summer school, something zoe never wanted to endure. she hated school as it was, but school in the summer when she could be on the beach ?? so not her cup of tea. at least her and Tristan had both failed the class, so she’d have him, or so she thought until they walked into the science classroom and he quickly stepped away from her for a cute guy. a sigh easily left her lips as she looked around the room. the only free seat was next to a girl she’d never seen before, the curly short hair would’ve stood out to her other wise. she didn’t do well with girls, but who else was her lab partner supposed to be? she had absolutely no one else. it was this or repeat the class the next school year with younger students. maybe the girl wasn’t so bad – or so she hoped at least.
taking a deep breath she finally headed over, her feet carrying her at almost a snails pace. the new girl had her headphones in, pink ones to be exact, one of zoe’s favourite colors. another deep breath the teen reached out gently tapping the other girls shoulder when she got close enough. finally examining her, zoe tried not to gasp out loud, the girls beauty almost mesmerizing. wow, she was gorgeous, but the brunette couldn’t figure out why she thought so. she’d never noticed a girl like that before. shaking it off, she forced a grin on her face, and cleared her throat just hoping she could hear her over the music in her ears.
“hey, i’m so sorry to bother you but i’m kind of stuck. my best friend ditched me for that guy over there,” she pointed once the two made eye contact with a slight huff. “i really need a lab partner, would you mind?”
toronto, canada. a supposed safe haven for refugees like herself and something entirely too new. to speak a language that was not her first. maybe not event her second. to find new friends. to wonder if for once in her life she might feel safe enough to come out. probably not. toronto wasn’t a dream come true.
she shuffled into the classroom, clinging to her schedule. she had asked to get there early, so she wouldn’t get lost, but of course she had. was it just her or did every room and every hallway look the same? finally, she found amongst a few other kids shuffling into the room and she followed short behind. immediately, she spotted beakers and she knew she was in the right place.
she took a seat in the middle of the classroom, throwing down her bag on the empty seat next to her and took out her notebook. she wasn’t really sure why she was in this particular class. she always did fairly well in science, but they had insisted she try taking a full load during the summer so she could adjust.
oh well. she shifted in her seat, grabbing a pen from her bag now and tapped it against the blank page of her notebook. the class hadn’t even started and she was bored. with goldi at home for the summer, she figured she’d likely end up working on things alone. welcome to degrassi, she guessed — but then this girl walks up to her — chocolatey hair, piercing eyes, a face that made her forget...wait, where was this sentence going?
“no- no, of course not.” crap. she told herself she wasn’t going to fall for anyone here. she had to stay in the closet, stay safe. she knew no one would likely report her here, but she didn’t know the rules of this place yet — or the nahirs. “i’m rasha.”