CHAPTER 7

"That's Mr. Owens, our English teacher," she explained. "Now let's get going. There's still a few more things we have to get, and I'm running out of money." The two of them left the building, now heading back out into the city to finish the errands. This didn't even compare to all of the things they had to do when they got home. There was a lot that Jaida needed to explain about school. She only hoped that Arius was as good at learning as he was scowling.

A bell rang somewhere inside the huge building, but it echoed perfectly out into the front yard. There were kids standing around everywhere, all dressed in black and white. The girls all wore white shirts and black skirts while the boys were dressed completely in black. They all seemed to be talking amongst their friends, ignoring the other groups around them.

Two people stood at the front gate. One wore a smile as bright as her green eyes, but the other only looked on in slight confusion, a scowl upon his face. His hands were deep into the pockets of his uniform. On his back was a black backpack that held all of the necessary things he needed for a day at school. He began to wonder how a normal human could carry so much. It was nothing to him, but for his companion it seemed a bit difficult.

"Well, here we are," Jaida said brightly. "Come on, Arius. Let's go." He followed behind her, glancing around curiously at all of the people. He had never seen so many humans in one area that were all around the same age. It's not like he really cared though, or at least he wouldn't have if their eyes hadn't been following him as he walked by.

"Hey Jai?" he asked, stopping Jaida dead in her tracks. "Why is everyone staring at me?"

"First off, I told you not to call me that," she told him. "My name's Jaida."

"Jai is easier to say," he claimed.

"Your name has the same amount of syllables as mine does," she shot back at him, seeming perhaps a little annoyed.

"I don't have to say my own name that often," he told her, not caring whatsoever about what she thought. "I could go back to calling you 'woman' if you'd prefer that." Jaida scowled a little out of irritation but eventually gave in. She wasn't fond of nicknames, but it was better than what he normally called her.

"They're staring at you," she began, deciding to answer his question, "because you're new here. That, and your eyes…they're not exactly normal." Arius just gave a small, indirect glare before deciding to completely ignore all of the eyes that followed him. He could hear people murmuring amongst each other, saying things like "I've never seen him before" and "why is he walking with Jaida? Does she know him?" Needless to say, most of the gossipers were girls, who were constantly staring at him for reasons he didn't quite understand.

"Jaida!" called out two voices at once, instantly drawing her attention along with Arius'. They both turned to see two people running towards them, one boy and one girl.

"Hey Amy, Seth," Jaida greeted, smiling to both of them.

"Where were you all weekend?" asked Amy. "I called you about five times, but your mom always said you weren't home."

"Oh, you know," said Jaida, smiling secretively. "I was around." She noticed that her two friends were now staring at Arius, who still wore an indifferent look upon his face. He was studying both of them, but you wouldn't be able to really tell.

"Who's he?" asked the boy, Seth.

"This is Arius," introduced Jaida. "He's new here. I've been showing him around and stuff." Arius received a kind smile from Amy, but from Seth he got a small glare. It seemed the brown haired boy didn't like him very much. His blue eyes were rather narrow right now. However, his glare wasn't anywhere near as threatening as it needed to be to spark Arius' interest. The Deslyan simply glanced at Jaida and then at Amy.

"Hi," she said cheerfully. "I'm Amy. It's nice to meet you." Not wanting to say anything but not wanting to seem like a complete jerk, he nodded in acknowledgment. Amy was a very pretty young girl with wavy blond hair and soft brown eyes. Her smile was brighter than even Jaida's.

A bell sounded within the school, and the kids outside all began to walk into the building. This meant that the four of them should get going as well. Jaida began to lead Arius through the doors, and Amy and Seth followed close behind.

"Okay," began Jaida. "Since your schedule is the same as mine, our first class is science." Arius nodded and followed her down the hallway and up a flight of stairs. He couldn't help but notice that Seth and Amy were following.

"Your schedules are the same?" squeaked Amy cheerfully. "That's so cool since I'm in half of those classes!" Seth just growled out of what seemed like frustration. Arius wasn't sure why the boy was so angry, but he decided to simply ignore him. It was easier that way. He didn't want to draw too much attention to himself. Even thought he was trying to remain indifferent, he had to admit that he was happy when Seth finally left them after four flights of stairs.

"Just how tall is this building?" Arius asked, directing his question at Jaida.

"About…forty floors…maybe a few more," she began. "I guess I've never really counted before. But don't worry, there's plenty of time to get to the classes. Our passing time is always around ten minutes. Plus there are elevators for going really far distances, like from math to gym or other things like that."

Arius recalled the other day when Jaida had explained all of this to him. According to her, the floors were all divided into subjects. Every three floors contained a different subject, like science or English. The school had four grades in it, ranging from the ninth grade to the twelfth. He and Jaida were eleventh graders, or "juniors" to put it simply. Each student was allowed six classes, four of them being required. There was math, English, science, and history. The other classes were electives, which for his schedule included gym and government. He would definitely need Jaida's help with that one. If he didn't even understand their culture, how was he to learn politics?

They walked up to the tenth floor, and Arius watched as students flocked into the classrooms. He wasn't exactly sure which one was his, so he followed Jaida and Amy. They eventually made it into a room that was currently rather noisy. The kids were all talking and playing with some of the equipment. The teacher, a short white haired man in a lab coat, quickly greeted Arius and then ushered him into a seat near Jaida and Amy. Arius could already tell that school was going to be interesting. He stole a glance at Jaida as she conversed quietly with Amy, and then just resorted to staring out the window, waiting for class to begin.

"So," whispered Amy, making sure that Arius wasn't paying attention to them. "Just where'd you meet him, huh?"

"Family friend," lied Jaida, hoping that Amy would believe every lie she had to tell about Arius.

"He's so cute," Amy squeaked. "I love those red eyes. They're so different." She smiled brightly as she altered their conversation a little. "Did you see the way Seth was glaring? He's obviously jealous."

"Jealous?" questioned Jaida curiously, not completely following her friend.

"Yeah, he obviously likes you," stated Amy with starry eyes. "He's jealous of Arius. He thinks you like him." Jaida was about to respond, about to tell Amy that there was no way in the universe that she'd ever like a guy like Arius, but the bell rang before she could say anything. All of the students quieted down as the teacher took his place behind his desk. He started talking, and the students all began jotting down notes in their notebooks. The lecture had started. School was in session.