she knew how hot it looked on her. she went by inez, she didn't fancy her real name. 

another friend of bea's followed them. she was the complete opposite of inez, from head to toe to personality. while inez was dressed all dark and her hair was dyed, this girl's hair was long and shiny. she was a natural blonde, too. her style was formal, unlike the others.

"didn't know you were friends," astrid whispered to bea. 

"yeah, we're not close." bea whispered back. "inez and maia are roommates," she added.

astrid was surprised she even knew her name, let alone her best friend.

maia was a popular person, kind of. she was the student body president. teachers relied on her and students were generally kind to her. she had her group of friends, they were as smart as her. though, her closest friend was barely passing math.

"you can sit here, it's fine." astrid smiled at them, genuinely. they thanked her and started asking all different questions about summer. theo didn't want to talk about his, he just listened.

when the topic came to an end, maia came up with a new one. "what do you guys think about the mandatory clubs?" she asked as she put the vegetables in her mouth. 

"terrible" and "horrible" were the responses she got. 

"you know which ones you're going to join?" maia asked.

"i haven't even read the list yet," theo stated. annoyance could be heard in his voice.

"me neither," bea agreed and astrid nodded.

"i was thinking the photography club," inez confessed. she didn't seem like the type to even want to join in the first place.

"could be fun, yeah," theo agreed. "what other options are there?"

inez swallowed the food before answering. "cooking, i think. chess, economics, and," she paused to think. "i don't know. they came up with eleven fucking clubs."

"well, either way, we should join one together," bea insisted. she looked at astrid, waiting for her opinion. "sure," was all she said.

dinner took them longer than they wanted to, but bea liked it when her friends were all together. she had always wanted a proper group of friends. 

they all separated once the curfew hit, knowing they didn't have to do anything for the rest of the weekend.