@waywardera so I stop getting notifications on both this and my other account ;)
MIKE frowns when Santiago asks him if he's going to look up his old place. "Nah, I'm not a detective," he protests. "I was just… never mind." Trying to make conversation. Attempting to find a friend in this newcomer. Now he feels stupid, however, and dips his head.
That foolish feeling vanishes when Santiago practically asks him to join him on the trips. "Er… I guess so? I didn't want to force myself on you, if that makes sense. But I could show you some places. Have you been to the market yet? It's really cool, there's all these colourful buildings and exotic food. Or the Witte museum, it's my favourite," he says enthusiastically.
There's nothing left of that enthusiasm when people laugh at them. Mike's been bullied before; he doesn't want to be the victim of that again. It doesn't help that his cheeks burn hotter than Venus when Santiago swats his pants. "Just - it's fine, leave it, man," he practically begs in a gentle and hushed tone. Not only is he embarrassed by the other's judgmental laughs, he is uncomfortable with where exactly Santiago's fingers brush over.
He tries to push Santiago's hands aside and nearly bumps heads with him. Great. This situation is getting better every second. "Don't bring the tray!" he whispers, taking it from him and dropping it on the table. He grabs Santiago's sleeve and hurries towards the doors, tripping over his own feet in his rush to get away from his fellow students.
"They keep everything that we forget in the changing rooms in a lost and found box," he explains on the way. "I dunno if they usually let anyone take anything, but if it's in the lost and found, no one's gonna miss it…" Mike sighs quietly and swallows the last bit of his apple before he throws away the core in a nearby trash can. He prefers to abide by the rules but he's definitely not going to walk around in salsa and bean drenched trousers all day long.
The gym smells of old sweat and chalk. He wrinkles his nose in disapproval, glad that he doesn't have to spend much time here. "I don't have to follow the PE classes," he confesses. "They exempted me for medical reasons. But if I'm not mistaken - ha!" He grins and stands on his tiptoes to grab a cardboard box. It's filled with various clothing items. "Let's have a look…"
