Disclaimer: I don't own any of the D-Tent members, they are all property of Louis Sachar.
Months had passed since the boys left Camp Greenlake. The boys had no idea where the other one was going to be living so they spent as much time together as possible before school started again. All they knew was that they were thousands and thousands of miles away from each other, with the exception of Stanley and Zero, or so they thought…
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
As Rex walked through the familiar hallways of Jefferson High, he tried to make a good impression. He wanted people to know that he had changed; he wanted to erase people's thoughts of him as a 'bad boy.' Rex made his way to the locker number written on the piece of paper given to him last month and making sure he was at the right one. He opened his locker and put in his gym clothes, then shut it closed.
"Welcome to your first days of the junior's calculus class." Mrs. Schaffer announced loud enough for the whole class to hear. She heard groans around the room and managed to smile. "Don't worry; I don't want to be here either."
Jose also known as Magnet rolled his eyes. 'If she doesn't want to be here then there is no point of her coming…' Everyone turned their attention to a late comer entering the class room. Jose tried to look more closely at the kid's face, but he turned around and explained his lateness to Mrs. Schaffer.
"I forgot my glasses at home and I couldn't see the class numbers on my paper…"
'This kid looks so familiar…' Jose mused.
"You're excused. But only because it's the first day of school, Rex, don't make this a habit."
"No problem, Ms." He moved to the empty desk in front of Jose.
Jose coughed, "Loser." The class laughed and Jose waited for this 'Rex' kid to turn around.
"Jose!"
"Sorry Ms."
After class Jose was gathering up his books to get to his next class but was pulled back by someone. "What the fuck?"
"You got jokes huh," Rex asked, pushing Jose against the lockers.
"Man you need to relax. I don't want any trouble, you have no idea," Jose said.
"Actually I do," Rex glared. He balled his fist and was about to hit but was interrupted.
"X-Ray!"
Rex started to loosen his grip. "What'd you say?"
"X, its m-me! Magnet!"
Rex's eyes widened and let him loose. He started to remember the accent now. "You go here!"
"Obviously, man…"
"Always acting like a smart ass," Rex implied. They slapped their hands together.
"There are books in here," Hector said to himself as he wandered around the building. He was a freshman in high school now and he was acting like he's never set foot in a school in his life, but it was true. "School has everything."
The bell rang and he started to get moving so he wouldn't get in trouble. He was moving so fast that everything around him was just a blur and he bumped into a girl and dropped her books onto the floor. He was going to turn and help her but wanted to get to class, leaving the girl to pick up the books that he dropped by herself.
Hector entered the classroom seconds before the late bell rang. He looked at the chalkboard while moving to his seat – LIVING ENVIRONMENT. He heard an 'oof' and realized that he caused someone to drop their books, once more. He turned around and it was the same girl he bumped into before, "I am so sorry!" Bending down, he gathered the books for her. That's when he looked up and saw her more clearly. She had tan skin and black hair, which she scrunched. Her dark brown eyes were almond shaped and she was skinny.
"Thanks for helping me before," the girl replied sarcastically. "I appreciate it."
"Sorry," he apologized honestly. "I was just excited to get to class." She looked up at him and they were face to face, "Yes…?"
"You're different… to say the least" She stood up and took a seat next to him, "You know, I've never met someone, anyone, who was so excited to get to class that they didn't even stop by to help someone."
"Thanks," he said but it was more of a question that a statement
She flashed him a smile, noting his uncertainty in his statement, "Trust me, it's a good thing, well to me. My name's Theresa Bondac, nice to meet you." She introduced herself and extended her hand out to him.
He did the same and shook her hand, "Hector Zeroni, same here."
The teacher entered the room, "Sorry I'm late guys. Well anyway my name is Mrs. Levine…"
And so his day began.
"How was it for you," Hector asked Stanley, "Coming back to this place and all?" They picked up their lunch trays and were looking for a place to sit down that wasn't vacated.
"It's all good now," Stanley answered. "I'm not the one getting picked on anymore." They couldn't find a seat so they took two seats in a table occupied by an African American boy and a Spanish boy. Their backs were turned, so they didn't talk.
"Anyway," Stanley continued, "Wasn't it weird when a teacher asked you where you spent your summer? It's not like I was going to say that I spent it at a detention camp digging holes, but still…"
Rex and Jose turned around as soon as they heard the familiar voice.
"Caveman," Rex asked.
"Zero," Jose exclaimed. "Wow guys, first I saw Armpit and Squid and Rex saw Twitch and Ziggy, what is this, a reunion?"
"What's up, guys," Hector asked. Stanley was still trying to take it all in that all of D-Tent went to the same school.
"Chillen."
"Where's Pit," Stanley asked.
"Mackin' it with the girls," Rex smiled. He nodded towards the snack machine where Theodore was talking to three girls. It was obvious that the girls were hanging to every word he was saying. "It's amazing."
"What, cause he got the girls?"
"No, cause he's skipping lunch to talk to them." Rex teased. They all smirked, shaking their heads. Rex sighed, "Jefferson, man. I can not believe I'm back here."
"Same here," Stanley and Jose replied. The three turned to look at Hector and hear his response.
"What? I never went to school. Remember? Where's the rest of the tent?"
"Different lunch periods," Jose replied. "But we all gotta have at least one class with each other, right?" Hector nodded, taking in a bite of his food before spitting it out. "See, that's why you should bring your own food." Jose continued to smile as he watched his friend drink his soda, trying to wash down the taste. After the period was over, they parted their ways to finish the other half of the day. More than that, they tried to find the other members of the tent in their school. It was a great way to start off their school year, with each other.
Author's Note: First chapter, for all of you who were wondering what happened to 'All Alone' and 'That Girl', I'm rewriting them into a new story. Some differences, but basically the same plot.