~~~~~~~~~Aiden's POV~~~~~~~~~

Three hours had gone by, and right now I was in the middle of history class. I would mainly focused on writing whatever was written on the board when I didn't doze off. I'm usually very focused on school, and I try my hardest to be a good student with high enough grades. I do need a good job to live a better life, after all.

But I always get easily distracted on the first day, it happens whenever we move to a new town, it was normal for me. But I still need to get decent grades.

"Psst..!" I looked up at the sound, raising my eyebrow. Turning to the side, I saw the girl sitting next to me giving me a small wave, whispering to me. "Hey, do you know the answer to number four?"

Giving a quick glance at the question I had written down, I made a C sign in her direction. "Thanks!" She whispered with a smile before writing down the answer.

The girl had long pink hair that reached her waist, blue eyes and light skin, wearing a blue crop top hoodie with a white shirt underneath, gray leggings under her jean shorts, and simple blue sneakers. On her head were fluffy black fox ears, and she had a long black tail with a white tip.

Oh, that last part might seem odd. but in this town that I live in? The town I grew up in back when my parents were still alive? It's far from normal. Things like magic and monsters and hybrids, they're normal here. But I won't go too into detail, it's not that important.

"You're one of the new students, right?" I heard the girl whisper to me again, to which I gave a small nod.

She smiled a bit. "Nice to meet you, I'm Sage."

"I-I'm... Aiden..."

"Aiden, huh? I like that name."

"Thanks..."

A minute went by where neither of us talked, when she quietly scooted her desk to be closer to mine, making me grow a little pale. "So hey, since you're new and all, you wanna join me at lunch?"

"... n-no, I'm okay... I don't w-want to i-intrude..."

"It's an invitation, you wouldn't be intruding."

"S-still, I'm n-not good with people..."

"Oh, that's alright. But if you change your mind, let me know."

I nodded, and the conversation ended there. Soon after, the bell rang, and everyone left the classroom. Thankfully I hadn't had any more problems with my locker, and I was able to open it just fine.

As I walked to the cafeteria, or at least tried to find it, I kept thinking about that girl's offer. Sure, she seemed nice, but I've been through something similar before. A small group of people had come up to me and asked me to hang out with them, only to push me down a set of stairs just to get the whole school to laugh at me.

Things like that are the reason why I have a hard time trusting people..

I had found the cafeteria, getting some food and sitting at a small bench outside by myself. But I've never minded the silence, it's become a comfort to me. It was the only peace I had nowadays.

As I ate, I pulled out one of my favorite books. I mostly brought it to make the day go by faster. However, I hadn't even started reading the first page when someone snatched it from my hand.

Three guys stood in front of me, all with confident smirks on their faces as the one in the middle held my book up high. "Hey, new kid!"

"How's your day so far? Would be a shame if someone gave you a bad impression." After the one on the left spoke, the middle guy threw my book to the ground, harshly stepping on it. It bothered me a bit, but I had already read that book a bunch of times.

The one on the right pulled me up by my hoodie's sleeve, making me grow pale. "Can't speak?"

"Maybe we'll just make you~.." The one on the left cracked his knuckles, his smirk only growing. I tried to struggle in his grip, but it wouldn't be the first time that I've been beaten up. I was used to it at this point.

But just before they threw the first punch, a hand quickly grabbed and pulled back the left guy's arm. My eyes widened a little at the sight of the guy from the locker ealier, Noah, glaring at the guy. "You three aren't causing trouble again, are you..?"

The three were clearly scared, the one on the right quickly shaking his head. "N-no, of course not!"

"We were simply saying hi to the new kid!" The one in the middle said.

"Well, you already have. Now scram before I rip off your friend's arm."

As he let go of the arm, the three of them ran away. I had already grabbed my now dirty and broken book, stuffing it in my bag as Noah looked down at me. "You okay..?"

I nodded, keeping my gaze focused on the ground.

"You sure have unfortunate luck, huh..?" He let out an awkward chuckle, clearly trying to lighten up the mood, but I stayed quiet for a bit.

"... thank you... a-again..."

"Don't mention it.."

Before any other words could be exchanged, I started walking away, though I could feel his gaze still focused on me. I might've gotten lucky right now, but they'll be back.

Oh, how I long for the day I can graduate...

Thanks for reading!!! 'Till next time!!!

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