Suburban Hematite, Dartfordia
September
Princess Adriana of Littlebrook, the Crown Princess of Rokkenjima swallowed as the imposing double decker bus approached the rather unassuming bus stop at which she stood. It was just a sign on a pole with the numbers of the three different routes that served it and a red roundel with the words ‘BUS STOP’ inscribed in white. All rather quietly, Adriana had been driven from Winchester Castle to Hematite to live with her new ‘guardians’, Johnathan and Irene. After today, there would be no Mummy or Daddy to help her. Except at weekends, of course.
The 96 stopped, it’s old, rickety doors pulling themselves open. It would be odd, considering Adriana’s history of bus travel, that her mother would let her travel so casually aboard one. Yet it appeared Alexander’s argument that ‘state school buses were so awful a terrorist would shoot himself before he reached her’ seemed, oddly, to convince the Empress Emerita. The tired bus driver looked at her, waiting for her to either say something or tap a pass against the reader. When Adriana produced neither, the man sighed. “What do you want?”
“To get to school,” Adriana murmured after a moment.
The bus driver let out another long, elongated sigh. “Got a DartCard?”
‘A DartCard!’ The girl realised, immediately rummaging her pocket to pull out the card she was given that morning, and showing it to the driver. The red pass had a mugshot of herself, as well as her name and school next to it. The driver’s eyes widened slightly, took the card and tapped it to the reader.
It beeped twice.
“Go on,” the driver handed her the card, closing the doors behind her and pulling away form the curb.
The girl’s body lurched towards the middle of the bus, and she began to take in the sight. Naturally, she wasn't the only Secondary school student on the bus, there were dozens of others, some were sitting together, chittering away about their plans for the day. Some sat by themselves as awkwardly and lonesome. Because after all, secondary school was just full of awkward kids in awkward phases.
One of the more lonelier kids sitting near the front of the bus noticed the awkwardness of the new girl, raising a brow in curiosity before moving his small stack of books. His light blonde hair curled wildly, bright blue eyes reflecting the light that poured in through the windows. "You can sit here,” he piped up, his voice soft and meek.
Adriana had been eyeing up two seats on the right, which had so far been left unoccupied, though the blonde boy’s offer made her smile. She didn’t have much time to think, as the bus lurching to to a stop almost sent her flying to the front again. Wincing at the sound of a few girls at the back laughing at her, she stepped forward and sat next to him. “Hi,” she began sheepishly, as two boys got on the bus and immediately occupied the seats she had been considering, “I’m Adriana.”
"Wallace!" The boy smiled brightly at her. His cheeks were round and pink, it was obvious he was well-fed. He hadn’t yet fully connected all the pieces, even if the name Adriana was familiar to him.
Adriana smiled, trying, albeit failing, to find a comfortable position on the decades old seat. Only the bus driver had recognised her so far, and this certainly relieved the girl. “So uh,” she glanced down at Wallace, “how come you’ve got all those books?”
"Oh." Wallace looked down at the small pile in his lap, giggling a bit "I get bored in class a lot," he explained, "So when I'm not working I'll read, my dad gave me a bunch of books to check out, but, I'm not sure I'll get to read them all."
“Yeah but,” the girl laughed slightly, bemused by the boy’s answer. “You’re gonna be carrying around 5 books that you don’t know if you’ll read with you all the time?” Aren’y you gonna put them in your bag?”
He nodded. "Yeah," the boy giggled a bit, a blush sweeping across his features, looking back up at the girl, "I was running late, so that's why I haven't done that yet."
“Oh!” Adriana chuckled, feeling a little bit silly for asking. She glanced to her left, where a man in his mid-thirties sat. He wore sunglasses, and held a long stick in one hand. “Hey,” she whispered to Wallace, “why’s that guy holding a stick?”
Wallace took one glance at the man, pausing from stuffing his books into his bag, giggling a little bit before responding, "He's blind," the boy pointed to the cane, "he uses that to help him 'see' where he's going!"
“He’s blind?” Adriana gasped, staring at the man for a few moments. She had never seen a blind man before. A deaf one, sure, she was almost proficient in Dartfordian sign, but a–
“Just because I cannot see you does not mean I cannot feel your eyes on me,” the man said, his deep voice penetrating the noise of the bus.
The Princess looked away quickly, turning back to Wallace. “So where do you come from?” She asked, too awkward to continue even thinking about the blind man next to her.
Wallace was grinning, trying to keep himself from laughing at the exchange between the man and the Princess, "I recently moved here. I live a little bit away from downtown. My father refuses to live around noise,” he explained, giving a shrug.
Adriana nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I used to live right in the middle of the city, then I got moved out to the most remote place imaginable, then my parent’s have made me move here…” A sorrowful look adorned her face. “I’m really gonna miss my parents.”
"Oh?" His brows furrowed "Why did they make you live out here?" He asked, slightly confused. She was a bit young to live on her own.
"It's my father's house from when he was a kid, his dad made him do the same thing,” Adriana chucked. "I'm living with my Guardian's parents!" A guardian was the generally accepted non-religious godparent, used commonly in Dartfordia, though godparents were skill common.
"That's an odd tradition." Wallace shrugged, not bothering to ask more. They were probably one of those weird families. At least she wasn't alone.
Adriana laughed. "It's not really a tradition," she told the boy, grinning. "But my Dad went to Lexia Secondary School as a kid and thinks I should go to Lexia, too!"
Wallace was intrigued "So you're following your dad's footsteps?" he asked, curious about this girl and her family.
"Yeah!" she exclaimed proudly, though she was still anxious to reveal herself. "I'm in a family business so it's good to do what they do, y'know?"
"Family business? What do you do?" he asked, still intrigued as ever. "My dad is a baker!"
"Your Dad is a baker?" Adriana repeated the boy’s statement, her expression one of interest. "What sort of stuff does he bake?"
"He bakes bread mostly! He owns a bakery, I have to help him with the customers though." Wallace laughed shyly, shaking his head, before adding: “You never answered my question!"
Adriana grinned. "What was your question?" she asked, before suddenly gasping and pointing out the window. "Hey look! Those are the school fields!"
Wallace was instantly distracted by the girl's eagerness, looking out the window "It is!" He hummed, looking back at the girl, "You seem pretty eager.”
"I've been looking forward to this for ages!" Adriana admitted, blushing softly. "My last school was kinda lame and they made is speak Rokkenjiman all the time, I can't wait to just be able to speak English like normal people!"
Wallace blinked a couple of times "You went to a Rokkenjiman school?!" He asked, "What was that like?!"
Adriana shrugged nonchalantly. "It was alright," she said, not that enthused, "all the kids spoke English, but the teachers made us speak in Rokkenjiman. It kinda sucked, Dad and Mum thought it made sense though."
Wallace gave an interested hum, “Sounds like those Stonian-speaking schools. You still never told me what your family business is!" He laughed, “You’re the master at avoiding questions."
“My Dad is uh…a teacher,” Adriana murmured, nervously, knowing that ‘teaching’ certainly wasn’t a family business, but hoping it might be enough to placate Wallace.
"A teacher? So is he like a tutor or something and he's raising you to be a tutor too?" The boy was inquisitive. Nothing was going to shut him up
“Uh, no,” Adriana laughed nervously, “teaching is a side job…he err…teaches at a normal school, in Rokkenjima that is. Well…he used to…”
Before he got himself convicted of war crimes, she added mentally.
"...okay?" Wallace couldn't help but to feel that something was missing in this story, but he sensed her nervousness and didn't push any further as the bus came to a stop. He stood, gathering up his belongings.
Adriana smiled, standing up to get off the bus. Suddenly, a thought passed through her: someone is going to notice her, and she didn't want Wallace to find out who she was through someone else. She stopped him as they got off the bus. "My Mum was the Em-"
"You're Princess Adriana!" A boy, less than ten feet away from them, shouted, pointing directly at the girl.
Wallace looked at the boy, then at Adriana, then back at the boy again before pointing at the girl in confusion. When the boy nodded in confirmation, Wallace nearly flipped. "Holy Sh--crap!! You're the princess?!"
Adriana sighed, not answering and merely looking at the ground. Others began to swarm her in interest, much to her annoyance, and she tried to push her way through the crowd to the entrance. Just as she reached the door, a leg stuck out in front of her, sending her tumbling to the floor. Some people laughed. She sighed, as two gentle hands helped the girl up, Wallace smiled at her, trying to reassure her that everything's gonna be fine.
"Hey. Just because you're a princess doesn't mean I'm gonna treat you any different." He hummed "That's what you want, right? To be treated like any other kid?"
Adriana smiled appreciatively. "Th-thank you," she murmured, picking up her bag. "That's why I didn't tell you...I didn't want to be seen as-"
"Just move," one kid, aged about seventeen, pushed the two aside with a frustrated with. "Bloody kids," he muttered as he strode down the hall.
Wallace glared at the boy that shoved them, his pink cheeks turning into a deep shade of red. "Asshole,” he muttered.
A giggle escaped from Adriana's lips. "Don't worry about him," she said, noticing a crowd of people were gathering around her again. "Ugh," she groaned, "come on."
Wallace's brows furrowed "Do you know where your first class is? I can walk you to it." He offered, giving her a smile, forgetting briefly that the timetable for Year 7 in secondary school would be slightly different to how it was in Year 6 in Primary School.
Adriana shook her head. "We haven't even been given timetables yet!" She exclaimed, a grin adorning her face as she watched Wallace get all flustered. Suddenly, a thought occurred, "Hopefully we have the same class!"
His flustered nature did calm a bit at this, a smile returning to his face "I hope so, too!" He beamed, standing on his toes. The princess liked him!! This gave him warm and giddy feeling, knowing that he had a friend in someone so special.
“Year 7s!” A call rang out from the other side of the room. There, a stern looking old woman stood, dressed in a tight-fitting suit and blouse, making her look at least 60. “Please head down to the assembly hall,” she gestured down the corridor, where there was a door that led outside. “It’s outside and to your left.”
Adriana nodded, glancing briefly at Wallace and accompanying him as they made their way out of one building and into another, helpfully pointed along the way by another two teachers. The assembly room was almost full, with just a few dozen places at the front. “Oh crap,” Adriana whispered, thinking they were late, “where should we sit?” She asked Wallace.
Wallace looked around before spotting two empty chairs next to each other. He quickly grabbed Adriana's hand and rushed her over to the seats before anyone else could take them. As Wallace dived into his own seat, he nearly fell off, causing him to erupt into childish laughter.
Adriana giggled with them, finding the boy’s antics rather amusing. “Oh Wallace,” she whispered, not noticing the weirded stares and snorts of laughter coming from those around them. “Nobody was behind us!”
“Oh look!” Came a voice behind them. A girl with golden blonde hair, a very slim build and piercing blue eyes leaned forward. “Looks like the Princess has got herself a boyfriend!” The girls next to her jeered at the two of them.
Wallace went tense, his face turning red for what seemed like the thousandth time that day. He turned his body to look at the blonde girl, "I-it isn't like that." He sputtered, "We are just friends..!"
“Oh boohoo,” the girl teased, “look at little chubby cheeks here getting all embarrassed.” She turned to Adriana. “You really shouldn’t be hanging out with these sorts people,” she gestured towards Wallace, “perhaps you should hangout with us?”
Adriana let out a snort. “Fuck off,” she muttered, turning her back to the girls, who were shocked at the girl’s casual use of a swear.
Wallace stared wide-eyed at Adriana, the corners of his lips being pushed back into a look of astonishment. He had been trying hard to hold back his swearing, but that was one thing he did not expect. A princess. Swearing. Yet his astounded look faded away as he started to giggle, forcing him to cover his mouth.
Adriana stayed facing forward, though a grin was adorning her lips. "Never heard a princess swear before?" she asked, folding her arms and leaning back into the admittedly uncomfortable chair.
"Never!" Wallace laughed, "Well. Now I don't have to worry about holding back my swearing!!"
Adriana smirked at him. “Actually, you do.” Playfully she straightened up and began to do an impression of her mother. “It is rude for one to swear before a Princess.”
Wallace giggled, nudging her playfully "What a hypocrite!" He laughed, "do I get special rights since I'm your friend?"
She flicked her hand dismissively. “Why of course, humble servant,” she said, sticking her nose in the air. “You are welcome to swear in my presence.”
Wallace laughed, pretending to bow in his seat “Thank you, your majesty! I appreciate your kindness."
“I am not yet the Queen,” her face took a very serious tone, “I am a Princess. Therefore you shall refer to me as Your Royal Highness first, and then ma’am for every occasion following.” Adriana glanced at Wallace, grinning as she recited what she had been taught numerous times. “And it’s ma’am as in ham, not
ma’am as in
farm.”
Wallace laughed at that "I've never heard ma'am said like that!!" He shook his head, wild curls bouncing "Maaarm..."
Adriana giggled, settling back down again as the woman from earlier looked to get people's attention. "In the Navy they pronounce it Marm! And loads of old people do, too!"
Wallace pressed his finger against his lips, being an obedient kid. "Shh" he whispered, "It's starting!"
The girl giggled again, staring forward as the room quieted down.
"Good morning, ladies and gents, and welcome to Lexia Secondary School. As you can probably tell, this place is a lot bigger than your primary school, and we have students who are eighteen-years-old attending." The stern woman spoke for the next ten minutes, talking about the school's achievements, it's famous alumni - including Alexander Anselmo, its values and principles, the two school ‘houses’ Athena and Marconi, and other useful information like the school day and where buildings are located. "Now for tutor groups, each one of you will be assigned into one of 32 tutor groups, and you will be joined by older students tomorrow. Please listen carefully for your name."
"I hope we're together," Adriana whispered to Wallace.
Wallace nodded eagerly, listening intently for his name as well as Adriana's.
He was born nervous and excited.
He kicked his feet, a nervous reaction.
The list seemed to go on forever, until, finally: "A13, John Wilson, Tony Hawk,
Shana MacDonald, Adriana..." A pause, as the room waited with baited breath. "...Adriana Ansemo, Ricky Johnson, Kelsey Mitchell." another pause. "A14, Mi-"
"We're not in the same tutor group!" Adriana gasped, turning to Wallace. She was evidently louder than she thought, and much of the room turned to look at her, making her blush in embarrassment.
Wallace frowned, crossing his arms as he slid into his chair more in a pout. As if that would change his fate.
"Maybe we can hang out between classes?" He asked, looking at her
"A16, Brandon May, Jack Willy," the name caused a stir of snorts and giggles, "Wallace Stillebarn, Nathan Oaten, Thomas Fields."
"You're in Athens,” Adriana whispered, referring to the house they had been assigned to. "My Dad says that means we could be in the same classes together!"
Wallace nodded in understanding, although a slight look of worry adorned his features. “I guess it means we can still be best friends?”
“Sure,” replied the Princess, smiling at him. “Best friends forever.”
