The New Guy

[Lorne Hazlewood]

He strode in to the halls with a type of confidence not seen among most new students. Where most were shy, confused or lost he was not. He walked like he owned the place.

His jet black hair brushed against the tops of his shoulders as he walked past other students busy about their day. He wore a pair of baggy cargo shorts, sandals, and a long sleeved hoodie with the hood dangling behind him. The outfit made him stand out like a sore thumb against the background of button up shirts and sweater vests.

He walked up to another student and tapped them on the shoulder to get their attention.

"Hi, I'm Will. Can you point me to the office?" He gave a crooked smile before continuing, "I'm new."

[Etienne Mbane]

Etienne turned around and smiled, his teeth flashing white against his cappuccino skin. "Second door on de left, mon ami. Can't miss it. Has de work office written right on it. I'm Etienne."

[Lorne Hazlewood]

Will nodded in response. "Thanks, Etienne."

He turned to walk away when he bumped into some one.

"Oh! Sorry about that."

[Seth Molokhya]

Seth backed up a bit from the impact, "Whoa!" he looked at Will, "It's ah, it's alright, man. Just watch where you walk. Next time it might not be me, could be Nilesh... and trust me, you don't want to run into Nilesh."

[Arthur Rawlings]

"Nilesh is nothing next to Seth, here. I mean, look at 'im. Gives me the willies." Arthur grinned at them both as he walked on, backwards. "Dude," he called back to the new guy, "You have got to get that hoodie approved for the uniform."

[Lorne Hazlewood]

Will grinned at Ar, "I'll try my best but I'm afraid my powers of persuasion only go so far." He walked in to the office and looked at the secretary behind the desk. "Hi, I'm Will. My, Dad just enrolled me."

She looked up at him over the top of her glasses and spoke in a nasally voice, "You're wearing your uniform."

Will shrugged slightly. "Seriously. Like my Dad, JUST enrolled me. I don't have one yet."

The woman looked down at her papers and began going through them. Without looking up she said, "Last name?"

"Carter. William Carter."

The lady continued shuffling through her papers muttering Carter over and over again to herself. Will rocked back and fourth on his feet waiting on her to find him. Finally she looked back up at him. "I don't see a William Carter in here."

"Maybe it's not there yet. My Dad JUST enrolled me."

The woman took off her glasses and gave him a stern look, "You're beginning to sound like a broken record. We'll find your papers. Do you have a class schedule? Or are you too freshly enrolled to have one?"

Will smiled in response. "No. I got it right here." He held up a piece of paper with some hand written notes on it. "I can find my way."

She put her glasses back on and started typing on her keyboard. "Then get on to class. We'll get you a uniform before the day is over..." She paused and gave him another stern look, "and we expect you to wear it."

"Yes, Ma'am!" With that he backed out the door and started walking down the hall.

Soon he found himself in history class a few minutes early. He plopped down in a desk and turned to the student sitting next to him, "Hi, I'm Will." He extended his hand offering it to shake.

[Bronka Hajjar]

"Hey Will, I'm Bronka", replied the blue-haired girl at the next desk. She looked quizzically at his hand for a moment before reaching out to shake it, then she gave a big smile. "So, are those the new uniforms? I gotta say, the sandals are a surprisingly bold choice."

[Lorne Hazlewood]

Will grinned widely at her. "I'm brand new. They say they'll have a uniform for me before the end of the day." He tugged on the sleeve of his hoodie for emphasis. A blue haired guy in the halls said I should move to make the hoodie a standard, but if the general response is going to be like the secretary in the office then I'm thinking it's going to be a no go."

He began to say something else when the teacher walked in. He had a small case with him that he set on the table. He looked up from the box and gave a friendly smile to the class. "Today, we are going to talk about the civil war. To help us with our discussion, we're going to hear a story from a button off of a soldier's jacket from that era."

Will looked confused, but the rest of the class seemed to think this was pretty normal. The man opened a box and pulled out a small worn brass button. He closed his eyes and concentrated and an old rickety voice began to echo from the button, "I remember the first battle I was in. It was in Arkansas, eighteen sixty three. The war was already in full swing by then..."

The button continued to discuss the details of what happened on that day and Will sat in utter amazement at the whole thing. He noticed the other students taking notes so he quickly pulled his notebook and pencil out and began scribbling notes down as well.

Much of the rest of the morning went like this. Each teacher seemingly strange and unique in their own way. It wasn't long before it was time for lunch and Will walked around the cafeteria with his tray full of food looking for somewhere to sit.

[Seth Molokhya]

Seth got his food and began walking to his normal spot in the cafeteria when he spotted Will. He walked over.

"Hey, you're...that kid who bumped into me. Right? You know, you stick out like a sore thumb man. Not wearing a uniform, and walking around the cafeteria aimlessly? You've got guts, I'll give you that. Only a matter of time before either an upperclassman find time to pick on you, or an administrator gets you for uniform violation. You need somewhere to sit? Got some room at our table for you, if you're interested," Seth smiled, waiting for a response.

[Lorne Hazlewood]

"That would rock. Lead the way!" Will followed Seth and sat down at the table he nodded to everyone sitting there, "Hi everyone. I'm Will."