“…well then, we hope you can have a long stay in this institution and have a better experience for the rest of your school year, Mr. Curtis,” said the almost balding principal to the younger man that’s sitting on one of the chair across the shiny mahogany desk in the office. The boy only stared at him with little interest.

The partially bald man smiled and continued, “The incident that happened on your previous school is such a shame, indeed, and if it happened for a second time, everyone would be really disappointed, don’t you agree? I really hope that things like that would never happens in this institution. It would be bad if there’s an unpleasant rumour circling around this fine institution, don’t you think so, Mr. Curtis?” Liam raised his eyebrow slightly before returning to his indifferent look. The threat on his sentences almost got unnoticed since he said it in a perfectly light manner, but since it was mean to be noticed, the boy in front of him almost rolled his eyes and scoffed at the smiling yet not smiling man in his head.

He nodded and expressionlessly said, “I understand, principal Ford.”

He was not really the person that like to spoke with courteousness, but he have to if he want to get out from this office a few second faster. The blinding light from the sun that came through the room’s wide, all glass window hitting straight to his face and made him squinted his eyes uncomfortably from the moment he sit in front of the principal this whole time. He had moved his chair subtly to avoid the light and tried to hid under the principal’s shadow before, but annoyingly enough, the man started standing and walking back and fro behind the oversized desk with ‘Principal Henson F. Ford, M.Ed.’ printed on the crystal plaque that sat proudly on the table—adding more glaring light that reflected into Liam’s eyes. He thinks that everything this man have must be oversized as well as shining like his own ego and bald head.

Principal Ford smiled graciously with a smile that clearly said ‘fake’ and said, “It’s settled then, I’m glad that you’re an understanding young man. You can go with Miss Amberlee to her office to take your schedule and the map of the school. The first class almost started, so you better hurry.”

Liam nodded, eager to left the room and picked up his black and white backpack from the floor beside the chair and walked to the door without saying another word. He care not what the principal thinks of him.

He just want to get out.

“Mr. Curtis,” Liam hand was about to reach the door handle when principal Ford's deep voice made him looked back, “I forgot to tell you something.”

“What is it?” Liam said, a little annoyed, but he keep his expressionless face.

Principal Ford smiled, “I just want to say, welcome to Greenlock High. I hope to heard some great things about you in the future.”

Liam nodded again, feeling impatient. The principal is still smiling and with a wave of his hand, dismissed him.

Liam pulled the door handle and walking out from the office. He closed the door and glanced to the left side to see a woman in her forties with a modest look and brown, flowery dress. Miss Amberlee is sitting patiently on a row of plastic chair in the corridor outside the principal office to wait for him, and seeing that Liam has gotten out from the room, she stood up, re-adjust her round and outdated looking glasses and then smiled at Liam. She guided him to her office that’s located in another building to take his schedule and a note with Liam brief bio that need to be presented to the teacher in each class and giving him the map of the school and pinpoint the direction of his first class this morning.

He walks along the path from the map and reached building four. Miss Amberlee's office is located in building one and the principal office is in building five. He has to made a long detour to reach his current position and he doesn’t meet any other students on his way to his first class since the bell has rang for quite a while when they reached Miss Amberlee's office to take his schedule and map.

He finally found the room for his algebra two class that’s located straight at the end of the corridor of building four. The class has long started and he knocked on the opened door before entering.

Rows of curious eyes followed his every move, but he treated them as a nonexistent creature in the background. The teacher in charge knitted his thick eyebrows, clearly not happy that his class is interrupted by a kid he never seen before. Liam ignored the look the teacher he assumed named Mr. Perry by his nameplate on his chest and just passes a note he got from Miss Amberlee to the pretty tall teacher.

After Mr. Perry finished reading the note, he looked at Liam up and down with calculating eyes that’s full of judgement. Liam speculates that he most likely has heard his black record from his previous school report beforehand to give such a dirty look at him or maybe it’s simply how he look at everyone like they are a livestock in the butcher house. He decide that it was both in this case.

He hate this kind of person.

When the whispers in the background became louder overtime, Mr. Perry knocked his desk several times with his hand and told the students in the room to keep their silent in his class. After the voice quieted down, he made Liam to introduce himself in front of the class.

“I'm Liam Curtis,” he said and turned to look at the teacher again, “Where is my seat?” Mr. Perry looks at him with a narrowed eyes before pointed at the very back of the class since it is the only available table. He nodded and walked to the back with a steady steps and straight gaze. He ignored the looks the thirty odd students gave him.

Some were actually gawking at him and give a look that probably said ‘are you out of your mind?!’. He figured from the students reaction that this teacher is the kind of teacher that students feared and it would be better for him if doesn’t made any conflict with that teacher, but he’s too tired to care about things like that at the moment and just want the school hours passes quickly.

Liam still wore his expressionless face and doesn’t have a least little interest to give out any information about himself except for his name since the rumour about the troubling new kid will soon spread out anyway. His cold exterior made the other students even more curious about him, but they could only watch him walking to the very back of the class while whispering with a lot of interest with their friends in the neighboring tables, especially the girls.

Mr. Perry clapped his hands with irritation because the whispering noises ended up getting louder again and did not cease down. He tells the students to continued their interrupted lessons and told Liam the page number of their current lessons when he reached his table. The class quieted down, but there would be some peoples whose occasionally glanced back at the new kid secretly.

Liam sat in his seat and opened the textbook he take out from his backpack when he heard a “psst” sound from the seat beside him.

He took a glance at the freckled boy with an alarming rate of reddish flushed skin beside him before shifted his eyes back and proceeded to look for the current lesson page of his textbook.

“Hey, I’m Garret. Garret Scully. Nice to meet ya’,” he said in a small voice while leaning closer to Liam while he continues to ignore him. “You’re lucky Perry doesn’t snap at you back there.” He added with conspirational tone and a little bit of nervousness, “The last kid that dared to be disrespectful at him ended up failing his class when everyone know that that kid are very exceptional in algebra, can you imagine that? He must be tampering his score!”

Liam proceeded to act as if Garret did not exist and only stared at his textbook, barely listening to his words at all.

Garret waited for a few seconds for Liam to answers him, but Liam clearly showed no interest with what he’s saying. Feeling dejected because Liam did not react at all, he was about to make another friendly talk when Mr. Perry suddenly called his name and asked him about the characteristics of quadratic functions.

Garret was stupefied and stumbled to answer the question that was aimed at him. The red faced kid flushed one shade redder.

Seeing that he was about to cry from Mr. Perry sharp look and the ridiculing face of the kids from whole class, Liam sighed silently and the hour went away just like that.