Smile -Chap. 2, SouMaka-

She was frightened. Absolutely petrified. Was this really a school, or had her parents sent her to some crazy boot camp?

There was havoc everywhere Maka looked as she got out of the bus; Seniors throwing bottles and other garbage at each other, hysteric laughing and screaming in every direction, and not to mention hearing the F-bomb at least twenty times every minute.

This wasn’t school. Oh no, no. This was a hellhole. Satan could be the principal, for all she knew.

Maka kept her wide eyes glued to the floor as she walked… no, squeezed her way through the halls. Why was it so crowded here? There were so many other places these students could hang out before classes. In private schools, the halls were more spacious because the students noticed each other. Here, groups of over ten students would block up the hallway and not care that you were trying to get passed.

She found her eyes wandering across the lockers and walls, and she didn’t like what she saw there much better than what she saw on the floor. Old juice stains and worn away vandalism covered the cement walls, and crude drawings of male anatomy decorated lockers. It was all so horrifying. Maka was surprised she hadn’t started crying yet.

She took in a deep breath and pulled out a folded sheet of paper from her bag. Unfolding it, she read the locker number assigned to her in the top right corner. 4242.

Shini, shini… die, die?!

She could have sworn this was an omen. Maka took in a shaky breath and made her way down the halls again, trying to spot her locker despite the loads of people blocking her view. After about a minute of walking and darting her eyes around the hallway, she spotted locker #4242.

And she just kept walking. She didn’t need a locker anyway.

Maka would have sunk to the floor if it weren’t for the clogged hallways. She felt defeated and stressed out, and classes hadn’t even started yet. With a careless gaze, Maka ran over her schedule quickly, memorizing the room numbers of her classes and putting the crumpled sheet into her bag.

She didn’t hear the yelling behind her over all the other noises in the hallway.

“Hey! HEY! Girl with pigtails! Wait!” a voice screamed, unheard by the blonde. Maka felt her breath leave her lungs as a strange-looking boy spun her around. He was wearing a pair of tight jeans with skater shoes and a t-shirt. The strange thing was that all his clothing was black.

But what intrigued her the most was that three white, horizontal stripes ornamented the left side of his black hair.

“Wait, wha…?” was all Maka could say to the teen, who was now staring at her with idolizing eyes.

“I knew my eyes weren’t betraying me! You… Did you know that you’re perfectly symmetrical?” he breathed out, still taking in her features. Maka blinked at him, still a bit confused as to why he adored her.

“Uh… well… that’s all fine and dandy, but I’m a little lost. Could you help me find Room 888, Grade nine English?” she asked awkwardly. The boy gasped over-dramatically.

“You! This is a miracle! You’re in my homeroom class, as well! Come, you’re sitting next to me!” he chanted, grabbing her elbow and dragging her through the congested hall, where people watched and giggled at the scene. Maka slapped herself mentally. First, she was panicking about her locker, and now a lunatic was dragging her to her English class. Could this day get any worse?

… Yeah, it probably could.

Within moments, they were standing in front of Room 888, the door perfectly clean, unlike every other surface Maka set her eyes on. Her kidnapper set his hand on the doorknob, and Maka raised an eyebrow.

“But… shouldn’t you wait for the teacher…?” she asked nervously. The boy scoffed.

“Nonsense!” he chirped, opening the door. Just as they entered the room, the bell rang. “The teacher won’t mind if class has started, will they?” Maka muttered a slight ‘no’ under her breath as the boy walked her to the back of the room and plopped her down in a seat. “So tell me.” He continued, gazing intently at her with a puzzled expression as he sat down next to her. “How don’t I know you?”

“Oh… uh, well… I went to a private school all my life…” she sputtered, taking her elbow from his grasp. “It’s Maka Albarn, by the way.”

“Ah, yes! I haven’t introduced myself! I’m Death The Kidd, but everyone calls me Kidd.” He greeted excitedly. Maka shifted uncomfortably in her seat. What kind of parents would name their child Death The Kidd?

“I know what you’re thinking. What kind of parents would name their kid Kidd, right? It’s a long story, but you could just say that my parents are a bit… nuts in the head.” He explaining while making circles with his index finger by the side of his temple, answering the question she’d had in mind.

“Good morning, class!” a shrill voice welcomed just as the second bell rang. The woman at the front smiled at the half of the class that bothered to be on time before turning around and grabbing a piece of chalk from the chalkboard. She scrawled something swiftly onto the black surface, and stepped to the side for all to see. In neat, cursive writing, it said ‘Ms. Mjolnir’.

“I will be your English teacher for this semester. I hope I can get to know all of you before our time together ends.” she beamed, even as students walked into the classroom late. She began explaining something, but her voice was drowned out by the teen sitting next to her.

“God! These people could at least give some effort for their first day. No one here is symmetrical at all.” He then turned to her, grinning as he did. “Except for you, of course.”

“Uh… won’t we get in trouble if we talk?” Maka asked nervously, fidgeting with the material of her skirt.

“Pah! There’s no way either of us will get into trouble. Even if the teacher notices us talking, she can’t do anythi- Oh! You don’t know who my father is!” he exclaimed, as if he’d had an epiphany. He leaned on the back legs of his chair and crossed his feet on the desk, his arms resting on his stomach. “My father is president of the school board, so it’s kind of like all the teachers in this school have to wake up every morning and form a line to kiss his ass. Even the guys.” He sighed in an exaggerated tone. Maka giggled, and he looked at her with that same idolizing expression he’d had in the hall.

“Even your laugh is balanced! It’s amazing!” he awed, taking his legs off the desk. Maka raised an eyebrow at him.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you this for a bit, but… if you’re so obsessed with symmetry, why do you have three stripes in your hair? And only on the left side?” she asked bluntly. Kidd’s shoulders became tense, and within a few seconds, his head slammed against the desk, his arms folded together in front of him as he sulked about his hair. Maka bit her lip.

Maybe that was the wrong question to ask…

---Smile---

English dragged on in a daze. Maka was hardly able to listen to Ms. Mjolnir over Kidd’s mumbles and sobs. If public school was anything like private school, classes didn’t teach much of anything on the first day. Maka was calmed by this thought as she sat idly through class, trying her best to comfort Kidd about his hair.

As soon as the bell had rung, Maka left the classroom, waving a quick goodbye to a brooding Kidd before making her way to PE.

The gym wasn’t too far away. She’d made it with minutes to spare, pushing the doors open and entering the large, echoing room. She blinked, dumbfounded by the size. Her old school’s gym was at least three times smaller than this. It was now that she truly comprehended the amount of students this school held.

To her surprise, at least three quarters of the students were already there, chatting away about their summer and boyfriends. In dismay, Maka seated herself on a bench off to the side, resting her head against the padded wall. At least she’d had someone in English class. Here, there wasn’t anyone to talk to.

“I-Is there something wrong?” a quiet voice asked. The person belonging to the voice sat at the other end of the bench, staring at her with concerned blue irises. Maka rubbed the back of her head and looked at the ground.

“Well… not really… Okay, yeah. There is. I’m not used to going to a public high school, really. I’m just a little frustrated by the changes. I don’t have a locker…”

“Really? Why don’t you have a locker?” Maka looked from the ceiling back to the floor with a frustrated groan.

“My locker was number 4242, but when I went to put my lock on it… the door had been ripped off, and there was something in there that made the hallway smell worse than it already did…” she grimaced at the reoccurring image that plagued her mind. She saw the girl frown from the corner of her eye.

“Well, if you really need one, you could share with me. I wouldn’t mind.” Maka made eye contact with the smiling girl sitting a few feet away. This was the most generous person she’d met all da- no, all year.

“Wow, really? That would be really great, but… I don’t even know your name…” Maka sputtered in response. The black-haired teen’s smile fell into an expression of surprise.

“Oh! I’m sorry! That was kind of rude… Um, I’m Tsubaki. It’s nice to meet you.” She said politely, offering her hand.

“Maka…” the blonde mumbled back, taking Tsubaki’s hand and shaking it gently. She looked up at the smiling face of the generous teen and smiled back. She’d already made two friends, and half the day hadn’t even gone by yet.

The teacher came through the doors with a slam, holding a clipboard and a pen, with a whistle around his neck. He wore a headband around his forehead, the red kanji for ‘hole’ decorating the front. “Alright, listen up!” he roared over the giddy teens, who snapped their attention to him as soon as they heard his booming voice.

“All of you will call me Sid, and only Sid. No ‘Mr.’ crap. I won’t be giving you any respect, so I don’t need yours. That’s the kind of man I am.”

---Smile---

Maka was relieved that they didn’t have to do any exercises in gym for the first day. They’d gone through the rules and basic guidelines of what was to be expected during this semester, and this is what had started the conversation between Tsubaki and herself as they walked out of the gym to head for lunch.

“But I don’t understand! Why do we only have four classes per semester? We’ll forget everything we learned from our first four classes next year, so doesn’t that make it harder?” Maka complained as they squeezed their way through the halls. Tsubaki chuckled nervously while rubbing the back of her head.

“W-well, Kidd said that his father changed it after realizing how incapable the students here were of handling 8 subjects of homework every night. So to lessen the load, he split the classes up into the two semesters.” she explained as best she could. Maka stuck her lower lip out in a pout as she sorted out her points.

“I… guess that makes sense, but… Oh, wait! You know Kidd?” Maka stated with surprised. Tsubaki batted her eyelids once in confusion.

“Kidd? Yes. I’ve known him every since I was a little kid. Where do you know him from?”

“Oh, he’s in my English class first period. I mentioned his hair…” Maka could see Tsubaki flinch from the corner of her eye.

“Well, let’s hope he forgot about that…”

Just as Tsubaki muttered the words, Maka spotted a familiar hair pattern standing by a locker. As they walked closer, she realized that the locker was open, and the gloomy teen was checking his hair in a mirror.

“It doesn’t look like he forgot…” Maka mumbled under her breath. Kidd did a double take after seeing them, and immediately, he was joyful.

“Oh, Maka, my symmetrical friend! Looks like you’ve met Tsubaki!” he proclaimed in a singsong voice. Maka smiled nervously at his sudden enthusiasm. Tsubaki tapped her shoulder and whispered into her ear.

“He’s not always like this. It only happens when he sees something perfectly symmetrical. In this case, you.”  Maka’s face visibly drooped. One day she’d have to wear something unsymmetrical, just so she could see his other personality. Maka nodded in response to both Tsubaki and Kidd.

“Yeah, she’s in my PE class.” the blonde explained as Tsubaki opened the locker next to Kidd’s.

“Hey, Kidd, who’s this chick? She’s flat as a board!” someone called out as they approached. Maka followed the sound of the voice to a blue-haired teen.

Who was staring straight at her. Her breasts, specifically.

Maka’s face flushed from his comment and she covered her chest by crossing her arms. “Black Star…” Tsubaki scolded, placing her hand on his shoulder.

“What? She is!” he whined.

“I’m not flat! Just… under-developed…” Maka shot back, her face as red as a tomato.

“I think that’s the exact same thing, actually.” Maka jumped as a voice snuck up behind her. She looked up to see a sand-haired girl wearing tight jeans and a red collared shirt standing a foot or so away. She blinked when a shorter girl popped out from behind the other. Her clothes were the same in color, but instead of jeans, there were shorts, and her shirt was a red tank top.

“Kyaha! She looks like a boy with pigtails!” The blonde-haired one laughed. Maka wasn’t sure if it was possible, but her face became redder than it already was.

“Liz, Patty! Stop insulting our guest! This is Maka. Notice the bala- Oh my god!” Kidd exclaimed suddenly. He took a step closer to Maka, and she flinched away. He was violating her personal space. “Y-Your left pigtail… it’s one millimeter higher than you’re right one! Stay still.” He hissed, whipping her around and quickly taking out her left pigtail. Maka stood still in shock. She wasn’t used to talking to so many people at once. She’d only had Crona as a friend before, so there was never a group. It frightened her to have so many people paying attention to her.

“Alright! Perfect! Good as new!” Kidd cheered as he stepped back to admire his work. He smiled and nodded in approval, locking his locker, along with Tsubaki’s. “Now, to lunch!”

Maka and the rest of the group followed him as he marched down the hall. It was almost empty, now that everyone had moved to the cafeteria and gone outside to eat. Their laughter and conversations echoed against the vandalized walls loudly. Their footsteps could be heard from far away.

And because of the empty hallways, it was easy to spot someone you recognized. Maka did.

That familiar face walked by their group swiftly, as if he was in a hurry, but the moment that his eyes, his crimson red eyes, had met her green ones, it felt like time had stopped. Her heart jumped in her chest from his stare, as if telling her to run away or ignore the white-haired teen. Look away. Shut up. Plug her ears. But she didn’t. She stared right back, and behind that frightening gaze, she found something else.

Pain. Fear. Sadness. She didn’t know how she saw it, but it was there. She had no doubts. As quick as it came the moment was gone, and the boy had disappeared around the corner.

“That guy… he’s on my bus…” Maka muttered, not even realizing she’d said it.

“Who, that white-haired guy?” Liz asked, “Geez, was he staring at you? He does that to everyone. Well, at least since he moved here in grade three.”

”… Does he have any friends…?”

“Nah. It’s not that everyone rejects him, though. Rather, it’s the opposite. It’s like he’s rejecting everyone else.” Maka took this in, staring Liz in the eye with a concerned look.

“Did something happen to him…?” she asked in almost a whisper.

“Not that anyone knows of. Why?”

“He looked so… pained. And sad.” Everyone went silent at that moment, turning their sights to her as if she’d said something impossible. She didn’t realize it, though. Her eyes were on the floor as they strolled to their lunch spot. Their conversation had started up again after a few minutes, but Maka hardly spoke. Not only because she was shy and uncomfortable, still trying to fit in, but also because her mind was still on that gaze. She couldn’t have been imagining it. There was no way she could have been. His scarlet, menacing eyes… they were hiding something from everyone. She could see it though. The pain and sorrow that welled up behind them.

It made her want to cry.

---Smile---

Lunch had come and gone, as if it hadn’t happened. Maka’d gotten to know everyone a little better, such as how Black Star believed he was better than everyone else, and how Patty acted like a six-year-old. She’d feel more comfortable having lunch with them tomorrow, she was sure.

Maka entered room 207 just as the second bell rang. She would’ve been late for Math if she hadn’t run through the crowded hallways. Kidd had held her back because her pigtails were off again. If it weren’t for his symmetrical obsession, she would’ve been able to walk to class.

Maka quickly took a seat in the second-closet row to the back of the class. The desks were ordered in pairs, and the seat next to her was empty. She doubted anyone would fill it.

The teacher had already been sitting at her desk, reading papers and scrawling notes. Her name was written in large letters on the chalkboard, ‘Ms. Azusa.’, along with a set of page numbers and questions under it.

“Alright class, my name is on the board. Please take a textbook from the front desk and write your name along with the textbook’s number on the sheet, and work on the questions. This is all review, mind you.” The teacher announced as she scrawled something down. “I’ll be taking attendance, so listen for your name. Maka Albarn?”

Maka stood to get a textbook and raised her hand in acknowledgment of her name, trying desperately to push through the crowd of students to grab a book. It took her a few minutes, but eventually, she was able to sit down and start on her work. The textbook was horrid, though she’d managed to get the best one. The corners were ripped and the picture on the cover was hardly identifiable.  The pages felt as if the whole book had been dunked in water and left to dry in the sun. They were hard to turn, and some pages were slightly sticky. She grimaced as she found a piece of gum on the last page.

She sighed in aggravation and continued with her work, focusing intently on the questions. They were easy question for her. She’d learned this in grade six. She wasn’t sure what the curriculum for public schools were, but judging by the groans and head-scratching around her, they’d probably learned this last year.

Maka’d finished her work within ten minutes, and as she walked up to hand her work to the teacher, she heard people around her gasp. And snicker.

Ms. Azusa accepted the paper with a bewildered expression, adjusting her glasses to skim through her work. She looked up and smiled at the blonde. “Good job.” she praised, and Maka smiled shyly back. She sat back down in her seat and produced a book from the smaller pocket of her bag.

She heard snickering behind her, but she ignored it. After a few minutes, though, she knew they were snickering at her.

“What a nerd… She has a book!” One whispered to the other.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she wrote that herself.” The other joked, and another round of snickering began. Maka simply rolled her eyes, returning to the second chapter of her interesting novel.

Her shoulders tensed when she felt a crumpled piece of paper whip her head. Her eye twitched, but she didn’t dare turn around and tell them to stop. Her mother had taught her about public schools, and she always told her that if she kept telling someone to stop, they’d just tease her more. So she ignored them, sinking into her seat and bringing her book closer to her face. Even then, she felt her eyes water.

Suddenly, a knock sounded at the classroom door, and she looked up. The student nearest the entrance turned the handle with their foot, not bothering to get up from their desk. The door swung open, and a student walked in.

Maka’s eyes became wide, her whole body becoming stiff in her chair. The teacher looked up from her desk, adjusting her glasses and squinting her eyes. She looked at her attendance sheet.

“Soul Eater Evans, am I correct? You’re rather late for your first day. Anyway, please grab a textbook and take a seat.”

The desk next to Maka’s was the only empty one.