>I shake no at her as she beams a smile, confirming. "Guess you'll be joining us at lunch, then." >A small flare of excitement bubbles up inside me. Now I really owe her. Before I can open my mouth to confirm Solly blows his whistle and lets us know it's time to change. I get a thumbs up from Demi as she waves me off. >Next period and I already despise first period physical exercise. Stiff and achy I take my seat. Art class. At least it's something I enjoy now. >I take a seat up front and settle in as the class filters in. I notice a green wheelchair-bound gator girl slides in next to me, right up front. We share glances for a moment. She makes it very clear she's not looking for conversation much less friendship. Alas. >I point my face back forward as the teacher enters. Ptero guy, looks rather plain all things con- >*SLAM* >I jump as he plants both his hands on his desk, rough. He beams a wide smile as he leans up, properly introducing himself now that my heart-rate is back up into the stratosphere. >"Good morning, class. I'm Mr. Iadakan." He gestures to his name on the board behind him. >"And welcome to art appreciation. Now if you'd please open your textbooks up to page 12 we'll get started." He makes a grand motion of sitting, putting extreme emphasis into it. >Textbook. Oh boy. I glance around to see everyone but me has one. Must have missed the handout yesterday. I raise my hand and ask as I'm called on. >"Uh, I was out yesterday and don't have the textbook." >Iadakan pulls a hand under his beak in thought a moment. >He points at he bary girl beside me as he speaks. "You can share with Olivia today." >I look over to see her squinting at me. She huffs and motions for me to scooch over and slides the book between our desks as I lock them together. >She's profoundly disinterested in the classwork, using the time to scratch away at what I assume is a doodle. I try to sneak a peek but get caught. cont.
>>69143272 >She roughly slams an arm to block my view. Oof. I don't push my luck and let her keep her privacy as class continues. As it winds down she's excused early and Iadakan motions for me to join him at the front, giving me a pass to grab a textbook after class today from the library. >He stops me once more before I can fully leave, "Try to cut Olivia some slack, Inco. She's quite nice once you get to know her but a bit...prickly towards new people." I nod as he smiles at me, waving me back to my seat to enjoy the last few minutes of class before it's time to leave. >The day passes quite quickly. Each teacher giving me a laundry list of things I'll need, be it textbooks or notebooks. >Lunch time, now and I excitedly step into the cafeteria. In a flash I notice Demi and her friend group. I swallow a bit as she waves me over, all girls. Including Olivia. Huh. >I move over to take a seat as she almost drags me down into a chair, introducing me. >"Hey glad you made it! Girls, Inco. Inco, girls." She waves at the group and smiles as all eyes lock on me. >She introduces them one-by-one. "That's Liz," The brachy girl, or at least her body waves at me. I glance to see her head up in the rafters, peering down and chewing. >"Olivia," She points to Olivia who stares at me flatly. >"And me." She beams and points at herself. I give a quick thumbs-up and sound back. >"Nice to meet you all. My name's Inco." I get nods of confirmation and start to lock up. I glance to the food line to see if I can grab something for lunch. It's a brawl. >Students climbing over each other, tails, claws, arms and otherwise slamming and pushing. Death sentence for little old Inco. >Before I can start to look around for another option I'm yanked up by my sore arm. >Demi pulls me ahead as she speaks, "Oh here I'll come with ya. Must be hard to handle this kinda thing with no scales, huh?"
>>69143436 >I can't even nod as I'm marched right into the mosh-pit. To my surprise Demi uses herself to shield me. Using brute force she plows through and manages to get us to into the line. Hell of a lineup they've got. I grab a bit of everything as I notice Demi herself absolutely pile a plate high with meat. Carnivore, right. >As we finally make it to the front to pay I start to become acutely aware of just how close Demi has to be to me to keep others from slamming into me. She's close enough that I can feel when she breathes. I start to get a little nervous as we finally break out of the crowd and back into fresh air. >I glance up to see her just beaming wide at me as we make it back to the table. Wonder if she'll do this every time. Maybe I'll get used to it. As I fight the blush off my face I take my seat again, right next to her.