Edward frowned. "I'm not the kind of smart that people like." He would know. People didn't even like the kind of smart that Lucius was and he was less abrasive than him, based on observation over the years. But he had seen the message she had scribbled and he couldn't help but smile again. Maybe they could be friends. Why not?
"...my friends are Lucius and Oswald. Lucius is smart too." It was an accidental insult to Oswald.
"And I'm guessing Oswald isn't?" She had to laugh, it was pretty funny. She made another number square and watched Ed solve it as the bell went off above them. Fumbling, she pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and unfolded it onto the desk, trying to make sense of the timetable they gave her. "Do you know where English is? I have no idea what I'm doing."
She didn't want to get lost on her first day, seemed like a bad idea. "Any chance you have English too?"
"Oswald is smart in his own way." Edward had to admit that. Oswald was smarter than them in some very important ways too, no doubt. But it was also undeniable that he wasn't intelligent in the way both Lucius and Edward were.
He glanced at her timetable and then nodded, while he got up and packed his book away. "I have English. The teacher is horrid. Dangles participles a lot, makes Lucius really nervous."
"Cool, walk me there." Getting to her feet, Lee slung her bag over her shoulder and shoved in her timetable into her pocket, waiting for Edward to be all set and ready to go. As she waited for Ed to be ready to go, she noticed two boys lingering nearby and assumed this was Oswald and Lucius. They didn't seem to know what to do - they seemed very confused.
Lee just smiled and waved politely. "Are those your friends?"
"Yes, they-- Oh, dear." Edward looked at his friends and tried to think of the best way to handle this. Maybe he could just act as if this wasn't anything unusual? He gave a slight nod to his own thoughts, then walked on over and stopped by Lucius and Oswald. "Hi. This is Lee. Leslie Thompkins."
He smiled, a little awkwardly. "She wants us to walk her to English."
"But Ed... she's -- come here." Oswald pulled Ed closer and then tried his best to whisper to him, very urgently. "She's a girl." Duh. They couldn't hang out with a girl. It was weird! And strange and odd and ... probably not great for her either. They weren't good with girls.
"I think it's sexist to exclude based on gender." Lucius pointed out as he waved back politely, not seeming to mind Lee that much.
"But she's a girl. We don't know how to talk to girls."
"You kinda talk to them like you would anyone else." Lee pointed out cause yes, she could hear and no, she didn't care. She just came behind Ed with a smile. "I won't talk girly things, promise. We can talk about boy stuff. You guys look super into football and cars."
"Lucius knows about cars." So there. That was one out of three for one topic out of two, but still. Better than nothing. "Boy stuff is mostly just gross." Honestly, if Edward had to judge it. "Oh, arcade. I like talking about that."
He grinned and walked ahead, waving to Lee to come along. Lucius seemed fine and Oswald usually complained anyway, so that was all right. "I told her already. About the English teacher sucking."
"He doesn't suck, he is just ... questionable." Lucius found him troubling but not that bad.
"Cause he dangles." Lee nodded though she wasn't sure what that was or why it mattered. She mostly just wanted to try and keep on top of each boys quirks. "You like the arcade, huh? I've never been to an arcade before. I've been a lot of places but no arcade. Is it fun? Oh! Do they have those fun machines there you can win toys? Cause those look fun."
"It is fun. I like video games." He knew that not everyone did. Oswald, for example. But Oswald did really love to complain, so he didn't pay that too much heed. "You can win tickets, then you exchange them for toys. They do have those claw machines, but they are all doctored. They don't work."
He had analysed it, he knew it wasn't possible to get anything with them. Waste of money. Not that he was exactly making money by exchanging tickets for shitty toys, but still.
"You should show me some time. I bet it'd be fun." Lee suggested as she noticed the boys slowing down. Was this English class? She assumed so, based on all the posters outside the classroom - they really loved their Shakespeare quotes. As they entered, Lee approached the teacher to introduce herself and Lucius took his usual seat next to Ed and in front of Oswald. Their usual arrangement.
"Will Lee be a permanent part of our group here? If so, she should sit behind you. Then we'll be a square. If she just sits next to you, we'll be a an L. I don't like that." Lucius remarked as he looked around, arranging their desks in his head. "I guess she could also sit in front of you, that could be interesting."
"She'll make friends with the other girls and avoid us like all of them." Stood to reason. So Edward just shrugged his shoulders and watched Lee idly now, curious where she'd choose to sit. "Why would she want to join our group?"
But he did like her. Not as a girl, of course! But she got riddles and she hadn't made fun of him so far, that was special. "It'd be nice to take her to the arcade. Nicer than taking Oswald."
Well, Oswald was excessively annoying when he wanted to be.
"The arcade is boring. And expensive. And loud, it's so damn loud. And the music there? Urgh. Worst." Oswald whined as he slumped on his desk, not wanting to do English. He was sleepy and he wanted to go home, do nothing and have his mother cook for him. That'd be way nicer than this.
The teacher asked Lee where she wanted to sit and she pointed towards Ed, smiling a little at him. Coming over, she sat beside Ed again and smiled. "Can I borrow your books again? I assume you scribble on these too, huh?"
"Ugh-- Yeah." Edward blinked a bit too much, bending down to get his books out and, yes, there were scribbles all over. A couple poems too, embarrassingly enough, but luckily they were hidden between everything else. He hoped. "You could borrow from someone less-- Less me."
He gestured behind him. "Like Oswald. You could sit next to him. We'd be a square."
"Yeah but sitting like this makes us an L. For Lee." With a playful smile, she shuffled closer to Ed and peered at his book, trying to read his notes curiously because he always had the strangest notes.
Lee didn't seem deterred by Ed and neither did she show any indication that she would change her mind either. She wanted to sit by Ed. "What do you like to be called, by the way? Ed? Edward? Eddie?"
"...it's all fine." It was weird that she was asking him. "Lucius says Edward and Oswald says Ed." Usually, anyway. For some reason bullies had a tendency to go with 'Eddie', he wasn't sure why, but he could deal with that too. Actual name-calling, that was what he couldn't stand.
He glanced at Lucius and Oswald, trying to ask for help with his eyes. What was happening? Why was she so insistent on sitting next to him? Maybe it was a trap.
Lee leaned back in her chair and watched the other kids, smiling politely and complimenting one girl on her shirt. They even had some very normal and very nice small talk, even if the other girl gave Ed a weird look. No one could quite work out why Lee was sitting with him but most assumed it was cause she was new. She'd learn.
Oswald watched her and her very normal social skills before giving Ed a baffled look and shrugging, mouthing at him 'she's crazy'.
It was making him uncomfortable, honestly. It wasn't as if he enjoyed being an outsider and freak, it just happened to be that he didn't have a choice and he had gotten used to it. But now Lee was there, all normal looking and definitely not from the worst part of town, able to talk to people in a way that made them like her, and she was being nice to him?
She'd stop being nice to him. Then it would burn more again, that he was like this. "...do you like English?" He sounded like an idiot.
"It's okay, I guess. I'm not the best at it. My mother tongue is Portuguese, that's what we speak at home. I always get confused when I have to jump between the two." Her parents could speak English but they liked to keep the culture alive so they often used Portuguese for home and English for going outside. "I prefer math and science, honestly."
She was more in that mindset than any language type stuff. "What about you? I assume you're more of a math person too."
"Not really. I love language. I love words." They were so much fun to play with! Edward wondered whether Lee would understand that. "There's a lot of power in it too. The way we talk, it shapes how we're perceived. That's why I wouldn't talk the way I do right now anywhere close to where I live."
Or that's why when he did, he usually ended up being punched a lot. Simple lessons, really. "I like math, science, language, everything. I like to know. I'll learn Portuguese. Can you teach me?"
"I dunno how well I can teach you but sure, we can totally do a language explain. You can get me more interested in words and I'll teach you some new ones." She laughed and pulled her leg up, hugging it close as the teacher set the tasks on the board to do and everyone around them chatted and got out their stuff. She didn't really have stuff yet but she'd get some soon, now she knew what she needed.
"Maybe after school one of the days, we can hang out and practise portuguese?"
"Yes!" Wait. "...I know it likely won't happen. so you can't make fun of me later for believing it would." There, that should cover that. He never got his hopes up, he didn't have any dreams, so nothing could be dashed. Ed knew how the world worked. Lee didn't seem to, but whatever. Maybe he could learn something before she was too cool for him
"You should stay away from Butch. That's my one advice. He's bad news." Even if he was charming. He didn't want Lee with a gangster kid.
"Why would I make fun of you? It's my language, silly. I want you to know it. The more people who know it, the better. Do you want to do it this Friday? We could go to the park near mine." That way, he wouldn't have to freak out about where he lived or whatever the issue was. "I don't have to be home until around 6ish, that's when my mom finishes work. Both my parents work a lot so it's either go out or stay home with my sister."
And she was just the worst. "Who's Butch?" She looked around to try and find the guy, unsure who she was looking for.
"The one who looks like an ape." Oswald jerked his head in the direction of Butch, just helping Ed out.
"Yeah. That intellectually challenged gorilla over there." Butch was big for his age, tall for his age and - Edward found - stupid for any age. But he always somehow had a girlfriend and he always flirted with girls and he was popular and really good at beating them up. All things that made him even more repulsive in his eyes. "He's a brute and a bully."
And then Butch turned his head to look in their direction and Edward hastily looked down at his book. Butch smiled and waved, very friendly.
Lee waved back because it was stupid not to, smiling to Butch. Looking anything but friendly would give the game away but Oswald and Edward were doing a fine job of that anyway. They both were looking away as hastily as they could, pretending not to know what the issue was.
"Okay, gotcha, I'll avoid him." Lee turned away and gave Ed a small smile. "Any other jerks I should avoid or just that guy and all his buddies?"
"They wouldn't hurt you anyway. You are a girl." Had to give them that, they really didn't hit girls. Sexist? Probably, but it'd be in Lee's favour. "Everyone here is an enemy to the three of us. It won't be that way for you."
They weren't going to have the same experience. At least Edward highly doubted it. "I can give you a list of who I don't like why, but-- Mostly just avoid befriending actual gangsters. Like Butch. That's dangerous."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
"...my friends are Lucius and Oswald. Lucius is smart too." It was an accidental insult to Oswald.
no subject
She didn't want to get lost on her first day, seemed like a bad idea. "Any chance you have English too?"
no subject
He glanced at her timetable and then nodded, while he got up and packed his book away. "I have English. The teacher is horrid. Dangles participles a lot, makes Lucius really nervous."
no subject
Lee just smiled and waved politely. "Are those your friends?"
no subject
He smiled, a little awkwardly. "She wants us to walk her to English."
no subject
"I think it's sexist to exclude based on gender." Lucius pointed out as he waved back politely, not seeming to mind Lee that much.
"But she's a girl. We don't know how to talk to girls."
"You kinda talk to them like you would anyone else." Lee pointed out cause yes, she could hear and no, she didn't care. She just came behind Ed with a smile. "I won't talk girly things, promise. We can talk about boy stuff. You guys look super into football and cars."
no subject
He grinned and walked ahead, waving to Lee to come along. Lucius seemed fine and Oswald usually complained anyway, so that was all right. "I told her already. About the English teacher sucking."
She did suck.
no subject
"Cause he dangles." Lee nodded though she wasn't sure what that was or why it mattered. She mostly just wanted to try and keep on top of each boys quirks. "You like the arcade, huh? I've never been to an arcade before. I've been a lot of places but no arcade. Is it fun? Oh! Do they have those fun machines there you can win toys? Cause those look fun."
no subject
He had analysed it, he knew it wasn't possible to get anything with them. Waste of money. Not that he was exactly making money by exchanging tickets for shitty toys, but still.
no subject
"Will Lee be a permanent part of our group here? If so, she should sit behind you. Then we'll be a square. If she just sits next to you, we'll be a an L. I don't like that." Lucius remarked as he looked around, arranging their desks in his head. "I guess she could also sit in front of you, that could be interesting."
no subject
But he did like her. Not as a girl, of course! But she got riddles and she hadn't made fun of him so far, that was special. "It'd be nice to take her to the arcade. Nicer than taking Oswald."
Well, Oswald was excessively annoying when he wanted to be.
no subject
The teacher asked Lee where she wanted to sit and she pointed towards Ed, smiling a little at him. Coming over, she sat beside Ed again and smiled. "Can I borrow your books again? I assume you scribble on these too, huh?"
no subject
He gestured behind him. "Like Oswald. You could sit next to him. We'd be a square."
no subject
Lee didn't seem deterred by Ed and neither did she show any indication that she would change her mind either. She wanted to sit by Ed. "What do you like to be called, by the way? Ed? Edward? Eddie?"
no subject
He glanced at Lucius and Oswald, trying to ask for help with his eyes. What was happening? Why was she so insistent on sitting next to him? Maybe it was a trap.
no subject
Lee leaned back in her chair and watched the other kids, smiling politely and complimenting one girl on her shirt. They even had some very normal and very nice small talk, even if the other girl gave Ed a weird look. No one could quite work out why Lee was sitting with him but most assumed it was cause she was new. She'd learn.
Oswald watched her and her very normal social skills before giving Ed a baffled look and shrugging, mouthing at him 'she's crazy'.
no subject
She'd stop being nice to him. Then it would burn more again, that he was like this. "...do you like English?" He sounded like an idiot.
no subject
She was more in that mindset than any language type stuff. "What about you? I assume you're more of a math person too."
no subject
Or that's why when he did, he usually ended up being punched a lot. Simple lessons, really. "I like math, science, language, everything. I like to know. I'll learn Portuguese. Can you teach me?"
no subject
"Maybe after school one of the days, we can hang out and practise portuguese?"
no subject
"You should stay away from Butch. That's my one advice. He's bad news." Even if he was charming. He didn't want Lee with a gangster kid.
no subject
And she was just the worst. "Who's Butch?" She looked around to try and find the guy, unsure who she was looking for.
"The one who looks like an ape." Oswald jerked his head in the direction of Butch, just helping Ed out.
no subject
And then Butch turned his head to look in their direction and Edward hastily looked down at his book. Butch smiled and waved, very friendly.
no subject
"Okay, gotcha, I'll avoid him." Lee turned away and gave Ed a small smile. "Any other jerks I should avoid or just that guy and all his buddies?"
no subject
They weren't going to have the same experience. At least Edward highly doubted it. "I can give you a list of who I don't like why, but-- Mostly just avoid befriending actual gangsters. Like Butch. That's dangerous."
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)