Is That A Girl With You?

As Nathan finds his class, I would like to take this opportunity to give you a quick tour of the grand scheme of things in Waymaple high.

Now if you look ahead of you, you will see a glimmering glass and wood covered trophy case. It conceals prestige and honor within the pieces of gold, silver and bronze metal.

If you look to your left, you will see the unappetizing walls of the seniors' toilets.

It conceals many teenager secrets as well as possible demonetization.

Finally, if you look opposite of the seniors' toilets you will see class 6-6-D.

It conceals...Well who knows what it conceals?

I guess Nathan is about to find out.

He stopped and gazed at the white painted door for a while. It was very different from the varnished wooden doors in his old school.

There was a rather small page stuck to the door.

It read,

"Mr Dumont"

"HISTORY"

Nathan wasn't too sure of how he should feel about this.

Mr Dumont, his form teacher, was also going to be his history class teacher.

To add to that, the lesson which he was supposed to be having right now was history.

Nathan was now quiet nervous, knowing full well that there was already a class in there. He didn't know how they would react or what he would even say once he had entered. There was nothing more nerve racking than having a conversation with the teacher in front of the whole class, especially a class which you did not know.

He wanted to make a good first impression, so he practiced his greetings in his head for a bit.

Some of these conversations went like this :

"Hey Mr Dumont."

"Good morning Mr Dumont."

"Greetings Mr Dumont."

"I come in peace."

"Bonjour." (The little French that he knew)

"Hi."

"Wassup bro."

Okay the last one was just an afterthought. Nathan could only hope that Mr Dumont was that "friendly".

"You can do this. At one point they were just like you.", Nathan told himself.

And Nathan was right, at some point everyone was just like the next. Afraid and anxious to enter a new class or to talk in front of a group of unknown people. I just don't know if that fear usually carries all the way to the twelfth grade. (Usually it stops in 12th grade and starts after the exams.)

Swallowing his anxieties, Nathan cautiously opened the white painted door.

"What the -", blurted a bald forty year old looking man who was standing in front of the class.

It seemed that he was in the middle of a lesson.

He was rather short and round in stature and pink in color. It was like he was a constantly angry looking troll.

The man was obviously Mr Dumont.

"Uh... Hi... I'm Nathan.", Nathan crept shyly through the door whilst simultaneously waving at the classroom and Mr Dumont.

"Oh...You must be the new kid from America.

Obviously they didn't teach you how to knock first.", said Mr Dumont as smug as possible.

Nathan slowly pushed the door closed behind him and stood in front of the class like a frozen plank. He felt embarrassed for forgetting to knock, something even a first grader would do.

"Real nice first impression Nate.", thought Nathan while mentally slapping his brain.

"Well what are you doing? Aren't you going to introduce yourself? You did interrupt my whole history class after all, so you might as well tell them about your hopes and ambitions too.", said Mr Dumont, with a tone which sounded sarcastic yet real.

It was the type of tone where you would be scared to do it but also scared not to do it.

Nathan had to make a choice quickly. He couldn't just stand there forever.

Sarcastic? Or Real?

To answer or not to answer, that is the question.

"If Mr Dumont was joking, he would have said something by now." , thought Nathan.

Recovering from being half brain dead, Nathan finally decided on responding after what seemed to be an eternity of silent laughs. He could feel the class concocting some evil joke.

"Uh... Well yes. Good Morning everyone. My name is Nathan... Uhm Nathan Marquette, and....Uhmm my ambitions in life...For this life, not that I think I'll be reincarnated... But my ambitions are, uh simple. To be...", Nathan stumbled his way through talking as he tried stalling to figure out what he was ambitious about besides getting out of this class.

Nathan could hear his last two brain cells having a conversation.

A conversation which went something like this:

___________

Brain cell A : Quick what is this kid ambitious about?

Brain cell B : I dunno, dying maybe?

Brain cell A : No! You dimwit we can't use that. He is supposed to tell the whole class.

Brain cell B : Who are you calling a dimwit? Your mother is a connector neuron.

Brain cell A : How dare you?!

Brain call A : Fight me.

Brain cell B : No I'm good.

Brain cell A : (proceeds to run forward and choke out brain cell B). I said fight me coward !!!

Brain cell B dies

Brain cell A : Welp I'm sure one less idiot won't affect this kid too much. Now what is he ambitious about....Hmm, maybe pizza?... No that's too obvious.

Perhaps his ambitious....

Brain cell A : (starts to emit smoke)... Ambitious about not knowing what he is ambitious about.

Brain cell A dies

___________

"mmim aam-bi-sh-ous a-b-oout...", Nathan mumbled

"Boo....Weak.", yelled a boy in a baseball jacket from the back of the class.

The rest of the class followed shortly after, chanting

"Weak!" and "boo!".

Mr Dumont just continued to look on, waiting for Nathan to finish.

A well - dressed boy in a neat black blazer who was sitting at the front of the class gave Nathan two thumbs up.

A similarly dressed girl who sat next to this boy did the same.

Just a bit of encouragement from two strangers was all that Nathan needed, and he came up with an answer.

"My...my....ambitions are....to...Are to someday get a job!"

Nathan had to raise his voice just a little to be heard from under the classroom chatter.

The room fell silent.

It was so quiet that even the classrooms next door could be heard.

Nathan listened as his heart slowed down to a normal pace.

Just as he thought that he was off the hook, the entire class erupted in laughter.

Even Mr Dumont seemed to be grinning.

"Thank you for that Marquette, please find a seat and sit down.", chuckled Mr Dumont.

Nathan was red cheeked from ear to ear. He tried to keep his head down and hidden behind his hood as he scanned for an empty chair.

The only available one seemed to be at the back of the class, positioned in an isolated corner.

Nathan rushed over there, feeling a sense of relief to be able to hide away in a dark and lonely corner of the classroom.

The walls were painted with things too explicit for my PG rating, and the desk was carving into itself.

Even the little rays of sunlight from the window were too scared to feel the corner walls.

But as long as he was out of view of most people, Nathan was pleased.

The rest of the lesson was passing on really slowly. At Least that is what Nathan felt, as he was barely paying any attention. Mr Dumont's zombie like pace of talking wasn't helping much either.

Nathan just wanted to forget what had happened.

He wanted to go back home and play his guitar, write a song or even just explore the lonely corners of the backyard.

Nathan looked at his school bag for a moment.

It was discarded on the floor, just underneath his desk.

He heaved the bag onto his lap and quietly pulled the zipper down.

There were many thick books and files compressed against each other.

Nathan threw his hand into the layers of books, trying to fish for a specific item.

After several attempts he had finally reached for what he wanted.

It was a book.

Yet it was so different.

So expressive and rich.

It's aura exhumed that of more than just a book.

It was like looking through history itself.

The book's frail brown leather cover shimmered under the dull rays of sunlight with glory and might, yet it appeared so ancient and used.

As Nathan gazed at the leathery cover, the book glared back with it's esoteric-like symbols and drawings.

"Five years later and I still do not know what you are... Or - why you are.", Nathan spoke quietly to himself.

He gently turned to a random page.

The paper itself was faded to a brownish - like yellow color.

It was surprisingly stiff too, as if it had been hardened with age.

Nathan placed his right palm on one of the pages, feeling the illegible words and uncharted glyphs.

Perhaps if he stared long enough or felt long enough, the contents would reveal their ways.

"Brrrrrring brrrring.",

The school bell sounded.

It was break time.

Nathan's thoughts had to wait.

He packed his bag, and waited until everyone else left first so that he could be last.

As he made his way past the green chalkboard, Mr Dumont stepped into his way.

He looked even shorter standing directly in front of Nathan.

Nathan was having a hard time not staring at Mr Dumont's shiny bald spot.

"Don't think I didn't realize.",

Mr Dumont's words made

Nathan's heart skip a beat.

And no, not the type of heart beat skip when you're in love. It is the type of heart beat skip when you walk next to a glass door at night during a thunderstorm and when the lightning strikes you see your own reflection inside of the glass door.

Or is it just me who has been frightened by my own reflection?

Nathan feared that Mr Dumont had seen him fiddling with his book during history.

"Uh - notice what...sir?", asked Nathan.

"Oh, so you don't have manners and you're ignorant. A lovely combination.", Mr Dumont moved his stubby arms to his hips.

"Oh yes, about that. I am really sorry.", Nathan decided to just apologize now and hopefully get out scotch free.

He was now really convinced that Mr Dumont had seen the book.

"Sorry won't cut it next time. Don't be late for class again.", Mr Dumont shook a warning finger in Nathan's face and waddled off to his desk.

"Hmm guess he didn't see.", Nathan mumbled to himself and left the classroom.

Once again the hallways were congested with humans of all ages.

The teachers and students alike were making their way to wherever they had to be.

Nathan had no clue on how to get to the cafeteria, and navigating the infested halls with his relatively average yet small stature was proving to be a challenge.

If you walked alone like Nathan did, the groups of people were large and difficult to move through.

He was being pushed and tossed from all directions.

To make things even worse he was pushed into a group of three girls.

He lost his balance, and was now left sitting in the middle of them.

"Aww look everyone. It's that guy who wants a job when he grows up.", said a blonde headed girl with over exaggeration all over her face.

I use the term "over exaggeration", as in both facial expression and make- up.

Nathan couldn't even remember if she was in the class at the time, or were the rumors just spreading that fast?

The other two girls giggled in the background, saying some inaudible things.

"Here let me help you up.", the blonde girl offered her hand to Nathan.

Nathan hesitated and stared at her long nails, which were painted with a bright blue cutex, sprinkled with silver and gold glitter.

"Go on take her hand.", said one of the other girls.

"He's so cute.", said the other.

Nathan's gut was telling him not to do it, but Nathan has trust issues with people. So naturally he has trust issues with his gut as well.

Even though he knew that this was going to turn out awful, he reached out his hand to the blonde girl, and as expected she pulled her arm away.

"Eww, I'm never going to touch your hand.", she moved away in disgust.

"Can't believe he fell for that.", laughed the other two girls.

The blonde girl took out her phone and took a picture of Nathan, "What a specimen, how many likes can this get, I wonder."

"I can see the caption now, 'Boy wants a job when he grows up, can you help?' ", chuckled one of the other giggling girls.

"Aww don't be sad. Are you going to the cafeteria? I know, all the new kids get lost on their way there We can help you get there.", said the blonde girl with a mocking smile of sympathy.

Nathan woke up dusting himself off, "Yeah I was just looking for it actually."

The other two girls giggled in the background, chorusing,

"Tell him...Tell h-him."

"Okay, well first you take a left down the hall and then -", the blonde girl paused.

"Then?", asked Nathan who was legitimately looking down the left of the hallway.

"And then...You get lost.", the blonde girl as well as the other two girls burst into laughter.

Nathan knew that it was supposed to be some sort of a joke, but he decided to play dumb.

"I don't get it.", said Nathan with a stern face.

"Ugh- whatever. C'mon girls let's ditch this trash.", said the blonde girl, leaving with her friends.

"I hate people so much.", mumbled Nathan

He was also surprised that there wasn't a bigger crowd to witness the scene.

Perhaps this sort of thing happens often or it was just too busy for people to care.

Nathan strapped his bag onto one shoulder and turned around to continue searching for the cafeteria, but instead he turned a one-eighty into somebody.

"Hey, apologies friend.", the person was first to speak, patting down their black blazer.

Nathan recognized him as the well dressed boy with the black blazer who gave him the thumbs up earlier in class.

"You must be Nathan Marquette. Aaron Williams at your service.", Aaron stuck his hand out for a hand shake.

Nathan was glad to meet someone a bit more normal than the others which he has met thus far.

He happily shook Aaron's hand, "Yes, Nathan Marquette. Sorry about bumping into you like that."

"It's all good. You look a bit lost. Need help finding something?", asked Aaron with a friendly smile on his face.

"Yeah, actually - I was looking for the cafeteria."

"I'll take you, I was heading there right now, mathematically speaking we will be there in about two minutes - ofcourse that is an estimate with all of the human traffic.", Aaron studied his watch.

"Thanks, lead the way.", said Nathan getting ready to follow Aaron.

As the two boys walked on, Nathan realized that a slew of people were greeting Aaron Williams.

They were saying things like, "Goodluck with the math contest." and "See you on the sports fields today." and even "Aaron for class president.".

It was weird for Nathan and not just because he was possibly with a "popular kid", but because you don't always hear the words "math" and "sports field" being thrown at the same person.

It was like Aaron was the complete opposite of Nathan.

He was popular, smart, athletic and sociable. To top it all off, Aaron had almost perfect hair. It was not too stylish, but not too formal.

"Here we are. I present thee cafeteria to you.", said Aaron in his best concert presenter voice that he could mimic.

There was a long line of pupils from all grades waiting with a silver tray to get their food.

The food itself which appeared to be burgers, was kept behind glass shields, whilst a smiling woman who had an enormous afro served it.

It was by far the biggest afro that Nathan had ever seen.

Her smile was contending with the size of her afro.

I can feel everybody growing tense... Do not worry, for our loyal lady at the cafeteria wears an awesome hair net.

"Whoops, looks like we're too late. We'll never make it through this line in time.", said Aaron with his hand on his forehead, as if looking out to sea.

"Would you like to sit with us anyway?", asked Aaron.

"Us?", Nathan questioned Aaron's choice of words.

"Over there.", Aaron pointed to a silver table in a quiet spot next to the cafeteria wall.

"The one where that girl with brown hair is sitting?", asked Nathan, now growing worried that Aaron is sitting with a female companion.

"Yes that's the one.", Aaron smiled.

As much as Nathan wanted company, he also didn't want to "third wheel" assuming that the girl with brown hair was even Aaron's girlfriend.

"I think - I'll sit somewhere else. You go ahead without me."

"Don't be silly, let's go. I mean, who else do you possibly have to see right now? You're new here. There's no need to sit alone.", Aaron caught Nathan with that statement.

Nathan was thinking fast of an excuse. He fiddled with his hands in his pockets looking around the room.

Right at the end of the room at the loneliest concrete step which seemed to lead out of the cafeteria, there seemed to be a nerdish boy sitting there.

Nathan would recognize that pair of glasses anywhere.

It was Martin Pasquier

And Martin was going to be Nathan's escape plan.

"Uh - I do actually have to be somewhere, there's my friend Martin waiting for me way over there.", Nathan pointed to Martin's direction.

"Oh, well looks like you've made a friend already. I'll see you around then. Ever get lost again, you know me.", Aaron gave a friendly laugh and walked to his table.

Nathan wasn't sure if he could take another conversation with Martin, but he looked quiet lonely as well.

"What's the worst that could happen.", thought Nathan.

He made his way through the different silver cafeteria tables and towards the concrete step.

Martin didn't seem to notice him yet as he was reading what appeared to be a notebook.

Nathan sat down slowly next to him.

"Hey Martin, mind if I sit here?"

Martin completely ignored Nathan and continued to read his book.

"Martin?", Nathan tried again.

There was no response.

Nathan was now getting anxious.

He decided to try one last time.

This time he waved his hand infront of Martin's face.

"Hey Martin, Nathan here."

"How do I know you're really Nathan?", Martin finally responded in a very serious tone.

"What do you mean? I'm Nathan. Remember we spoke outside of the principals office.", Nathan thought that this was just one of Martin's strange games or something.

Martin's eyes shot at Nathan,

"But you could be an imposter."

"Okay... Uhm - I'll just leave then.", Nathan had decided that this was going nowhere.

Just as Nathan was going to get up, Martin stopped him.

"Wait. Tell me something that only the real Nathan would know. What do my friends call me?"

"That's too easy. What if it's a trick question. No he probably wants me to think that's it's a trick question.", thought Nathan.

"I'm just overthinking, unless he already over-thought that I shall overthink. No... It's probably just easy.", Nathan was done with his overthinking and decided on the correct answer.

"Easy it's Marty."

"Right you are. Okay Nathan. Sorry about that, you know you can never be too safe.", Martin's smile seemed to come back.

"Yeah...", Nathan faked a laugh.

"So how are you, what did Blanc do to you?", asked Nathan.

"It's okay. He just gave me my second strike."

Nathan's face changed to that of concern, "Second strike? What do you mean? What's that?".

"It's just this sheet that every student has. He must have forgotten to give you one. Whenever you partake in misconduct activity he puts a red mark in one of the empty boxes. And if you get three...", Martin stopped as if fearful of something.

"And if you get three?", Nathan inquired, now intrigued by Martin's expression.

"And if you get three, well then you're done.", Martin mimicked a throat slitting noise.

"You get expelled?", asked Nathan who was now confused.

"No. Even worse.", Martin's eyes grew big."

"Worse how?"

"No one knows what happens to you once you get a third strike. But I heard that there was this one kid from America who got three strikes and then Principal Blanc cursed him with infinite knowledge of the universe.", Martin explained all of this with sincerity and seriousness and some sincere seriousness.

"Okay what possible evidence do you have that Blanc is a wizard?", Nathan's face was stuck between laughing and acting like he cared.

"He HATES technology. He even has a rule against it. I'm sure he told you about it.", Martin emphasized "hate" with his arms crossing over each other.

"But that can't be solid proof. I mean Harry Potter was a wizard and I think he had technology right?"

Nathan was obviously ignorant to the world of Harry Potter.

"No he didn't. Because technology doesn't work well in places of high density magic. So for Blanc's magic to work, there has to be as little tech around as possible.".

Nathan had to admit to himself that it made some sense.

Martin proceeded to point at a diagram in his notebook book.

"There you see this, I'm building this for the science fair."

The diagram looked like a blueprint from star wars for a stormtrooper blaster of some sort.

"The science fair? When is that?", Nathan was puzzled as it was just the first day of school, so how could there possibly be a science fair already?

"Yeah the science fair happens in April every year. So it's three months from now. I thought I'd get an early start and expose Blanc for what he is .", explained Martin with a devilish grin.

"Well how will your -",Nathan paused as he got a good look at the ray gun - like diagram in Martin's notebook.

"How will your 'project' here work to expose blanc?", Nathan finally got his words together.

"This right here is a wizard detecting device. I call it the 'WWE', which stands for 'world, wizard, exposer'.", Martin waved his hand through the air as if the words were appearing in the air.

He proceeded to turn to a few pages in his notebook, "You see when wizards use magic, they leave a trail of energy behind. Because as the conservation of energy states, that energy can be neither created nor destroyed. It can only be transferred. And all wizard spells are powered by energy. So if we can find the right frequency of the energy left behind, then this device will follow that frequency, thus tracing it back to the nearest wizard."

"Wow, you've really done alot of research into this. It's pretty impressive.", said Nathan who was now genuinely thinking about the possibilities.

"Yeah I guess it is... And hey I could use another set of hands to build this thing - I mean if you're free to drop by my house anytime. You don't have to though...It's just a suggestion.", Martin looked into his notebook.

"Well I might be interested...",

"Brrring Brrring", the school bell sounded again, thus marking the end of break.

"Here take this. Call me.", Martin handed a card to Nathan and ran off with the crowds of people.

The card was made up of a page stuck to a piece of cardboard.

It said,

"Martin Pasquier,

Magic Hunter (^_-)

and

Conspiracist.

21 Route d'Ectoplasme

Call : (blurred digits)"

21 Route d'Ectoplasme, actually translates to Ectoplasm road.

You may have noticed that I have blurred his cell phone number so that non of you try contacting him.

It is to protect you, not him.

Now I could continue to tell you about Nathan's day at school and how he met his biology teacher, but I do not wish to fill you with any further details. So instead of continuing the story and keeping the "flow" going like a normal story, I shall abruptly end here and skip to something else.