Stand Out, Fit In

Silence engulfed the whole room, and Eirin was frozen still right where she was standing. 'Why am I in the same room as her? She clearly hates me,' she thought while taking deep breaths. Ever since she was a child, Eirin did not care for the hostility she received from other people solely because she always thought that she only needed Ava in her life. She did not try to fit in or please other people, but being hated was something that always affected her. 

This will be her first time trying to get along with a stranger. 'How does Ava do this effortlessly?' Eirin thought as she could feel the awkwardness in the air. 

Coleen then walked to her bed, not even glancing at Eirin who was only following her with her gaze. 

  "I—" 

The door opened again, cutting what Eirin was about to say. 

  "I almost forgot, your uniform and school necessities are all inside your closet," Anna said with a huge grin on her face. "Your class will start tomorrow at 8 in the morning. Mr. Blade will tell you your schedule since he will be your adviser, and Miss McGuffin right here is your classmate so you two better get along well. I have also placed a picture inside your drawer of how the proper uniform attire looks." Anna then bid Eirin goodbye after saying what she needed to say. 

The awkward silence worsens leaving Eirin no choice. 'Why is she so wary of me? Does she think it was my fault why Link and the others were late?' she thought as she sat on her soft and comfy bed. 

  "Uhm, hello? My name's Eirin." 

SILENCE, and nothing but silence despite Eirin's efforts of initiating a conversation with Coleen McGuffin. The other girl showed how she did not want to form any kind of bond with Eirin as she only continued looking at her notebook. 

  'So, this is why Ava wanted me to learn how to get along with other people. I don't know what to do,' Eirin thought in panic as she pretended to be fine and lay on the bed, staring at the clouds on the ceiling. 'That reminds me!' She quickly got up and opened her closet. Her belongings were already there. It was the baggage packed by her grandmother. A light blue suitcase that Eirin once used back in middle school for their school trip. 

After pulling it out of the closet, Eirin opened it and saw Ava's photo on a picture frame on top of her clothes causing her to smile. Staring at her precious friend's face gave her strength. 'This won't do. Ava will surely scold me if she learns that I'm being stubborn,' Eirin thought as she glanced at Coleen. 'But what if that girl genuinely doesn't want to get involved with me? I can't force her to get along with me.' 

That thought made Eirin anxious and she started biting her fingernails. Even while feeling anxious, Eirin decided to put Ava's photo on her bedside table. She thought that she would figure things out soon, just not today. Eirin also started putting her clothes into the closet while avoiding making noises that could disturb her roommate, afraid that she might anger her. 

  'It's like walking on eggshells.' 

After tidying up, as soon as she lay down on her bed, even without planning to sleep yet, the exhaustion caught up to her and her eyes shut as she fell into a deep slumber. It was not soon after that she woke up and realized that her roommate was already gone, and the sun was already out. 

  "What time is—" 

Her eyes widened as she quickly stood causing her to fall off her bed after seeing the wall clock above the window. Only 20 minutes left before her first class starts. Eirin rushed to the bathroom and did her best to prepare as much as she could. 

  'Did my roommate try to wake me up and I didn't wake up?' she thought while showering quickly. "No, I bet she didn't bother waking me up at all. She probably didn't care." 

After showering, Eirin went out with only a towel covering her body as she pulled out her uniform from her closet. The teenage girl could not even dry her hair properly as she opened the drawer of her bedside table and looked at the photo Anna had left. She then wore her short-sleeved shirt with a left pocket and a school emblem on it and tucked it into her black and white pleated mini skirt reaching just above her knee. Due to rushing, her long black socks got stuck in the closet when its door closed and Eirin tried to pull it out without any thought, but instead of getting it, it was torn into pieces. 

  "Are you serious?" she said out in disbelief. 

When she looked at the clock, she could not bother with it anymore and decided to wear her short white socks with the black brogue shoes provided with the uniform. After that, Eirin tried to comb her hair the best she could and wore the black ribbon to finish her look. 

Eirin grimaced as she stared at the closet's mirror, looking at her reflection. "This uniform looks too cute. It doesn't suit me at all," she said, but then realized that she didn't have the time to complain. 

  "Only 5 minutes left!" 

Eirin picked up what looked like her bag near the bedside table and rushed towards the door, but she stole a glance back at Ava's photo and said, "I'm off now," with a smile, she left the room. 

Eirin rushed to the hallway while wondering if there were even things inside her bag. "Wait a minute, where are the classrooms anyway?" She stopped in the garden between the dorms and looked around. There were a few students, and they were walking towards somewhere. The teenage girl followed everyone as she rummaged through her bag. 

  'There must be a note or something here that could tell me where my room is,' she thought while continuing her walk without looking in front which quickly resulted in Eirin bumping into someone. 

  "I'm so—" Eirin almost bit her tongue after seeing the person in front of her. 'Of all people, why him!?' she thought as she backed away while not letting Shade out of her vision. 

  "What are you looking at?" Shade's tone sounded so crude causing annoyance to Eirin, but he was the only hope she could have to find her classroom. However, Eirin didn't have the guts to ask him for help and just decided to follow him like a creepy stalker. Shade's intuition caused him to look back at Eirin, but the teenage girl acted as if it was all just a coincidence. 

  'Number 209,' Eirin thought as they arrived in front of a classroom. She blinked lots of times after the door abruptly opened, revealing a good-looking man who looked like he was in his mid-20s. He has short golden-brown hair reaching to his shoulders that he pushes back with his huge hand. 

  "You're late again, Shade Cromwell," the man said, but Shade ignored him, causing the man to shift his gaze to Eirin. His rose-pink eyes sparkled at the sight of the teenage girl. "You did not tell me you will be bringing our new friend." 

Shade rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue, ignoring what the beautiful man said, and entered the room without waiting for Eirin. 

The man smiled. "Come now, let's get inside the classroom," he said. When they got inside, the bright light above caused Eirin to squint as she saw other students inside. "Since Shade is late for the first day of class, I shall deduct points." 

  'Is he the teacher? Mr. Blade?' Eirin thought as if she could not stop staring at him. 

  "Now, beside me here is our new classmate. Will you please introduce yourself to the class, Miss?" The man smiled and gave the podium to Eirin. 

Eirin gulped as she stood on the podium in front of all the students inside the spacious classroom. It was not the typical classroom she would often see in high schools back in her hometown. The seats were raised by line and the seats at the back were the highest. There she saw Shade who was not even looking at her and had his head lying on his desk. 

  'Is he seriously sleeping?' the teenage girl thought, but she soon realized that everyone was already staring at her. 

  "My name is Eirin Luxfield," she introduced and before she could say anything else, she received a round of applause from the other students. 'I hope that I won't end up being hated here,' she wished as she forced a smile. 

  "And I am Arthur Blade. I will be your class adviser for this school year," the dazzling man introduced himself after Eirin. "Now, where shall Eirin sit?" Mr. Blade looked around through the whole classroom. "Oh, there's an empty seat beside Coleen." His finger pointed to the seat right in front of Shade Cromwell. 

  'I don't really want to sit there,' Eirin thought. 

  "Sir!" A girl sitting in the front row raised her hand. "Why would you make such a pretty girl like her sit beside that weirdo? They don't match," most of them laughed after she said that. "Wouldn't it be better for her to sit beside a pretty girl like me?" she said with her round hazel eyes looking down on Eirin. 

  "Stop laughing, class. It is not a good attitude to make fun of your classmate," Mr. Blade said while shaking his head, but this girl with hazel eyes and shiny brown wavy hair crossed her arms and giggled. "Kara, please stop teasing your friends." 

The smile on Kara's face vanished after hearing that. "There is no way I am friends with that weirdo," she said while rolling her eyes. 

  'What's with this weird tension in the air?' Eirin thought as she gulped. "I think I'll just sit on the vacant seat," she said, breaking the awful silence in the classroom. 'I really didn't want to sit in front of that guy, but I need to get along with my roommate,' she thought while walking through the stairs towards her seat, wondering why they had to make these elevated seats. 

Mr. Blade smiled after Eirin took her seat. "Well then, let us start our class."  no