Realistic or Modern —ʙᴜꜱʏ ɴɪɢʜᴛꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ꜰᴀɴᴄʏ ᴘʟɪɢʜᴛꜱ (ᴄʟᴏꜱᴇᴅ)

[source]

The school year has just barely started at Green Valley Middle School, and it seems like every year two or three new faces appear in every classroom. Green Valley Middle School has always had a student body that exists in a socio-economic purgatory. Some kids have their parents drive them to school in the shiny, white S-class Mercedes, others get to school on hand-me-down skateboards or bikes, and others walk, sometimes invariably long distances to get to class. Today though, 8th grade homeroom teacher Mrs. Burns introduces to class their newest classmate.

late fall 1996.

 

[source]

kevin wei.

❝ new classmate? ❞​

The notorious Kevin Wei, in house class "doesn't talk unless forced to" kid, sits in the farthest row. He doesn't choose to sit in the far corners; he doesn't want to be seen as anti-social. Middle school logic aside, he sits in his desk, a plain gray hoodie draped over a graphic t-shirt, hood up despite knowing that the teachers don't appreciate it. With such a remarkably rebellious spirit inside, truly nothing can stop him. In his hands, he has his most prized and expensive possession: a four year old Gameboy with Tetris slotted in. It's his only game, and when he asks for a game like Kirby's Dream Land or Super Mario Land, the general answer is "Christmas, okay?"

The monotone voice of ex-Green Valley Middle School principal and 8th grade teacher Mrs. Burns interrupts a heated battle featuring involving a worn D-pad and an A button. Kevin doesn't pause the game-- instead he forgets and holds the device in his two hands as Mrs. Burns and a face that he has never seen enters through the door.

"Okay, class, eyes forward," the teacher says, "we'll be having a new classmate this year."

Mrs. Burns scans the classroom for any kids not paying attention, and then she continues, "Her name is Victoria Bernstein, and she'll be attending Green Valley with you all for the rest of this year."

The teacher takes another momentary pause, then prompts the class to begin taking out their Vocabulary packets, "Victoria, you may sit wherever there is an empty desk, but it will be your permanent seating position," the teacher bends over to pick up a dropped marker and continues with a grunt, "now please get out your red pens."

Kevin trades with his backpack the Gameboy for a bent, clear plastic folder, stuffed to the brim with papers. He flips through several, until he whips out some stapled papers, covered with vocabulary words like "unequivocal" and "relapse". Kevin looks up from the dull voice of the teacher to get a good look at the new kid.

 

[milkette]

VICTORIA! current-age: thirteen​

It was a warm Autumn day, nothing new for California. Victoria was getting ready for her first day of school. Well, not really her first day. She was just transferring to a new school, one she'd never been to before. The only time she got a glimpse of it was over the weekend when she and her family got a short tour of the school - Green Valley Middle School. It seemed like an alright school, though she didn't have much else to compare it to. Her old school wasn't anything too special either.

She's nervous, anybody would be. Victoria was going to be the new girl. What were the kids at the school going to be like? Would anyone want to be friends with her? In her old school district, she had a large friend group, filled with tons of boys and girls who all loved her. But perhaps this school would be different.

Staring at her reflection in the mirror, Victoria gives herself one last glance before running down the stairs to her mother, who gives her a 'you should've been down here five minutes ago!' type of look -- she was quite the impatient woman.

Joey, Victoria's annoying younger brother, stands beside her, clutching his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles backpack. He was also starting at a new school - fourth grade. He turns his attention to her, looking at her outfit, "Whatchya wearing? A little fancy! Are you trying to impress a booooyyyy?" he grins, and Victoria only glares. She hadn't thought she was wearing something over the top - it was just a basic skirt and top. "Shut up, Joey. At least I don't have a stupid Teenage Mutant -- whatever they're called -- backpack!" she sticks out her tongue, and he only laughs. Normally Victoria was a sweet girl, but when it came to her brother? God, he was such a pest!

Soon enough, they all climb into her car - Victoria can't remember the name, but it was a nice car - and begin the drive to school. Normally her parents wouldn't have the time to bring them to school and would be driven by someone else, but today was different. It was their first day.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
​

After they arrive at school and get situated, Victoria waves goodbye to her mother and makes her way to class with the lady at the front office who smells like cheap perfume. She holds her breath and soon enough they are at Room 109 - her classroom. She peeks inside, nervousness bubbling up within her again, and the office lady smiles, "Good luck!" Victoria smiles back, and knocks on the door, holding the straps of her dark purple backpack tightly. The teacher walks to the door with a smile, and opens it, revealing a large classroom full of bored-looking kids. Almost everyone looks up when they see her, though, and she gives her best smile.

She's introduced to the class and now needs to pick a seat. Scanning the room, she's unsure. First up is a fat kid in the back picking his nose, and she grimaces. Next is an abnormally small boy with thick-rimmed glasses and braces, who is sitting at the front, and gives her a wide smile. Victoria awkwardly smiles back and then moves on to kid number three, who is wearing a boring, plain grey sweater. He looks the most normal out of them all, so she decides to sit next to him in the back. Sitting down slowly, she places her backpack on the floor, "Hi," she says to the boy next to her, wanting to be polite, and soon takes out a red pen as the teacher asked.

VICTORIA BERNSTEIN

 

[source]

kevin wei.

❝ must be a rich kid. whatever.❞​

The words of the greeting from the new girl, who also seems to be now sitting next to him, flows into one ear and drifts out of the other. The fact that she said anything registers in his brain only after he decides to take a glance at the new person. He opens his mouth to greet her back, but its far too late now-- the class is almost done with the packet. Kevin itches his cheek with his pen takes another look at the new classmate.

Clothes? Normal girl stuff. Skirt and the whatever. Looks like something Lynn would wear. Looks? He thinks she looks good, but he doesn't have any reason to say anything to her. Compared to everybody else in class, he thinks she looks out of place. Kevin goes to write in the last correction on his worksheet, and the teacher has walked back to her desk to grab something.

"Okay class-- after you've turned in your vocab corrections at the front desk, you'll put your stuff away and we'll have Victoria introduce herself to everybody," she says, flipping through some papers, hoping no kid realizes she forgot to have the new girl introduce herself before correcting the assignment. The class shuffles to the front of the class, and they stack their vocabulary worksheets on the desk. Soon, Mrs. Burns calls the new kid's name up.

Kevin leans back in his desk and folds his arms together. He couldn't say he wasn't interested, but it probably was for the wrong reasons. She definitely had the air of a pretty girl, especially with a name as long as that; just the thought of a pretentious pretty boy, or girl for that matter, made Kevin cringe. The way she looked, even in a standard set of clothes, was something that brought an irking suspicion about him. He wrinkles his brow, and gets ready to hear about everything she has to say.

 

[milkette]

VICTORIA! current-age: thirteen​

She stares at said boy, waiting for a response, even if it's just another greeting. But instead, nothing comes from his mouth, as if he's ignoring her. Maybe he is. Victoria furrows her brows together but doesn't say anything - of course not - instead she stares at the board, not sure what to do with herself. 'They must be going over some sort of worksheet,' she thinks to herself as she listens to the teacher, and fiddles with the red pen on her desk, watching as everyone else writes their vocabulary corrections.

There are a few students who glance back at her, seemingly curious, and she smiles at them. Some of them smile back and even wave, whereas others quickly look back at the board after realizing she noticed them peeking. The kids here are kinda weird. Well, she probably shouldn't make generalizations yet. It was only the beginning of the day, and they were in class. Maybe at recess or lunch, things would be different. Who knew. The only thing she did know was the fact that the boy next to her did not seem interested in speaking to her at all. For whatever reason that was.

Victoria continues to sit up straight, watching the teacher as she shouts out different vocabulary words. Soon enough, they're finished, and everyone walks up to the front to turn in their corrections. She shifts in her seat uncomfortably and has a feeling of what's coming next.

Of course, she's right. Now she has to introduce herself... in front of the whole class. Look, she wasn't some totally shy kid by any means, but she sure did not want to go up in front of a whole class of judgmental eighth-graders and tell them about herself. But, well, it didn't look like she had much of a choice, so she walks up to the front again slowly, standing nearby the teacher who gives her a smile. "Alright, you can go now, honey,"

Victoria tries not to start with 'umm...' but fails miserably. "Um, hi. I'm Victoria and I'm thirteen," she looks at the class, and some of the students stare at her expectantly, whereas others quietly fool around with their friends or play with their pencils. "I really love animals, cats especially, and like to play sports. My favorite sports are probablyyyy... soccer and volleyball. I also love the beach and the ocean, it's one of my favorite places!" she pauses, "But yeah, I hope some of us can become friends!" she gives the class a smile, and looks over to the teacher, giving her an, 'I'm finished' look. Mrs. Burns smiles, "Nice to meet you, Victoria. I'm sure you'll have an amazing experience at Green Valley Middle School," she says and puts a hand on Victoria's shoulder.

VICTORIA BERNSTEIN

 

[source]

kevin wei.​

❝ what's so great about her? ❞​

Kevin's readjusts his posture as he listens to the new girl speak. The tone of her voice, the introduction, the clothes, the looks, everything, it all doesn't sit right. Jealousy? No way Kevin of all people would be jealous of a girl. Sticking out like a sore thumb, but in an attractive way.. what a damn showoff. Waltzing into a new school, with no prior friends, and now everybody's giving the new kid the "I can't wait to be your friend because everybody around me is a loser" look. What a joke.

Even Wei can't get past a small urge to get to want to talk to her, but he scoffs at the idea. Imagine that. New girl becomes the coolest new thing. Wasn't transferring schools supposed to be awkward? You're not supposed to be liked on the first day you attend a new school. As the new girl talks, Kevin looks unamused, glancing at all of his classmates beady eyes as she talks. What's so cool about soccer and volleyball? When's the last time you heard somebody who lives on the coast talk about how much they hated the beach?

Just the bright-eyed expressions of his classmates, kids who were boring or gross ninety-five percent of the time, is enough to tilt Kevin off his normal, but he knows now how this year is going to transpire. A whole lot of "Wanna do this?" and "Wanna do that?" and a whole lot of--

"Okay, we've got several things to get done," Mrs. Burns says, removing her hand from Victoria's shoulder and gesturing her back to her seat. "You're all almost highschoolers, so I expect you all have brought your copies of 1984..."

Mornings always drag on, and this particular one dragged like broken leg. Time trudges on, however, and as 11:15 hits, it's time for lunch and recess.

 

[milkette]

VICTORIA! current-age: thirteen​

The rest of the period goes by quite smoothly. Victoria gets a copy of the book that they're reading, with extra time to catch up. Things are going smoothly. Well, this was only the beginning of the day, so who knew what else Green Valley had in store for her. Hopefully all good things.

The clock hits 11:15, which is lunchtime she's guessing since everyone readily jumps out of their seats and flies to what she assumes to be the lunchroom. Perhaps the lunchline was long? Well, no matter, Victoria had packed her own lunch. She gets up from her seat slower than everyone else, and walks out of the classroom, only to find a bundle of girls from the class lined up at the door, looking at her with curiosity. Victoria stops in place and looks at them all, offering a small smile.

"Your name is Victoria, right?" a red-head girl shyly asks, her voice so quiet that Victoria can hardly hear it.

"Yep, that's me," she replies slowly, confused as to why everyone was waiting outside the classroom... for her? Maybe all of the new kids got this treatment.

One of the girls next to the redhead scoffs, "Don't mind her. We just wanted to say we liked your outfit, and we'd totally love it if you would sit with us at lunch."

"Thank you... and definitely!" so the group of girls make their way to the lunchroom, almost tripping over each other in the process as they ask Victoria questions like, "Where'd you get your clothes?" , "We have a soccer team here, will you join?" and, "You said you liked the beach, yeah? Well, you should come with us sometime. There are cute surfer boys there!" They all seem quite enthusiastic and excited to get to know her and be her friend. Wow, she really hadn't expected this.

The girls make their way to the lunchroom soon enough, and all sit at one of the tables, getting out their lunches and continuing to bombard Victoria with questions. So much so she can hardly keep up.

"Well, anyway, we should probably introduce ourselves," says the girl who had asked Victoria if she wanted to sit with them. She seems to be the leader as she's the most outgoing and bossy. "I'm Riley," she points to herself and then switches to the girl next to her who was probably the only one in the group that hadn't asked her any questions, "This is Yazmin," the girl looks up from what she's eating and throws a peace sign. Riley goes around the table, introducing all of the girls herself: there's Yazmin, Jayla, Angela, and Farrah. They all seem nice enough.

Recess comes around, and the girls all walk Victoria outside, telling her about the school in the process. Mostly gossip, nothing of importance. She nods along, laughing awkwardly, not really knowing who any of these people are that they're talking about. They make their way to the playground, which... isn't really a playground. There's just a few picnic tables, a swing set, and monkey bars. All of the girls sit on the swings, and whoever doesn't get a swing sits on the dirt. Of course, Victoria gets a swing.

"What do you think of the school so far?" the quiet redhead girl - now known as Farrah - asks.

"Hmm, well I've not been here for long but it seems alright so far," Victoria pauses, "I--" but before she can finish, a voice yells out, "Hey! Incoming frisbee!" which just narrowly misses her head. She blinks in surprise, staring at the boy now running over to get said frisbee.

Riley scoffs, "That's Ethan. He's annoying," is all she says, to which all of the girls in the group just snort. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, we know you totally have a crush on him!!" they all laugh, and Riley crosses her arms, "Shut up, I do not." They all begin to fight, so Victoria decides to quietly leave, and none of them even notice because they're too focused on bickering. Well, they were nice, if not a bit high maintenance.

She walks around, looking at her surroundings. There's the boys playing frisbee, Riley's group still bickering, another bundle of kids sitting on top of the picnic tables, looking bored. Other than that, there were a few lone-wolfs out on the field, doing whatever they were doing. Victoria supposed this wasn't the entire school, and they must have multiple lunches. If not, then this was a very small school.

Victoria decides to take a breather before the girls find her again, and sits on one of the picnic tables a little while away from the "playground." Overall, the day had been going alright. A lot of people had already said hello to her or waved, which made her feel more comfortable at Green Valley.

She notices, after a moment of just people-watching, that there's somebody sitting nearby her.

Oh - it's the kid that ignored her this morning.

VICTORIA BERNSTEIN

 

[source]

kevin wei.

❝ nothing much to think about. ❞​

Lunch time-- finally. Kevin yawns and finds himself the last person out of class, holding a plastic tupperware in one hand and his Gameboy in the other. As he makes his way out of the school and onto the playground, he makes for his usual spot, a picnic table on the outskirts of the "playground". He sits, opening the tupperware, when a familiar face comes around. It's Jessie Eccles, Kevin's old-ish friend and professional Green Valley Middle School weird kid. He's a bit plump and has a nose picking habit Kevin can always bet on being there at lunch with him. Light brown freckles dot his face and arms, and he jumps into the seat next to Kevin. Kevin doesn't react-- it's something that happens everyday.

"Kev! Did you bring your Gameboy?" he says, bending over, glancing over Kevin's noodles for the Gameboy.

"Yeah," he responds, lifting his arm from under the table and sliding the device over to him. Jessie's parents could be described as.. economically unfeasible, so Jessie's favorite time of the day is when he gets to use Kevin's Gameboy. Kevin thinks its the least he can do. Breaking apart a pair of disposable, wooden chopsticks, he begin scraping them down and eating. He's actually pretty hungry, so the cold lo mein is welcome. Kevin looks up at the playground-- it's a usual sight. Girls are.. doing their girl stuff, the same boys Kevin has been attending school with for years now are doing their frisbee thing, and of course, Jessie is trying to get past level 6 on Tetris. Kevin goes back to put another mouthful of noodles into his mouth, then goes to look at the playground again. This time, though, he spots a girl, no-- the girl, sitting at a picnic table next to him.

He slowly chews, watching her. His eyes narrow while Jessie quietly but vehemently plays on the Gameboy to the right of him. Kevin wipes his mouth with his sleeve, then finally decides to greet her himself.

"Even though it’s your first day, you’re pretty popular," he says in a clearly condescending tone. "What makes a pretty girl like you choose this school?”

authors note: pretty girl not as in a good looking girl, but a pretty-girl like a pretty-boy

 

[milkette]

VICTORIA! current-age: thirteen​

She notices him, but does not say "hello" like she had with all the others. Why would she? It didn't seem like he liked to be bothered. Victoria wonders why he doesn't like her... it's not like she'd done anything bad? Well, no matter, it was just one person. Everyone else seemed to like her. Resting her hand on her chin, she continues to people-watch. The girls still seem to be fighting... what the heck? Was Riley really that mad about the other girls teasing her? Victoria wasn't sure if she wanted to be apart of that group anymore.

It takes her just a second to realize someone's speaking to her, and she whips her head around, only to find the boy who had ignored her before was...talking to her? Victoria furrows her brows at what he says, noting the condescending tone of voice. Why does he dislike her so much? She's hardly been here a day. Okay, maybe he doesn't hate her, but she's sure getting those vibes from him.

Victoria's not sure what to say. Of course she's not going to say something nasty - that just isn't her. Plus, it was her first day and she still wanted to leave a good impression on everyone. Perhaps this kid was just not having a good day? I mean, she can't really think of any other reason why he's acting so... hostile towards her. "Yeah, I guess so," she shrugs, and drums her fingers against the table, "Well... it's not like I chose to come here," the brunette lets out a small laugh, and then averts her vision to the kid next to him who seems preoccupied with a gameboy. "You're allowed to bring that to school?" she questions, "What're you playing?" Victoria gets up and switches tables to sit on the opposite side of them. Ha. Kill them with kindness? It probably won't work, but perhaps the kid with the gameboy might be nicer. The two seemed to be friends.

VICTORIA BERNSTEIN