"Aren't there any other things you would like to add, Mr. Thorne?" the teacher stood behind Julian, patting his shoulder.
"I'm... Julian Thorne."
He repeated.
"I'm 15 years old. I don't have any particular hobbies that I know of... and I am a fan of banana milk."
Julian let out a hearty smile, of his best abilities. With a single glance, you could see his sharp canines, almost animal-like. Back on earth, they would be quite eye-catching, but it was nothing the average baby demi-human didn't have.
"Ah... wow. You can sit down now, Julian."
Even the teacher spoke with a bit of awkwardness in his voice. That was the mood that Julian conveyed. There was no confidence in his voice or anything like that. He must've lost much of his social awareness with all that labor he had to do.
Julian nodded, taking his steps toward his desired seat. The desk furthest right, all the way at the back of the class. It was right next to the window, too.
'This feels too, stereotypical, no? This choice of seat.'
As he walked down the rows, the gaze of the entire classroom lingered. Negative and positive. Either way, they were all judging. He kept his chin up, ignoring the looks, and headed straight to his seat.
He took his seat.
The classroom returned to normal. Besides subtle glances now and then, nobody paid too much attention to Julian. He was fine with that.
'I have to try and keep a low profile if I want to deal with that headmaster.'
"You were here previously, right?"
Julian turned his head to the left. There, the wielder of the voice sat. A blonde-haired boy, with rectangular glasses resting gently on his nose. His hair had a slight amount of gel, and his dark brown eyes stared deeply at Julian. His ears were sharp.
'An... elf.'
"I was. For my first year."
Julian responded promptly, though his head was not turned to his classmate. He continued to scan the entire classroom, hoping to find a familiar face. To his dismay, none were found.
He rested his chin on his desk.
"Hm."
The elf he spoke to didn't face him either. He had a very stern feeling surrounding him, and his gaze... well, it was hard to tell where his gaze was behind those glasses.
"Yeah."
"I'm Darunia. Darunia Pernan."
'I don't... remember asking for his name, though?'
"I'm Julian."
"I know that. You introduced yourself already."
"Right."
Julian just placed his whole face against the desk. That was embarrassing.
. . .
. .
.
(Julian)
It was a bit surreal, being back at this school. Matter of fact, the whole change of scenery was a bit hard for me to take in.
Unlike in the mines, it was so easy to breathe.
And this smell, it's simply so... pleasant. The sun appears to be so bright, but maybe it's because I'm not used to it.
If I had to compare this feeling to anything, I would compare it to visiting the doctor. Not the fear I felt, knowing I would get a shot. Or glares and comments I would hear about my red eyes. But rather the environment itself.
Ah, I'm stretching it out too long. It just feels so new to me. So professional. A lot different from the mines.