Radio had their headphones on when the bell rang.

They were sitting in the dank rectangular space of two intersecting stairwells, with their knees up, listening to music. Their narrow body could fit basically anywhere if they tried, and their favourite place to relax was in the cramped corner between two large peeling white pillars. It was comfortable, and the blinding daylight that reflected from the colossal windows that resided behind Radio were blocked by their shadowy hideout.

They closed their eyes, listening to the beat of the rock music through their black padded headphones. House of Wolves by MCR was playing. Radio flipped up their phone, pressing the three white dots button on their Spotify, then added the song to their Inspiration for Ace playlist. Their brain was buzzing with ideas on how to incorporate the cadences in MCR’s music into their own creations. A new episode was supposed to come out every Wednesday, so Radio had approximately two days to put together a new song.

Or they could just rant into the microphone again. They fiddled with their fingerless gloves, zoning out again. This was the only thing Radio missed about school. Sitting in this corner; the world disappearing around them; the early morning silence inside Mildew High School; and the cool breeze of the air conditioning vents beside them. After this year, and they graduated, they wouldn’t have this peace anymore. There are more pros to leaving school than staying. Radio reminded themself.

Like, being late. They gazed at the time on their phone and shot up, hitting their head on the stairs above them. Radio silently cursed. They silently said everything. Sometimes, they wondered, if they actually spoke at all, or if it was only in their head. The only proof that they spoke was in their podcast, and that was probably why they listened to it every night at 3 am. Reassuring themself again and again that they did, indeed, exist.

Radio rubbed their head, ignoring the throbbing and the swaying of the world around them. They were 10 minutes late for class. Not such a good first impression on their senior teachers. It amazed Radio how they managed to be late when they arrived an hour earlier than everyone else to sit here and relax. They rushed up the stairs with their backpack lugging behind them, looking for their classroom. Thankfully, they already knew where to go from yesterday night’s prep.

212…212, Radio kept running in the empty halls, keeping an eye out. Finally, they found the class and burst inside. The teacher was obviously in the middle of a lesson, but he stopped immediately when the door opened, and he raised a disapproving eyebrow at them. They looked down at their sticker-decorated Vans shoes and walked to the back of the room, sitting in the darkest corner.

After a scolding from their teacher, he went back to talking, and Radio felt a strange melancholy sense wash over them. Even though they were late, the teacher barely noticed. Their classmates went on whispering to each other about how annoying this teacher was or passing notes to each other with a hidden giggle. So Radio swallowed and set down their backpack.

They slouched down, and with a deep breath, they raised their headphones to their ears, letting the music keep them company, like it always did.

Rebecca had a feeling that something would go wrong. It always seemed to happen on the first day - last year, it was a mix up with lunch, the year before, homeroom. It would have been a miracle if the first day of school this year worked out. Yet of course, per usual, there was a problem.

“Excuse me, Mrs. Rajas?” She approached her counselor as she walked in, holding her recently received class schedule in one hand, “I think there’s been a mistake with my classes…”

“Oh, no problem Miss Lee. What’s wrong?”

They had put her in basic math. That was the problem. She explained the situation to Mrs. Rajas, who smiled politely but said that it would take time to swap out her classes - and that she may have to get a whole new schedule all together. This sent Rebecca’s mind reeling. What if she couldn’t get in the right classes? What would happen if her parents found out? What if…the thoughts kept coming, a tidal wave threatening to drown her.

“Miss Lee? Are you alright?” The counselor questioned in concern.

“Yeah-yes, I’m fine.” Rebecca lied, forcing a smile. She then headed towards the stairs, Room 212 or was it 221? She double checked her schedule - 212. All she had to do was make it through this class, and pray the rest of the day went smoother. As much as she tried to suppress them however, the intrusive thoughts returned, distracting her from her surroundings. Not paying attention to where she was going, she accidentally collided with another student, dropping her schedule and armful of books in the process.

“I am so sorry…” She apologized hastily, so embarrassed she didn’t even look at the other student as she picked up her stuff, and rushed to class.

Alexander strode onto the school property, his black and red backpack hanging off one shoulder. He didn’t want to be there, but he had to. This was his senior year; 180 days of complete torture and agony to come out with the same information you went in with.
He just wanted to go home. Well, at least to what he called home. Alexander had been paying a married couple for eight years to act as his parents and serve him until he became an adult, or else he’d kill them off and find someone new to care for him. The couple had been very afraid of him, but they gave him a home and did as he asked.

Alexander walked through the doors and into Mildew High School, ready to find his first victim. What fun is there in going to school if nobody dies?
He slipped on his gloves, straightened his glasses, and tousled his hair as he sauntered into his first class and sat down in an empty seat, waiting for attendance so he could correct whoever tried to call him ‘Alex’ instead of ‘Alexander’. He had to make it very clear to everyone that he hated the thought of nicknames.
Looking around, he could see small clusters of students exchanging photos and phone numbers as they chatted about their summers.

But nobody came and talked to Alexander. He’d heard in previous years that it was because of his sly and mysterious ways, and they weren’t wrong. He never talked to anyone and always kept to himself. He got what he wanted fast and disappeared as soon as he could. Nobody knew about his murderous agenda, which was good. If anyone were to find out, he would have to eliminate them, which was never a problem. Murder was straightforward and effortless to Alexander due to his past of killing off certain adoptive parents and making a living in the sketchiest ways possible.

Two minutes later, the bell rang, indicating that the school day had begun.
“Alright Mildew High School,” Alexander muttered to himself. “Let the games begin.”

Angela wrung her hands together as she sat in the parking lot. “Okay, last year. I-I can do this.” She pulled the rear view mirror down and gently tapped the brown lipstick she’d put on, making sure it was dry before straightening her glasses and making a serious face for all of half a second before laughing at herself and opening the car door… at which point things immediately started to snowball. First, she almost slammed the door on her hand before noticing that not only were her keys still in the car, but that it was still running. Then, after turning it off and grabbing her keys she did slam her hand in the door.

“Flabgrassin’ fingerhead, knucklebones, crudmunchin’” She muttered under her breath as she shook her fingers in a desperate attempt to stop the pain which worked as well as expected in doing nothing but earning her a few odd looks from the freshman who had not seen her in action around the school yet. With an awkward smile at the few still staring at her she straightened the bottom of her dress and pulled up her knee high socks over her tights as she stared at her reflection in the side of the car. This year was going to be different, right? She leaned in closer to her reflection as she readjusted one of her D20 earrings and popped in her headphones to listen for the hundredth time to the most recent episode of Ace of Spades with a smile that faded as she entered the school.

People bumped into her, jostling her left and right, down the wrong hallway, up some stairs and all around until she managed to make it to the right classroom about 20 seconds before the bell rang. It was a small class and she slid into a seat next to a student she remembered from her Algebra class the year before who promptly stood up and moved to sit behind the kid he’d previously been sitting beside and whispered something in the others ear.

Slowly, she pulled out her head phones and pulled out a folder as the teacher began the long, boring process of syllabi, rules, and icebreakers.

Jance headed inside the all-too-familiar building. This year might be rough; all of his friends who he’d actually liked had either graduated or grown distant. As for the remaining couple people? Honestly, he just didn’t like their presence in general, since they weren’t too great of people. But he didn’t have a good way to distance himself. So Jance had decided he’d just have to deal with it for now until he could find a way.

The familiar sounds washed over him as he stepped inside- walking, yelling, the clicks of phone cameras, lockers opening and closing, people chatting as they were reunited with their friends. Jance checked their schedule, double-checking where they were going. First hour they had math in Room 212. 2nd hour was chemistry, Room 103. 3rd hour English, room 26. 4th hour homeroom in room 45, then lunch. 5th hour history, room 87. 6th hour choir, room 07. Then last hour art, room 82. They were still a little upset that their favorite two classes weren’t until the end of the day, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Jance trudged through the hallway, wanting nothing more than to be back in the comfort of his home. But again- he knew there wasn’t really anything that could be done. Nearing the classroom, suddenly somebody ran into him. A flash of panic went off in his mind. Instinctively, he apologized immediately to the girl and bent down to help pick up anything she’d dropped. However, she seemed to be in too much of a rush to even notice. Jance scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and stood up, continuing on his way to Room 212. As they opened the door, they noticed the same girl from a second ago had also just entered the class. Jance found his way to the back of the class and sat down, heart racing a little still from his brief moment of panic. He sighed as the bell rang, and the first day of his junior year had officially begun.

First period was dragging on forever. Rebecca had hoped that because the teacher had decided to jump in with a lesson right away, that they would be spared the dreaded icebreaker games repeated year after year. It wasn’t so much that Rebecca didn’t like the games, but rather that she didn’t like the fact that it meant sharing things about herself with other people. If it were simply a worksheet for the teacher’s eyes only - she’d be perfectly content. But when it meant sharing things that could lead to judgement…no thank you. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. The class gave a collective groan as the teacher announced the “get to know you” activity for the period - some sort of partner interview.

“Everyone must get up and find a partner,” The teacher instructed, “quickly, we don’t have all day.”

Rebecca remained seated. Hoping that maybe if she made herself small enough, no one would notice her and she would not have to participate in the activity. However, one stern look from the teacher said they weren’t going to have any of that. With a defeated sigh, Rebecca scanned the room, searching for anyone still looking for a partner.

Alexander shot his teacher a glare, and the look he gave back told him that this was something he wasn’t getting out of. He sighed and looked around the classroom to see if any students considered pairing with him. His eyes met with a boy staring straight at him. The boy nodded his head, indicating that we would be partners. Alexander rolled his eyes and walked over to the boy’s desk.
“Listen, kid.” Alexander snapped. “I’m not all for this ‘get together and do partner work’ type thing. I’m a solo act; not a part of a package deal. Got that?”
The boy nodded once again.
“Good.” Alexander sat down next to him. “You don’t talk much, hm?”
“Huh? Oh, sorry… Um, I’m Jance, by the way. I use He/They pronouns, just so you’re aware.”
“Okay, whatever.”
Jance let out a sigh and looked at the teacher, waiting for instructions on the icebreaker activity.

Angela felt a small jolt of excitement at the prospects of an icebreaker. It wasn’t that she loved icebreakers, but she did like meeting new people. Her eyes darted around the room, but most of the people looked away from her, hurrying to their already established friends or just claiming whoever was next to them.

She sighed before spotting the perfect potential friend in a kid with headphones in a row in front of her. She quickly bustled between the desks and tapped them on the shoulder. “Hey! I’m Angela! What’s your name? You have really cool headphones.”

To Rebecca’s dismay, there didn’t appear to be anyone left in the class without a partner. Great. She remained seated at her desk starting to sneak open the latest book she’s been reading. Books are her escape, her solution to every problem, reading helps her process, while also distracting her from unwelcome problems.

“Rebecca, I can see that you don’t have a partner…” The teacher notes - in front of the entire class.

Rebecca adjusts her headband, “Sorry, but I just didn’t see anyone left.”

“I can help you with that,” The teacher scans the class for a moment before declaring, “Rebecca, why don’t you join Jance and uh…” He glances at his roster, “Alexander.”

Awkwardly, Rebecca shuffles over a few rows to where Jance and Alexander are seated, Jance looking quite uncomfortable as Alexander glares at her approach.

“Hi um, I’m Rebecca, but you can call me Becca.” She extends her hand out in greeting, awaiting a response.

Radio kept slouching and listening to MCR when suddenly, everyone in the class started standing up, the sounds of chairs screeching and chattering quickly overpowering the cymbals and musical screaming that was currently playing in their ears. They felt themself tense up. It was time for the dreaded…getting-to-know-you activities, wasn’t it?

Radio slouched even further down in their chair than before, if possible, and kept their eyes trained on the ground. Please no one talk to me, please no one talk to me please-

Radio saw a pair of bright sneakers contrasting the white tiled floor. Their sage green eyes met twinkling brown ones. The girl in front of Radio grinned, a gap in between her teeth. She was saying hello…talking about headphones… but Radio couldn’t seem to make his mouth actually make words while she rambled. They took off their headphones.

“I’m Radio.” They said, an emotionless tone in their voice. There was a silence, before Radio shuffled their feet and asked “Um, do you like music too?”

If Angela’s face had been bright before it was practically shining like a star now as Radio replied. “That is an awesome name name! I wish I had a name that cool!”

She readjusted her glasses as she plopped down into the seat next to them. “Of course! Who doesn’t love music? What are you listening to?”

Radio hesitated, then retrieved their phone from their pocket, scrolling through Spotify to show Angela their Liked Songs. Radio quickly hid the Inspiration for Ace playlist. Not that anyone in this school would listen to their small podcast, but just to be sure.

“I usually like rock or alternative pop. I like Nirvana, and MCR. Sometimes I listen to Cavetown.” They mumbled, their eyes trained on scrolling down their liked songs and not Angela, who was persistently peeking over their shoulder.

“Anyways” Radio shut the phone off. There was another silence. “Do you… have any pets?”

Jance extended their hand, shaking Becca’s. He said in a quiet voice, one of those awkward and forced smiles upon his face, “Hi. I’m Jance.” He retracted his hand and scratched his neck. Then there was a prolonged awkward silence. Jance decided to just get this out of the way. He said in that same quiet voice, “Oh, uh, for future reference. I go by he/they pronouns..”

“Nice to meet you Jance,” Becca smiled, glad to hear someone use her preferred name - she always thought Rebecca sounded too formal anyway. Deciding that Alexander was not in anyway interested in introducing himself, Becca took a seat beside Jance, folding her hands neatly in her lap. “So…I guess we have to discuss the questions on the board. The first being…if you were an animal, which would you be and why? I think I’d be a rabbit, they like to hide out in small cozy places, like me. How about you guys?” She looked expectantly at the other two.

Alexander sighed. “Suppose I would be a bear. Bears like to be left alone.” He said with a glare. He didn’t want to be in the conversation, but talking to people wouldn’t do much harm. It’s just people.
“I’ll just get the basics out of the way. My favorite color is red. I’m not a people person. I’m a senior. Don’t ask about my family.” Alexander looked up at the board. “Next question. If had to teach a class on one thing, what would it be? I guess I would teach a class on anatomy.” He looked a Jance, then Becca. “You two?”

Becca glanced at Jance - they didn’t seem to have anything to say so she answered, “I think I’d teach music. I play a lot at home, Violin and piano so I guess it would be fun to teach as well. And music is such an essential thing, you know? Where would we be without it?”

The teacher suddenly cleared their throat, “Alright I think that’s enough time for the icebreaker - let’s get to what we should be doing. Math.” Everyone groaned in unison. “You can return to your seats and pull out your notebooks, we are starting with the Pythagorean theorem.”

Angela smiled, “I used to have a cat. His name was Dog. My dad named him. He was a sweet heart, but he died last year. Somehow got out of the house and got hit by a car. It was really bad. All types of a mess and-“ She looked at Radio and she knew that look. They were looking at her and planning their escape from the conversation.

“Oh, lunch time.” She chuckled awkwardly, “Um, I- I’ll see you tomorrow. Sorry.” She lowered her gaze and quickly gathered up her things, racing out of the room towards the lunchroom.

She’d done it again. She’d been too much. Shared too much. Stupid, stupid. Angela grabbed a lunch tray and grabbed a random assortment of food and found an empty table to sit at. Maybe she had already screwed up her chance of making a new friend.

Finally, it was lunch. They packed up their things and arrived at the cafeteria. Radio barely paid attention to the food they had grabbed, and stood in the middle of the bustling cafeteria.

They scanned the room, music still blasting in their ears. Radio could technically go to their favourite stairwell and sit there alone for the rest of break…but this was senior year. Radio couldn’t believe they were thinking about this. They spotted Angela sitting alone at a table, looking quite sad for some reason.

They walked over and sat themself down across from her, without words or emotion. Radio took a bite of their food, not caring if she started a conversation or not.

Rebecca didn’t bother going to the lunchroom, instead she headed straight for the library. She turned a corner, only to be faced with a large sign on the library door which simply said “CLOSED”.
Why on earth would they close the library during lunch? She went there nearly every day last year with no problem. Frustrated - and a little panicked - she made her way to the loud, crowded lunchroom.

There were so many people. Too many people. She froze in place, already feeling her chest get tighter as her hands started to shake. This is one thing she’s always hated about herself, something she wished she could overcome but every time…

“Hey,” A voice sounded from behind her, “Are you okay?”