The Normal Grind

"So that's why she does that…"

I turn the page of the book resting on my desk while the rowdy chatter of the classroom drowns out my own thoughts. Passing period is short, but not nearly short enough to stop my peers from talking about anything and everything without a care for who might be disturbed. It doesn't help that the noise only increases as we get closer to the end of the school day, so things are particularly noisy at the moment. Fortunately, I've long gotten used to the ruckus.

"That doesn't look like your usual notes?"

A large guy approaches from behind and peeks over my shoulder. He reaches a long arm over to the side and places his bag on the chair of the neighbouring desk.

"My old notebook met a tragic end anyways, but this is a normal book."

"What are you reading? Ottoman conquest?"

"Of course not, I've already read about that plenty of times."

"Figures…"

Edward sighs, but he still looks pretty amused. After placing a slip of paper as a marker, I show him the cover of the small book freshly picked from the library.

"'Rabbits 101: Taking Care of Your Next Pet'? A manual for owning a rabbit, huh?"

He frowns at the hand drawn image of a bunch of rabbits piled on top of each other. His skepticism moves from the cover to his friend currently holding the book.

"Does Mira want a rabbit or something?"

"No, nothing that big. I was just curious."

"What kind of high school boy randomly picks up a book about keeping a rabbit because he 'was just curious'?"

I ignore his sarcasm and return to reading the lines of text around the page's illustration. Centred on the thin paper is the image of two rabbits huddled closely together while they sleep.

"It's always good to be prepared. You never know when a rabbit will suddenly just appear and mess up your entire life."

"Seriously, what are you talking about…"

"You simply haven't lived long enough, young Ed."

"I'm literally older than you!"

One day, he'll learn that age is just a number. He hasn't witnessed the reality of watching someone not even a year old prancing around a field and talking like a normal person. This world is full of mysteries, and each one is insistent on taking a few extra years off my life.

"Hey, Ed! How's it going?"

"Doing all good! How was last period?"

Another guy in our class appears and leans against another desk as the two stand around my seat. I can't even remember this guy's name, but our resident nice guy shouldn't have that issue. Their conversation continues without me, but I can't stop myself from listening given our proximity.

The other guy slams his fist against the wood with frustration.

"That last biology test went horrible! First that hag takes two weeks to grade it, then she gives me an 80! An 80!"

"Yeah, that one was rough…"

Whatever I just read requires a reread as my own input comes to the front of my mind. He's upset by getting a B, but he should be happy that he isn't like me with my C. It takes a lot of effort, but I'm happy to at least be passing.

Edward leans back against his desk as well.

"Did you see the dress code changes? No more ripped jeans or tank tops for you."

"I know! It's so stupid! They're trying to kill all of our originality! This school is really the worst!"

I want to tell the guy that it's not that complicated. There are still plenty of options amongst the allowed articles of clothing. The chances of him having only clothes that aren't accepted by the dress code is pretty slim. He just has to show up with normal jeans instead of torn ones, how hard can that be?

He continues to complain about all of the little things going wrong in his life. Honestly, most of his problems seem kind of pointless. Something the school did, something his parents did, something that happened on the internet, all just minor inconveniences. Maybe I'm just a bit disconnected from the rest of the world, but with the fiasco I've been dealing with recently, everything else feels small in comparison.

I try to drown out the rest of his complaining and read up on rabbits until class begins.

* * * * *

"Alright, that's the bell. Remember to continue working on your projects. Stay after school if you need help."

The old man steps away from the lectern as the class erupts with activity. For once, I'm moving along with this wave sweeping everybody out of the classroom.

"Huh? It's unusual to see you leaving on time."

My friend appears beside me as we follow the cluttered line out the door.

"Yeah, I'd much rather stay and ask questions, but I have to get home quickly today."

"Mira?"

"I can't think of a better excuse."

I try sounding reluctant, but that is far from the truth. In reality, the stress of having left Mira by herself has been eating at me the entire day. From around 7am this morning until the current time of 3pm, this isn't a trivial amount of time. Did she remember to eat lunch? Was she able to get some studying done? Is she crying in a corner alone with nobody to comfort her? I can only think of negative scenarios.

Whether he understands my concerns or not, Edward continues inquiring. Unfortunately for me, he only knows how to ask meaningful questions.

"Will you be fine? I remember you struggling a bit in Biology and of course computer programming."

"Ah…"

Sweat starts appearing and rolling down my face. When I try to look away and dodge the question, Edward pulls us out of the line before I can escape into the chaotic halls.

"Come on, man. I can't have you failing and getting stuck in this grade."

"I-I'll be fine! I just need to check on something today and I can get back to attending tutoring tomor—"

The face of a particular magician pops into my head. More annoyingly, I hear the words he had told me before he departed last night.

"Her enrollment into public education should be finalised by Tuesday."

I avert my gaze once more whilst fiddling with the strap of my backpack.

"W-Wednesday…no, maybe Thursday?"

"Haaah…"

Edward lets out a large sigh that shakes his very being. His eyes narrow and he uses his height to loom over me.

"What could possibly take this many days to sort out? You'll just keep falling behind at this rate."

"I have a good reason, I swear!"

My body begins to heat up, blood rapidly flowing to my brain to fabricate some false commitment. However, I manage to stop myself from burning all of that energy. This isn't just any random guy that's asking. Ed already knows that Mira exists and that she has complicated circumstances.

I quickly glance around the room for onlookers, but nobody remains in the once lively room. Even the teacher seems to have stepped out for a bathroom break. No need to sugar coat anything.

"Mira starts school tomorrow."

"What do you mean 'starts school'? School for every grade started a while ago."

Edward crosses his arms with an understandable confusion. Fortunately, that bit of adrenaline gave me enough energy to come up with a reasonable story.

"She's moving from homeschool to Cedar Lake. She'll be a third year in middle school."

"So she's been homeschooled the whole time…no wonder she's kind of…off."

I must have made some kind of face, because Ed suddenly flinches after his sentence. Now it's his turn to look away and let out a dry laugh. I feel some kind of burning feeling behind my eyes from his words, but it slowly simmers down as I continue.

"Obviously she can't continue learning while she's stuck at my place, so this was the option we were given."

"I guess that makes sense…"

"Today, she's been stuck at home by herself, so I have to head back. I'll just review my notes instead."

"Well, that can't be helped."

Ed seems to accept my story without much issue and the two of us finally step into the now empty hallway. He slaps the back of my shoulder as I turn towards the stairs.

"Well, I have to go this way. One of my teachers needed to see me for something."

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Tell Mira I said hello."

He waves and heads further into the school building. I'm about to continue on my way before something peculiar catches my eye, something very white. This is the last place that I had expected to see this person.

"Is that…Stella!?"