Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/1047926.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Choose_Not_To_Use_Archive_Warnings, Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Major
      Character_Death, Underage
  Category:
      F/M, M/M
  Fandom:
      Homestuck
  Relationship:
      Gamzee_Makara/Karkat_Vantas
  Character:
      Karkat_Vantas, Kankri_Vantas, Gamzee_Makara, Kurloz_Makara, Sollux
      Captor, Mituna_Captor, Terezi_Pyrope, Tavros_Nitram, Vriska_Serket,
      Aranea_Serket, Kanaya_Maryam, Porrim_Maryam, Eridan_Ampora, Cronus
      Ampora, Aradia_Megido, Equius_Zahhak, Horuss_Zahhak, Nepeta_Leijon, John
      Egbert, Rose_Lalonde, Dave_Strider, Jade_Harley, Snowman_-_Character, Doc
      Scratch
  Additional Tags:
      Child_Abuse, domestic_abuse, Drug_trafficking, Bullying, Gun_Violence,
      Orphaning, Gang_activity, Alternate_Universe-_Dark, Humanstuck
  Stats:
      Published: 2013-11-17 Chapters: 6/? Words: 8277
****** Another Humanstuck Story ******
by scoliosis
Summary
     Your name is Karkat Vantas and you should be happy with the life you
     have.
Notes
     This was my first Homestuck fan fiction submitted to Fanfiction.net
     and decided to put in on here.
     There will be a bit of light Gamkar and some temporary Karkat x
     Kanaya. We 'll see what happens.
     The reason why I called it Another Humanstuck Story because there's
     so many of them. So shit, let's make another one.
     Don't be fooled. The story will get more violent and fucked up as it
     goes on. Dark headcanons that might grab your feels by the balls.
     Ain't no cutesy shit. We goin' into reality.
     Inspired by Bad-Imagination's/badAquatic's Trailerstuck.
     Anyways, enjoy and feel free to review.
     :D
***** The Beginning *****
===> BE THE BOY WHO HATES GETTING UP EARLY IN THE FUCKING MORNING.
Your dull, ebony eyes open up to the rising sun shining through your bedroom
window. You move your sight towards the digital clock that sits on a small
table beside you. Your vision is a bit blurry. You can't pick up what time it
is. But judging by the light you awoke upon, you guarantee that it is daylight
out there.
You shift your body around, pulling your red and black spade covers over your
head.
You close your eyes, completely undisturbed, going back into another sequence
of slumber.
"Rise and shine!" a voice sounds before your bedroom door flies open.
Heavy feet rush to your bed and the silence around you is interfered by the
piercing sound of a whistle.
"Time to wake up. It is highly important that you get up at an early time," the
voice says before blowing the whistle again.
What the fu-
You snatch the covers off your head and glare up at the bastard who picks the
wrong time to disturb you. Your vision clears up and you see a twenty year old
boy, standing over you, in a bright, ugly red sweater.
God fucking dammit, Kankri...
"Come on! You're going to miss your first day of high school! You know how much
it triggers me when I see flaws in your schedule."
You let out a snarl.
"I think you should overlook the damn calendar again. It's Saturday. So get the
fuck out of my room, you sweater-wearing shitstain."
Kankri simply folds his arms, refusing to 'get the fuck out of your room'. He
hears this many times before. It never phases him.
"Saturday?," he says with his head slightly turned up and his right eye
closed," Last time I observed my calendar, it informed about today being
Monday. Guess what? Today is Monday. Today is the first day of school for you
and I refuse to let you skip this day. Do you know how much of missing the
first day of valuable education can affect your attendance? You could get left
back. Your friends may graduate before you. You won't be able to graduate. You
might lose the inspiration to finish school. You'll drop out. You'll never get
a job. You'll never go to college. You're becoming an adult before you know it.
I can't keep waking you up for school. What if you're scheduled to go for a job
interview in the morning? Hm? By that time, I'm most certainly not going to be
there to play the role as your alarm clock-" You hid your face under your
pillow to block out his never ending babble. Unable to drown out the sound of
his voice, you give up and haul your ass out of bed.
"Alright already! I'll get my ass to school!" you yell.
You throw the covers at Kankri and mutter slurs under your breath as you storm
pass him and make your way to the bathroom.
"You know, language like that won't get you anywhere in life. I'll try to say
this in a way that wont offend you, and if it does, I'll apologize for- HEY Are
you even listening to me?- "
SLAM!
===> Bathroom
Great.
Just great.
Just fucking great.
Today's the first day of high school. You're exhausted. You're unprepared. You
can't believe how fast the summer went by for you. After 10 months of
excruciating work, you at least deserve a longer vacation. But you guess life
isn't fair for someone like you, isn't? You groan at thought of it, sliding
your back from the tiled wall. You sit down on the floor with your arms resting
on your knees.
Summer?
Why are you even thinking about that?
Your summer was terrible, remember?
Your brother was almost everywhere you went, wearing that same hot ass winter
sweater.
Jesus, you can still hear him running his mouth.
Ever since your father passed away from a few years ago, your brother tries to
imitate this role of being a father figure to you. He actually believes that he
is good role model. And the talking. You can still hear him, this time getting
on your case about something you don't give a shit about.
You see a large mirror on the opposite wall in front of you and much to your
distaste; you peer into your discrepant reflection, seeing the figure of a
short, pale, medium-sized boy that has a short temper and a lot of underline
issues.
You don't brush your hair pretty often, leaving it to be short and tangled, but
it's not dirty. You have stressful rings around your large shadowy eyes,
indicating that you never get a peaceful night of sleep. You're teeth...well,
your teeth is slightly sharper than the average human. This, along with your
short stature, is due to a rare genetic bone mutation that has been passed down
in the Vantas family tree. Your bones are frail and you can't be exposed to
certain kinds of weather because your weak immune system. Your father had it,
your brother has it, and now, you have it.
Feeling disgusted by your appearance, you get up and start taking a shower.
Well.
You're not getting anywhere just by sitting on the bathroom floor and you know
damn well you're not going to stay here and listen to his mouth all morning
long. Better to wake yourself up now and get ready for high school.
===> Bedroom
Like all the other closets around your house, your closet is another essential
spot for Kankri to store his sweaters in. This also brings back the reason why
you stopped speaking to your neighbor Porrim.
"Red sweater, Daily Horoscope, red sweater, red sweater, red sweater, red
sweater, Gambro Magazine, red sweater, red sweater, red sweater, red sweater,"
you mumble as you toss sweaters around your room.
You stop.
There's something missing.
"Kankri!"
"Yes?" a voice answers you from the kitchen.
"What the hell happened to all my Dan Vs. T-shirts? "
"Oh, I threw all of them out. They were old and dingy. You hardly pressed them
out-"
You feel swirl of anger rising in your cheeks.
( WHO THE FUCK GAVE THAT BLABBERING INCONSIDERATE PRICK TO RIGHT TO CONTROL
WHAT THE FUCK I WHERE?! )
"-So, I made it my full business to give you something more appropriate to
wear. For now on, there will be no more shirts, except the sweaters in your
closet. Our bodies are made differently. We Vantas's have to constantly dress
in something heavy to keep us warm or else we get sick and die. That's why I
wear these sweaters", he says tugging on his turtleneck proudly.
"If it wasn't for Porrim, we would've been in a bad situation-"
You can't believe he considers this to be okay and think nothing of it. It
ticks you off when he comes up with more rules and regulations just to make
your existence more unbearable than it already is.
There aren't any more shirts for you to wear.
You have no other choice. You're going to have to wear one of the sweaters
until you get enough money to buy another shirt and hide it from the bastard.
It makes your blood boil when it comes down to options like these.
You throw a sweater over your body, try to find where the arms come out. You
have never wore something so bright and itchy in your entire life, like it was
something a grandmother would give to their 7 year old grandchild. Then an idea
sparks in your brain. You may not have any shirts, but there is a way to hide
the bright, candy red color you're sick of looking at.
A long time ago, before your father died, he used to wear this long, gray hoody
everyday to his construction job. You still have it, keeping it tucked under
your bed. You need it to conceal the scarlet eyesore. There's no other reason
why you would wear it. As long as it's not a T-shirt, Kankri has no stupid
reason to bitch about it.
You slip on a pair of gray of sweat pants and a pair of old solid black
sneakers. You head downstairs to grab your book bag before heading out.
"And where do you think you're going?"
You stop to see Kankri at the kitchen doorway, wearing a pink apron with hearts
on it, oven mitts, and holding a long spatula with pancake mix on the tip. Of
all things that are most sad to look at, this is one of them. You are not going
to eat the stale pancakes he makes almost every morning.
"If this about me eating your terrible cooking, I'll pass" you sighed and
continue walking. He stops you again.
"You must have forgotten," he says, folding his arms at you.
You roll yours eyes.
"Forgot what? Another sweater?"
"You do remember that I assigned you to take the school bus, am I right?"
"School bus?!" You walk up to the boy. "I didn't agree to take the retard
express! When the fuck was this?"
"Language, Vantas. I don't mean to trigger you. Over the summer, you stated 'I
would love to ride the sped-ed bus to go to school' and so I kindly obliged."
"For the love of fuck, don't you get sarcasm when you hear it?"
And then Kankri goes on again with his rambling,"Think about it. Too many kids
around your age get snatched up each year when walking to their designated
school. Now, calculate the number of -"
"Jesus christ! You are the most difficult person to live with. You made me jump
out my sleep by you blowing your stupid whistle in my ear, you threw out all my
good shirts to make room for your shitty sweater fetish, and now you want me to
take the stupid bus to school when the god damn school is only a FEW FUCKING
BLOCKS AWAY! "
Since your school is a half-hour away, you made the decision on wanting to walk
there on your own.
But no, you didn't have right to decide on that. Your older brother, Kankri,
forbids you from doing anything, even walking. A school bus? What was he
thinking? You're not a little kid anymore! What will the others think of you
when they see you getting off? First of all, what the fuck was going on in his
mind when he was throwing out every last one of your shirts?
Your name is Karkat Vantas and you feel like screaming.
***** 2 *****
-- KARKAT began texting SOLLUX at 8:05 AM --!
 KARKAT: FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUUUUUCK!
SOLLUX: jesus christ kk its to early for this
SOLLUX: what the hell is up with you
KARKAT: NOTHING. JUST PONDERING ON THE MOST RIDICULOUS EVENT THAT HAPPENED TO
ME EARLIER.
SOLLUX: why are you typing like a noob
KARKAT: I BROKE A FEW BUTTONS AFTER SLAMMING MY PHONE DOWN.
SOLLUX: you always rant about bullshit
SOLLUX: what utter nonsense do you want to sway my attention to this time
KARKAT: IT'S ABOUT KANKRI AGAIN. HE KEEPS MAKING ME DO STUPID THINGS.
SOLLUX: so
KARKAT: SO? WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY SO? THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE.
SOLLUX: youre the issue kk
SOLLUX: if youre tired of kankri getting in your ass about certain things then
address the issue to him so you would stop pestering me about your problems
SOLLUX: i have no time for a pity party
KARKAT: WOW. YOU'RE A TRUE FRIEND.
KARKAT: LIKE GIVING ME HALF ASS ADVICE IS REALLY GOING TO HELP.
SOLLUX: shut up kk im the only friend you that manage to listen to your
bitching
KARKAT: BUT SERIOUSLY, DUDE. THE SHIT I'M GOING THROUGH IS FUCKING UNBEARABLE.
KARKAT: ARE YOU EVEN READING THIS?
KARKAT: HELLO.
KARKAT: EARTH TO DOUBLE DOUCHE.
SOLLUX: what
KARKAT: WHAT THE HELL WAS KEEPING YOU SO OCCUPIED THAT YOU CAN'T EVEN READ THE
SHIT I'M TYPING?
KARKAT: AND HERE WE GO AGAIN.
KARKAT: THE SILENT TREATMENT.
SOLLUX: sorry kk i cant respond to you right now
SOLLUX: im playing sonic on my DS
KARKAT: DUDE, YOU'VE BEEN FINGER FUCKING THAT GAME ALL SUMMER LONG.
KARKAT: I DON'T SEE THE POINT WHY PEOPLE PRAISE THAT BLUE RAT.
KARKAT: FROM WHAT I OBSERVE, ALL I SEE THAT HE EAT RINGS AND DEFECATE A
SHITSTORM OF SPEED.
SOLLUX: you play as two sonics from a past and modern timeline
SOLLUX: hehehe its double the fun if you ask me
KARKAT: FUCK YOU.
KARKAT: FUCK YOU FOR MAKING ME READ THAT SHITTY PUN.
KARKAT AND FUCK YOU FOR COMING UP WITH IT AS WELL.
KARKAT: SOMETIMES I WONDER WHY YOU'RE MY FRIEND IN FIRST PLACE.
KARKAT: I CANNOT FATHOM THE LOGIC OF IT.
SOLLUX: back in middle school you had a huge crush on me and you wanted to get
to know me
KARKAT: YOU UNBELIEVABLE
KARKAT: BIPOLAR SACK OF SHIT
KARKAT: YOU PROMISE
KARKAT: TO NEVER
KARKAT: EVER
KARKAT: BRING THAT UP *AGAIN*.
KARKAT: AND BESIDES, MY MINDLESS INFATUATION FOR YOU ONLY LASTED FOR A WEEK.
SOLLUX: whatever just get your ass to school
SOLLUX: im busy
--SOLLUX ceased texting KARKAT at 8:12 AM--!
===> Karkat: ride on the school bus.
You sit towards the back, in an empty seat on the right, turning your head to
the window to avoid interaction with the other kids, hoping for some obnoxious
idiot to don't come along and sit next to you and stir up a pointless
conversation.
The others sitting around you were quite loud. And fuck, they're acting like a
bunch of mindless idiots. Especially that girl sitting next to that boy with
the mohawk.
As you look with the corner of your eye, you can see he keeps flinching
whenever she shouts, like he's...scared of her or something.
You can hear a girl shouting back at her, engaging in a playful argument about
something you can't quite pick up. The girl she's sitting next to, wearing red
shades, is cackling madly, nearly falling out of her seat, unaware that she is
dropping a pack of sunflower seeds and a fruit punch Arizona can out of her
bag.
What the hell are these people talking abou-
Whatever, it doesn't concern the likes of you.
Why are you letting this bother you?
You close your eyes to drift off into your thoughts, trying to clear out the
preteen havoc that surrounds you. You need this. That's all. Just until you
reach your designated school.
Honk.
Just close your eyes, Vantas...
HONK.
A loud honk snaps your eyes open and you jolt up.
Where the hell is that sound coming from?...the bus driver?...No, not that fat
lard. His horn doesn't even sound like one you just-
HONK!
Wait.
If that's not the bus driver's horn making those honks, then who is...?
HONK!
Oh no.
No!
No no no no no!
NO!
You look above your seat, seeing a tan-skinned boy with a head full of tangled,
curly brown hair rising over your seat. His large, dark brown eyes are staring
into your dull ebonies.
"Hey, best friend," he chuckles."If it ain't a motherfuckin' miracle. I see we
all goin' to the same school."
No.
No.
NO.
Just go away.
Just go the fuck away, Gamzee Makara.
Before you had the chance tell him to leave you be, he stretches his lanky body
over your seat and plops his weight right next to you.
He's a lot taller than you, much taller than what an average kid his age should
normally be. He scoots himself closer to you with his long arms hanging down
beside his narrow frame. Without warning, he lays his head against your
shoulder. This astonishes you. You barely let people touch you, let alone speak
to you.
Look on the bright side of this situation, Vantas. At least he has his hood on.
You don't want his wild tangles tickling your nose or make your skin inch. God
knows if he's up to part with washing his hair.
"Man. Such a miraculous miracle..."
Jesus, he smells like a shitstorm of paint, AXE, and cake wrapped in a circus
burrito. The pungent stench makes your entire body cringe all over. You turn
your face away from him, covering your nose with the fabric of your hoody's
sleeve.
"I'm motherfuckin' excited to be all up and learnin' some new shit, bro. But
some of the shit they schoolfeed us makes no motherfuckin' sense to my brain.
But I'm cool with that. Not everyone be gettin' their smarts on..."
From the corner of your eye you can see him looking at you with a low-eyed,
carefree grin, not realizing that he almost choked you to death with his odor.
"So what you been up to with your bad self?" he asks.
You really don't feel like responding to that, but you manage to murmur out a
few words. You suck in your breath, and say...
"Nothing. Just...taking the bus"
The boy digs a skinny finger in his ear. "Sorry, I didn't quite catch that"
You have absolutely nothing else to say to him. You continue to stay in a still
position for over three minutes, hoping for the boy to leave your seat. You
quickly turn back at him. He's STILL waiting for your response. You repeat your
sentence to him. This time, the irritation sounds more evident in your voice.
"What happened you, bro? You don't look motherfuckin' happy like you
motherfuckin' used you to be..."
Really?! That's the thing. You're not happy. Through Gamzee's eyes, it's a
different story. He never understands the reality of things. This is the same
tall, lanky kid that used to always get you in trouble in public school even
when he didn't mean to. You always took the blame for his actions as he stood
beside you like a clueless, innocent moron. You remember how your brother had
to come all the way to your school almost every day to pick you up because of
his mishaps. These thoughts are a humiliating trip to memory lane that's glued
to your thinkpan. This year, you want nothing to do with him except saying hi
and bye. Gamzee's a good friend and all and you care about him...it's just
that...when it comes down to hanging out with the guy, he can get you into some
serious shit.
"Look, Gamzee, I'm not in the mood to talk right now," you say to him, shifting
your eyes back to the window. "...just...go away..."
"Oh! Oh alright. I motherfuckin' understand. You just want to have yo
motherfuckin' space. It's cool, best friend," he says, climbing back over your
seat to get to his. " We can talk a little later." And with that, he
disappears...
You breathe out a sigh of relief as you continue to look out the window. "
Finally...," you whisper to yourself, watching everything pass by, including
Double Douche and his brain-dead brother.
***** 3 *****
===> Finally making it to the damn school
You're still tired. You're still angry. Nothing new happening there.
You and Gamzee are the last two kids to get off the bus.
Walking out, the bus driver gives you a shifty glare. He must of heard you
earlier. Well, he is a fat lard taking up a lot room in that small seat of his.
The Makara boy is following right behind you, smiling and all. You don't say a
word, you don't turn back. You just want to get your schedule from the main
office and get to your home room, hoping that will make him detach from you.
You see two security guards stand by the doorway, throwing bags inside the
metal detector.
You haven't brought anything metal inside, except for a tiny nail clipper at
the bottom of your semi-messy bag. They confiscate it, assuming it can be used
as a harmful weapon against the other students. You roll your eyes as you walk
pass the scanner to retrieve your belongings. Gamzee didn't have a book bag on
him, but the detector starts beeping the second he goes through. You turn back,
seeing the security guards confiscating horn after horn. It got to the point
the boy had his very own box for his confiscated items.
You called Gamzee a class clown for so many years, he's living up to the
insult. No. In literal terms he believes that he is indeed a class clown.
===> The main office.
As you enter the main office, the temperature begin to drop. Even with Kankri's
sweater and your father's hoody combined, it is not strong enough to fight
against cold air hitting you. No one else is in the office, except for a young
ebony woman with short, curly black hair. She is prompt in her computer chair,
her back facing towards you. Well, Vantas, say something. "Um..Miss, l...I'm
here for my schedule." It's so cold to the point that you begin to see your
breath in the cold air.
She doesn't respond to you, only responding by filling the room with sound of
her neon green tips clattering against her keyboard. You wait until the
constant sound of clicking got under your skin. "Lady, do you hear m-" She
snaps her chair around quickly to get your full attention, staring you down
with a chilling glare that almost makes your spine freeze over. In a very low,
cold tone she asks, "May I help you?"
Your eyes look directly at the name tag on her black pinstripe coat.
[ MS. SNOWMAN ]
Oh, no wonder.
You're unable to say a word to her. You couldn't tell if your either scared or
you just caught a chill. She realize what you came for, her black lips curved
into a nervous smile, like the cold air is numbing her face up. She cross her
legs and places her hands on her curvy waist. She then asks you something else.
"I'm guessing you're Karkat Vantas, am I right? "
You nod your head very slowly.
"We've been expecting you. Please take one of the schedules over there." She
motions her fingers to a metal desk stacked with schedules from A to Z. Since
the first and last name went by a reverse order, you skip straight down to V.
You also took out Gamzee's schedule, making sure he wasn't in the same classes
as you are.
Name: Karkat Vantas Date: 9/6/12 Sex: Male Age: 14 ID #: 0696969. Grade: 9th
Semester: 1st
Biology: 413 D
Philosophy: 413 B
Math/ Algebra: 413 D
LUNCH
Global History: 413 A
Living Environment: 413 C
Physical Education: Gymnasium.
--
Why is every room 413?!
Name: Gamzee Makara Date: 9/6/12 Sex: Male Age: 14 ID #: 0420420. Grade: 9th
Semester: 1st
Global History: 413 A
Math/ Algebra: 413 D
Biology: 413 D
LUNCH
Ar-
"Thanks, bro." A large hand reaches over you and snatches the paper from your
hand. "I finally got my motherfuckin' schedule,"he says to you with a gleeful
smile.
He looks at his schedule, quite unsure what to make of it. "Um, Karbro, what
does this say?"
You seriously have no time for this. "What does what mean, Gamzee?"
He points to the words above his sheet to show you. You look at his nail and
you can see dirt and particles of makeup caked under it. "These words over
here...Um, I don't really understand them too well. Date, Semester,...Sex? No
thank you."
He's joking, right? You pray in your mind that what he's telling you is a joke.
The boy can't be that... "Haven't anyone taught you this?"
" No," he shrugs.
"My father was mostly in and out of me and brother's life since we were small."
" Gamzee..."
"It's true, bro. The only one I had to motherfuckin' depend on was my brother,
but even he gets himself into some wicked shit..."
Gamzee sent a curse on your head in middle school, you dislike his idiotic
behavior, the way he carries himself. You plan to stay out his way this year.
But in that solid gray soul of yours, you know that still does not give you the
right to not care about him. This is an automatic instinct that comes whenever
something happens to Gamzee, no matter what unbelievably stupid and dangerous
thing he does.
"Look, Gamzee..."
"Well, that's the motherfuckin' school bell. Time to learn some wicked shit.
See you on the flip side, Karbro."
Before you say a word, Gamzee is already jetting down the hallway.
===> Get to class.
"Look who finally made it to school " You stopped dead in your tracks, knowing
just where that annoying voice is coming from.
"You pick the right time to get on someone's nerves, huh, Captor? "
The boy bares his overbite.
"So I guess this is the hello I get for trying to be 'nice'. You're the one who
text me early in the morning," and he air quotes as he says this. "Same ol' KK
as usual."
"Whatever, man. What are you doing standing out here?"
The boy looks at like you were some idiot. He pushes his glasses up the bridge
of his crooked nose and answers your question with a smile that irks you. "It's
not that hard to notice, KK. I'm waiting for the teacher to arrive."
" Teacher? Which one you got first?"
"I don't know, nor do I really care. I just want to get this over with," he
huffs.
Oh great, he's going through one of his mood swings again.
"Don't you have a class to go to? " he tells you, folding his arms. You don't
answer back, but roll your eyes as you walk away. When he's in a better mood,
maybe you'll bear speaking with him.
You see bright colorful flyers and banners pinned up on every hall you turn.
One about joining a Flarping club, another about voting Wayward Vagabond for
mayor of Homestuck City. Personally, you believe if he becomes mayor, he'll
turn the whole place into a stack of aluminum cans. There's one about joining
Strider's football team. You're a bit uncomfortable about their mascot though.
Seriously, who would make a creepy puppet named Lil'Cal their mascot? Then you
see more flyers about dance auditions, strifing, poetry, knitting, a random
poster about....Betty Crocker? and some religious flyers about some orange guy.
There are a lot of activities to participate in.
"Hey, you're Karkat, aren't you?" You look up, seeing a tall man with square,
thick framed glasses. His pants are a navy blue and his uniform shirt is white.
He even has small green slimers on his work tie. The handwriting on his name
tag is no different from yours, sloppy. Despite that, you were able to make out
what is written.
[ MR. EGBERT ]
***** 4 *****
The man smiles at you. "Well, aren't you?"
You pause for a second. You see him holding a box full of miscellaneous gags
and harlequin masks. Your first thought is that he must be an art teacher.
"Yes, I'm Karkat Vantas...how did you know my name?"
"How could I miss the relative of Kankri Vantas? You both look so much alike!"
Yeah, except for the tacky hair style, wool sweater, and pants that are so high
you'd believe they can reach up to his neck.
"Well, you're one of my first students to make here."
So this lanky goofball's your teacher? What does he teach anyway?
"You teach art?"
The man raises a brow and chuckles. "Oh no, Ms. Paint is the art teacher. I
teach biology."
You point at the box he's holding. "Then what's with the get-up?"
"Oh, you mean these old things?" He puts on a purple and green party hat and a
pair of glasses that came with a nose and mustache. "I've been the top funniest
teacher in the school. I always make my students laugh with all the silly
disguises I wear."
This sounds so familiar to you. The party hat, mustache, gags and cheesy
pranks. This guy must have been reading a whole bunch of Wilfred C. Sassacre's
books. Either that, or watched a collector's worth of his acts. You was never
really a fan of the old comedian, but when you were small you and your father
use to watch his stand-up comedy on basic cable. Kankri used to be the one
having to always fix the messed up antenna.
"To tell you the truth, I was terrified of harlequins. But my adopted father's
unhealthy obsession sort of rubbed off on me anyway. "
You're not sure why. You're going to ask him this question anyway. "When is
your birthday?"
"April 13!"
"4/13? Why does everything have to do with 413? It's like some bad joke!"
"Ho ho ho, trust me, it's a coincidence. This school is very old, been around
for 412 years. Next year is where the anniversary hits, the 413th year."
Facepalm, that's what you feel like doing after hearing this shit.
"I have a whole bunch of other weird things inside the classroom. Fake arms,
jester hats, you name it!"
The man pulls out a set of keys and jingles them into the door, trying his best
to get it open. The doors look pretty ancient. You take a quick glance around,
seeing that the other doors are repaired and not his. Mr. Egbert finally got
his open but drops the boxes at the same time, causing a whole bunch of things
to scatter everywhere. You see hats, horns, bottles of black ink, a colorful
hammer with a big Z on it.
You went to assist him, but he smiles and tells you that he got everything
under control. " Don't worry this always happen to me."
His classroom is pretty empty, only old Con Air posters and small, dusty jars
of unknown organism are inside. You have to admit, it could use a small touch
up. That what your brother would say, and maybe even a whole bunch of shit out
of his mouth right after.
"You know." You see the teacher placing the box on his desk. "Kankri was one of
my top students."
You roll your eyes. Oh boy.
"When it came to a group project, they always had him working on the essay.
Kankri would bring to class an essay much longer than the page limit I assigned
him with. He would take them, staple them and roll it out on the floor like it
was a scroll. It would take him about 2 hours to finish reading. No one had a
chance to present their projects with him around."
Mr. Egbert pushed his glasses up and plopped down on his office chair. He
picked up a small photograph, wipes the cobwebs away, and placed it back down
in its exact spot. It was a photo of an elderly woman that looks a lot like
him. It must be his grandmother or a relative. " He also mentioned about you in
a few of those essays, you know?"
You never thought your brother would even bother to mention you at all. He's
too busy thinking about his sweaters and tries to change people. And when he
does say something encouraging to you, he becomes a prick about it. You know
that he doesn't hate you, but you feel that the reason he's talking care of you
because it's something mandatory.
Slowly, you shift yourself to the closest desk next to you. As you hung your
bag around the back of the chair, you notice that the entire seat is riddled
with words written in olive and indigo ink.
"Everyday, Kankri would talk about you. He told me that you think he hates you.
Why do you think that?"
"I don't think my brother hates me...but can we please talk about something
else?"
"Am I late?" says a voice at the door. She walks pass you, her jade flats
clacking against the old tiles. It's near fall already and she's wearing her
red, summer skirt she always adore wearing. And she's so pale, she could be a
vampire. She's the only girl you know that can bathe in the summer sun and can
never catch a tan or two.
"Yes, but I came late because of all the traffic on the road. So you're not
alone. We all came late."
The girl sighs and smiles." What a relief."
"So, what's your name?" he asked.
"Kanaya Maryam."
"Well, Kanaya, I'm Mr. Egbert. I'll be teaching biology."
"It's a pleasure to meet you. Will you be teaching us right now?"
"Nah, most of the kids are going to come late today. Best enjoy the free period
while it lasts."
Kanaya heads over to the desk next to yours. She gives you a quick smile before
taking out her books from her sun bag in a very neat manner. You're not the
type to get jealous so fast, but back in middle school, Kanaya always came to
school with new books, pens, pencils, and other supplies. You're still using
the some old half written books you used since last year, even the year before
that. It's hard for your brother to work a decent job, so he lays back and let
Public Assistance roll in, even though it's not enough.
"I see we're both in the same class."
You look up from your raggedy notebook. Kanaya is smiling at you, leaning her
elbow on the tip your desk. She is close enough to where you can smell the
perfume she's concealed in, the same aroma as always, The Virgin Dolorosa.
"Yeah, it's alright, I guess."
She frowns at the notebook you had and digs inside her bag to pull out a brand
new one. Her manicured fingers quickly swipes the old book off your desk before
you have a chance to react. She replaces it with a thin, green one.
You raise one of your thick brows at her.
" For me?"
" Yes."
"I already had a notebook, Kanaya."
"Karkat, I gave you something you needed. If you ever need something, don't be
scared to ask."
"Fuck, you act like Porrim."
"Runs strong in the family I suppose."
Okay. You take it back. You need a new notebook.
The inside smells just like a combination tree bark and leather, or in other
words, that new book smell. You went to thank her, even though you have a hard
time thanking people. She's turned back to finish organizing a few other things
she had. She's busy. Maybe you'll tell her later on or another time.
***** 5 *****
You and Kanaya were the only students that came for biology. At the end of
every class, when the bell rings, Kanaya would quickly pick up all her
accessories and literally drag you on over to the next class. You didn't know
that she had the same classes as you do until she tells you at the end of 3rd
period.
===> Mathematics
Fourth period, you have Mr. Egbert again, but for a subject you horribly fail
at, Math. Math class is about as confusing as that stupid webcomic everyone is
reading and the only kid who understands this crap is Captor himself. You begin
to debate with yourself over the choice of asking him for help. Usually, you
shun people away and try to figure out things yourself even if the question is
impossible for you to answer.
You tap him on the shoulder. He ignores you at first, then stops writing down
an equation. "Having trouble, KK?"
You really don't want to admit that, but... "Yes, I'm having trouble..."
The boy chuckles and shakes his head. He is stunned by such words. "Do my ears
deceive me? KK is actually asking me for help? Wow, this has to be the first.
So I'm guessing you realize you suck hard at math, right?"
"Grow up, Captor. No one is as fucking smart as you are. All I ask is for you
to help me with one question..."
"Hmm...fine. At least you're not as difficult as Gamzee..."
"Hey! Don't talk shit about him, even if he's a screw up...speaking of which,
where is he, anyway?...I haven't seen him since earlier..."
Sollux brushed the eraser shavings off his desk. He lay his pencil down and
looks back at you, lowing his glasses. "He was sent to detention by Ms. Lalonde
for eating in the class..."
You shrug. That don't sound so bad. "So?"
"Ms. Lalonde does not tolerate eating while she is teaching..."
You had Ms. Lalonde for English during second period. Like Mr. Egbert, she has
an interest. Her room is stocked with wizards, Harry Potter posters and
strange, creepy pictures of squid-like abominations.
You press your face against your desk."Oh god, not again..."
"Hm?"
"He's fucking up, like he did back then. He always go to detention on the first
day. Why? I don't fucking know. Ugh, I promised myself not to interfere with
him this year, but I guess I have to help the clown again because I care too
fucking much..."
Sollux laughs. "Aww."
"Shut up..."
"Cool it, KK, Gamzee's gonna be fine. Now, do you need help or not? You're
wasting my time..."
"Shush, you two!" You and Sollux look at Kanaya. She's tapping her pen against
the side of her desk,"Do your work. You're disrupting the class."
===> Lunch
So far, you don't dislike any of the teachers you've encountered and just maybe
this time, the school lunch isn't repulsive slop. You look at a recent flier
that says Today's Special.
Your face twist up with disgust. Who in their right mind would eat french fries
with tuna fish?
"Hey, bro!" Gamzee says, walking by.
You see him actually dipping his fries in the tuna. Just then, you lose your
appetite.
"I think I'll pass..."
You walk over and sit by an empty table. You throw your book bag in front of
you to lay your face in. You're still a little tired from your brother waking
you up so early. Not only that, you haven't eaten all day. Maybe that's making
you so tired. You refused your brother's cooking and you refused the school
lunch. You refuse to care. You try look on a bright side of this situation.
Maybe this could help you lose weight. God, you're just so tired.
"Are you just going to sit here and not eat anything, Karkat?"
Kanaya stands over you, on the opposite side from you. Instead of tuna and
french fries, she whipped up a bowl of salad Porrim must of made for her.
"Salad?"
"Yes."
She pulls out a plastic fork, crossing her legs as she sits.
"I prefer the fairer consumption. I too dislike the food they're giving us
today."
You sigh.
"Here." She hands you a honey bun. "I'm not just gonna let you sit there and
starve..."
"Uh...thanks."
"So, what do you think of the high school so far?"
"I don't know. I manage to make it through half the day without losing my mind.
The teachers are alright. The dress code is backwards. Ms. Snowman scares me.
And the bathrooms smell awful."
"Oh."
"Oh what?"
"Nothing. I guess you're saying you're enjoying yourself."
"Eh, you can say that. So, what's school like for you?"
"Its fine I guess. Ms. Lalonde is quite amazing though."
You manage a laugh. "I: can tell you're gonna be her teacher's pet."
"Oh quite you..."
"You also had a thing for wizards, Kanaya."
"Not wizards, but I do read a few vampire novels."
"Ah. Alright then," you added.
"Don't just sit there," Kanaya sighed."Are you going to eat the honey bun I
gave you or not...I can just take it back if you don't want it."
"Hey. I am going to eat it, okay? Just give me a sec. My stomach's just not
feeling to well..."
"That's because you haven't eaten all day." She points her fork to the honey
bun." Now eat. No time for chatter on an empty stomach."
You look at the clear wrapping. Its chocolate cinnamon. Bleh. You don't want to
tell Kanaya that this isn't you favorite flavor or she'll pester you about not
eating like she's your mom. Your father had to go through it with her mother,
your brother had to go through it with her sister. Its repeating again. You're
surprised that the Vantas' and the Maryams aren't related yet. Might be
somewhere down the line, but you refuse to think too deep. Right now, you're
refusing a lot of things.
Hey, who's that girl with the red shades coming over this way?
***** 6 *****
You remember that girl, the one who dropped her items on the school bus
earlier. She stops by the table you're sitting at, after she hits her wooden
cane against it. She's wearing a teal tank top with wide khaki shorts and mix
match crocs. You don't mean to think of this in a bad way; her facial features
are almost of that of a lizard's. Her cheek bones are forward and thin and her
nose is very flat. "Kanaya," she says after sniffing the air.
"Ms. Pyrope, how are things for you?," Kanaya replies.
The girl sticks her tongue out. "Bleh, it sucks actually. This isn't the school
I wanted to go to, but mom insisted anyway. I can smell it in the air. It's
all...icky."
"I'm sure things will get better. This is our first day. It'll take a while for
us all to adjust to the strange structure of high school."
"Hmm, I hope you're right." She looks directly at you, sniffing and making
clicking sounds with her tongue. Why is she doing that? Does she have backed up
sinuses? "Oh, Kanaya," she says, baring a wide, mischievous grin, "Who's your
little friend?"
"This is Karkat. Karkat, this is an old friend of mine named Terezi."
The girl is looking at you, making you feel as if she's a komodo dragon that
found her prey.
"Um, hey there."
She sniffs. "You smell like cherries, you know that?"
You actually smell like old sweaters that have never been used and have sat in
a dusty closet for so long. Where did cherries come from? "Uh, no. Frankly, I
didn't."
"Hmm."
You point at her wooden cane. "Why do you carry a cane around. Your leg is hurt
or something?"
Kanaya give you a slap to the back of your head, light but well enough to hurt.
"Karkat, it's a bit rude to ask people certain questions..."
"It's alright, Kanaya. It's not like he committed an injustice crime."
" Oh!...Well, alright then..." You glare at Kanaya. She just shrugs her
shoulders and smiles at you.
Terezi leans on her cane."If you want to know why I carry this cane, it's
because I'm blind."
"Shit! You're blind?"
Terezi turns her head at Kanaya. "Is he serious?"
"You were unaware of her being blind?," Kanaya asks you.
Obviously, she didn't seem to act like it. God, pull yourself together, Vantas!
"Give me a break, okay?"
"Heh, you can't blame the kid. I've been taught to see without using my eyes
since I was little. No one sees the difference, really."
"Sorry about that. I didn't know that you were blind."
"Its fine, kid. Trust me, I rather not have people consider me as the
'defenseless, blind girl'. It gets to become a bother."
There's a reason why she's wearing those crimson shades. You can actually get a
good view of how her eyes look. They resemble someone's work of cruel arson or
she's been staring in the sun for hours upon hours. Her corneas are a scarlet
red around the sides, her pupils are a pale blue. Oddly enough, they make look
her beautiful. Gah! What the hell are you saying?!
Sniff. Sniff. "Heh, whatcha looking at, cherry boy?"
"Oh, um...N-nothing...," you stutter out. How the hell did she know you were
looking at her? "Welp, I best be on my way. I have a pack of cherry flavored
jellybeans to finish before the bell rings. See ya later, Kanaya."
She walks behind you swiftly, her bag of snacks rattling. "See ya later, new
kid!"
She leaves, saying this with her back turned, which is a pretty weird way of
saying bye to someone. Then again, it's not like this school is not filled with
a bunch of weirdos already.
Kanaya tosses her bowl in a garbage can behind her. She turns back at you,
smiling. "I see you finally ate something, at least..."
"Wait..." You look down. Kanaya slightly raises her brow. "Is there...Something
wrong, Karkat?" You look over you bag pack; the honey bun went missing!
"Wait, I didn't get a chance to eat it! Where did it-"
Just as you thought, the blind girl is sitting by a table, eating on what's
left of what Kanaya had given you. There was no way the world the girl could've
known you was about to eat something.
And you're not angry. You just smile. Maybe there's something interesting about
this school after all.
===> Gym
You always had this streak of disliking gym, but now, your dislike for it
increased even more. There's this new thing of where you have to change your
clothes to play. Bad enough, you're already self-conscious about your weight.
The kids picking on you, calling you names and pulling on the flab of your
stomach. It feels like life is just having a kick out of tormenting your
insecurity. You decide to not take part and hide in the boys locker room so
coach Strider wouldn't be able to find you.
"Hey, KK! You're in he-Hmm!"
You quickly grab Captor and place your hand over his mouth. "Shut it, you
lisping gutter hole! Can't you see I'm trying to cut gym?"
He yanks your hand away from his mouth. "Well, you didn't have to suffocate
me!"
"You was talking too loud! That coach we have out there...is a huge douchebag!
If there were any possibility of there being Striders in different universes,
they're all pretty much douchebags!"
"Hehe," Sollux chuckles, straightening his glasses, "He can't be 'that' bad,
KK."
You place a hand on your hip. "That's because you're a douchebag as well.
Anyway, why did you come here in the first place?"
"I came here to tell about you about a spot Gamzee found that we can hang out
at after school."
"So...?"
"H...H-hey, guys," a nervous boy says. You look and see that it's the boy with
the mohawk, the one you seen sitting next to the girl he seemed to be
frightened of. "Hey, you're that kid I saw on the bus earlier..."
Sollux narrows his eyes at you. "Him?"
"Yeah," you reply.
"That's Tavros Nitram. He's not from Skaia City."
Tavros smiles nervously at you. "Yeah, me and my brother came here from
Summoner Falls."
"Wow...that's kind of far..."
You begin to recall precious memories of when your dad was living. Back when
you were little, your father used to work at a construction job in Summoner
Falls.
"It is. There's something special about that place, too. My brother said that
lost children come out into the night, looking for this sanctuary called
Neverland."
"Okay, enough small talk," Sollux cuts in, "I came here to tell KK something,
not a long story."
"Oh...Uh,...Well, I'll just tell him later then."
"I don't, Sollux...," you say, now sitting down on one of the small benches of
which cannot support the weight of your bottom. It shakes and slightly bends
under you. It's ancient anyway.
"Oh come on, KK, it's not like you're dating the guy. Which I highly doubt
you're dating material."
You look Captor up and down, seeing that he's no better himself. "OH HAHA. This
is the shit coming from a skinny guy that can't even match his clothes to save
his life. Try again, smart ass."
"Good one," Tavros says. He couldn't help, but laugh. Sollux snaps a sharp
glare at him, making him shut his trap immediately. He rolls his eyes back at
you, his skinny arms folded against his chest and his face slightly irritated.
"I didn't come here to be made fun of. There are more important things than
that."
You feel triumphant. "Continue."
"Like I said, Gamzee found this hotspot for a perfect hangout. It's suppose to
be an abandoned house his older brother once went to."
"Hmm. I don't know, man. I'll think about it."
"Well," Sollux huffs out. "When you see Gamzee, you can let him know or not.
It's not my problem." He quickly turns to the door and leaves to return to the
gymnasium. You can hear Strider's loud, booming voice, asking what took him so
long in the bathroom.
You see Tavros looking down at his untied sneakers. Captor can be an ass at
times. In all seriousness, why are you close friends with someone like him?
"Sorry, man, Sollux is like that at times..."
Tavros picks up his head, his hazel eyes focusing on you. He smiles, saying
"It's not a problem at all. I go through worse things than that. So, uh,
anyways, what's your name?"
"Karkat Vantas..."
" Karkat, huh? Well, it was nice getting to know you, Karkat...Uh, I wish can
talk to you more, but the coach must be wondering where I'm at. He'll think I'm
goofing around. He wants me to kick some sick fires out of that soccer ball..."
The boy waves farewell and exits the locker room.
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