Affurmation Chapter 2: Not-So-Ancient History
#2 of Affurmation Arc
Taylor had always been teased at his former school for being androgynous and girly. In a small town where there was only one social norm and no room for deviation, Taylor had grown accustomed to the mockery and ridicule. His mannerisms and personality were effeminate. He was soft-spoken, shy, and anti-social. He constantly got into fights with the more burly kids who took great delight in picking on him and torturing his petite frame. Standing only five feet and five inches tall and weighing in at less than one hundred pounds, the red panda wasn't exactly the paragon of manliness.
Yet, as Taylor picked his way carefully through the throng of students, he noticed that everyone had their own style at Scarborough, and nobody seemed even the slightest bit perturbed by the more eccentric styles. This gave him a small measure of hope, but at the same time, felt somehow overwhelming. With so many different people, would it be possible to find a social clique he could belong to? He was no longer looking for a similar school of fish in a pond, but an ocean.
The number on the ticket he'd been given read 323, which he guessed wasn't even remotely close to his first period class, seeing as all the lockers in the freshman hall were in the 100 range. With only ten minutes remaining to find his locker, unload his books and lunchbox, then find his first period class, panic began to settle in. His cheeks began to burn as he felt as though everyone's eyes were fixed upon him, and his eyes began to water. Then suddenly, a hand fell upon his shoulder, and he turned.
"Now there's the look of a totally lost first year, eh Jasper?" Wyatt laughed to the tall, enchanting-looking black wolf beside him.
"He reminds me of you, as a matter of fact," the other replied. "A doe-eyed greenhorn without a freakin' clue."
"Wyatt!" Taylor exclaimed blissfully, relieved and excited he'd run into the mongoose once more.
"You remembered my name," smirked the mongoose. "I'm flattered."
"What are you doing here?" asked Taylor.
"Myself and my best friend Jasper-" he gestured to the wolf beside him, "-are hall monitors. Some of the upper classmen get selected to patrol the halls, keep kids out of trouble, and make sure the newbies get where they need to go."
"Nice to meet you Jasper," the panda grinned awkwardly. Like Wyatt, Jasper was also very well dressed. His golden eyes seemed keen and cunning as if they could, with a single glance, cause you to involuntarily betray your darkest secrets. His long, red-streaked hair was tied back into a ponytail which hung loosely over one shoulder.
"Let's see your locker number," the wolf suggested. Taylor handed the paper to Jasper, who looked at it, then passed it to Wyatt. "Pretty whack, huh?"
Wyatt nodded. "Yeah, they put him with the 300s even though he's a first year. It's probably because he's a late transfer." Wyatt looked at Taylor and could easily tell the adolescent was confused. "Ya see, usually, all the freshman are in the same place, where we are now, in the 100 range. It helps keep things in some sort of order or whatever. The 200s are mostly second-years and third years. The 300s are a few third years and the fourth years like Jasper and me. I guess you drew the short straw and got lumped in with the rest of us oldies."
"No that's totally fine," Taylor reddened. "I just haven't a clue where the upperclassmen lockers are."
"C'mon," Wyatt replied. "We'll take you."
"No really, if you just give me directions..."
"I insist," the mongoose cut in. "It's our job as hall monitors anyway. We might as well be useful."
"For a change," Jasper added with a chuckle.
As the group walked up the two flights of stairs to the third floor of the building, Taylor listened in silence to the conversation between Wyatt and his friend Jasper. The two seemed like they had known each other for a number of years, and many jokes that passed between them seemed like the sort where you had to have been there to grasp the punch line.
"...and I'll be damned if they come to my house this year trying to get me to join the aikido club again," Wyatt was saying. "What a bore."
"Yeah, but you know they will. You're really athletic and ever since what you did for 'em two years ago, they're not going to forget it."
"Aw man, you know, I wish I hadn't been so eager to get involved with stuff back then."
Jasper snorted. "Oh, gee, it must be sooooo tough being in such high demand," he retorted sarcastically.
Wyatt gave the wolf a nudge. "Seriously, man, it's a pain though. They actually wait outside my house."
"What does Lin think about that? I mean, you're not just popular with the clubs and the activity circles. Now that we're third years, we'll be getting a lot more attention. From girls and such."
Wyatt chuckled. "I really don't care a fig what Lin thinks."
"Oh really?" the wolf jabbed before making a whip cracking sound effect.
"Oh, shut up, man, you're no better yourself."
"Hey, I for one am single now, and damn proud of it. High school relationships are a laugh-and-a-half anyway."
The conversation ended as they reached the top of the stairs. "323," Wyatt repeated to himself. "He's probably in our section."
"Isn't Lin's locked like... 330 or something?" Jasper said.
"Is it? I never really noticed," Wyatt admitted. The mongoose turned around. "We're almost there."
"Thanks for helping me out. Again. I owe you."
"Nah," Wyatt replied. "Like I said, it's our job."
The trio found Taylor's locker with little difficulty. There were very few upperclassmen in the hallway, mollifying the panda's worries of looking like a complete fool. "Sometimes these locks can be tricky," Wyatt said. "Do you know your combination?"
"I think they said it's written on the back of the slip," said the other.
Wyatt flipped the note over and nodded. "34, 17, 46. Jasper, you're the resident locksmith of Scarborough High, why don't you show him how it's done."
The wolf grinned. "Sometimes just putting the combination in wont cause the lock to open. It's advisable to put pressure on the back of the lock while you're turning the knob. You'll feel a click when you've hit the right number. Sometimes it'll be a digit or two off from what they tell you, for instance '34, 18, 45'. A few years ago, we didn't even have locks on our lockers. Last year there was a lot of vandalism so the school changed its policy mid-year. When we all came back from Christmas break we found the school locked down tight like some military facility or something. But don't worry about it. It's just school history."
"Not-so-ancient history," Wyatt said, his voice strangely dark. But as swiftly as his tone changed, it regained its spunk and charisma. "But hey, look, if you ever have any problems, find a hall monitor. We all wear yellow armbands like this one." The mongoose pointed at the band fixed just below his left shoulder.
Jasper opened Taylor's locker. "Viola," he said with a wink. "Anyway, there's about five minutes or so until class and me and Wyatt gotta hoof it all the way over to the student council room so we've gotta go. Your first class looks like it's math. Head back downstairs the way we came, then hang a left, go past the bathrooms, and it's your second right. Not sure who the teacher is for freshman math these days to be honest. Wyatt wouldn't either; he was never awake during it."
"You keep at it and I'll let you have it during practice later," Wyatt snarled playfully.
"Oh, my paws are trembling," laughed Jasper as the pair walked away.
Taylor emptied his books and lunchbox into his locker and took a deep breath. A rocky start, but ground down into soft sand by his new friends Wyatt and Jasper. All-in-all, an auspicious beginning, Taylor thought as he readied himself for his first day of high school.