Chapter 2

So, another day. How many days has it been already? More than a week, I guess, since I started. Most of those days, the catching up kept me busy. Then there was getting used to school, and setting up my room and helping around the house. Though, I talked to a few students here. They seemed nice.

Because my biology teacher asked me to have a chat about my missed chapters, I came in a bit early today. It's a pretty normal sight here in class; the two dudes are bickering still. It doesn't look that serious. Some girls occupy the last benches and seem to be engrossed in their conversation. Looks like one of them is narrating a story or something. There was another group of guys and girls, some standing, some seated on benches and desks. There're few loners and a group of boys in the middle rows discussing something.

I took a seat in the middle column in one of the middle rows. Now I could hear what they were discussing. Honestly, it's something irrelevant or stupid, is what I thought. But they seem pretty interesting to me. It made me feel bad for judging them. Looks like it's a debate about predators.

"Of course, it's the tiger. Tiger is the biggest and the strongest. It's a symbol of strength in a lot of cultures," declared a fellow with pride. He has an athletic build and a deep voice. And a sleek hairstyle to highlight his sharp features; straight clove brown hair with close-cropped sides, not too much; just enough.

"No, lions are the king of the forest," said the dude who was facing him, standing with his arms crossed. It's David. He is one guy I've talked to before. He's tall and lean with cropped hair brushed back, angular. It suits him. He's a little more toned and stouter than tiger dude.

"They don't even live in the forest. I never get where it came from." Exactly what I was thinking. Thank you. A boy with glasses brought it up.

"I know right! And a tiger can easily kick a lion's ass. It could rip the skin off your bone with a lick, that's how rough and strong its tongue is!" Both of them looked ready to argue. Yeah, I've read about that before and tigers are obviously larger. A tiger should technically win in a one-on-one fight. But then there's a hippo or an elephant.

"I still like cheetahs more, they're gorgeous. And of course, the fastest," another sitting on the chair placed backwards to face them, cut in. He had light brown, chestnut hair, which looked stunning as the sun's rays shone on it. He had a gracious smile to go with it.

The boy with glasses agreed, "I want to see them in real life, I wish they weren't so threatened." He’s got more gentle features to him in comparison. Everyone agreed with him. The glasses compliment him a lot. His short side-swept bangs make him look even more charming. He's my height, or maybe shorter.

One of the sworn enemies chipped in, "Orcas are the best." He has a tall, agile figure with well-distinguished, firm muscles. The smile he carries all the time makes him very approachable despite his build. He's genuinely friendly and cheerful as he talked to me once or twice. But that innocent smile is anything but. I forgot his name. Was it Merlin? It started with an M.

"But they're jerks like you," said his archenemy. He glared at orca and turned away. Merlin really never leaves him alone, but he's always ready with his snarky tongue... sometimes the shoe, as well.

"Hmm, but you like me, anyway." He tried saying it with all nonchalance he could muster to hide his grin.

"I swear I won't miss your face this time, " his nemesis snarled, glaring daggers at him. He is certainly handsome, but he gets angry so easily and he frowns a lot. His aura always holds a certain level of hostility in it, which made me even more nervous to start a conversation with him. Orca sure knows how to rile him up.

This seemed fun indeed. I couldn't resist smiling.

Then someone with an entirely different view chimed in, "but imagine a predator that can fly, has vision 5 to 8 times better and wider than normal humans. I choose eagles and hawks. Especially the red-tailed hawk. Gorgeous." All of them hummed. He has a calm voice. Deep, a little gruff edging on husky. I couldn't see him. David was obstructing my view.

"Interesting and cool." Don't know why they're discussing this, but they're pretty chill. Then it hit me.

Their heads snapped in my direction, and now they're entirely focusing on me. This kind of scrutiny makes me awfully anxious. Awkward and embarrassing. They must be thinking, 'Who's this weirdo listening in on us. The new kid is weird'. I should say something, right? Or they’d judge me more.

"I mean ... yeah, they're certainly cool. Predator birds are exceptional. I love owls. They got one of the best visions even though they're far-sighted. They can focus really fast and can spot a mouse in a football stadium in total darkness with just the amount of light you get from a candle. Imagine seeing that clearly in the dark. They got super hearing, too. Also, they don't just hoot and not all of them have the same hoot you hear in movies. And their flight... is ... silent." Shit, I rambled again. Now they're staring at me. "So yeah..." I glanced at them, all nervous and tensed, waiting for an impending doom.

And then everybody agreed. Some said 'cool' with a hint of amusement. The boy with glasses nodded and smiled. Tiger, lion, cheetah, orca. Everyone agreed and smiled. I released a breath I didn't know I was holding and visibly relaxed. Phew.

Then I looked at the boy who liked hawks. He looks... well, cool. I guess. How do I put it? He doesn't look like the type to care about predator birds. Didn't imagine him to be taking part in a discussion like this. I mean, he can, but he doesn't look like he'd talk about something like this.

He had a smirk on, but not the evil kind. Somehow, it looked good on him. He narrowed his eyes and looked away, "Owls have been the symbol of victory and also death... which makes them cooler."

He said it so casually. Damn. His friends looked impressed, too. I take back what I said. He knows his stuff.

Somehow, I hadn't noticed him before at all. Not just now, but the entire week and more I've been here. He's doubtless taller than me by a good few inches. He's lean but looks toned, somehow lithe yet firm. His shirt sleeves rolled up perfectly to his forearm. Sitting with crossed arms made his biceps trace defined curves. There is an aura of indifference surrounding him. His jet black hair is a little long and tousled in a good way, a few strands brushing his temple. They were swept off with grace. I make my hair worse if I run my fingers through it, but he makes it cool, somehow. Since he's not looking at me now, I can't tell about his eyes. But his face has chiselled and fine features. Sharp. He's paler than me, which goes well with his hair. Moving on.

Tiger boy now looked at me and said, "New kid, you're cool. What's your name? I'm Duke." He smiled and waved at me.

Smiling back, I told him my name and then they started introducing themselves. David was the one going on about lions. Cheetah dude is Ezra and the glasses guy is Felix. Orca is Marvin, knew it started with M. I was close. His nemesis is Lance. What a fitting name.

Now it's the hawk boy's turn.

He looked at me, his indifferent gaze resting on me for a few seconds, and said, "I'm Kairn." And turned away.

He's weird. But I'm probably weirder.

"We call him Kai," David explained. He gave a curt nod.

We started talking. And talked for a while. Kairn didn't contribute to the chatter. He would look out the window sometimes, nod at his friends or glance at me, but would look away the very second. Yeah, I'm the new kid. I observed them too, answering their questions, but they mostly talked among themselves. Students kept filling in and two other guys joined us, Ryan and Liam. Some girls greeted them too. Maya and Lia, as they've introduced themselves to me, joined in. Then the bell finally rang. This was nice. I made friends. I can't tell about hawk boy, but everyone else seemed to like me.

When the class finally started, I noticed Kairn sitting in the column beside me, a row ahead of mine. Since it's not hot these days, they kept the windows open. The morning sunlight beamed through the curtains with a warm glow, giving the entire room a cosy feeling. Mesmerising. Everything didn't seem so grey for a few moments. The golden glow gave a new gleam to the world around. Like new, brighter shades painted the whole place anew.

Then I glanced at him. He seems to enjoy being alone. I know he gets along with everyone as I saw him talking to others when they talked to him, but he looked like he’d rather be alone. Maybe he was the mysterious cool guy type. Girls would like him. He's like the guys in those black and white aesthetic pictures. He would look great, though. That's what I thought. I didn't know why I found myself wondering. I just did. Maybe it's only curiosity.

He just has something about him. That'd draw someone in. Something subtle. Like when the faintest of fragrance from a flower can make you imagine a meadow or when the softest of melodies can make you feel a certain emotion. You can never quite understand. It just... happens sometimes. Maybe I'm just curious what that indifference hides.

Then, just for a second, he turned, and I looked directly at him, our eyes locked. Maybe he felt my gaze. Way to be inconspicuous, Marc. I hope he doesn't think I'm creepy. Looking at him, at that moment, I couldn't help but look at him. In those eyes. It almost froze me at the moment. I couldn't break away. Or my brain couldn't process if I should look away and make it more obvious or maintain this awkward eye contact.

The warm glint of light, his hair, his eyes. He looked gorgeous. The filtered sun on his face made him look so aesthetic. Damn, he even has perfect eyebrows. His eyes looked like pools of honey in the sunlight, which seemed to shine especially on him as if a spotlight, making the entire room fade into the background. There was a gleam in those eyes, which was almost instantly concealed by indifference. He actually has gentle eyes. Gentle and captivating.

He turned away almost immediately. Yep, he most definitely thinks I'm creepy.