Chapter Text
No one dared make a sound, save for their strained breathing, as he walked through the rows of desks, with eyes looking at the numbers and letters that gave them a headache, the solution of the mystery being the key to their salvation. The silence was suffocating, the sound of pens writing on the white papers feeling like nails scratching on the blackboard. Not even flies could disturb the poor souls, desperately praying not to be the unlucky one. The trick was to not look up, avoid eye contact at any cost and write as if your life depended on it. Well, it did. Nobody wanted another 3 mark in the student register. They already had enough of those, and it wasn’t even the middle of the semester. Like an animal hunting its prey, he stopped here and there, checking to see who actually wrote something or who just pretended to. In the beginning they only faked it, but they learned their lesson long ago. Here, there was no such thing as cheating. You could only work and pray to be spared.
You looked at the exercise on the blackboard, making sure for the 5th time you wrote it correctly. Something didn’t add up; the result wasn’t alright. You were one of the lucky ones that still had somewhat decent marks for this class. Argh! The hair on the back of your neck was standing up, a cold shiver running down your spine. Oh, freak! You sighed, knowing that the inevitable was only seconds away from happening.
“(L/N)!” the teacher said, and you let out a silent swear as you rose from your seat and went to take a piece of chalk.
“Let the show begin!” as Grimm liked to say. And indeed, this was a show and you had the starring role, to make a fool of yourself. Well, here goes nothing.
“How many of us are here?” you asked Anne, your desk mate and friend.
The math class was over, and you somehow made it without receiving a bad mark in exchange for being screamed at and called stupid. Not that you complained. Mr. Gibson was really creative with his insults, to the point where they were actually funny, yet no one dared laugh at them. From your perspective, he could yell at you all day long if it meant you escaped the threat of failing his class.
“28 now. Why?” Anne responded, looking at you and then at the clock on the wall in front of your desk.
Two more hours left to suffer in that torture chamber the others dared call a classroom. Summers were way too hot and winters were so cold, not even the teachers could teach properly. The English and Physics teachers were the ones to voice their complains the loudest, encouraging the others to do the same. It was the middle of November, when the wind was already harsh and cold, the days barely blessed with the sun’s bright light and the temperatures were already below zero Celsius degrees. Yet, the school refused to turn on the heating system, arguing that there was no need for it. Yeah, right! Tell that who someone who actually believes them.
“28. Twenty-freaking-eight. Then why does he always, ALWAYS, have you or me solve the exercises!?” you yelled, startling Mallory, your other desk mate who had been too absorbed by the math homework to pay you any attention.
“How should I know?! Ever since he learned our names, he only picks you or me! Does he like my last name that much? He can take it! I’ll even wrap it up for him but leave me alone!” Anne said, smiling as she was gesturing with her hands. Even when she was mad, she still found the power to crack a joke.
“Why do you guys complain? You are still safe!” Ella yelled at you from across the classroom.
You looked at her and Ruth, sitting and eating some potato chips. You and Ruth used to go to the same kindergarten once, but your mind forgot everything about those times, apart from the embarrassing moments that you actually wanted to wipe away from your memory forever. You thought about asking the Radiance for help in that matter, but the others quickly opposed it. They weren’t fond of the idea of the moth god wondering through your head and honestly, neither were you but, Dear Lord! were those memories embarrassing. Ella was an ok girl, a bit too self-absorbed and spoiled for you, but she wasn’t mean or anything. Still, her comment slightly pissed you off.
“So what?! Rather, shouldn’t you be solving those exercises instead of me? I mean, he’s bound to give you a passing grade if you get involved in the class, right?” you asked Ella. So far, Mr. Gibson only gave good marks at the blackboard once or twice, only graded students who were not very prepared for his class. Still, there was no harm in hoping.
“(Y/N) is right, you know. You should be more active during class if you want to pass.” Anne backed you up.
“I will! It’s not my fault I haven’t finished the exercise by the time he makes someone else go to the blackboard and solve it.” Ella defended herself and you chuckled, seeing Ruth roll her eyes.
“Of course, he won’t wait on you. You have to go before he picks someone else, Ella.” she said, sounding exasperated.
“Shut up!”
The four of you continued to argue like that, cracking jokes here and there, laughing at each other until Mrs. Carlos, your Physics teacher entered the classroom. She was one of the greatest teachers in that entire high school and she felt more like a mother rather than another authoritarian figure that demanded your respect simply because she had a position. She actually earned that respect and cared about her students, going way and beyond to help them. She made physics enjoyable and easy to understand for everyone, never mad when someone said they didn't understand. She greeted all of you and after looking at each of your faces, still worn out from the stress of the previous hour, she smiled.
“Don’t worry guys. Today’s lesson is short, so I won’t keep you long. But before that, does anyone want to know any marks?” she asked, opening the register as three hands shot up in the air, poor victims of Mr. Gibson just like you. Even though you had been spared, the rest weren’t so lucky.
“I’m home!” you screamed as soon as you closed the main entrance door.
In the blink of an eye, Ghost was already perched on your shoulder with Pure heading your way followed by Hornet. From the first floor you could hear the “Brave Enough” album of Lindsey Stirling being played. You sighed knowing your uncle must have let Grimm use your computer again. Ever since you introduced him to Spotify, it’s been a constant argument between you two. He preferred the classics like Beethoven and Vivaldi, though he took a liking to other artist you listened too as well. While you didn’t mind listening to them, you still wanted to hear some other singers like Alec Benjamin and Allie X and other more rock-centered bands. Not once did you two found yourselves quarreling over who got to choose the music. Your uncle didn’t want to interfere, saying that you had to work this between yourselves. Easier said than done.
You picked the other two bugs up, placing them on your shoulder beside Ghost, and then headed to your bedroom. You found the door open and as expected, Grimm was dozing off with his back supported against Brumm and the Grimmchild in his arms, all of them listening to the beautiful violin. Divine was also present, looking over some drawings you did last night, before going to bed. Ever since you found those really small canvasses, you kept hanging them on little wood supports around your room, after you drew something on them. Lately, Grimm and Divine took the liberty to color your pictures, complaining that the white and black portraits were too depressing.
“That’s what I’m going for. Besides, I hate coloring.” you told them once, but they ignored you and kept doing things their way.
The results weren’t bad at all, so you didn’t complain. They were doing a better job than you anyway. The piece Divine was examining was of an eye with tears falling down from its corner, and flower vines spreading about. You were really proud of how it came out, and seeing the bug take a brush and dip into a bottle cap filled with blue paint, made you look away. You didn’t really want to have that one painted but, whatever. Complaining never led anywhere anyway since everyone just did what they wanted in the end.
You looked at your pillow to find more vessels sleeping, some covering themselves with the thin blanket you placed on your bed every time after you made it in the morning, before you left for school. “To keep the dust away” your mother said all the time, and although you weren’t the same cleaning maniac she was, thank God! you couldn’t deny that it looked nice. You left your backpack down on the cold floor and took a sit on the chair at your desk, opening the Spotify app and looking for another song. You browsed the library and finally settled for Alec Benjamin. You pressed the play button and the energetic sound of the violin was replaced by the soft lyrics of “Water Fountain”, while your mind drifted away, lost in daydreams with the three bugs on your shoulder relaxing as well, slowly falling asleep.
It felt so strange to you now. To think this was just another day… Who would have thought that you of all people who were afraid of bugs more than anything… well, anything except death of course… and snakes… would end up making friends with such creatures? And they were sapient too. They had minds of their own, thoughts and dreams, a culture, a language. You never thought such a thing would ever happen. How did it start again?
The memory of the first day came creeping through your mind, the events unfolding once more before your eyes. Ah! It felt as if it happened yesterday.