Except, he ran head first into the girl that was crouched near it. A hard smack sounded off when his body met the other and he dropped right to the ground, flat on his rear end. The world spun for a few minutes and a giant textbook skidded toward his boots, a few papers flying out and a pencil whizzing right by his eye. He held his head in annoyance and was about to yell out a few choice words his mom used at him a couple of times when he saw who it was.
“You’re that girl, Jo!” He pointed at her almost accusingly. “Watch it!”
She blinked at him and fidgeted with her hands, trying to keep her glasses from sliding down the bridge of her nose. “Sorry,” she murmured. She picked herself up off the ground and towered over him with her freakish height.
Instead of helping him up like he thought she would, she bent down and scrambled to gather her things. It was the quickest he’d ever seen her go and once she had all the papers she dropped, she tucked all of it under her arms and booked it. Nothing but the swinging of her ponytail and the clack of her footsteps while she tried to get as far away from him as possible.
He wasn’t sure why, but she was interesting. Maybe it was because she was too quiet. Too much of a teacher’s pet. He often made jokes about it when she wasn’t around. All she ever did was bury her nose in her books and daydream but somehow she managed to get the top scores in class, always two steps ahead of everyone else, and well...maybe three steps ahead of Butch. She and Amata never left each other’s sides and he wanted to know why. Christine and Susie said she was a freak, backed up by the threat that Wally gave them as a relative that they shouldn’t hang around with her.
Yet even after being kicked out of the social group in class she never seemed to mind. At least, not on the outside. She’d just watch everyone with those deep brown eyes and chew on her lower lip. She was kind of slow outside of class, too. Never seemed to notice whenever people were talking behind her back. If a paper ball was thrown anywhere near her she would flinch. She opted out of joining the little league and instead cooped up in the classroom, scribbling away at those crazy worksheets that Brotch gave her as packet every week.
Christine was kind of mean, the type to laugh if you tripped and fell on your face and got a nosebleed. Susie was worse. She’d be the one that stuck her foot out in the aisle to make sure you made a spectacle of yourself. Amata always scrunched up her nose like she smelled something awful around everyone but Jo. Seemed like she couldn’t stand anyone but her best friend and often whispered insults when she thought no one was listening.
But Jo was different. She never said anything. She never did anything. She kept to herself. When Freddie stuttered while giving his report in front of the class he made the entire class roar with laughter ‘til his ears were red. She didn’t. She just stared at the boy in front of the room and frowned, as if she was bothered by it all. The time when Wally’s dad came to class and yelled at him for not cleaning up his room she was the only one who didn’t say anything about it afterwards. She kept to herself, always focused on her studies instead of engaging with the rest of them.
He leaned back in his chair and watched her run a hand through her hair. It used to be straight and one day it suddenly puffed out into their untamable mess. Still long. Her fingers got caught in a tangle and she tried to pry it out, unaware that he’d been staring at the process the entire time. He hadn’t even noticed Brotch lingering by his desk, slamming his last test on the desk and scaring the living hell out of him.
“Butch, see me after class.”
He grumbled to himself. He hadn’t been doing very well as of late. He’d never really paid attention and the earlier exams had been easy enough, but no one told him that the information from before would build on itself. Now he was clueless and everyone else seemed to grasp the concepts, even Freddie the Freak, who took absences from class more often than he did playing hooky.
“What did you get? Let me guess – a hundred, right?”
Re: FLW/Butch - Complex - [3/?]
“You’re that girl, Jo!” He pointed at her almost accusingly. “Watch it!”
She blinked at him and fidgeted with her hands, trying to keep her glasses from sliding down the bridge of her nose. “Sorry,” she murmured. She picked herself up off the ground and towered over him with her freakish height.
Instead of helping him up like he thought she would, she bent down and scrambled to gather her things. It was the quickest he’d ever seen her go and once she had all the papers she dropped, she tucked all of it under her arms and booked it. Nothing but the swinging of her ponytail and the clack of her footsteps while she tried to get as far away from him as possible.
He wasn’t sure why, but she was interesting. Maybe it was because she was too quiet. Too much of a teacher’s pet. He often made jokes about it when she wasn’t around. All she ever did was bury her nose in her books and daydream but somehow she managed to get the top scores in class, always two steps ahead of everyone else, and well...maybe three steps ahead of Butch. She and Amata never left each other’s sides and he wanted to know why. Christine and Susie said she was a freak, backed up by the threat that Wally gave them as a relative that they shouldn’t hang around with her.
Yet even after being kicked out of the social group in class she never seemed to mind. At least, not on the outside. She’d just watch everyone with those deep brown eyes and chew on her lower lip. She was kind of slow outside of class, too. Never seemed to notice whenever people were talking behind her back. If a paper ball was thrown anywhere near her she would flinch. She opted out of joining the little league and instead cooped up in the classroom, scribbling away at those crazy worksheets that Brotch gave her as packet every week.
Christine was kind of mean, the type to laugh if you tripped and fell on your face and got a nosebleed. Susie was worse. She’d be the one that stuck her foot out in the aisle to make sure you made a spectacle of yourself. Amata always scrunched up her nose like she smelled something awful around everyone but Jo. Seemed like she couldn’t stand anyone but her best friend and often whispered insults when she thought no one was listening.
But Jo was different. She never said anything. She never did anything. She kept to herself. When Freddie stuttered while giving his report in front of the class he made the entire class roar with laughter ‘til his ears were red. She didn’t. She just stared at the boy in front of the room and frowned, as if she was bothered by it all. The time when Wally’s dad came to class and yelled at him for not cleaning up his room she was the only one who didn’t say anything about it afterwards. She kept to herself, always focused on her studies instead of engaging with the rest of them.
He leaned back in his chair and watched her run a hand through her hair. It used to be straight and one day it suddenly puffed out into their untamable mess. Still long. Her fingers got caught in a tangle and she tried to pry it out, unaware that he’d been staring at the process the entire time. He hadn’t even noticed Brotch lingering by his desk, slamming his last test on the desk and scaring the living hell out of him.
“Butch, see me after class.”
He grumbled to himself. He hadn’t been doing very well as of late. He’d never really paid attention and the earlier exams had been easy enough, but no one told him that the information from before would build on itself. Now he was clueless and everyone else seemed to grasp the concepts, even Freddie the Freak, who took absences from class more often than he did playing hooky.
“What did you get? Let me guess – a hundred, right?”