Awa'altu High: ATWOW highschool au!!

Neteyam

           Neteyam parked his car in the front of the lot, as to the doors as he could get. Lo'ak had his headphones in, playing music so loud that Neteyam could hear it. Kiri sighed in the backseat, rubbing her eyes with her fists. Neteyam forced a smile and snatched his brother's headphone from his ear, ignoring Lo'ak's grunt of protest. "Oh, shut up," Kiri groaned. "Headache?" Neteyam asked, fishing in the cupholder for one of the loose Advil pills that scattered his car. She nodded, holding out a hand. "I don't have any water for you," Neteyam apologized. Kiri shrugged and swallowed it whole. "Damn, did you just eat that? Like, chew on it?" Lo'ak questioned, grinning. Neteyam shot him a glare. Kiri's headaches always got worse with stress. With today being their first day at their new school, Neteyam knew her head must be pounding. Neteyam checked his watch. 7:32. They had 8 minutes. He turned to his brother, pulling a list from his pocket. "Mom wrote this for us. A checklist." Kiri leaned in, listening. "Okay. Computer?" Kiri unzipped her bag and nodded. Lo'ak folded his arms across his chest. "Cmon, baby bro," Neteyam grinned, messing up his brother's hair with his hand. "Dude!" Lo'ak protested, pulling out his phone and checking his braids in the camera. "Computer?" Neteyam urged, pointing to his brother's backpack. "Yes!" he hissed, unzipping it angrily. "Binders? I think I only have one," Neteyam said, going down the list. "Writing stuff?" Kiri grinned, pulling out her pencil case full of those fancy pens she loved so much. "Did you pack lunch?" Kiri asked. Lo'ak nodded. "Good," she said, leaning back into her seat. Kiri pulled her headphones on, using them to hold the hair back from her face. Neteyam folded his list and put it back in his pocket. 7:37. "Should we head in?" he asked, trying his best to hide how nervous he felt. "Sure," Kiri said, pulling on her jacket. Lo'ak grumbled something about how tired he was and opened the car door, standing and stretching his back. He shouldered his backpack and looked to Neteyam, waiting for him to get out.

            Neteyam pulled his bag onto his shoulder and stood, making sure to lock the door behind him. People were beginning to head inside in groups. 4 or 5 boys and girls walked past his car, laughing amongst themselves. Kiri stepped closer to Neteyam. He noticed her furrowed brow, how she kept tugging on the ends of her hair, a nervous habit she had had since childhood. A girl from the group halted in front of them. She had large, kind eyes and curly dark hair. She was shorter than Kiri, and wore a long skirt and cream-colored sweater. Her bangs were braided away from her face, but the rest of her curls hung down her back in soft ringlets. Her eyes were fixed over Neteyam's shoulder. "Hey," Lo'ak whispered. Neteyam turned to face him. His eyes were slightly widened, a small smile on his face. She grinned at him, ducking her head. "Reya!" a boy from her group called. He was taller than the girl, but still shorter than Lo'ak. He had short hair, with tighter curls than those of the girl. His hair stuck almost straight up around his head, like a halo. Neteyam thought that all of the kids in that group must be related - they each had the same tanned skin and curly black hair. She rolled her eyes, but hurried to catch up with him all the same.

Neteyam and his siblings went to collect their schedules from the front office. He and Kiri had classes on the same hall, but Lo'ak's were all on the far side of the building. He sighed, looking up at Neteyam with slightly scared eyes. "It'll be okay," he whispered, keeping his voice low so no one heard him. "You can always call me, and I'll come find you." Lo'ak nodded. He patted Neteyam on the shoulder and began his walk. Neteyam watched him turn back once, and send his siblings a small wave. Kiri returned it, smiling nervously. "Let's go," Neteyam urged, nudging his sister genty. She nodded, looking at the printed map of the school she had been given. "Your class is at the opposite end of the senior hall as mine," she commented, pointing to the small labeled room on the paper. "Human anatomy," he said, reading from his schedule. Kiri made a face. "For first period? Yikes." Neteyam laughed softly, nodding. "Oh, Kiri, here," he said, handing her a small ziploc bag of little pills. "Did you just give me drugs, Neteyam?" she asked jokingly. "For your headaches," Neteyam protested, shoving her backpack gently. She grinned at him. "Thank you, Tey." They stopped outside the door of his classroom, Kiri lingering.