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Milo checked his backpack before leaving his room.
He went down to the living room; Hanna was there, waiting for him with her backpack already on.
"Finally, you came down," Hanna said, "you took too long."
"What? You took forever in the bathroom," Milo replied.
"I had to be ready," Hanna said. "Anyway, let's go."
They left the house and blended in with other students on their way to school. Milo noticed that almost everyone was walking, crossing paths from different streets as if the distance were short for everyone.
Minutes later, they found themselves standing in front of the school.
"We're here," Hanna said.
"Okay, so now what?" Milo said.
Hanna started walking while Milo followed behind her. As they entered, the noise wrapped around Milo. There were students chatting or walking around, some greeting each other after a while.
A group of students passed between them, pulling them in different directions without giving them time to say anything.
A teacher also passed between them.
"Students, remember to be in your assigned classrooms before the bell rings."
Hanna kept walking through the hallways without paying attention; Milo followed behind her without saying anything.
After a few seconds, Hanna stopped and pulled out her phone to check the time.The bell rang suddenly.
Hanna looked up from her phone and pointed at a nearby door.
"My classroom is here," she said, "see you later."
Before he could reply, she had already disappeared among the other students.
Now he was alone.
Milo pulled a piece of paper from his pocket with his classroom written on it.
He stood still for a second before starting to walk again. The hallways began to empty as students went into their classes.
Milo picked up the pace.
After a minute, he found his classroom. The room was already silent.
Milo stood in front of the door for a second, took a deep breath, and pushed the door open, entering the classroom quietly.
"You're late," the teacher said.
Milo nodded his head.
"You're new, right?" she added. "You can introduce yourself to the class."
Milo walked up to the board.
"I'm Milo..." he said, clearing his throat. "I just moved to town."
"Welcome, Milo," the teacher said, "you can sit in any empty seat."
Milo walked to the back of the classroom and sat in the first empty seat he saw.
The class went on between the teacher's voice and the sound of chalk on the board. Some students murmured quietly. Others copied without looking up. Milo stayed just attentive enough, letting time pass.
The break bell rang, and the classroom filled with movement in an instant.
Milo was putting his things away when someone leaned on the desk next to him.
"Hey... you're from the city, right?" the boy asked.
Milo looked up, a little surprised.
"Yeah."
"It shows," he said, without any bad intention. "Things move a bit slow around here."
"A bit," Milo repeated.
A girl approached from the other side of the classroom.
"Just because you're impatient doesn't mean everything is slow," she said, in a teasing tone.
"Speak for yourself," he replied.
Milo finished packing his things.
"By the way," he added, "my name is Elio."
"Milo."
"First day?"
"Is it that obvious?"
"A little. Everyone here has known each other forever, so when someone new shows up, they stand out."
"What a relief," Milo said, without much enthusiasm, "just what I wanted."
"Relax," the girl intervened, "in a week no one will remember."
"That doesn't help much," Milo said.
At that moment, a black-haired girl walked by. Milo looked at her for a second.
"Seriously?" he said under his breath as he frowned.
It was Nina. In the same classroom.
Elio turned to look.
"You know her?" he asked.
"Something like that..." Milo replied. "Let's just say we don't get along very well."
"No wonder you made that face," Elio said. "Well, she's quiet, even if she doesn't talk much."
"If that's what you call quiet..." the girl muttered.
"Did you say something?" Elio asked.
"No, nothing."
The bell rang, announcing the end of the break. The murmur filled the hallways again.
"Anyway," Elio said, "we'll talk later, let's go back to our seats."