Chapter 3: CHPT 3: Wandering Intimidator...
Three other Shifters….at the very least.
He could feel them, pricking the hairs on his arms, making the back of his neck itch with anxiety to find the source of the physically jolting scents.
He'd been around Shape-Shifters all his life– but not any of this kind in mass. Three new oddities– enemies? to add to the list. And when he let the beast to the surface, he could smell the old scents of others– telling him Beacon Hills was more than meets the eye. Naturally– that was the only reason he'd come.
One thing he hadn't come for though, was school.
He'd never been to public school– never been around so many people in one area. The thought played on repeat in his mind as he traveled down the hallway to get to his class– unable to look down at his schedule due to all the students he needed to stare down in response to their judgmental gazes.
Not to be hypocritical– but they all were exactly like the movies. Huddled up in their cliques, expelling the outsiders, ranked strictly in their social hierarchy's, all pretty and hyper focused on their social dilemmas.
It made him feel like he was from a different world.
Then again, in many ways…..he was.
***
When he finally accepted the fact that he was lost, he'd abandoned searching amidst the sea of students and simply settled with waiting for the noise to die down so he could listen to the sounds of the school until he heard anyone mutter the name Mr. Westover.
Didn't take long for his ears to pick up on it either. He had good hearing– the best of his people..
Even so, he was late. Way to make an impression.
When he arrived, he found that he was blocked from entering– left to stand in the doorway looming over the young woman standing in his way.
She reeked of expensive perfume. Also known as an expensive chemical blend meant to please the human nose. All it did for him was make him sneeze. He was already tired of perfume and he'd only smelled it a couple times now…..
The sound of his sneeze hit the silent room like a small explosive, pulling the seated students' eyes from their papers to look up at him as the woman he stood behind spun around in response. Her strawberry-blonde coils of hair reminded him of candy with how comically bright it was. He wasn't used to seeing such a hair color. Even less used to the freckles faintly sprinkled across her cheeks that she tried to hide with her pale make-up.
Her green eyes looked at him from a place of pure offense– when they'd finally rose to meet his, the offense melted down into cautious fear. He could feel the students in the classroom tense.
The young woman collected herself, tugging on her hip-hugging teal green skirt and black sweater before she spoke, "...Did you just…sneeze in my hair?"
Brave human. She'd seen more than what she presented with. But he already knew that.
"No. Move please." He said, watching for the millionth time as another person was taken aback by his oddly mixed accent. He was slowly beginning to learn it didn't quite fit his appearance. Then again– he never much cared for appearances.
The young woman's freckled face twisted into a mask of offended fury, her pale-skinned cheeks reddened to blend with her candy-colored hair.
Before she could get another word out, the teacher spoke.
"Alright Class– Lydia, come have a seat. Oh! There you are, I was wondering if you'd gotten lost. Class, I'd like to introduce you to our newest foreign exchange student, Marco Mihos."
The young woman– Lydia, looked flushed of her superficial rage and quickly turned to approach her desk at the front of the class. The forced switch in her walk was funny to watch, although the smile never reached his face.
He followed in behind her, reflexively ducking slightly as he stepped through the doorframe to stand beside Mr.Westover and introduce himself to the class.
The closer he came to the small chubby teacher, the easier it was to smell the body odor flowing from him as more beads of sweat caked the rolls of his neck and armpits. He wasn't comfortable– neither were the students who sat huddled in their desks, cowering under the thin miasma of fear they all participated in creating.
But, beneath the fear– a twinkle of interest flashed behind their eyes. He was an odd looking individual– he knew that as soon as he got off the plane and stepped into the western world. Now in such a small town like Beacon Hills– his…..oddities must've stood out even more.
Mr.Westover spoke again, this time his throat sounded tight. Like a pair of invisible hands held it, "Erhm…So, Marco, why don't you tell the class a little bit about yourself? Where you're from? What you're into?"
"Alright." Marco said with a nod to the teacher that sent his hair falling over his face. When finished, he turned and addressed the class. Expression flat and words just as, "As Mr.Westover said, I go by Marco. I know it may be difficult to surmise from my accent but i'm from Mbombela…..I grew up with a lot of English families so my accent is a bit of a mix between the two– naturally."
Lydia's hand shot up, fearless and confident. One was a lie. "Mbombela…..as in South Africa?"
"Yes."
"Hm." She said, seemingly no longer caring for the topic at hand as she opened up her binder and began flipping through it's contents.
An awkward silence spread across the fear-stricken room.
Mr.Westover cleared his throat again, "Erhm…well– anything else you'd like to share? Interests, hobbies? Are you planning to join the school band?"
Marco was thrown off by his words, "What?"
The teacher shrunk faintly, "Y-Your instrument? Do you plan to join the school band?" The sweat that once caked his neck now spread across his forehead and dripped into his brown thick beard.
Marco adjusted the straps of the Guitar case that rested at his back beside his backpack, bringing it closer to himself and away from the teacher.
"No. This is a personal interest of mine…"
No more questions were asked. And when he went to take his seat at the back of the class, a collective cry of screeches resonated through the classroom as everyone flinched in their seats, reflexively scooting away from him.
Something suddenly dawned on him as he watched the class squirm in his presence.
It would be a very long day….
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
_Avatar0FFury_
_Avatar0FFury_ YO! New character introduced. Lmk what you think about the character and what he might be!
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