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Chapter XII

SCHOLASTIC

EX

Waking up early on a Monday morning was usually ordinary for me back when I was at Delta, but I honestly didn't want to get up early to go to school. I don't know why until Hunter explained it to me that school wasn't something I should be excited for unless I was a "teacher's pet" or really loved "homework". Whatever the hell those two things were - he told me he'd explain it to me the ride there - I think it would be better for me if I didn't get associated with them, lest I lose the illusion that I am normal.

Hunter woke me up at seven and told me it was time to get ready. Groggily, I had opened my eyes and flopped out of the bed, stretching my body and wings, which were feeling much better than last night thanks to Hunter's grandmother, before getting to my dresser. I threw on some skinny khaki pants, a blue and white striped sweater, and grabbed my thick coat before heading upstairs for breakfast. The fox was already there enjoying a plate of warm pancakes and bacon by the time I took a seat and devoured my food.

His grandmother was in the kitchen with us working on breakfast for herself and his grandfather while he got dressed. She hummed to herself while she cooked and smiled fondly at us while we ate before returning to her tasks.

We actually got a lucky break last night/ this morning. Thatch had his grandmother on the phone before I got inside while he had been driven down the street and cleared up our trouble in no time. Unfortunately, our luck ended there. They shortened our curfew to ten now, which didn't seem to bum Hunter out as much as I thought it did. He told me afterwards that though we couldn't really help staying out late, we still needed to be punished for not informing them about the problem beforehand. So, yeah, we deserved to be punished just for that, and he assured me it was only temporary until we earned our previous curfew back.

I took a bite of my bacon before turning to Hunter. "So, is there anything I should know about school here?"

The fox gulped down his food then looked at me, jabbing a fork into his stack of pancakes. "It's very simple: Stay away from the athletic idiots or else you'll lose brain cells, nerds and geeks are your friends and are probably the best crowd to hang around, and don't do drugs."

"Sounds easy," I smiled, which he only responded with a grunt and a shake of his head.

Hunter's grandmother giggled softly while she tended to the messy dishes. "Oh, don't sugar coat it for him, dear. Even I know there's a lot more to high school than meets the eye." She spoke sagely.

I turned to look at her. "Is it that bad?"

Her warm smile was betraying--was she happy I asked the question or was she just trying to make me feel better? "Well, even though I haven't been in high school for a great many years, I know how teenagers act nowadays. In school, they're rebels, egotistical bigots, and lazy."

Hunter blinked. "Grandma, I don't think I've ever heard you use the word 'bigot'." He sounded astounded.

She giggled again. "Well, he does need the truth, Hunter."

"Point taken," he sighed, finishing his breakfast with me. "C'mon. We need to get going before seven-thirty."

"Why?" I asked.

He smiled. "Cause I know you'll be a total wreck if I don't show you around the place before hand. That, and I can give you the lowdown of who to trust and who not to trust."

Point taken, I replied in my mind. I wiped my mouth clean of all crumbs then grabbed my bag and followed Hunter to his grandfather's car. His was still being fixed up since the little escapade earlier. At least his grandfather had a car similar to his and allowed Hunter to use it for a while until his returned from the shop.

Once our bags were in the backseat, we hopped up front and he got us out of the driveway and down the street in no time. Neither of us seemed to be fully awake this morning, but he assured me that was how most high school students felt, yet I hadn't set foot in the place yet. It was an odd feeling, to say the least, but I honestly couldn't think of anyone better than to show me the ropes than Hunter. If there was something I needed to know about, I was sure he could answer it with an honest response and give me the full details about it. Even his grandmother was honest with her bold statements--she seemed to know her fair share of school despite not being a student anymore.

What did surprise me was how she and her husband managed to convince the administration and board that I was their recently adopted son but had gone through basic school enough to manage up to high school. I suppose there was a reason for all those tests and exams the past week, then. They were checking my IQ and now I was being allowed into the semester as a relatively normal student with no secret past or crazy guys hunting me to the ends of the Earth. Glad was I when they left those details out. They said they knew friends in high places and managed a forged document with false and true information--even a record of my adoption and forged past. How they managed to get all this stuff in just a little over a week had me a little scared as to what else they could do, but I wasn't going to worry too much about that seeing as I was a normal person in the eyes of society.

Everything I needed was all in my backpack. Binder, course textbooks, pencils and pens, every document I would need to turn into the administration to assure them I was not some weird science experiment, and lunch money. As long as I don't screw this up, I would walk among other teens my age without worry.

Well, that was a bit of a lie.

I still had a pair of wings to worry about, and they laid nestled against my back but wanted to be free and stretch. It was slightly annoying to me, but I had no choice in the matter. If someone saw them, I was left with two possible outcomes: they would either think my dad was a gryphon and my mom a dog, or they would call me some sort of genetic freak and POOF! the Division would be right there to burst through the ceiling to snatch me up or kill me on the spot and ask questions later.

Hunter turned his attention from the traffic to look at me, finding a slightly concerned face staring at his glove compartment. "What's wrong?"

I didn't meet his eyes but sighed. "How am I going to hide these?" I gestured to my wings and gave them a little rustle.

He looked back at the road. "Don't worry about those. It's winter right now so that thick coat should be enough to keep anyone from getting suspicious. As long as you don't move them while we're in the middle of class you'll be fine."

"What about the physical education?"

He smirked. "Won't have to worry about that either. They got you out of that, so you can normal classes and not have to worry about changing out." "He smiled. "Don't worry, dude. If I know my grandparents, I know that they've covered all the bases so you won't have to answer any awkward questions to some administrator."

I believed him, which wasn't too surprising. I had trusted him from the moment I found myself lying in that bed a little over a week ago. If I didn't trust him, I wouldn't be here right now. I could still be wandering the streets looking for shelter, food, and friends. I could've left his home once my body was able and never look back, but I didn't because I knew, somehow, that I could trust him and, so far, my intuition hasn't backfired on me since then. Sure, I got into a fight with some robbers and got my wing injured, but I still wasn't regretting being his friend and trusting him with my biggest secrets. The fact that he hadn't told anyone about them reassured me that he was the good guy I needed as a friend. Whatever happens from here on out, I could only hope that I had his support.

"I trust you," I mumbled under my breath. The words themselves made my body feel lighter and not so tense anymore. The fist that had been lying in my lap uncurled. I finally slouched in my seat and let out a long breath.

Relax, I told myself. If things go south then just run. It sounded like a good idea, but I did not want to run in case things didn't turn out the way I had hoped. I would be right back at square one.

At least Hunter was here to help me. I trusted his grandparents, but he was the go-to guy I had right now to talk to about anything, hopefully, and trust he could help me make it all work out as planned. The last thing I needed to do right now was panic and look like a nervous wreck before setting foot in the school, and I was sure that wasn't something a normal person would do even if it was their first day. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Things couldn't go so bad considering how lucky I was with the circumstances: my wings were hidden and could be tucked in all day, no one could see them, and the Division had absolutely no idea where to find me. For now, all I had to do was blend in and make some more friends like Hunter and no one should look at me any differently.

The entire ride seemed to be relatively silent, aside from the radio playing early morning hits and the occasional honk of the horn from a car far ahead of us. We passed the large portion of the city and entered the suburbs of the city, passing by several more houses until I could scope the school out even at the distance we were at.

Christ, the entire place looked like one gigantic octopus! Not literally, but the main building was easily two stories tall, had a massive parking lot in the front, and already had buses and cars pulling up front. There were buildings just about the size of the main building, which I guessed were different wings of the school. I saw that the gymnasium was near the back, probably almost half the size of the main building, and the stadium in the back topped it all off as being a large dome with the roof apparently removed. From the sidewalk, I noticed they had poles with white banners reading West Grove - Home of the White Tigers! on the front. I assumed that was their mascot or something considering there was an emblem on the front of the main building that had a snarling white tiger baring some pretty sharp fangs at us. The banners lead the way to the front of the building, but Hunter had to park near the middle due to his parking spot being anywhere but near the door.

Suddenly, my chest began to tighten. My heart picked up paced once I stepped out, and I had a feeling I knew exactly what it was. Anxiety. To think, the guy created to be the perfect being with all these special abilities and crap was scared to go to high school. I was almost sure if the Director saw me in this pitiful state, he would be ashamed of me and be forced to start over with another Project. I didn't even want to think about that because it was so painful.

Hunter appeared behind me and helped me with my things, slinging the bag over my shoulder and leading me on. He seemed so calm and collected, and he had reason to be since he went here basically every day and knew the people unlike me. He could lead me in circles if he wanted to, but we had to get stuff done and not make me have to go through a maze just to find one thing. I was already nervous enough, and I didn't need people looking at me thinking I was some sort of weirdo just because I never went to a regular school before. I wonder, what would their reaction be if I told them my secret?

With a tug on my arm, Hunter pulled me towards the menacing structure every other student was walking into. "Come on, you bulk of fur! It's not that bad!" He stated, pulling my seemingly immobile body towards the building.

"Easy for you to say! You weren't born from a test tube and given all this weird shit to hide!" I almost sounded bratty and angry, which wasn't my intention, and I felt back the second after I said it. He didn't deserve to be spoken to like that.

He sighed and stopped me near the front doors. "You said you trusted me. Do you really trust me?"

That question held so much weight I almost thought it was going to crush me where I stood, and I couldn't figure out why. He stood there looking into my uncertain eyes and made me - no, forced me - to think about that question. I could fly away right here right now and move to a new city and try to make my life there and not have to deal with this situation, but I couldn't help but wonder, where would that leave me? I would be no different then than I was now. I'd be a complete coward who runs away from his problems without facing them first hand. Hunter knew me better than most others and could spill my secret out to anyone he wanted but chose not to because my life was on the line and knew that my secret was one no one needed to know besides him.

I felt a thin trail of sweat trickle down my face, and it felt so cold that my body lost warmth and stood stiff for several long, seemingly endless moments. His eyes pierced into my soul as they always did, but this stare kept me grounded in place as if I was some sort of statue trying to contemplate my life decisions. He trusted me enough, so why didn't I give him my full trust back? He was doing this for me, and I was a lousy guy for not making this easy on him but instead I'm making this a chore for him.

At that moment, things seemed to return to normal. The color returned to my body and I could feel my heart returning to a steady tempo. My body was still warm but, from the cold air, that vanished soon as well. I blinked, looking back to his stern and honest gaze.

I gulped and nodded. "I trust you, Hunter."

That was the moment where I felt another great weight lift from my shoulders. I felt really light, but my wings still laid nestled against my back, unmoving and silent. We stood there for several more long moments, exchanging sure glances at each other, before he finally smiled and lead me inside. "And that's what I was waiting for."

Even as we walked through the front doors, I was still nervous about this place, but Hunter was here for me, so I couldn't lose my cool. I trusted him fully, and trusted me in return. I wasn't going to betray his trust by acting like some scared kid walking into some large convenience store all by themself, even though part of me was feeling exactly like that. We passed several students on the way to the office - some spoke to each other with giggles and laughs while others had funny ways of friendship, like punching each other on the shoulder or shoving each other in what seemed to be a playful manner. Regardless, the others I saw seemed to be very open with what they were feeling - a cheetah girl walked right past me and threw me a casual smile, giving me a wink and wave before swaying her hips and moving on, and I looked over to a group of guys and girls dressed in all black who just stared at me with cold, emotionless eyes that had my skin crawling.

Christ, this place was like a fucking buffet!

From the weird looks, to the weird people, to the weird atmosphere, I felt like I had stepped into another world. It didn't feel extravagant, though. No matter how far I seemed to walk, I was still in a normal society where this stuff was commonplace and I was the new kid who had no clue how things worked here. I still wanted to turn around and run back out the door, yet my will and pride were keeping me from attempting such an act.

Adults walked past carrying large stacks of papers and files while I saw few officers patrol the halls of the school but were so casual about it, yet they made me the most nervous out of everyone else. I couldn't help but wonder if some of them secretly worked for the Division and were looking for me through schools and just happened to know I was going to this one, so seeing officers walk around the campus, as if this was normal, only caused my senses to stay on high alert. My wings fidgeted against my jacket to which, I hope no one noticed. I took deep, slow breaths through my nose while we walked past the officers and hoped that my disguise would hold if they were from Delta.

They walked past and paid us no mind, aside from a wave and a smile. Okay, my mood lightened up just a little, but not by much. I was still nervous, and I had a feeling that wasn't going to change for a while.

We made several trips around the school before classes started, which I was thankful for despite the walk from place to place. First was the office. I had to file my paperwork up close and get my schedule for the rest of the semester - most of my classes seemed to be "core" related to which I had Calculus, Chemistry, Government, and American Literature. I had two elective classes in-between Calculus and Chemistry and between Government and American Literature - German I for the first two and Multimedia Design and Publications for the last two. While I looked at the schedule, in my head I factored in time between each class, realizing I would have just about an hour in each class with only some ten minutes somewhere at the end of each. Hunter told me that school ended around three-thirty and that I would be spending the majority of my day sitting in a desk listening to someone lecture me about the importance of mole ratios for an hour.

Great, not only did I know the majority of the material already on my plate, but I was going to have to have it taught to me once again by people who didn't teach like the scientists/teachers at the Delta Division. I already assumed that most of the teachers here weren't very enthusiastic about teaching and that some couldn't exactly teach properly, and Hunter agreed once I asked him. Yeah, this was going to be a painfully long semester.

Hallway after hallway we went through. I made a photographic map in my head to where each teacher was and keeping special note of who I was supposed to go to next once my class was done. This place certainly looked much larger on the inside rather than the outside considering there was indeed a second level with even more classrooms and students walking around. I noticed some students looked more normal than others with just plain T-shirts, jeans, and a backpack carrying their stuff. I would've thought a school this large would have more students walking through the halls, but Hunter informed me most were probably hanging out in the cafeteria, or band people were in their band room, or that some were in the gymnasium just hanging around. Whatever the case was, at least he and I had elbow room for the time being and didn't have to worry about a massive crowd until the bell rang. From what the clock told me, we had just about five minutes.

We walked back to the main hall where we entered before he had to stop. "Alright, we may not share Calculus, Government, Multimedia, and American Lit, but we do have every other class together."

"So, what do I do now?" I asked confusedly.

He smiled, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Just go to your first class. Once the bell rings for you to leave, you just get to Chemistry and don't worry about anything else, alright? It's not as bad as you think with that big brain of yours." The fox chuckled. "Just don't act like the oddball; if the teacher asks you the answer for a question, just answer it and be done."

I waited until a small cluster of students walked right past us, just brushing my shoulder. "Alright, alright. Just act...normal..." I mumbled against the collar of my coat.

Suddenly, the bell buzzed right above us, which only sent my stomach into a knot. It wasn't because of the bell but because Hunter patted my shoulder once last time and headed to class, and I found myself walking alone, in spirit, to my first class. I had other students crowding around me going in the same direction. Most of them didn't seem to care that I was here and just assumed I had been here since the beginning of the year - the ones who knew I never came to this school were the ones who gave me the questionable look that had my blood turning ice cold and had my body shaking just slightly.

Act normal, goddammit! I yelled at myself in my mind. Nothing looks weirder than looking nervous as hell among other students! I just wanted to disappear, to which I probably could if I could control my transparency, and go there and reappear and act as if nothing had happened. Just go to class, get all the crap the teacher wanted to get done, and act like a normal student who was here to make friends and be a normal, totally non-testtube created freakazoid who didn't belong.

Everything just felt so tight and crowded. I wanted to just push some people aside just to get to the classroom, but there were too many to get past and, so, I was forced to go at a snail's pace to my class. All around me I could hear slight conversations about others. Apparently this group of girls were organizing a trip to the mall for some shopping; a few guys were thinking of having a gaming tournament at their house after school; some band kids weren't looking forward to being chewed out by their director for their performance at last Friday's football game. I guess I was right about one thing at least: this school was incredibly diverse with its students, and I still had no idea where I fit it among them. There was just an incredible amount to understand after being "home-schooled", so to speak. They acted with more personality than what I was used to back at Delta whereas the scientists and researchers seemed just completely stoic and boring most of the time.

Suddenly, my ears caught a conversation that I figured was about me. It was another group of girls who seemed to be interested in me, or, that was what I had picked up on. For some reason their tone seemed playful in nature, and I couldn't figure out why.

"See the guy over there?" one of them asked the group. I figured they were just slightly behind me. "He looks cool. What's his name?"

"I dunno," another replied. "Haven't seen him around. Those glasses make him look a bunch more hot though." Her voice was smooth and alluring, yet it also made my skin crawl for some reason.

A third spoke up. "Wonder what he's into."

"Maybe some really...fun stuff," a fourth entered.

The hair on the back of my neck just stayed at the very end, and I just wanted to get out of this situation as soon as possible. Re-adjusting my glasses, I picked up my pace just enough to help ease some students away without just pushing them aside completely. Soon, their voices faded and began to blend in with the crowd of other students. I was glad I didn't have to listen to them anymore, but their voices still sent chills up and down my spine, and I didn't like that. I hadn't even seen their faces, but a part of me didn't want to.

Before I realized it, my body had already gone to autopilot and had taken me straight to the classroom. I must've been a few minutes early since there were only a few students in the class, or maybe the class was really just ten students, with me as eleven. My theory, after taking a few steps in, was quickly proved wrong once more students entered. Knowing I had plenty of eyes on me, I decided to pull up my coat and head to the teacher's desk. The rabbit was already working on homework by the looks of things - and I could tell most of the grades were horrible - by the time I made it to her desk.

She looked up from her desk of papers and adjusted her glasses to look at me. She looked pretty young, probably late twenties, but also looked serious and smart. Her look pierced right into my soul, it seemed, and I felt all the fur on my body stand on end again. The rabbit shifted in her black power suit before turning to face me.

"Well, you must be the fine addition to my class, mister Blake," she spoke very authoritatively and had me very surprised. "Very nice of you to join us, though it is rather late in the semester, or, I'd like to refer to it as a late arrival. You've missed quite a lot of work, and, with my homework policy, I will need you to make it all up if you wish to receive a proper grade in my class.

I nodded respectively to her. "I intend to make up any work you need me to, Mrs. Dautia. I know its late, but I do intend to do all my work in any class I must to pass."

She raised a brow and cracked a slight smile. "I've yet to have a student make a statement as bold as yours. If you remain true to your word, we will have no further issues regarding your grades, am I clear?"

"Crystal, ma'am," I nodded back.

"Good. For now, you will just have to bear with the lesson I have in store for today. This is a difficult class, and I treat it college level, so take as many notes as you see fit, I do not check them, and meet me after school if you have any questions or concerns. All homework related packets and such will be distributed to you at the end of the class, or would you like them now?"

"I'd hardly want to deviate from your lesson, Mrs. Dautia," I smiled. "The end of class is fine. It'll be completed by tomorrow."

She stifled a giggle. "If you can pull off a feat such as that with the amount of work I have ready for you, then you will certainly be a model student of mine, but I shall hold judgement. Please, mister Blake, take a seat in the back. If any students ask you too many questions, ignore them and focus on me. Move along."

Just like that, I nodded to her and took my seat near the back of the class. Of course, I had two dozen pairs of eyes on me right from the get-go. Who am I? Why am I here so late? Am I new? The questions seemed to get more muffled as I neared the furthest desk in the back and fished out my books just as the bell rang. Part of me, well, it was a rather big chunk of me, had a feeling I was going to have similar conversations to the rest of my teachers throughout the day and, by the end of it all, I was going to have more homework on my hands than I honestly would like to have.

Once I was situated, Mrs. Dautia stepped up in front of the class with a marker in hand, looking rather serious and dark while she examined the class as if they were specimens ready for testing, yet she was just missing the maniacal smile.

"Alright, children, before we begin on todays lesson, let's talk about how bad your homework and test grades were last Friday."

With a soft groan from the class, I began my first day of high school.

The next three blocks seemed to be three of the longest hours of my entire life, or, at least, my high school life that is.

I didn't feel like I had learned anything in the past few hours. All of what the past few hours felt like was just one long review, a terrible one at that, and it made my head ache every time I heard something repeated again and again...and again. I just walked through the halls towards the lunch room completely ignoring everyone giving me a weird look and instead just tried to return to trying to forget the past few hours. Every time I thought about what the teacher had said, I just felt this twinge near the back of my head, and it was pure agony. Compiled onto my growing headache, I had a pile of papers stacked inside my binder that was just summed up in one word: homework. To me, it felt like a pound and a half of worksheets, packets, projects...I mean, just the whole nine yards of an even more painful headache that awaited me once I got home, and I wasn't looking forward to any of it.

Great, now that I was thinking about it, my head started to hurt more again.

Maybe one period of lunch would help ease the boatload of stress that was already on my plate. Suddenly, the thought of food did make things just a little more comforting. I would see Hunter again - he was a familiar face I could easily stick with.

Books tucked under my arm, I pushed open the doors of the cafeteria and walked inside a buffet of students. Uh, I wasn't really going to eat them. They were just diverse as per the normal around here. The table close to me was filled with those students in black, in the far corner I noticed the group of girls from earlier were chatting up a bunch of guys - among the various noises around the room, I couldn't focus on what they were saying but one of them looked my way, and that was enough for me to keep moving and act like nothing had happened. I walked past a table filled with sports guys who were talking about how bad their coaches were or how their parents didn't care how late they were out. The next was filled with students reading sheet music and imitating playing a musical instrument - one mentioned how he was about to bomb his chair test today while the rest chuckled. The next few tables were relatively normal, or as normal as things got around here...I think. Students were just enjoying their food while giving me the occasional glance my way before returning to their meal in peace.

I gulped. I felt like I had a million eyes on me even though more students were coming in through the same door I had. This was humiliating even as I passed a solid, white painted stone wall that cut off my visual from everyone else. Letting out a long sigh of relief until I had to go back out there, I grabbed a tray and began to pick out my food. Once I had loaded up on the basic food groups, I paid for my food and entered the weird cyclone of a high school lunchroom again.

Suddenly, I felt someone drop their hand on my shoulder right as I stepped out, nearly causing me to fling my tray towards the ceiling. I grew angry all the sudden since I was already on the verge of snapping, so I turned around and-

"Oh, sorry, Ex," Hunter apologized. "Didn't mean to scare you."

On top of my headache, my heart began to hurt now. I don't know why, but I just felt this sudden tug at my heart that made it sink just ever so slowly that I felt instant regret after getting mad at Hunter. My body felt cold for a second until I blinked and readjusted my glasses, trying to find the words to speak.

I swallowed. "No, no, no. I'm sorry for almost snapping at you. That was kinda my fault."

"Still, I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that, but you look stiff as a board," he commented. "Everything alright?"

I nodded solemnly. "Yeah, just a crap ton of homework and stress to worry about."

He chuckled, paying for his meal and leading me to a table. "Hey, this is your first day, you can't have that on your mind yet!"

"Why not?"

He chuckled again as our table came into view. I noticed a few people already there. "Cause its only your first day! You can't act like that until you're a senior!"

I blinked. "I thought I was already one."

The fox almost looked like he was about to argue against my comment but stopped himself. "Right. Fair point." He took his seat at the now filled table with me and gestured to the others sitting with us. "Well, Alex, I'd like to introduce you to the crew!"

I glanced over at the other people sitting with us; a total of six including Hunter and I to make eight. There was an otter dressed rather conservatively in a vest, rolled up sleeves, and khaki pants; a slender wolfess dressed casually in a purple hoodie and tight jeans; a fox much like Hunter except he wore a green shirt with "Green Machine" along the side and a pair of tight jeans and I noticed he wore a necklace with a wooden gear on it; next to him sat colt as slim as the fox was who wore white shorts and a loose black shirt; in front of the colt sat an orca with a build very similar to theirs and wore a pair of fitted jeans and a red button up with the sleeves rolled up; finally I noticed the cheetah guy who looked at book rather intently and wore a navy blue V-neck and khaki shorts. They had all stopped eating their food to take a look at me - the husky in a black peacoat, long pants, fitted shirt, and glasses who was keeping a pair of powerful wings tucked away under it all.

The fox with the colt waved over to me. "Hey there. You can call me Raiyn. Yeah, I know, it's a weird name. Don't ask me, ask my parents."

The wolfess held up a hand. "Call me Natasha." Her voice seemed blunt yet also confident and appropriate despite looking very tough underneath her exterior. I don't know why she had that vibe, but I wasn't one to question her motives considering I had my own fair share of secrets I had to deal with.

Next to introduce himself was the cheetah. "Oh, I'm Hayden." He smiled genuinely towards me.

After him was the colt. "I'm Kain." His tone seemed weak and lackluster; he almost sounded void of any sort of emotion to me.

Not long after his introduction, the otter gulped down a small portion of his food before addressing me. "I'm Benjamin Kormick, but you can just call me Benji. At least, that's what everyone calls me anyways."

Finally, the orca sipped his water and turned to me and smiled. "I'm Matthew Korma, but call me Matt. Just an average guy, so you don't have to worry about a massive backstory behind me or anything like that."

I made sure to repeat their names in my head several times. Raiyn...Kain...Hayden...Natasha...Benji...and Matt. They all seemed to fit in with each other fairly well. Whereas one was lacking one personality, the other made up for it by having the missing half of their minds. Only about two of them, Raiyn and Benji, seemed rather outgoing and open with their personalities. That was only from looking at them and hearing their tone of voice for a few seconds. Everyone else seemed to be a book with only a few pages written in, and the author had just left most of their personalities blank throughout the rest of the book but, then again, perhaps that was intentional.

I gave them a smile in return and sat near the end with Hunter. "Thanks. Well, you can call me Ex...Er, Alexander. Alex is fine too."

I saw Natasha raise a brow. "So, Alex, are you new around here?" Her tone was much more light and fluid than before.

Nodding, I gave her a curious look. "Yeah. What gave you that idea?"

The wolfess simply giggled. "I've gone to this school system for the past twelve years, dude. You think I would know a face like yours if you were a part of my class."

"Wait, I don't think I have any classes with you," I recalled, trying to remember who all sat in my classes thus far.

She shook her head. "Not those kinds of classes. Class. I'm talking about the class you're in now - the senior class."

Now it was coming back to me. "Oh, I see. Yeah, I guess you're right."

The lupine gestured to the others at the table. "I've known these guys since pre-school, so, yeah, I should know you but don't cause you're new. Where did you previously go to school from anyways?"

I gulped as I thought of a response.

"He went to Haywood High," Hunter chimed in. "You know, the school who kicked our butts two years ago?"

She nodded. "Gotcha."

The fox, Raiyn, decided to enter the conversation. "What brought you here then?"

"Oh, just looking for a better education is all," I replied, not lying and not telling all the truth at the same time. "And it was pretty boring there most days."

Good thing Hunter broke in at that moment earlier else I was sure that I would've said something rather stupid and unconvincing that would make them question me and whether or not I was telling them the truth. I didn't know if they had as curious of a mind as Hunter did, save for Natasha and Raiyn who seemed to be the most curious about my life, and I was fine with not lying and not telling the exact truth right now. Until I could see that there was a clear green light for me to go more in depth with my conversation, I couldn't trust anyone at this table except for Hunter.

They all seemed to lose interest in their food and paid more attention to me, which put me in a rather uncomfortable spot. The colt, Kain, eventually turned his gaze away from me and returned to reading a book he pulled from under his seat. The fox, Raiyn, started to talk to the orca, Matt, about last night's homework problems. It was clear that Hayden was tired and wanted to sleep as he soon put his head down and closed his eyes.

The only ones who seemed interested in casual conversation were Natasha, Benji, Hunter and I. The otter switched placed with Hayden so he could sit closer to the conversation yet wasn't rude about it in the slightest. He and she seemed, at least to me, comfortable enough to be around yet still unsettling due to my lack of knowledge about them. I gave them as honest answers as possible, but I knew all too well that if I gave away any sensitive knowledge about myself that could prove terrible for my life here I would suffer if they really weren't the trustworthy type.

"So, tell us about yourself, Alex," Benji continued. "Did you grow up around here by any chance?"

I shook my head. "No. Actually..." I looked at Hunter. "...I grew up in...Washington. Kinda of used to the cold, I guess."

"How long?" Natasha asked.

"Until I was around ten or so, but my dad got a new higher paying job and, before I knew it, I was living in this city at just ten."

Benji nodded at my response. "I gotcha. My cousin went through the same thing, except he lives in Tennessee now. What's his job?"

I hesitated longer than I should've. "He's a businessman. Makes deals in cities around the world with companies and such."

"Cool," Natasha smiled. "What about your mom?"

My face went blank for a second once I realized I technically didn't have one. I knew she didn't intend to hurt me with her question, but I couldn't help but feel a little hurt that I had no mom to talk about. All I knew for a family was my genetic father, wherever the hell he was. The rest of me was just spliced DNA from a variety of species. Could I call science my mother? Would that work?

Wait, I got an idea.

"Well, I don't really have a mother," that was true even as they ceased moving. "I have two dads." At this point, I was talking about Professor Alexander and Blake. "My other dad is a scientist. Works abroad mostly, so I don't see him much either."

Benji stared at me wide eyes but had his mouth closed, much like Natasha. "I see. I didn't realize you had gay dads. I'm cool with that."

Well, they weren't really gay, but I kept that to myself. I had to think of something, so I really just went off of a gut feeling that I could hope would work, in which it totally did. The less they knew, the better.

Natasha decided to move things along before things got too quiet. "Alright, alright. So, if your dads are constantly traveling around from place to place, does that mean you live alone most of the time?"

I shook my head, even though I wanted to say she was right in some form. "Not usually at the moment. Hunter is letting me live with him for the time being until at least one comes home. Since they don't stay home too often, they didn't feel it was necessary to buy a house, so, instead, they just bought an apartment near the city and told me to only go there for emergencies and stuff since Hunter is allowing me to live at his place."

They both nodded, but I could almost feel their sense of I-know-this-guy-is-lying. I couldn't blame them, though. Anyone could tell I was nervous and was dodging the truth left and right but was still managing to stay on for dear life.

From that point until lunch was over, I was bombarded with questions from the two of them, and a few from the others who weren't as engaging as these two were. They ranged from how old I was, what I want to be when I grow up, was I gay, what hobbies I had, and various others. There wasn't really anything truly personal that made me think hard on my choice of words. Until the bell rang, I was thoroughly pleased with how things went even after just meeting them for the first time, but was I able to trust them yet? Hell no. It would take much longer than one sitting and conversation to earn my trust that quickly. Hunter was the only exception; he hit me with his car, gave me shelter, healed me, gave me a place to live, AND had a conversation with me. I didn't want to be hit six more times just to trust these guys - no, I just wanted to talk to them as often as possible and gain their trust so it served vice versa.

We wished each other a goodbye for the time being, but Hunter followed me to my locker before he we go on to class. "Hey, dude, you have anything planned for Friday?"

I looked over to him and gave him a blank stare. "I don't think so. I mean, what would I have planned for Friday anyway?"

Hunter just chuckled. "I see your point. Look, the gang and I are having a little party at home. Some Smash Bros on the Wii U, some Cards Against Humanity, Never Have I Ever, and movies. Lots of junk food and friendly stuff as well. You just wanna hang out and have some fun? I know you don't like being down in the basement all the time."

His question was a little surreal, and I smiled immediately. "Yeah, of course! Sure! I just gotta finish my homework before then. It's...this Friday?"

He nodded. "Yep. Don't worry about much of the planning and stuff. I got it figured out, so you can just finish your work and be ready for the party Friday."

That was reasonable. I did have a pound and a half worth of homework anyways, so I doubted I was going to get some sleep for the next two nights anyways. Once my homework was completed, I could finally rest easy and enjoy Friday with Hunter and not have to worry about a tough workload. He had four days to plan and I had two nights of sleep, probably, so I guess that wasn't a bad plan.

"I'm on board then," I smiled. "I'll be sure to not stay in the basement Friday." I joked. The basement was my room, but that didn't mean I wanted to spend hours upon hours in there doing work, yet I was going to have to deal with it for the next two nights if I managed my time efficiently.

"Sweet!" he sounded really happy, which, in turn made me really happy. "Well, I guess I'll see you."

"See you, man," I replied as he walked to his next class. Almost as if on instinct, I said something I didn't really intend to say. "It's a date."

I blinked as I said it and shook my head. It was with the group. It wasn't a date or anything. I mean, we weren't even dating. I don't even know why I said it but just saying it made me feel warm and safe inside.

As I opened my locker to grab my books, I watched as a folded paper fall out and land on the ground in front of my feet. The front read TO ALEX in bold and curvy letters.

I opened to look inside for the contents, but all that was written on the inside was: Meet me here after school, handsome.

Even as I tried to discover who wrote the letter and why they wanted me here at the end of school, I had a bad feeling about it. My future stupidity would only prove difficult as I decided to do whoever was asking and come back here at the end of the day.

As I said, it was the stupidest decision I would make on my first day of high school.