The Submissive Assassin

Chapter 7 - Ice Breaker

When Nate was dropped off, he was glad he no longer had to head her speak. He loved his aunt, he really did, but sometimes talking to her was way too much for him to deal with, especially when the conversations are not things he agreed should be emplaced. Regardless, he tightened his backpack straps around his shoulders and exhaled a long sigh as he eyed the school's name brandished at the front: George's High. He thought the name to be quite tacky but Aunt Judy always disagreed when he mentioned that.

Before he even entered the school, he pulled open the school map and memorized the pathway to each of his classes—he didn't want to seem to be a loser or a first year, which was why he had no trouble finding his English class at the start of the day. He didn't want to be the student who sat at the very front of the class to make sure all their notes were clear as day, hence why he took a seat at the very far corner of the classroom, leaving his backpack on the floor beside his seat.

Eventually, the students began filling up the room and there were a few people who caught his eyes that he couldn't restrain himself from staring twice. The first one was a blond guy with a slit through one of his eyebrows and dark freckles across his nose. The only reason he caught his attention was because he looked exactly like his ex-boyfriend, Eric. He was wearing their football varsity jacket and walked with two other men that seemed to be linebackers by how huge they were. Nathan wasn't really a fan of football players, especially their take on homosexuality. Most of them were usually afraid of admitting they didn't mind it or simply ignorant assholes who tormented anyone that said they were into it.

The next who caught his attention was a black-haired girl who sat beside him. She was chewing her gum as if wide as a cow which made him cringe and was practically wearing the same outfit he had. Thank goodness she wore navy sweatpants instead of black or else their outfit would have been identical, which would certainly be the target of unwanted teasing. Her hair was held on the messiest bun he had ever seen in his entire life.

She noticed too though, which was why she had paused before she sat beside him. Her eyes did not seem pleased, keeping them narrowed as she studied his face, as if she was noting down every single bone structure and crevice in her mind. Almost a minute had gone by and she still hadn't said anything and Nathan could not bare the peering of her dark chocolate eyes any longer.

"Why are you staring at me?" The attitude in his tone was evident, to which she crunched up her nose when she furrowed her brows.

"You don't have to be a b***h about it." She had plopped down onto the seat and folded her arms over her chest, lifting her feet onto the seat as well and letting her knees lean against the desk. "I thought maybe I knew you from somewhere so I was just thinking."

He had shaken his head. "I'm new."

She did not seem surprised nor pleased that he had been new. It was confirmed when she shrugged her shoulders and mumbled, "I don't care anymore."

Nathan narrowed his eyes, hearing the attitude in her tone as well and mimicked her, "You don't have to be a b***h about it." For some reason, this girl reminded him of his aunt and he was not interested in dealing with that at school as well. A smirk pulled her lips when he said that, rolling her eyes and shaking her head without a response.

"Alright everyone." The teacher had finally closed the door when the bell rang, symbolizing the commencement of classes. Nate's eyes lifted to him; it was a middle-aged man with a stomach that fell over his hips line. He had thick glasses hiding his eyes and when he glanced upwards, Nate snorted at the pointy length of his nose, almost resembling one of a witch from a legend.

"My name is Dr. King. I will be your English teacher for this semester." He glanced towards his calendar. "Today we are Tuesday, September 7th meaning we had a long time ahead of us. However, make sure you are keeping up with assignments because they will pile up." He stood in front of his desk, leaning onto the edge and he crossed his arms, glancing at each student's faces. "Since it's our first day, you know we need to do icebreakers."

"God damn it," Nathan heard the girl hiss beside him. "I f*****g hate icebreakers."

Nate couldn't help but groan as well. "Me too."

"This class will have many oral presentations. As such, for our icebreaker, please pick a partner at your sides. To your partner, describe anything interesting about you. For example," he pointed to himself, "I have seven daughters. Tried for a son and it never worked."

A few had gasped at that, others had chuckled. "Anything that is a bit interesting or you consider interesting, share it and your partner will speak on your behalf to the class. Understood?" He noticed a few nod their heads and he clamped his palms together. "I'm giving you all...how about six minutes? Alright, begin!"

Nate had been in the corner meaning he only had two options. Either the person in front of him or the rude girl beside him. He didn't want to tap the person in front of him, a bit embarrassed to do so. Therefore, he turned his head towards the rude girl and waited. She hadn't even glanced upwards from her phone, typing away without any care of who would be her partner nor what she would say.

He was seconds from asking her to be his partner when she said without glancing upwards, "Don't even look at me—I don't need a partner."

"Oh," Nate chuckled, raising his eyebrows. "We have a rebel over here, dodging icebreakers from English class."

She finally looked up, meeting his gaze and Nate noticed the way her jaw tightened. "You have a big mouth."

"And you have a bad attitude."

"Your attitude is worse than mine—"

"Do you want to be partners or not?" he exhaled an annoyed sigh, tilting his head.

After a few seconds, she rolled her eyes and finally turned off her phone, shoving it inside her school bag. "Fine," she grumbled, moving a bit closer to him and leaning her elbow against the desk. "You start."

"I don't have anything interesting—"

"Everyone does," she insisted.

Nate raised an eyebrow challengingly. "Then you go first."

"I watched my dad kill my mother when I was younger and then kill himself." Nate inhaled a sharp breath, noticing that his air was stuck in his throat as his eyes widened. "So I live with my grandmother." There was a long pause, a heavy one that Nate used to search for anything to respond. Before he had to, he saw a smirk pull apart her lips. "I'm just kidding."

Nate suspired a long sigh of relief, even placing his palm on his chest. "You scared me—what am I supposed to answer to that?"

She laughed, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't know but I don't have anything interesting either." She bit her bottom lip, lost in thought for a second before a lightbulb in her mind brightened her gaze. "I have an idea."

"Let's hear it," he said, leaning closer to her.

She leaned in as well, her tone falling into a whisper. "You make up bullshit about me and I'll make up bullshit about you. Nothing that would ruin the rest of our high school careers."

Nate's eyes widened in excitement as he grinned. "Deal."

Both of them laughed, causing a few eyes to turn.

Eventually, the girl extended her palm with a smile. "Tyler Yellow, but people call me Ty."

He connected their palms. "Nate Kennedy."

After a few minutes, Dr. King finally called them to regroup, the classroom falling into a peaceful as all twenty-three eyes stared at him, waiting for further instructions. He started pointing around the classroom, making everyone present their partners. Nate was intrigued to find out about the blond football player and when the teacher pointed to them, his partner sat up in his seat attentively.

His partner had been a girl and she pointed to the blond guy. She then giggled and placed her palm over her lips, waving her other hand. "I'm sorry, we just had a funny conversation."

"Please introduce your partner," Dr. King spoke impatiently, folding his arms.

She nodded her head. "His name is Jake Treasure. His most interesting fact is that he slept with the entire cheerleading team." When she said that, his football friends began laughing, one of them slamming his hand on the table while another patted his back. As for the teacher, he didn't find it funny one bit, thanking the lady who then sat down.

Jake stood next, pointing towards the girl. "Her name is Emma...I think...and she has nothing interesting about herself."

Emma inhaled a sharp breath, glancing towards the classroom and her cheeks flared pink when she realized people were laughing under their breaths. "I-I," she stammered, "I-I told you so many things that I found interesting a-about myself!"

"I didn't think they were." When Jake retorted that, most of the class burst into laughter, echoing across the room as it bounced even to the hallway.

Emma flushed red, her eyes darting from student to student before lowering her gaze and staring at her quivering palms.

Tyler turned to Nate, shaking her head. "He's a prick," she muttered for only the two of them to hear. "He's not exactly a bully but sometimes his jokes are a bit too mean to people that don't deserve it."

"Attention everyone, quiet down please." When the room reached a silence again, Dr. King pointed to Jake and tilted his head. "Please, go again and tell us what she really told you."

His smirk faded and he rolled his eyes. "She's visited all continents and has been to seventeen countries."

"Thank you, was it that hard to say that?" Dr. King spoke, his voice deepening when he did, scolding him. "Did you have to make a stupid joke that wasn't even funny?" He saw Jake's lips open and he cut him off before he could even start. "Sit down—that type of behaviour will not be tolerated into my class. If you want to make stupid remarks like that, I'll give you a zero for your participation grade and since it is fifty percent of the entire grade, I'm pretty sure it'll be an automatic fail." He watched as Jake sat down, lowering his gaze. "Anyway, let's proceed."

He then pointed to Nate and Tyler, and Nate was the one who stoop up first. He hadn't really thought of what he would say, staying quiet for a few seconds while he was standing, but when an idea crossed his mind, he chuckled thinking about it. "Her name is Tyler Yellow. Her interesting fact is that her parents were pretty busy in bed for a couple years." A few students chuckled. "She has twenty-one siblings, six that are younger. She doesn't know all their ages or birthdates and she barely talks to any of them."

The teacher's eyes widened and he glanced towards Tyler who forced a tight smile, not enjoying the attention whatsoever.

When it was Tyler's turn, she stood to her feet and pointed to Nate. "His name is Nate Kennedy. He had seventeen girlfriends at the same time at one point."

Nate gasped, glancing around the room and seeing narrowed eyes from the girls but prideful smirks from the men. He did not what this to circulate as a rumour, which was why he instantly stood to his feet and waved his hand. "I promise that's not true, I'm gay anyway."

"If that had been true," they heard Jake speak from the other end of the classroom, "you beat me by three."

"I'm not that into s*x to have seventeen girlfriends," Nate ascertained, glancing towards Jake with a mocking smirk.

Jake's smile instantly fell and he broadened his shoulders. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"You don't find it weird that you need to have so many girlfriends at once?" Nate cringed, wrinkling his nose in disgust. A few other students had started chuckling at the confrontation and Nate whistled for a moment before taking his seat. "You got a train ran through you pretty much."

The entire class burst into laughter, cackling as if Nate had been the funniest comedian they had ever heard. As for Jake, he didn't find it funny whatsoever, storming to his feet with plans to lunge towards Nate for an altercation. However, Dr. King, who also had a smirk playing on his lips, snapped his fingers and pointed downwards. "Sit down!"

Jake stopped his steps, eyeing Nate with a nasty glare to which Nate reflected a long smile.

Tyler giggled, leaning towards Nate and lifting her fist, waiting for him to hit their knuckles together. "He'll be after you from now on though, you should be careful."

Nate snorted, rolling his eyes. "I went through something much worse yesterday, a high school football jock doesn't scare me."