Chapter 3
There is no sleeping in, as Keith is awoken by the sound of the bell tower at 7 followed by a knock on his door. Keith groans at the knock, pulling on his boxers from the day before as he groggily trudges to the door to pull it open enough to see who's there. The hedgehog from the bar is there. "Fer some bloody reason, it was determined that I'm yer welcoming committy." He huffs, and picks up a clothes basket. "These should fit you and will last till the weekend, less yer a real slob. Probably not your thing, but well... don't look a gift 'orse in the mouth." Inside the basket is... well mostly kinda boring preppy clothes, almost like it was specifically chosen to the be the canid's antithesis. Not that he had many other options. Also included is a backpack that already has some books and school supplies in it.
Keith groans at the sight of the clothes, "These look like they should be worn by some guy named 'Trent'." still, he takes the basket.
"Yeah, I know. Tough break but that's what I got told to give ya. Less you have someone around here willing to share clothes with ya, ya gotta make do with those." Cyko replies. Keith asks "Do I have a schedule then?" propping the basket against the wall and his hip as he yawns into his free hand. "Yeah, and a few other things." leaning down again Cyko picks up a satchel. "Laptop, probably not anything to be proud of, but should get you what you need done. There is also a cheap cell phone in there." He says handing if over and pulls a piece of paper from his pocket. "And 'ere's yer schedule." "
Keith nods his thanks at the laptop and cell phone, "Those will help." he then looks at the schedule.
The schedule is your typical classes. English, History, PE, Science today; Math, Home EC, Sex Ed, intro to computers tomorrow with the classes alternating days. He snorts at the 'intro to computers' bit, and looks to see how soon classes start. Keith grunts and asks, "What time is it?"
Cyko says, "Just about 7:15."
Keith mutters, "Fuck." and closes the door, changing into fresh clothes as quick as he can. He then rushes to the bathroom to at least run his claws through his fur and splash water on his face. As well as use the urinal again. He keeps the cellphone with him, as the cheap thing at least has a clock. Once he has done that, he glances at the phone to see if he has time to eat, then decides that he doesn't and curses again before heading off to find the first class.
There is a vague chuckle from Cyko as Keith realizes he's much more behind then he should be, which how Selene wanted it to be today. He had nothing against the poor kid, but he wasn't going to argue for someone he didn't know... especially one with his rap sheet. Of course, finding the classes, when you never got an official tour, doesn't help you arrive on time either. While everything was clearly marked, you still had to hunt down the right wing and classroom.
Keith checks his phone when he finds the class to see how late he is as his hand reaches to open the door and finds that he is about ten minutes late. Trying to open the door, he finds it locked. Keith stands there and waits, frowning at finding the door locked. Knocking on the door gets him a cross look from the teacher, a grumpy looking lynx... who proceeds to ignore him for several minutes until he is finished with whatever he is doing, then he walks over to the door and unlocks it allowing Keith in on his terms.
The lynx says, "Glad to see you could finally decide to join us." His voice was rather snide. "I will not allow tardy students to interrupt my class by coming in at whatever time they want. You either get here on time, or you get locked out until I have time to let you in." He states in a scolding fashion.
Keith frowns, "I didn't even know I had this class until fifty minutes ago, I had to skip breakfast to get here as early as I did." his tone taking that 'I don't take shit from authority' tone the longer he talks.
The teacher says, "So you had nearly an hour, and still got here late? Maybe you also need a class on time management." He replies, which gets a laugh from some of the other students. He looks down to Keith, a piercing gaze that also stated he wasn't gonna take your shit either.
Keith says, "Yeah... time management. Good idea. Maybe the staff should take that too, because I was dumped here yesterday, and given no schedule, food, or even a fucking watch until this morning, so if you're dead set on not teaching me for being ten minutes late, then say so, otherwise get out of the way so I can find a desk and at least pretend to learn from you, cocksucker."
The lynx says, "Ah, so because you are incompetent of requesting and doing for yourself, then that is TOTALLY the fault of others? Less you were stricken blind, deaf, and dumb, you should be aware of how to obtain those things, if you weren't so busy being full of yourself. And please, I wouldn't suck your dick even if you were on time. You gotta at least be this high." he gestures at around his height. "To get a blow job in THIS classroom." He grins.
Keith smirks, "Oh, so now you admit to being a cocksucker, and being high? Fantastic."
The lynx says, "I never deny having a preference for guys, but you're the one that must be high if you think you can lord yourself over me In my classroom. Now find a seat and put your ass in it. Or, you could leave... if you want to spend your entire weekend with me in detention." He says with a grin, almost as if he knows Keith needs his weekend free if he wants to go shopping for his room and clothes.
Keith passes the teacher, heading into the classroom to find an empty seat, "Not lording a damn thing. You're the one who decided to lock the door, cock breath." he flops down into the seat, and drops his book onto the counter-top a touch louder than needed.
The teacher says, "Not that yours smells any better. For someone that claims to have not eaten, your breath certainly smells fishy." He chuckles before continuing on with his class.
Keith nods, "Sure does. But since I was dumped here with the clothes on my back and nothing else, and I wasn't provided with any hygiene supplies, I'm combing my fur with my fingers, unable to shower, and can't even brush my teeth. Like I said, you guys really know how to plan ahead for... nothing."
The lynx says, "And you didn't request any of this stuff, why? Had a full day to yourself, and all you did was twiddle your thumbs rather then get prepared? Find your classes? Ask your clothes and a schedule? Or are you too good for all that?"
Keith actually laughs at that, "Yeah... great. Request... The headmistress thought it would be better to seal my mouth shut all day for asking questions about the school and then storm off. I wasn't given a tour, so I had no clue where to find anyone, and couldn't ask even if I happened upon someone... No supplies, remember? And I don't speak sign language. You can try to spin this all you like, but my not being prepared for today... not really my fault. It kinda more feels like hazing by the teaching staff, which really shows that the bat was lying about this being a safe place to learn, when I'm being set up from day one to fail."
The teacher replies, "Which mostly shows your lack of foresight. You still had hands; type, get paper and pencil. this is a school after all any classroom would have those. Go to any gathering place. A lounge, cafeteria, or even wait around in the front hall since it has the most traffic. Any smart student could reason that where there would be a high concentration of people, would be the potential to get help. But YOU didn't. You let a self-imposed handicap get the better of you, and now you're playing the woe is me card."
Keith can't claim that it wasn't his fault, because everyone knows Selene would only do such as a punishment, which she even told him. "The fact that you didn't even bother, and had to have it hand delivered to you, shows a lack of initiative on your part, and probably a lack of caring. If someone hadn't been told to give them to you, you'd probably still be asleep in bed or sitting on your ass doing fuck-all, as you've shown no ability to do for yourself and only a desire to mouth off and shift blame."
Keith says, "And if that were true, I would have gone right back to bed after getting that information instead of making an effort to get to your class, only to be browbeaten by you for being late."
The teacher notices how he dosen't argue any of his actual points. "Ah, yes class. Lets all have a standing ovation for Keith how he managed to get late to class, and decided to hold it up by arguing policy with me. Come on now, everyone up and Clap for the great achievement he accomplished here today!" He says clapping, as other students also rise and give you a sarcastic ovation. "Are you happy now?" He asks with a sly grin.
Keith shrugs, not giving enough of a rats ass about any of the clapping students to be offended, "I don't see how I could be. Now are you going to keep trying to make someone who doesn't give a fuck what you think feel bad, or are you going to actually teach something?"
The lynx says, "Oh I'm not trying to make you feel bad, that would require you to have actually be a morally responsible person." A jab at the canid's juvie record. "Personally I don't give a shit wither you stayed or not, either way I get what I want. You're the one that insists on having the last word, rather the shutting up whenever I make a point you can't argue with." He says and once again goes back to teaching, seeing how long it takes for the student to pipe up this time.
Keith doesn't bother to try to defend himself , he just sits there and waits out the class while trying to decide if he will ever bother to return to this class.
The class lasts 90 minutes total, a bell ringing to alert everyone of the end of the class, and student's schedules tell them they have have 30 minutes til the next one starts. Keith knows that isn't enough time to get food, so he spends it trying to find the next class. The schedule mentions that lunch is served after the next class anyway. The next class isn't as hard to find, just being the next hall over. As long as nothing distracts him or stops him, Keith should have plenty of time before the bell rings. Keith heads into the next room to find a seat, not having anything better to do.
History is a much more tolerable class, the Teacher making no particular mention of him any more then the other students. If history is your thing, its actually an interesting class, as the teacher doesn't just drone on or recite dates and events, and actually tries to get students involved with vivid descriptions of what was going on trying to capture the imaginations of the students. But for most it was still a boring class, many were just glad the teacher was interesting. The bell rings eventually when class was over, signaling the start of lunch.Keith gets up, and not knowing where the cafeteria is, follows the bulk of the students, and his nose, seeking out a place to eat the best he can.
The Cafeteria, in general, looked like most any normal school cafeteria. Several long tables in the middle, and a few smaller outliers. The front lead to what looked a bit like a mix of a traditional school lunch-line and food joint like subway. Some students gave their orders, some seemed to have them premade, in either case down at the end was a cashier where they picked up their trays and paid, with those same cards Zoey used last night... Keith realized he still didn't have his... crap. Keith frowns at that, heading to the lunch line to ask one of the servers, "Hey, if we haven't been given a card... is there anything to eat?"
The server says, "Everyone eats." and goes about making a meal for Keith. It wasn't as much or as nice as what most the others were getting, though he is also not the only one getting the 'economy' type meals.
Keith says, "Thanks." seeming thankful and surprised, for a minute there he honestly expected this fucking hell hole to try to starve him. He takes what he is given and looks for an empty table to sit at, not feeling like sitting around anyone else at the moment, as he's rather pissy due to how hungry he is. The outlier tables usually seem to be sparse, one in particular had a black bat sitting at it... something told him to probably get a table on the opposite of the room from her. Keith had been warned by... well... everyone to avoid the headmistress's daughter, so he does sit at the opposite side of the room, settling down to eat his meager fare without complaint. As a foster kid, he's used to crappy or government subsidized meals.
"I see you got the cheap-skate meal." A familiar voice says, as Zoey walks up behind Keith
Keith glances up at the otter, and smirks, "It was that or the 'starve' meal."
Zoey smirks softly. "I'm sure if you really wanted you could have found a decently priced fish taco around somewhere." She teases and sits down with her meal, a seafood salad.
Keith laughs a little bit, "Sure, but I had that last night, and it wasn't nearly as filling enough to last the day."
Zoey says, "Then maybe you need to eat more." and giggles.
Keith rolls his eyes and grins as he eats his food.
The otter asks "So, how has your classes gone so far"?"
Keith says, "First class was shit. Second class was just boring."
Zoey comments "Yeah, that's just sorta how it goes. Not every teacher here can be a winner. There can be some really interesting ones. Key is to find the classes with the ones you like and focus most on them. You're gonna get paid anyway, but in a class you like or good at, then its just easy money."
Keith nods at that with a sigh, "Great."
Zoey asks "What?"
Keith shrugs, "I just generally think school is a load of crap. I mean how much of this will we ever actually use?"
"That's generally up to you, but even drug dealer living outta his van, has to know some math... and possibly chemistry" replies the otter.
Keith smirks, "Don't believe what you see on TV, most drug dealers don't know their way out of a wet paper sack. It's the growers or chemists who need the skills, and honestly, they are usually freaks to begin with."
She smirks "That's cause Most drug dealers share your attitude." She says and pokes her tongue out.
He shakes his head, "I don't fuck with drugs."
"Kinda surprised there." She says with a shrug, not making any offense outta it. "You seem like the type the might do a joint now and then."
Keith shakes his head, "No... Not my scene. Seriously, with random drug tests, foster parents eager to beat you or send you back..."
The otter nods softly. "Yes, I suppose I can see that...
Keith finishes his meal and then sighs as he leans against the table, "So what do you want to be when you graduate?"
Zoey hmms softly "I've not really decided yet. Maybe I'll be a tattoo artist or something." She shrugs. "You got any ideas?"
Keith smirks, "Tattoo artist? You a fan of reptiles and amphibians then?" he shrugs as she returns the question, "Honestly, no clue. It isn't like I expect to graduate."
The otter says, "Any species can get them, just a matter of the right inks that will permanently dye the fur when it grows back..."
Keith huhs, "Didn't know that."
Zoey nods and pulls out her phone to bring up some images: "Here's a few of some tribal tattoos."
He looks and nods, "Cool." he grins, "Seems like dye jobs would allow more flexibility."
She says, "Dye jobs wear off, and take a lot more time to do. Most want something permanent, least they think they do." She laughs softly"
Keith chuckles and nods, "Yeah... I can imagine."
While the pair is talking, the bell rings signaling the end of the lunch period and giving students 15 minutes for clear up and get to their next class.
