"Settle down class!" Ordered Professor Potnik from the front of the
classroom. Dana stopped getting the gossip on what Peter Franko had been
up to at the weekend, to sit down and get out her English Literature text,
Romeo and Juliet. She glanced at the empty seat next to her. It seemed
that Terry had decided to skip the day altogether. He had been doing that
recently, skipping morning classes and not handing in homework. The work
that he did was never as good as it had been and his grades were slipping.
Dana sighed, deciding that worrying about her boyfriend was pointless. Besides he didn't even feel like her boyfriend anymore. They hardly ever went out, and if they did he would either arrive late, leave early or not show up. He had pulled the 'not show up' trick last night, leaving Dana waiting in a bar for nearly an hour. In the end she left, leaving a message with the barman for Terry should he show up.
"Right." Professor Potnik began, brushing his greying hair from his eyes and perching his horn rimmed spectacles on his nose. He had elected to wear a brown suit today, one similar to those probably worn by world war one bankers. "Open your texts at page." He was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Take five." He said waving someone to come in. Dana opened Vogue magazine and flicked to the problem pages.
"Class, I would like to introduce a new student." Potnik said, interrupting Dana from reading an article entitled 'My boyfriend dumped me for my brother!' "This is Lark Robertson." He said, indicating a girl standing next to him. Dana analysed her closely.
Lark was small, shorter than the average sixteen or seventeen year old. She was also very slim. She wasn't amazingly pretty, but the more you looked at her, the more you appreciated her dainty nose, small mouth and pretty grey eyes. She certainly wasn't stunning, but she wasn't ugly either. She had shoulder length dark blonde hair, with lighter highlights, swept back into a high ponytail. She wore a shocking pink short skirt, a black halter neck top cropped at the waist to show off her well toned stomach. She wore a white jacket with pink detail and wore matching white mules on her feet. A light blue pack was swung over her shoulder. She smiled shyly as everyone stared at her.
"Miss Robertson, why don't you sit next to Dana?" Potnik said, indicating the empty seat next to Dana. "Excuse me class, I just have to go and collect some books from the staff room." Potnik left in a flurry of paper as Lark awkwardly made her way over to where Dana sat. Dana tried to place her in a group. She certainly wasn't a goth, and she didn't look like a geek. She could be a cheerleader, but she also could be one of the 'cool crowd'. Dana sighed, unable to place a stereotype on Lark. Perhaps she would just have to be a misfit.
As Lark made her way over, Peter Franko, the school Jock and total pig leaned over. As Lark walked past he put out a hand and pinched her bum, his friends laughing at the joke. Dana felt for Lark, it wasn't fun to be molested on you first day at school. But Lark acted quickly. She grabbed Peter's arm whilst it was still behind her back and turned around quickly, twisting his arm behind him so that he yelped in pain. The whole class stopped talking to watch the scene unfolding.
"I'm sorry, did you want something?" Lark asked Peter. She had a Californian accent but she spoke with a threatening edge to her voice.
"You know it babe!" Franko said cockily, laughing with his mates. But he yelped again when Lark twisted his arm up further.
"If you want something you should ask for it like a gentleman." She reprimanded him.
"Alright alright!" Franko groaned, wanting her to release her vice like grip.
"However if you were aiming to act like a baboon with a big red arse then you are there." Lark said, letting go of Peter's arm. He rubbed it and looked up at her. "You were halfway there with you behind anyway!" She said, walking away from him. He tried to come up with a smart reply, but he couldn't. Some of the class were laughing, but not at Lark anymore. Others looked at her with mild admiration as she walked past.
"Hey." She said, sitting next to Dana. "Sorry about you being landed with me. If this seat was saved for someone I don't mind moving."
Dana looked at her and smiled. "It wasn't saved for anyone important." She said, which was true, she had saved it for Terry but he was pushed to the back of her mind. "I'm Dana."
"Lark." Lark replied.
"I liked what you did to Peter Franko." Dana said, nodding to the boy a few rows in front. "Nice touch, you're gonna fit right in here."
"I hope so." Lark said. "I hate moving to a new school."
"Where you from anyway?" Dana asked, warming to the girl already.
"Texas originally. But my family moved to California when I was eight." Lark said, getting out her standard issue timetable, notebook and pen.
"I could tell from your accent." Dana admitted. "Why did you move up here? I'd love top live in California."
"I loved it there. We were right by the beach, I went surfing with my step brothers every day." Lark said remorsefully. "I didn't want to move here. I lived with my stepmother and her two sons in California because my father died when I was eight, that's why we moved to California from his ranch in Texas. Anyway my stepmother passed away a few months ago. Her sister fostered her two sons, but not me."
"I'm sorry." Dana said. "So why did you come up here?"
"I know that I have family up here, my grandmother on my father's side was originally from Gotham. I'm trying to find my family, but there are a lot of people in Gotham and I don't know where to start." Lark admitted.
"That's rough." Dana said as Professor Potnik came back and handed Lark some books, including Romeo and Juliet and some other literature texts.
"Where have you got to in this class?" Lark asked as they opened their texts.
"Act Two in this play. You'll catch up quickly, we work really slowly with Potnik." Dana said kindly.
"I can't work out my timetable." Lark moaned, her head swimming as she tried to figure out the codes and symbols on her timetable.
"Let me take a look." Dana reached over and grabbed the sheet. "Hey, you're in most of my classes. Except when I have Home Ecomonics, you have Phys Ed. Whoa you chose Phys Ed?" Dana said.
"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" Lark asked as Potnik went on about the significance of flowers in the play.
"Only that it is an impossible class." Dana said. "Normally about a quarter of the class pass, and one year everyone failed! The teacher, Mr Collins is a slave driver. Half the class drop out after the first lesson. You had better be fit."
"Well eight years of intense dance and gymnastics should set me right." Lark said. "I've never gone in for this academic stuff, I can't do it. But I'm good at sports, gymnastics, dance, soccer, football, hockey, track, field events, baseball, you name it and I've done it."
"You might be in with a fighting chance then." Dana said as the bell rung to indicate break. They packed up their things as Potnik shouted at them.
"Home work, how Romeo and Juliet is based in fact, three sides computer font size twelve, for next lesson."
"When is the next lesson?" Lark asked as she followed Dana out of the classroom.
"Day after tomorrow." Dana said. "But don't worry if you can't cut it with the homework, Potnik doesn't care as long as you give it in some time this semester!"
Lark smiled to herself. She walked with Dana outside into the courtyard. The summer breeze was fresh on their faces and Lark removed her jacket as the heat of the sun warmed her.
"Well, I don't want to tag along." Lark said as she saw Dana wave to another student.
"Don't be silly." Dana said, grabbing Lark's arm as Lark made to walk off. "You can hang round with me for a while if you want. Until you find your feet, or whatever."
"You sure?" Lark asked. "Because I don't want to be a burden."
"No worries." Dana said. "Besides, you're cool. Nicer than the usual people we get here anyway." Lark smiled, accepting Dana's offer of friendship gratefully.
"Hey Max!" Dana said as Max joined them. "This is Lark, she's new here."
AN - Well what do you think? A bit of a slow start but it will get better, I promise.
Dana sighed, deciding that worrying about her boyfriend was pointless. Besides he didn't even feel like her boyfriend anymore. They hardly ever went out, and if they did he would either arrive late, leave early or not show up. He had pulled the 'not show up' trick last night, leaving Dana waiting in a bar for nearly an hour. In the end she left, leaving a message with the barman for Terry should he show up.
"Right." Professor Potnik began, brushing his greying hair from his eyes and perching his horn rimmed spectacles on his nose. He had elected to wear a brown suit today, one similar to those probably worn by world war one bankers. "Open your texts at page." He was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Take five." He said waving someone to come in. Dana opened Vogue magazine and flicked to the problem pages.
"Class, I would like to introduce a new student." Potnik said, interrupting Dana from reading an article entitled 'My boyfriend dumped me for my brother!' "This is Lark Robertson." He said, indicating a girl standing next to him. Dana analysed her closely.
Lark was small, shorter than the average sixteen or seventeen year old. She was also very slim. She wasn't amazingly pretty, but the more you looked at her, the more you appreciated her dainty nose, small mouth and pretty grey eyes. She certainly wasn't stunning, but she wasn't ugly either. She had shoulder length dark blonde hair, with lighter highlights, swept back into a high ponytail. She wore a shocking pink short skirt, a black halter neck top cropped at the waist to show off her well toned stomach. She wore a white jacket with pink detail and wore matching white mules on her feet. A light blue pack was swung over her shoulder. She smiled shyly as everyone stared at her.
"Miss Robertson, why don't you sit next to Dana?" Potnik said, indicating the empty seat next to Dana. "Excuse me class, I just have to go and collect some books from the staff room." Potnik left in a flurry of paper as Lark awkwardly made her way over to where Dana sat. Dana tried to place her in a group. She certainly wasn't a goth, and she didn't look like a geek. She could be a cheerleader, but she also could be one of the 'cool crowd'. Dana sighed, unable to place a stereotype on Lark. Perhaps she would just have to be a misfit.
As Lark made her way over, Peter Franko, the school Jock and total pig leaned over. As Lark walked past he put out a hand and pinched her bum, his friends laughing at the joke. Dana felt for Lark, it wasn't fun to be molested on you first day at school. But Lark acted quickly. She grabbed Peter's arm whilst it was still behind her back and turned around quickly, twisting his arm behind him so that he yelped in pain. The whole class stopped talking to watch the scene unfolding.
"I'm sorry, did you want something?" Lark asked Peter. She had a Californian accent but she spoke with a threatening edge to her voice.
"You know it babe!" Franko said cockily, laughing with his mates. But he yelped again when Lark twisted his arm up further.
"If you want something you should ask for it like a gentleman." She reprimanded him.
"Alright alright!" Franko groaned, wanting her to release her vice like grip.
"However if you were aiming to act like a baboon with a big red arse then you are there." Lark said, letting go of Peter's arm. He rubbed it and looked up at her. "You were halfway there with you behind anyway!" She said, walking away from him. He tried to come up with a smart reply, but he couldn't. Some of the class were laughing, but not at Lark anymore. Others looked at her with mild admiration as she walked past.
"Hey." She said, sitting next to Dana. "Sorry about you being landed with me. If this seat was saved for someone I don't mind moving."
Dana looked at her and smiled. "It wasn't saved for anyone important." She said, which was true, she had saved it for Terry but he was pushed to the back of her mind. "I'm Dana."
"Lark." Lark replied.
"I liked what you did to Peter Franko." Dana said, nodding to the boy a few rows in front. "Nice touch, you're gonna fit right in here."
"I hope so." Lark said. "I hate moving to a new school."
"Where you from anyway?" Dana asked, warming to the girl already.
"Texas originally. But my family moved to California when I was eight." Lark said, getting out her standard issue timetable, notebook and pen.
"I could tell from your accent." Dana admitted. "Why did you move up here? I'd love top live in California."
"I loved it there. We were right by the beach, I went surfing with my step brothers every day." Lark said remorsefully. "I didn't want to move here. I lived with my stepmother and her two sons in California because my father died when I was eight, that's why we moved to California from his ranch in Texas. Anyway my stepmother passed away a few months ago. Her sister fostered her two sons, but not me."
"I'm sorry." Dana said. "So why did you come up here?"
"I know that I have family up here, my grandmother on my father's side was originally from Gotham. I'm trying to find my family, but there are a lot of people in Gotham and I don't know where to start." Lark admitted.
"That's rough." Dana said as Professor Potnik came back and handed Lark some books, including Romeo and Juliet and some other literature texts.
"Where have you got to in this class?" Lark asked as they opened their texts.
"Act Two in this play. You'll catch up quickly, we work really slowly with Potnik." Dana said kindly.
"I can't work out my timetable." Lark moaned, her head swimming as she tried to figure out the codes and symbols on her timetable.
"Let me take a look." Dana reached over and grabbed the sheet. "Hey, you're in most of my classes. Except when I have Home Ecomonics, you have Phys Ed. Whoa you chose Phys Ed?" Dana said.
"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" Lark asked as Potnik went on about the significance of flowers in the play.
"Only that it is an impossible class." Dana said. "Normally about a quarter of the class pass, and one year everyone failed! The teacher, Mr Collins is a slave driver. Half the class drop out after the first lesson. You had better be fit."
"Well eight years of intense dance and gymnastics should set me right." Lark said. "I've never gone in for this academic stuff, I can't do it. But I'm good at sports, gymnastics, dance, soccer, football, hockey, track, field events, baseball, you name it and I've done it."
"You might be in with a fighting chance then." Dana said as the bell rung to indicate break. They packed up their things as Potnik shouted at them.
"Home work, how Romeo and Juliet is based in fact, three sides computer font size twelve, for next lesson."
"When is the next lesson?" Lark asked as she followed Dana out of the classroom.
"Day after tomorrow." Dana said. "But don't worry if you can't cut it with the homework, Potnik doesn't care as long as you give it in some time this semester!"
Lark smiled to herself. She walked with Dana outside into the courtyard. The summer breeze was fresh on their faces and Lark removed her jacket as the heat of the sun warmed her.
"Well, I don't want to tag along." Lark said as she saw Dana wave to another student.
"Don't be silly." Dana said, grabbing Lark's arm as Lark made to walk off. "You can hang round with me for a while if you want. Until you find your feet, or whatever."
"You sure?" Lark asked. "Because I don't want to be a burden."
"No worries." Dana said. "Besides, you're cool. Nicer than the usual people we get here anyway." Lark smiled, accepting Dana's offer of friendship gratefully.
"Hey Max!" Dana said as Max joined them. "This is Lark, she's new here."
AN - Well what do you think? A bit of a slow start but it will get better, I promise.