"Bye, Zeno! Love you!"
"Bye."
"Have a good day. Stay out of trouble." For once Zenobia didn't walk to school, even more, her mother dropped her off. Granted, with her ankle, despite the short distance, would've been a nightmare, still it was a nice surprise.
Usually she would get ready, wait until it was time to drop Zora off at school, then make her way to her class. With her schedule, she didn't need to worry about arriving exactly when the first period officially started. With her mother's involvement, the injured teen was left adjusting her backpack and crutches with a ton of time on her hands. At least that meant she could make up all the assignments she missed yesterday.
All she would have to do was grab her books from her locker. Sounded simple enough for her to do. Now, making it to her locker was not the problem, neither was opening it, but she cursed when her books fell out, falling to the ground. A weary sigh left her lips, she glanced at the ceiling for a moment before shifting her left crutch, pushing the books closer to her feet.
She would have to kneel, something she wasn't looking forward to doing. Her injured ankle was already screaming in pain. It turned out that limping on and off a bus, and an additional good several blocks home the day before was a terrible idea when dealing with a sprain. The bath and pain lotions did nothing.
The teen could ignore the bruises she felt on her side and back. The aches in her hands were tolerable. This one damn sprain on the other hand was a royal pain to deal with, literally. One she would have to endure for a couple days.
"Do… you need help?" Immediately the fox masked girl looked up, startled. When Zenobia arrived, she really wasn't expecting any of the delinquents to talk to her. After that near fight between her and raven, she figured they would keep their distance. Yet there Demon Tears was, standing beside her locker, ignoring everyone else that was walking by.
It was especially odd considering if the outcast group was going to meet up, it was going to be later on in the morning. It would also be by the staircase leading to the upper science classes. That was where Zenobia went to settle before class, and where the rest of them would invade. So, the injured girl could only blink before giving a small nod.
Demon sighed in relief before grabbing her backpack, then they grabbed all the textbooks and papers that laid on the floor. Their reaction only made it more confusing to the teen. In swift, fluid movements all of Zenobia's school stuff was neatly held in Demon's hands. What would have taken her ages, Demon managed to situate in seconds.
"Sh-shall we?" Together the two walked slowly, with Demon purposely taking baby steps so Zenobia wasn't struggling to keep up. She noticed that they weren't going to their specific staircase, rather she was being led to an empty classroom. Specifically, Zenobia's first period of the day. What was their deal?
"H-here." Her belongings were gently placed on her desk, giving easy access while she finally sat down in her assigned seat. Her crutches were tossed under her desk. Red eyes met lavender under those painted tears.
"Thanks...I appreciate your help."
"No problem!" Their voice rose a bit too high, almost a squeak instead of an actual reply. It was only adding to Zenobia's suspicions of the person in front of her. Out of all the outcasts, Demon was the quietest.
They were the ones that mainly trailed behind the other two. Raven did all the talking, Bull was usually the one to drag him back when he went too far with his antics, while Demon watched, doing whatever they did. He? She? Zenobia couldn't even tell their gender, not that she wanted to make an assumption, but she did know they weren't the type to jump in and offer help like this.
"So do you mind telling me what else you wanted from me?"
"!" She saw them flinch, confirming her thoughts. There was another reason behind being escorted by her. With that knowledge, the carver in training crossed her arms, waiting. Which didn't take long.
However, she was surprised when Demon took off...her mask. Revealing short black hair and an innocent baby face to go along with those lavender eyes. She looked nervous; a bit sheepish as she sat down across from Zenobia. Her mask was placed in between them treated as if it was a peace offering.
"I apologize for this, but I didn't want the others to interrupt. I have a request."
"Do you normally take your mask off while asking?"
"Back home it's customary to do so, especially when you're asking someone you highly respect." Now that caused Zenobia to raise an eyebrow. This was a first. Both the custom and the fact that this girl looked up to her were new. So it led to her next question.
"Where are you from?"
"Gemath, Coralin Territory." Now that made sense. The people of Coralin territory had a very different set of values and customs compared to the people that live in Chizel. Suddenly her choice of masks wasn't odd or unusual at all. In fact, the poor girl had no choice but to wear it.
"So, then your mask..."
"I'm from the Daemon clan. My ancestors were known for being spiritualists. They wore masks like mine to blend in with their targets. This one was my great grandfathers." Until marriage, Coralin citizens wore their previous generations' masks. Their culture had more strict traditions that valued heritage.
At least from what she could remember from one of her teachers that was from Coralin a few years back. It was all a bit blurry since that wasn't the nicest of time periods for her. Still, all the pieces were clicking together. With that, all Zenobia could do was hear her out. She waved her hand, allowing her classmate to continue.
"I'm sorry to ask this out of the blue, but I was wondering if you could help me study for the upcoming midterms? My grades aren't bad per say but I know I'm not prepared for them."
"Uh...sure? Personally, I don't mind but I'm not sure why this would be considered a big deal." Honestly this was the last thing Zenobia would've considered a big deal. Granted she's never tutored someone before, so there was a possibility of making things worse for the girl sitting with her. However, she wasn't opposed to it.
"It is a huge deal to me. You see, my family moved to this territory so my little brothers and grandfather could get better health treatment. Their immune systems are poor, so I made a deal with my parents that so long as my grades were above average, I could work part time to help with paying the medical bills." So that was why.
Now Zenobia felt really bad. All this time she thought this person was a bad egg that hung around because she had nowhere to go. How many times had she thought to ask Zenobia this very question but lost the nerve when she snapped at them to leave her be? She wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer.
"We'd have to figure out our schedules. I have study hall the first two blocks and lunch block six every day." Demon stared at her with her jaw dropped slightly. Her reaction immediately made the masked student internally panic.
Did they have to meet after school? Or was she just surprised Zenobia was willing to do this? Considering her...blowout yesterday, it would be justified. How the hell should she act in a situation like this!?
"Is... something wrong, Daemon?"
"You called me by my family name?"
"Sorry!"
"No no, it's just, do you mind calling me Phoebie? As much as I love the fact that you're referring to me formally, I... well...I want us to be friends." Zenobia only called her that because she didn't want to call her demon right to her face. It was awful, shameful that she didn't want to admit she had no clue what her first name was.
Especially since Phoebie thought she was simply calling her that in respect to her Coralin roots. In the end…she truly was her mother's daughter and a hypocrite at that. Still, that didn't mean she couldn't do better. Phoebie wanted to be friends with her on top of wanting to get help with studying.
Zenobia could take baby steps to improve what little social skills she had. In the future, if she wanted to follow her dream, she would have to get used to talking and connecting with people. Now was as good a time as any to do that. She offered her classmate a small smile, hoping it didn't look too forced.
"Sure. I'd like that. Maybe we could trade phone numbers so we can keep in touch?"
"Do you mean that?"
"Yeah, if you don't want to, it's fine-"
"No, no! I'd love that actually." Now that the awkward formallities were gone, it was like Zenobia was speaking to someone completely different. Phoebie looked like someone presented her a birthday gift two months in advance. Her smile was so wide, it had to be painful.
Throughout this entire conversation she didn't call out Zenobia's awkwardness, even though it was obvious. Her fellow student was sweet. Together the two pulled out their phones, saving each other under their contacts. The fox masked girl stared at the new contact icon in her phone, an unknown feeling forming.
"Alright, guess we're good to go."
"Thank you so much, Zenobia. I really appreciate it.
"Call me, Zeno. My full name can be a bit of a mouthful. Bell's about to ring, may want to put your mask on before someone else comes in."
"R-right! Thank you, again." It wasn't exactly the best way to form a friendship but having someone to talk to in school that wasn't a teacher might not be so bad. Maybe, just maybe, she could ask Phoebie about a mask pattern for her sister.
Or maybe the two of them could trade stories for inspiration. It was a strange feeling to want to talk to someone about various different topics and the excitement that comes with it. That would still have to wait as students trickled into the room. Their eyes narrowed in suspicion at Phoebie. Zenobia stretched her arms above her head, cracking her back and neck.
"Do you have class?"
"Yes, but I have next period free. Can I meet you by the staircase?"
"You got it, bring whatever it is you're struggling most with." Zenobia was ready to tackle her assignments and anything else that came her way. Things may have not gone as planned; it seemed her little day off yesterday was what she needed after all. Her day was getting better, with new possibilities to change her routine. For once, change held potential.