Over the next few weeks, I would go and visit my cousins or grandparents. While being invited over to the Dunphy house a few times, due to my Dad becoming friendly with Phil. Though it did make me grow slightly closer to the Dunphy kids, as Alex and I talked about school, Haley tried to learn more about my Mom's side, and Luke played Wii games with me. Then school started back up again, with me waking up and going to my Mom's car as my Dad had to be at work earlier, while my Mom had a more flexible schedule.
"¡Mijo, tener un buen día en la escuela! ¡Te amo!" (Sweetheart, have a good day at school! I love you!) Mom says to me as she drops me off at school.
"¡Que tengas un buen día y te amo también!" (Have a good day and love you too!) I say back to her while waving goodbye.
"Hey Gabe," Alex says to me as she was dropped off at the same time as me since she saw me.
"Hey Alex, excited for the new year?" I ask her and she shrugs while we walk inside of the school.
"Eh, not really. I mean it is just another year, one that will get me closer to Highschool. Then I can finally focus on really trying hard to get into a good college, like Harvard," Alex says to me as it seems she wants to go to Harvard or another ivy league school, as most very intelligent and school-driven kids wish.
"Harvard? Why there? What do you want to study?" I ask her and it seems we are headed to the same classroom.
"I'm… I'm not too sure. I like technology in general, like computers, and robotics. But at the same time, I love chemistry and biology," Alex says to me as we reach the classroom.
"Oh is this your classroom too?" Alex says seeing we are in the same class this year.
"Yeah, so it seems we are in the same classroom," I say as we enter it and take seats, we both sit near the front and I take a seat next to her.
"Well Harvard is gonna be hard to get into, I can see why you try so hard at school," I say to her and she nods her head to me.
"What about you?" Alex asks me.
"I want to be a doctor like my Dad. If I'm lucky I can get into Harvard too, though who knows what will happen," I say with a shrug, knowing with my knowledge that getting into Harvard again will be a cakewalk, especially since I know everything already.
"Oh cool! So it seems we both are reaching for the same thing. Well, I wish you luck!" Alex says as other kids start to pour into the classroom.
As soon as the other kids start coming in, Alex shuts down, like she is afraid of them. It seems being a bookworm and dedicating her time to studying has made her sort of a social outcast. I can understand what that feels like, as my past life memories are the same. Though now that I have come to see her as a friend, I hope to help her come out of her shell, so she does not end up like I did in my other life.
"Hello everyone! Welcome back to school, I hope you all had good summers. Though, it is time to get back into the school mindset," the teacher says to everyone while looking at me, as it seems she knows I am the new kid.
"Before we begin, I would like to introduce the new student here at school. Gabriel, care to introduce yourself to the class," the teacher says while gesturing to me and I nod my head standing up and turning the classroom.
All the kids have looks of tiredness, carelessness, or just looks of disinterest. Though some are paying attention like Alex and some other girls, who appear to have taken an interest in me. I know I am considered more handsome than other boys, considering both sides of my family are very attractive people. I then smile at the class before speaking up.
"Hello everyone. I am Gabriel Hunter, though you can call me Gabe. I just moved here a few months ago from Chicago. I like to read, play Wii games, and hang out with my friends," I say to them all while taking my seat again.
"Good introduction Gabe. Now, let's talk about what we will be doing this year," the teacher says before beginning the school day.
The class was as boring as normal, especially now that it is like me doing it all over again. I acted like a paid attention, but was really just daydreaming all day. Then lunch finally came and we all headed to the cafeteria. I walked with Alex and talked to her, as many other kids began whispering, probably making some stupid rumors. Though I didn't care about whatever the kids thought of me, at least that was the adult feelings inside me speaking.
"¡Hermano!" (Bro!) Carlos says to me seeing me enter the cafeteria and giving me a brotherly hug.
"Hey, I thought we'd hang out before class started. But I couldn't find you, at least we get to talk now," Carlos says to me, and I now notice Alex has disappeared and is sitting by herself at one the of corner tables.
"Yeah, though I'm gonna go sit with Alex. Want to come with me?" I say to Carlos while he looks over to see Alex by herself. He looks confused for a bit, before turning to me with a smirk on his face.
"¡Oh! Primer día y ya estás enamorado de alguien," (Oh! First day and you already have a crush on someone) Carlos says to me with a laugh at the end as I give him a deadpan stare.
"No es así. Yo solo... me siento mal por ella," (It's not like that. I just... feel bad for her) I say to him and he just snorts at my answer seemingly not believing me.
"Ok, whatever you say… Though if you change your mind, I will be over there with my friends," Carlos says to me with the same shit-eating grin on his face, as I roll my eyes and head over to Alex.
"Why'd you run away?" I ask Alex surprising her, that I came over since she was reading some textbook while eating.
"Gabe?" Alex says seeming to register that I really came to sit with her.
'Oh, boy. Seems she is just as hopeless as I was in my other life,' I think to myself while taking a seat at the table.
"Studying already?" I ask her seeing she is reading the biology textbook for this year.
"Yeah! So what?! Doesn't hurt to get a head start!" Alex says somewhat defensively like she is waiting for me to make fun of her or something.
"Sorry, didn't mean to upset you. Was just thinking that maybe you should try to relax once in a while. Like Steven King's book 'The Shining' and the movie, 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy'," I say to her as she stares at me surprised and confused.
"What?" Alex says still confused.
"You do know Steven King… right?" I ask her hoping she at least knows one of the more famous authors.
"Yeah, I know him!" Alex says still defensive slightly.
"Then did you ever read or see the movie, 'The Shining'?" I say as she goes quiet and shakes her head.
"Well, you should read the book or see the movie at least. But basically, the quote means, without time off from work, a person becomes both bored and boring," I say to her and she just glares at me slightly.
"So, who cares if I am boring to other people?! At least I am concerned with learning," Alex says defending her reasons for studying all the time, while I just shake my head not wanting to press the issue. As I know it will do nothing, but make her more upset with me and if I am going to try to help her, it will take more time.
"Ok, ok," I say while shrugging my shoulder, with Alex then going back to studying.
"Why'd you even come over here? You should've sat with your cousin and his friends. At least then you'd be considered a popular kid, with me you'll be a freak too," Alex says breaking the silence after a few minutes.
"I came over here, because you are my friend and because I thought maybe you'd like some company. As for being 'popular', I really don't care about that," I say to her, and a small smile forms on her face, before quickly disappearing.
"Well… thanks," Alex says almost too quiet for me to hear, but I nod my head. As we both fall back into silence, but this time it is more comfortable than awkward.
The rest of the day was just as boring as the beginning, though this time it seems rumors about me and Alex have already spread around the school. Along with Alex becoming more friendly with me and not being so defensive. Over the next few weeks, Alex and I have become closer friends, though it does appear I am the first 'real' friend she has ever had. I've been invited over a couple of times to hang out with her, but it was mostly spent with us studying and doing homework together. This became an almost everyday ritual, where she would come over to my house or me hers and we'd do our homework together.
"Gabe, what'd you get for problem fifteen?" Alex asked me as we were sitting in her kitchen doing math homework. Which I already finished and was doing extra math problems just to keep busy.
"X equals twenty," I say without even looking at my paper.
"How can you even do that without looking and so fast?" Alex says to me still not sure I am able to do all this so easily.
"I have a photographic memory and don't seem to forget anything once I see it or learn it," I say to her making her stare at me in disbelief.
"You're just telling me this!" Alex says while in disbelief still.
"You never asked until now," I say to her and she gives me an annoyed look.
"Ask me anything in the book and I will tell you exactly what it says," I say to her and she stares at me for a bit before nodding her head. Then goes to a random page deeper in the textbook, before asking me. I give her the exact information in the book making her stare at me in disbelief again.
"No way!" Alex says and I chuckle at her surprise.
"Hey, G-man! Your dad asked if you could stay till dinner, it seems both your parents are working late today. Though I told them we are going over to Alex's Uncle's house since he and his boyfriend are throwing a dinner party for the family," Phil says interrupting Alex and my study time.
"Oh, ok," I say since I don't really mind and my parents rarely work late, so whatever it is must be important. Since my Mom is a senior partner at the law firm the hospital uses.
"Oh, Uncle Mitchell and Cam are back from Vietnam already?" Alex says hearing her Dad's statement.
"Yeah, though whatever it is the reason for the dinner party, seems to have your Uncle Cam excited," Phil says as my memories surface, making it seem this is going to be the day Mitchell and Cam introduce Lily to the family.
"Yeah, we'll be heading over in a couple of hours. So make you guys are ready then," Phil says before going off to tell Luke, who is playing outside.
"You haven't met my Uncles yet have you?" Alex says and I shake my head no.
"Oh, well they are super cool. My Uncle Mitchell is a lawyer like your mom and his boyfriend is… very interesting in his own way," Alex says not sure how to describe Cam, while I just smile at her.