"Drei!"

"Drei!"

I snap out of my trance and gaze into the eyes of my homeroom teacher, she had been doing a role call and I zoned out into my thoughts again. "Present" I say for the attendance. She gives me a curt nod with a sympathetic look hidden under her normal mask from being a teacher. I look down at my table and listen to her call the other names.

When she finishes, everyone files out of the class and I continue staring at the books on my desk. By the time I muster the strength to tear my gaze off the table and stand up, everyone had already left the class. I gather my things and make my way to the door. "Drei," my homeroom teacher, Mrs. Validy calls after me. Her eyes held a note of something, was it sympathy? I don't know.

"How are you feeling" she asks,

"I'm fine" I reply, shrugging my bag strap on my shoulder

"Are you sure??" she asks again, with a worried look

and I mentally withdraw from the conversation,

"Yes, yes I am" I say with a cold voice and straight face, she opens her mouth, as if to say something, but clenches her jaw instead. I walk out of the room, not waiting for her to find anything to say, or ask me more questions that I didn't have the mental strength to answer.

How was I feeling??

What was I supposed to answer to that,

I know the direct answer

But telling her won't solve anything, coz there's nothing she could do about it.

How was I supposed to tell my homeroom teacher that no, I wasn't fine. In fact, if anything I was the opposite of 'fine'. If she looked at my face, I'm sure she would have seen how puffy and red my eyes were from crying at home before school. If she could look at my eyes and read the plea in them she would see that I was living my worse life, my body, my head, and my heart all hurt, ached for what exactly?

The opposite of fine.

Yes, my mother was the sole owner of one of the leading companies in the world, yes, I was wearing Dior shoes and a Rolex watch to high school, yes my monthly allowance was enough to pay a year's rent in a comfortable neighborhood, I was rich as fuck, I knew that, but retail therapy doesn't work as much as it did when I was five, what am I saying, it's a state of mind.

My household was a mess, with my younger brother, one wrong sniff away from a substance overdose, my elder brother two hundred kilometers away and refusing to set eyes on my mother and my mother completely neglecting us and our existence, I know her grind is for us, but still.......

So I wasn't fine, but no one asks that question to listen to replies like that.

...----------------...

I make it to the next class, forgetting to carry the books I needed for first period biology, but it doesn't matter, I was still not going to use it anyway. I proceed to my normal sitting position in the far end of the class at the back and place my bag on my chair. I failed this class last term, along with three more of my subjects, so I had to take it again, and with the way I am going, I think I'm going to warm this seat for another year again. As I'm about to sit down, a girl with glasses stumbles into the class, falling her handful of books in the process. I tilt my head sideways with curiosity, and look at her attractive features, she was beautiful if anything. Small and brunette. She bends to pick up her books that fell and her glasses fall off, but her hands are full, leaving her with no means to pick them off the floor. Seemingly the whole class chuckles at her and I just stare, fascinated at how frustratedly she looks at her pair of glasses laying on the floor. Without thinking and even realizing what I was doing, I was in the front of the class, facing her. I look into those olive pearls of hers and bend over, picking up her glasses and placing them on the bridge of her nose again. By the time I realize where I am and what was going on really, I look at the class and meet the gaze of the other classmates. I clear my throat, and make a beeline straight back to my chair, not giving anyone a second glance.

I watch her go back to her seat, ignoring all the eyes that gazed with awe at me and her. I had run into the class with my new books that I collected before classes and didn't have the time to stash away in my locker. The impact of me pushing the door open with the books fell them down to the floor, in the process of trying to pick them up, my glasses fell down, immediately rendering my eyes useless. I cursed at my horrible eyesight and looked at the direction I think my glasses may have fallen to because I couldn't see a thing, but I could hear, I could hear the whole class laughing at me and murmuring stuff under their breaths. I awkwardly stood, pondering on how I was going pick up my glasses with my hand full when I saw a person come up to me, I couldn't make out their face, but the blue of their eyes pierced into my soul, and was the most profound feature I could make out in my whole eyesight. They bent down and stood back up, and until they were placing my glasses back on my face I didn't understand what was going on. When I could finally see the face of my helper, the piercing blue I could make out transforms to a dull icy blue, and her features were stoic, and cold, her eyes were red and puffy, was she crying?? And she looked to be staring deep into my soul. Then like a broken spell, she breaks her gaze away, looks at the class, and retreats to her seat.

The teacher opens the door behind me, prompting me to find where to sit down for class. I find a spare seat somewhat in the middle of the class beside one of my best friends, Summer. I can't help but stare at my mysterious helper throughout the lesson. This is the first time I've ever seen her in my biology class, was she new?? I've been taking the class since freshman year but have never seen her before.

"Hey, Lean. You HAVE to tell me what's going on"

I tear my gaze off the far end of the class and look into the hazel eyes of my best friend. "What?"

"What do you mean 'what?!?"

"Seriously, I don't understand what you're talking about."

She looks at me like I just told her I saw a ghost

"Dont tell me- arghhhhh" she says, placing her head in her palms

"What??" I demand, not understanding what she was trying to tell me.

"You don't know who that is right??" she asks me

"uhm.....no?" I reply, and she facepalms, literally facepalms in the middle of class

"That's Drei Larson"

I look at her confusedly, "I have no idea who you're talking about"

"Argh. Lean, you're hopeless. Drei Larson is a senior, she failed this class and three others last year so she has to take it again, bae literally broke a school record for the number of subjects failed at once. But she's really cool, hot, and rich, so no one gives an actual shit. BUT she literally never talks to anyone, I think she has only two friends but they're total flunks and hardly come to school ever, she's a loner, and her coming up to help u like that?!? Something MUST be going on. So you have to tell me, now!"

"Ms. Lamont?" the biology teacher calls in warning towards Summer from where he stood in front of the electronic board.

"Sorry sir" Summer says and sits straight on her chair, and picks up her pen like shes about to jot down something. But as soon as the teacher turns his back to the class, she turns back and looks at me

"Talk" she demands

"I don't know"

"What do you mean you still don't know? Why did she help you out, I was about to stand, when I saw her already over there"

"I seriously have no idea"

"Lea-"

"Let's drop it"

"But?-"

"Now" I say with finality, I didn't want to begin to revel in why she helped me, but I don't see why it's such a big deal, someone helped a classmate out. No reason was behind it.....Right?

But I couldn't help but steal glances towards her direction, she was close to the window so the sunlight reflected directly off her dark skin and rich hair, she wasn't looking at the teacher but at her closed books on the table, and Mr. Blake who was normally so uptight didn't even care about her, he called the attention of other students that weren't paying attention but acted like he didn't see her throughout the whole lesson.

When the bell rang for the next period, everyone gets up, and while I gathered up my books I couldn't help but notice that she was still looking down at the books, did she not hear the bell?

Summer grabs my hand and starts telling me about some gossip as we move out of the class together, removing my mind from wondering about the mystery that is Drei Larson.

Turns out I shared three classes out of the four subjects Drei failed with her, just great. And by the end of classes I deduce that she doesn't listen in any class, she either looks out the window, at the floor, her desk, or her head is down, probably sleeping. I wanted to talk to her after classes and thank her for helping me, probably then I'll understand what made her help me out. Truth be told she filled my mind throughout the whole day, even at the end of the day when I was at my locker I couldn't help but wonder whether she had already left school.

But when I left the school building I mindlessly searched for her amongst the crowd of students, majority of us drove our own cars, and hardly anyone had a personal driver come pick them up, well excepting Drei actually, of course she's not driving. And.before I could catch up to her to thank her, she had already entered the car and zoomed off.