Chapter Two: First Day
Term just started; that's why this wasn't up three days ago. Cheers everyone!
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~Chapter Two~
Morning dawned bright and the twins, simultaneously looking forward to and dreading the coming school day, were dragging their heels. it took them an hour, rather than the normal twenty minutes, to dress, wash up, and eat breakfast, but at long last they were grudgingly ready to go.
Victoria ushered them out the door and into the car. The ride was short considering the traffic typical of school mornings, and in no time at all they were at school and on the way to class. The students at Squall City Middle School started the days off in homeroom, so it was to this that Marcus and Modest went. They were among the last to get there, sitting down just as the bell rang, and Mr. Ripley, the homeroom teacher they had seen for the past two years stood up.
"Good morning," he said, his rich baritone voice booming. "Now that the day has officially begun, let's get to business." The large wolf began handing out papers to the twenty or so students he currently had domain over.
"These," he said as he did this, "are your new schedules. If there are major problems, especially gaps, see me now.
"I'm supposed to lecture you guys about rules, but everyone should know them by now, even if some of you," his eyes seemed to flicker to the twins, "choose to ignore them. Please reduce your office trips. If I mean you, you know it." Yep, definitely looking at them two. The implied jab at Marcus and Modest was half-hearted and joking, and the smile on Mr. Ripley's face coupled with the snickers of the class proved as much.
The twins looked their schedules over, and sure enough they didn't get Mrs. White, true to Jimmy's word.
"Told you Jimmy would look out for us," Marc said to his sister. That lack was one of the few things alike on the two foxes' schedules, however, only sharing a lunch period and afternoon gym. They groaned at this, but there was nothing they could do about it except watch three of their fellow students go up to see Mr. Ripley with schedule problems. After those students had been taken care of, the wolf cleared his throat conspicuously, quieting the class.
"You," he said, "are in eighth grade now. You need to begin thinking about what you want to do when you graduate high school, because preparation for that starts right now. During the next week, I will be giving you guys a few career aptitude quizzes that may help you explore your options. For now, go forth! Terrorize your other teachers! I'll see you tomorrow morning." The twenty minutes allotted for homeroom was indeed almost over, and everyone chatted for the last two minutes; then the bell was ringing and everyone rushed around to go to classes they didn't really want to be in. The twins walked together to the point they'd have to split up, and after a brief goodbye they went to their own respective classes. Modest knew Marcus didn't like it, despite the flippant embrace and walking away without a backward glance. He did have friends, and he was after all a boy. He couldn't be caught being sentimental, even if it was toward his own twin.
Three classes had to be sat through before she shared the second lunch period, B Lunch, with her brother, and these classes were barely survived. First day was always pretty boring, because the only thing they went over during the forty-five minute classes was rules, expectations, and course goals. Many teachers called it an "opportunity to get to know each other." Modest thought it was hogwash anyway, and doodled on her notebook all morning, despite the stares she was getting.
It was well known among her classmates that she was one of the prettiest girls in the grade, with her sleek, shiny fur and dark nose and sharp teeth. Girls would gush about how glamorous her tail was kept and boys would openly stare at her face, where her long lashes and emerald eyes took in most things that she looked upon. However, another nearby middle school had been merged with this one over the summer, so all the children who had never seen her before did their share of staring openly at her slight, still childlike but somehow-a-bit-feminine build and sparkling eyes. It only served to make her annoyed, and caused teachers to call for the whispered conversations among the newer students to cease more than once.
It seemed like three days, but at long last lunch came and Modest quickly made her way to the cafeteria, where she could see Marc already waiting outside the door. He smiled at her widely (so much for his devil-may-care facade for his friends) and waved, prompting her to hurry a bit. The confusing part was when he abruptly frowned, looking concerned behind her. She didn't get the chance to look back before one of the biggest thirteen year old panthers she'd ever seen, a new student, slammed into her from behind and positively flung her at the wall in his hurry to eat. Teachers rushed in to discipline him, but the damage was done as Modest impacted the wall solidly and fell, Marcus's eyes going wide in sheer panic.
Five years ago, when the twins were only eight years old, they wandered out of the yard and were playing in the parking lot of a nearby convenience store. It was in the afternoon, but two strange men had decided it was a prime opportunity to conduct an armed robbery. They rushed in the store with ski masks on and guns drawn, demanding the cash.
Unaware of the danger, Modest went inside and stared at the men arguing with the cashier. Marcus tried to convince her to go back home with him, but she wouldn't listen, ignoring his pleading. Instead, she tugged on the smaller criminal's sleeve and said, "Why are you angry?" She couldn't have known the extreme nervousness this man was experiencing, a condition that made him easily startled. When she tugged on his arm, he spun around and reflexively fired his handgun.
The nine milimeter slug passed through Modest's lung, doing severe damage to the bronchial tissue. It was a miracle, the doctors said, that she wasn't killed instantly, let alone surviving at all. She pulled through, but would forever have lung problems. There was a lot of scar tissue and some of the damage could not be fully repaired. This occasionally caused symptoms similar to a severe asthma attack, though it rarely happened and only when she had suffered a hard impact...
...like being thrown against a brick wall by a boy twice her size. As Marcus lunged toward her, she felt her own brief flare of panic as she felt her chest tighten and lungs close. She was gasping for air before she hit the ground, and was watching the world dim around her as she blacked out before Marcus could reach her.
~~To Be Continued~~