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Description
It was the start of the new school year, a circumstance which leaves many a new student adrift within the sea of peers, Samantha Song being one of them. A recent exchange student and new to the idea of ‘school’, Sam was lost and confused, nervously clutching her school handbook infront of her like a shield. Sam had brown hair that covered most of the perimeters of her face similar to veil-like curtain, with a braid coming down one side. Her dress was of oceanic blues and greens that faded in and out of each other in shimmering hues and black flats for shoes. She had barely located her Form Class before she was startled by someone jumping out of nowhere.
“Hellllllooo! Ah've nae seen ye 'round here before. Ten again, Ah'm new here too! Ah'm Jeannie, nice tae meet ye,” the strange girl grinned whilst vigorously shaking Sam’s hands. When the shaking eventually stopped and the world had realigned, Sam could take in her attacker, the so-called ‘Jeannie’. Her thick accent coupled with her tartan skirt and shocking curly red hair made her Scottish origin obvious. She wore calf-length hockey socks with green and black canvas shoes that appeared to be missing their laces, a white blouse with the sleeves scrunched up above the elbow and a black vest on top with shamrocks embroided onto its surface. Her slightly rotundant face was lightly dusted in freckles and carried a perpetual grin which made her bright green eyes sparkle with overwhelming enthusiasm.

Sam shyly introduced herself, to which the girl bowed. Jeannie took a breath to speak, but was interrupted by their Form teacher who gave the all-clear to let everyone file in to class. Her upbeat demeanour somewhat dampened by the disruption, Jeannie said with a smile, “Och, well, Ah'll catch ye later. Dinnae fret so dear, ye'll be fine,” and skipped inside ahead of Sam. When she eventually managed to file in with the rest of the class, Sam was disappointed to find that predominantly all of the seats were occupied, except for one beside Jeannie who was frantically waving at her and motioning to it. Smiling, although slightly embarrassed, she took up the offer.
“Ah ken that Ah can't realla talk much aboot this place, but Ah do ken that this will be a great year!” Jeannie stated, to which Sam nodded in agreement. Up the front of the classroom, the teacher motioned for silence and began the necessary new-year information speech. Being the bookworm that she was, Sam needlessly took notes on all that she hoped to possibly remember. Despite being near polar-opposites, by the time the bell had rung to announce the beginning of the first period, Sam and Jeannie were already well on their way to calling each other ‘friends’.

Once outside, Jeannie discovered that her school year began on the other side of the school and promised to catch Sam later before bounding off into the distance. Sam waved after her new friend and turned to go to her next class, but quickly realised she had no idea where she was going. She had no idea who to ask as the members of her next class were unknown to her. Worry began to creep into her, slowly overwhelming her when suddenly, a hand on her shoulder brought control to the situation.
“Hello? Are you alright?” Sam’s Form teacher asked, the concern evident in her gaze. The pressure of the situation having stolen her breath, Sam could only shake her head. “Would you like me to assign someone to you to guide you to your next class?” A nervous squeak escaping her lips was all the response the teacher required.
“Alright, there’s a map of the school in your diary if you get lost… Ummm,” the teacher gazed around her when she spotted a potential ‘guide’, “Ah! Thanatos, could you give me a hand here?”
A boy across the hall looked up at the teacher strangely upon hearing his name and then shuffled off silently in the opposite direction.
“Maybe he wasn’t the right one to ask,” she said, her eyes never leaving the morbid boy until he was out of sight before returning her attention back to Sam, “Sorry about that. Here, I’ll guide you.” After a bit of confusing with the diary, the two got on their way, the teacher giving necessary information about the school. Eventually, they stopped outside Sam’s classroom.
“Here we are!” the teacher smiled, “Enjoy yourself, I’ll see you later!”

Sam was left alone to confront her first class, but before she could knock, the door opened rapidly by the teacher of said class who quickly pointed at her and boomed, “You! You’re late!”
“S-sorry. I’m n-n-new and I got l-lost.”
“That’s no excuse!” Red-faced, he examined his list, “Do you have a guide partner?”
“N-no.”
“WHY IS THAT?! That’s ludicrous!” He quickly scanned the room behind him before selecting a victim, “You! You’ll be her guide, partner… thingy.”Obeying her orders, Sam hastily made her way to her ‘guide-partner-thingy’ whom she recognised as the boy from earlier. He sat motionless in his seat with his feet resting on the desk, hands in his black jeans’ pockets and his grey hoodie masking his face. His black boots with silver bands came up to his knees and he wore black fingerless gloves. Sam shakily got out her gear, still recovering from being yelled at and sensitively rubbed her ears. When the teacher, noticeably calmer, began class, the boy stopped his statue imitation by sitting up properly and smoothly pulling out his books. Drawn to the movement, Sam cast a quick glance at her ‘partner’ and was shaken to find two piercing bright eyes of gold and silver briefly looking at her from within the inky black depths of the hoodie. Scared, Sam quickly averted her gaze back to the teacher. A little while passed before the teacher decided he needed to liven up the class and pick on someone.
“THANATOS!” he roared at the boy beside Sam, “What have I said about wearing hoodies in class?!” The boy scowled at the teacher in response before eventually submitting and tossing the hoodie back, revealing mussy black hair that drooped sadly over his incredibly pale head.

Even though she had found a friend on her first day and made it safely to class, Sam was beginning to feel lost again - her guide, no matter how much she tried, seemed to want nothing to do with her. Was there something about her that was irking him? She went through a list of possibilities in her mind, but nothing seemed to be a reasonable explanation. Her thoughts were quickly interrupted by a chorus of ‘psst’s coming from the desk beside her. She turned to see a student gently waving at her. Once Sam’s attention had been fully captured, she leaned in a whispered reassuringly, “Don’t worry, it’s not your fault - he never talks to anyone.”
The information was reassuring and yet, curiosity-inducing. Why would someone never speak a word to anyone? Did he have trust, social or people issues? Did he have bad experiences as a child to make him be this way? Sam didn’t really want to find out.
The other student beside the first quickly chimed in, “Yeah, I heard his parent’s cut his tongue out because he got bad grades in Primary School.” Sam gulped at the thought of someone cutting out her tongue and then suddenly felt very fearful of the prospect of not being able to sing - her worst nightmare.
The student continued, “And that they burnt his eye so it would lose its colour and be blind - just because he was late to school!” Images of her parents with burning implements flashed into Sam’s mind, but they cleared when the first student spoke again.
“Alright, Fae, I think that’s enough,” she said, resting a hand on the girl’s shoulder, “We all know how much you like the grapevine…” Despite the reassurances, Sam felt more concerned and afraid of the mysterious boy beside her, casting another quick glance before returning to her work. When Sam was not looking, Thanatos turned his head like a clown at a carnival game and scowled at Fae momentarily.

The rest of the lesson for Sam was a blur, given that her conscious was haunted by visions of Thanatos’ apparent tortuous experiences. She sat shivering and the sound of the bell for the end of class made her jump in her seat; so much so that she felt she could have touched the ceiling. Thanatos calmly gathered his things and proceeded to wait for Sam to follow. When she eventually caught up, she tried to be polite and ignore the stories by engaging in friendly conversation - but he simply shrugged and walked out of the room. Sam quietly followed, her head bent in submission to the depressing nature that surrounded the boy, but all that evaporated when she suddenly found herself being constrained in a massive bearhug.
“Hello, dearie!” The familiar Scottish voice made Sam beam uncontrollably. “How wuz yer first class?”
“Erm… it was…” Sam couldn’t find the words. How could you describe a lesson like that?
“It’s okay, wee lamb,” Jeannie said, releasing her victim, “ye can tell me.” Rather than trying to explain the circumstances that had disturbed her so, she began to scan the crowds so that Jeannie could see the problem for herself. But the boy from before had completely vanished.

Description
It was the start of the new school year, a circumstance which leaves many a new student adrift within the sea of peers, Samantha Song being one of them. A recent exchange student and new to the idea of ‘school’, Sam was lost and confused, nervously clutching her school handbook infront of her like a shield. Sam had brown hair that covered most of the perimeters of her face similar to veil-like curtain, with a braid coming down one side. Her dress was of oceanic blues and greens that faded in and out of each other in shimmering hues and black flats for shoes. She had barely located her Form Class before she was startled by someone jumping out of nowhere.
“Hellllllooo! Ah've nae seen ye 'round here before. Ten again, Ah'm new here too! Ah'm Jeannie, nice tae meet ye,” the strange girl grinned whilst vigorously shaking Sam’s hands. When the shaking eventually stopped and the world had realigned, Sam could take in her attacker, the so-called ‘Jeannie’. Her thick accent coupled with her tartan skirt and shocking curly red hair made her Scottish origin obvious. She wore calf-length hockey socks with green and black canvas shoes that appeared to be missing their laces, a white blouse with the sleeves scrunched up above the elbow and a black vest on top with shamrocks embroided onto its surface. Her slightly rotundant face was lightly dusted in freckles and carried a perpetual grin which made her bright green eyes sparkle with overwhelming enthusiasm.

Sam shyly introduced herself, to which the girl bowed. Jeannie took a breath to speak, but was interrupted by their Form teacher who gave the all-clear to let everyone file in to class. Her upbeat demeanour somewhat dampened by the disruption, Jeannie said with a smile, “Och, well, Ah'll catch ye later. Dinnae fret so dear, ye'll be fine,” and skipped inside ahead of Sam. When she eventually managed to file in with the rest of the class, Sam was disappointed to find that predominantly all of the seats were occupied, except for one beside Jeannie who was frantically waving at her and motioning to it. Smiling, although slightly embarrassed, she took up the offer.
“Ah ken that Ah can't realla talk much aboot this place, but Ah do ken that this will be a great year!” Jeannie stated, to which Sam nodded in agreement. Up the front of the classroom, the teacher motioned for silence and began the necessary new-year information speech. Being the bookworm that she was, Sam needlessly took notes on all that she hoped to possibly remember. Despite being near polar-opposites, by the time the bell had rung to announce the beginning of the first period, Sam and Jeannie were already well on their way to calling each other ‘friends’.

Once outside, Jeannie discovered that her school year began on the other side of the school and promised to catch Sam later before bounding off into the distance. Sam waved after her new friend and turned to go to her next class, but quickly realised she had no idea where she was going. She had no idea who to ask as the members of her next class were unknown to her. Worry began to creep into her, slowly overwhelming her when suddenly, a hand on her shoulder brought control to the situation.
“Hello? Are you alright?” Sam’s Form teacher asked, the concern evident in her gaze. The pressure of the situation having stolen her breath, Sam could only shake her head. “Would you like me to assign someone to you to guide you to your next class?” A nervous squeak escaping her lips was all the response the teacher required.
“Alright, there’s a map of the school in your diary if you get lost… Ummm,” the teacher gazed around her when she spotted a potential ‘guide’, “Ah! Thanatos, could you give me a hand here?”
A boy across the hall looked up at the teacher strangely upon hearing his name and then shuffled off silently in the opposite direction.
“Maybe he wasn’t the right one to ask,” she said, her eyes never leaving the morbid boy until he was out of sight before returning her attention back to Sam, “Sorry about that. Here, I’ll guide you.” After a bit of confusing with the diary, the two got on their way, the teacher giving necessary information about the school. Eventually, they stopped outside Sam’s classroom.
“Here we are!” the teacher smiled, “Enjoy yourself, I’ll see you later!”

Sam was left alone to confront her first class, but before she could knock, the door opened rapidly by the teacher of said class who quickly pointed at her and boomed, “You! You’re late!”
“S-sorry. I’m n-n-new and I got l-lost.”
“That’s no excuse!” Red-faced, he examined his list, “Do you have a guide partner?”
“N-no.”
“WHY IS THAT?! That’s ludicrous!” He quickly scanned the room behind him before selecting a victim, “You! You’ll be her guide, partner… thingy.”Obeying her orders, Sam hastily made her way to her ‘guide-partner-thingy’ whom she recognised as the boy from earlier. He sat motionless in his seat with his feet resting on the desk, hands in his black jeans’ pockets and his grey hoodie masking his face. His black boots with silver bands came up to his knees and he wore black fingerless gloves. Sam shakily got out her gear, still recovering from being yelled at and sensitively rubbed her ears. When the teacher, noticeably calmer, began class, the boy stopped his statue imitation by sitting up properly and smoothly pulling out his books. Drawn to the movement, Sam cast a quick glance at her ‘partner’ and was shaken to find two piercing bright eyes of gold and silver briefly looking at her from within the inky black depths of the hoodie. Scared, Sam quickly averted her gaze back to the teacher. A little while passed before the teacher decided he needed to liven up the class and pick on someone.
“THANATOS!” he roared at the boy beside Sam, “What have I said about wearing hoodies in class?!” The boy scowled at the teacher in response before eventually submitting and tossing the hoodie back, revealing mussy black hair that drooped sadly over his incredibly pale head.

Even though she had found a friend on her first day and made it safely to class, Sam was beginning to feel lost again - her guide, no matter how much she tried, seemed to want nothing to do with her. Was there something about her that was irking him? She went through a list of possibilities in her mind, but nothing seemed to be a reasonable explanation. Her thoughts were quickly interrupted by a chorus of ‘psst’s coming from the desk beside her. She turned to see a student gently waving at her. Once Sam’s attention had been fully captured, she leaned in a whispered reassuringly, “Don’t worry, it’s not your fault - he never talks to anyone.”
The information was reassuring and yet, curiosity-inducing. Why would someone never speak a word to anyone? Did he have trust, social or people issues? Did he have bad experiences as a child to make him be this way? Sam didn’t really want to find out.
The other student beside the first quickly chimed in, “Yeah, I heard his parent’s cut his tongue out because he got bad grades in Primary School.” Sam gulped at the thought of someone cutting out her tongue and then suddenly felt very fearful of the prospect of not being able to sing - her worst nightmare.
The student continued, “And that they burnt his eye so it would lose its colour and be blind - just because he was late to school!” Images of her parents with burning implements flashed into Sam’s mind, but they cleared when the first student spoke again.
“Alright, Fae, I think that’s enough,” she said, resting a hand on the girl’s shoulder, “We all know how much you like the grapevine…” Despite the reassurances, Sam felt more concerned and afraid of the mysterious boy beside her, casting another quick glance before returning to her work. When Sam was not looking, Thanatos turned his head like a clown at a carnival game and scowled at Fae momentarily.

The rest of the lesson for Sam was a blur, given that her conscious was haunted by visions of Thanatos’ apparent tortuous experiences. She sat shivering and the sound of the bell for the end of class made her jump in her seat; so much so that she felt she could have touched the ceiling. Thanatos calmly gathered his things and proceeded to wait for Sam to follow. When she eventually caught up, she tried to be polite and ignore the stories by engaging in friendly conversation - but he simply shrugged and walked out of the room. Sam quietly followed, her head bent in submission to the depressing nature that surrounded the boy, but all that evaporated when she suddenly found herself being constrained in a massive bearhug.
“Hello, dearie!” The familiar Scottish voice made Sam beam uncontrollably. “How wuz yer first class?”
“Erm… it was…” Sam couldn’t find the words. How could you describe a lesson like that?
“It’s okay, wee lamb,” Jeannie said, releasing her victim, “ye can tell me.” Rather than trying to explain the circumstances that had disturbed her so, she began to scan the crowds so that Jeannie could see the problem for herself. But the boy from before had completely vanished.