Fuck being a new kid. I hated the attention.

People were already staring. It didn't make me nervous or timid, because fuck that. it just irritated me. People irritate me.

My phone rang from my pocket. I didn't need to see the caller ID to know it was my brother. "What?" I answered.

"Aren't you just a ray of sunshine this morning? Did you get your schedule yet?" I hear the background noise of tools moving. Julius owned his own mechanic shop and left before the sun came out to open the shop.

"No, and this call doesn't help me move faster," I respond.

"Class doesn't start soon? How are you going to find the room in time? Call Valentina if you need help," He says, and I roll my eyes.

"I don't need help. Especially from Val, she's annoying." I walk through the doors of the school's entrance. I see the office from here, so I walk towards it. I don't miss the few girls that ogle me on the way either, I simply ignore them.

"Val is not annoying, you just like to be difficult." Julius loved our cousin Valentina. I didn't know why, she was loud and aggressive.

If you weren't already cousins, you could be twins. He said it before and I hold back my gag reflex every time. It was bad enough that she was my cousin. Sure, I was aggressive, but in my opinion, that was all we had in common. I guess you could count the dark hair too.

"Was that all?" I ask him impatiently. "I'm getting my schedule now."

"No that's not all. I won't be a dumbass and ask you to make good choices, just make decent ones. I don't need the school calling me on the first day because you punched someone or talked back to a teacher."

"I make no promises. Anything else?"

"Yeah... mom called again," he hesitated. "I don't know, can't you just shoot her a text?"

I felt my jaw twitch at his words. I didn't say anything for a moment and I knew Julius could sense the tension. "You're right," He said instead. "Dumb question, just forget it."

Julius couldn't help wanting to mend things with our mother. He was the nice one in the family. Our mom was not someone who deserved his kindness. I learned that the hard way.

It's partly my fault. I didn't give him the details as to why I came to live with him. But he grew up with her too and he knew how she was. I guess he just couldn't help his bleeding heart.

"How about you worry about making stupid decisions?" I finally reply through the phone. "I'll be okay. See you tonight," I say and hang up the phone.

><<>><<>><<>><

I hadn't even made it to lunch before I received a detention slip. It's not my fault that the teacher was incompetent.

They say you're supposed to respect your elders, but that concept was stupid as fuck. Respect is earned, and I'm supposed to give it away just because someone was born before me? Not a chance in hell.

This doesn't stop me from internally groaning. Julius was going to love this.

I make it to English Lit right before the bell. One scope around the room and I knew this class was going to suck. There was a group of kids hanging out at the back of the room. I recognized one of the girls from earlier. Brunette and blue eyes that stared at me with unmasked interest.

She wasn't gawking at me now. Now, she had a cold stone glare set at the back of a blonde girl's head. Blondie had her nose stuck in a book at the front of the class. She didn't seem to notice any of the noise around her as she waited for class to begin.

One of the guys at the back wadded a piece of paper and looked straight at her to chuck it forward. Then a different girl from the group grabbed his arm before he could throw it and he just laughed and said something like, "What? I was just playing."

The brunette with the blue eyes just whispered something to the girl who intervened and they seemed to have a short-lived argument before they went back to talking normally.

Popular kids are weird as fuck.

The teacher walked into the room already saying something to me as she walked past. She was an older woman, her white hair and wrinkles just starting to show. "Ah, you must be Roman Castro, aren't you? I'm Mrs. Jericho," She said to me while the others were still in their own world.

I gave her a blank stare as questions I didn't care to ask out loud ran through my head.

"You're the only one that looks lost, dear," she says, answering about half my questions already. "Mr. Hunt already warned me of you in passing. Detention slip on the first day, huh?" There goes the rest of my questions.

I just shrugged in response. "Lucky for you I'm not a big fan of Mr. Hunt," she whispers as she sets all her things down on the desk. "And I like to make my own judgments on students of mine."

Before I could think too much into her words, she spoke up again, this time to the class. "Alright everyone, it's time to get settled now. Find a spot and get your supplies out, please. Chop, chop!"

She turned to me again. "Roman, I do want to set you up for success. I want you to take a seat right there in the front of the class if you don't mind." She smiled with her request and lines formed around her mouth and her eyes.

I guess I was normally stubborn in the way that I didn't like to do things people told me to do, but I also knew when to pick my battles. I looked towards the seat that Mrs. Jericho was motioning towards.

It was right next to blondie who looked startled when she noticed me for the first time. She brushed it off quickly though, sending me a smile that showed off her pearly whites.

The fuck was she so happy for? It took everything in me not to roll my eyes, at both blondie and Mrs. Jericho.

Senior year was out to get me already.

✎ A/N: I've never written dual POVS before. This is scary and fun.