9Hey guys! Sorry for the awfully long wait! I hope you guys like this chapter! Hetalia does not belong to me!
"I'M SO LATE!" Maria screamed as she rushed to look for her school uniform and struggled to put her skirt on while brushing her dark-brown, waist long, messy hair. She finally managed that somehow and bolted to the bathroom, getting her brush and squeezing some toothpaste on it.
"MOM! Why didn't you wake me up?!" She yelled down the stairs as she shoved the brush into her mouth, only to realize she had poured almost half a tube of toothpaste onto a mascara brush.
"I thought you might have set your alarm clock like always, you stupid brat," her 'mother' said a bit irritated from downstairs.
"I FORGOT TO SET IT UP!" the girl practically yelled as she ran down the stairs, grabbing her lunch and kissing Lovino on the cheek before rushing out the door, only to run back in for her shoes.
Finally all set, she set off to her new school.
She was a short girl with olive skin, the patience of an angel, but with the temper and vocabulary of a sailor. She had her days when she'd get pissed beyond reason, and this was definitely one of them.
Her family had just recently moved into the neighborhood, and she was late for her first day of school. Nice way to start a new life.
She got to a street corner and set herself to cross it, but suddenly, a strong arm snaked around her waist out of nowhere and pulled her back onto the sidewalk as a red car zoomed past right where she was walking moments before. The driver screamed a "what's your problem?!" through the window before continuing his way. She flipped the bird at him before turning her head to look at her savior. A boy about her age with brown hair and dark chocolate eyes looked at her back with a stoic expression. He released her and she turned to him fully.
"Umm hi? Thanks for saving back there. Do you happen to know the quickest route to W Academy? I'm kinda new here and I don't know where it is," She said, giving him a smile. "My name's Maria by the way."
The boy said nothing, but he took a pen and a small notepad from his pocket and started scribbling something down. Before she could ask what he was doing, he shoved the notepad to her face. She took it, realising that he had drawn her a map, a very detailed one at that, to the school, along with the route to a small shortcut. She smiled and opened her mouth to thank him, but when she looked up, he was gone.
She finally found the school and headed to the office to get her schedule, arriving late despite the shortcut. She finally got her papers and walked out the room, starting her small quest to find the right classroom.
When she finally found it, she entered without warning. The teacher looked at her with an irritated expression before relaxing his features and smiling at her.
"You must be Maria, yes?" The man asked as she signalled her to stand beside him up front. He turned to the class and smiled. "Everyone, this is Maria Jose Corriedo Vargas de la Cruz. She will be joining us from now on."
Maria scanned the sea of students for an empty seat, when she noticed a tall guy with ash-blonde hair in the very back row next to a window. He had his head resting on his hand, looking out the window and obviously not paying attention to whatever was going on in the class. This was evident by the blank stare that formed in his face when the teacher suddenly called his name.
"Ivan Braginski, please stand up for me."
The guy, Ivan, scrambled out of his chair and looked at the teacher with a stoic expression.
"Da," he said simply.
Maria looked confused for a moment, wondering what that simple, rough, two-letter word meant, but her thoughts were interrupted by the teacher's voice.
"Maria, you may sit next him for the moment. if you have an issue with your spot, please let me know next time I make a new seating chart."
Maria nodded and sheepishly walked over to the giant blonde, sitting in the seat next to his and placing her bag down. He quickly followed suit and resumed staring out the window. If it had been anyone else, Maria would have just payed attention to the Math lesson and asked questions later, but, being the way she was, she tore a page from her notebook and wrote a small note, tapping Ivan on the shoulder and passing the small paper to him. He stared at her confused for a few seconds before taking the small paper and unfolding it delicately.
-Hey! I'm Maria! Nice to meet you!-
She looked up at the board and pretended to write down notes of whatever the teacher was writing on the board, watching Ivan from the corner of her eye. He returned the paper to her shortly and she accepted it quickly.
-I'm Ivan-
-You don't talk much, do you?- She wrote back.
-Not really,- he hesitated.
-Can I be your friend?- she asked.
She noticed how he seemed to stare at the paper incredulously for a long time, before finally finding the nerve to write a response.
-That sounds nice,- the paper read.
They continued to pass notes to each other until the bell signaled the end of the period. They walked out towards the hallway and realized that their lockers were right across each other. Maria opened the door to her locker, then stopped. She rummaged her bag for her new pink combination lock, when suddenly, a blonde guy with glasses slapped his hand on the locker, closing it with a loud CRASH. This made her jump.
"Well, hey there!" the blonde said with a huge grin. "Haven't seen you here before! I'm Alfred, nice to meetcha!"
"Hello, uh, Alfred," she said, a bit uneasy. He seemed nice enough, but the fact that he had closed her locker in such a way irritated her to no end. She continued to look for her lock in her backpack.
"What are you looking for?" he asked.
"My lock," she stated simply.
She finally found it and opened her locker again, placing her books and other things inside. She closed it and started to walk away, bag in hand, and tried desperately to ignore the blonde. It was useless, however, for he followed her and continued his chatter.
"...and then there's my half brother, Matt, who hardly ever speaks. He carries a polar bear for some reason. And anyway, I love Halloween! You get to stuff your face with candy 'till you get cavities! I hate winter since it's all cold and stuff, but I think bunnies are adorable any time of year. Comic books are awesome, and I love captain America! He's my hero! Oh hey! Can i see you schedule?"
Before she knew it, her paper with all her classes printed on it was snatch right out of her hand. She looked at him irritated while he scanned it with wide, sparkling blue eyes. His grin seemed to grow with every moment that passed.
"Cool! You have the last two classes with me!" he said enthusiastically. "Can I show you around the school during lunch? I have so many cool places to show you, new girl!"
"My name's Maria, and I'll pass," she said, dismissively. He was energetic and friendly, but a bit too much for her taste. Just talking to him in this short time was already making her exhausted. Just as she was thinking that, Ivan was passing by her to his next class. She figured that Alfred would follow her if she didn't get away somehow, and she couldn't just tell him off since she didn't want to hurt his feelings, so instead she grabbed Ivan's arm as he was passing by and made him stand next to her.
"Sorry, Alfred, but Ivan already offered to show me around," she said, looking up at him pleadingly to play along. To her relief, he understood.
"Um, Da, that's right," he said, a bit unsure.
"So, if you'll excuse me," Maria said as she grabbed her schedule back from his grip and herded Ivan away from the scene, pulling him by his arm. Once she deemed them a good distance away, she turned an apologetic smile to her friend. "Sorry about that Ivan."
The boy just nodded and stood there awkwardly for a few moments.
"A-anyway, I better get going before I am late for class," Maria said as she began to walk away, only to realize she had no idea where her next class was supposed to be. She turned around to ask Ivan for help, but the Russian had obviously hurried to his own class.
She looked around her, but realized all of the other students had emptied the hall, and that she was the only one just standing there dumbly. She looked at her schedule and turned around to try to find class 7B, when she suddenly bumped into someone. She crashed to the ground, and her things flew everywhere. She was about to apologize to whoever she had just crashed into, but instead stiffened at the sight of the person.
He had dark brown hair and chocolate colored eyes. He looked down at her and bent down to pick up her things, a stoic expression on his face. He didn't say a word as he offered her a hand and lifted her effortlessly from the ground. Maria blushed in embarrassment as she dusted herself off, apologizing quickly.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that!" she said, panicking a little. His lack of expression made her think he was angry. "I wasn't looking where I was going! I'm so sorry!"
The boy, however, wasn't even paying attention to her nervous blabbering. He was still holding her things in his hands, and was particularly looking over her schedule. Maria squeaked when he suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her across the halls quickly. She was too surprised to struggle and nearly fell down when the young man stopped suddenly, turning around towards her and handing her back her things. She was about to ask what was going on, but closed her mouth when she noticed the sign behind him. In bright green letters above the door read 'Science 7B'. The guy opened the door and quickly shoved her inside, closing the door quickly behind her as the late bell rang.
She turned to look at the door, wanting more than anything to open it and thank the guy, but the professor would have none of that. He yelled at her, asking her for her name and ethnicity like a general in war. She nervously answered his questions, and the man dismissed her and showed her to a random seat next to a blonde with huge, round glasses.
"H-hey," the blonde said shyly. "I'm Matthew."
"I'm Maria," she smiled, offering him a hand. "Nice to meet you."
Matthew, whom she soon learned was Alfred's brother, shook her hand lightly and went back to work on the assignment 'Mr. Scary' had ordered them to do. Maria tried to focus as well, but she found it to be impossible. For the rest of the class, all she could think about was that strange Russian boy in her homeroom, and that mysterious guy with the deep, chocolate eyes.
OOOh! So a mystery character! I wonder who it could be? Also, just so you guys know, the actual amulet stones won't come into play until way later, okay? Please be patient! Reviews make me happy!