7Wow, another rewrite!? Yeah I know I know. I was just not liking the way the first one was created. I made Kate sexist which wasn't actually supposed to happen and I found a little of the drama I had to be just annoying so I decided to give it another go. And I also decided to do a bit of a change to Humphrey's character to make it more realistic to the trauma that will be revealed in his life. Also because I feel more comfortable making him a bit out of character now. Hopefully, I can satisfy my ever-growing hatred of my own work lol.
"Man I can't believe we're already sophomores! Freshman year went by way too fast. I don't even remember us doing anything fun really," Mooch's voice ever the energetic as they walked to the main building of their university. It was still rather early, they all had decided to just take morning classes to get them over and done with as quickly as possible. Also because Mooch and Shakey basically begged because they wanted to spend the afternoons as a group.
To be honest, it was hilarious watching them basically get on their knees practically bawling their eyes out just to convince the other two.
"That's probably because we didn't do anything. We went to that one party at the beginning of the year when someone had the hots for Mooch but after that, we were once again basically classified as losers or something," Shakey basically sighed out. He was still a bit tired, but most of his tone was just the fact that he was exasperated from being in almost the same position as high school.
Humphrey sighed as he looked around. The campus had a few students around who were just doing their own thing. Some were just up and about having a good time while others were up knowing they had class soon. "Y'know, the biggest factor in our lack of popularity is us right?"
That statement caught his lifelong friends off guard. Humphrey wasn't much of a talker. He only really talked to them comfortably because they were his friends. Everyone else was a different story. He had grown a reputation of being a loner and not many people had good opinions of him. In fact, he would guess he had more haters than anything.
It was his own fault though.
"Huh?" The three had said in unison, eventually Salty was the one to actually ask for him to elaborate though.
He looked at his friends again. Keeping his attention away from the group of kids that were staring at them. They seemed to be the same people every time. "For one none of us, I would say exactly count as social butterflies. Except for Mooch actually, you're probably the biggest extrovert I know. But as for the rest of us, that's a big no. I could keep going on that point but there is a bigger reason. Our group in general. A bunch of the people here know we have a long history. I don't know about you three, but if I were trying to become friends with people I wouldn't pick the group that seems so close that they basically act like family. At that point, people would just feel like they're outcasts in their own friend group. Not exactly the most ideal situation to make friends,"
"Ugh, you have a point... But even then it's still annoying. Besides I'm pretty sure most of us come off as friendly enough. Maybe except for you. You really should work on the way you present yourself. I've heard the rumors. People think of you as some loner and shit. Hell, I've heard some people say you're cold in class. Which couldn't be more off from who you are. What's up with that anyway?" He knew the answer to his own question. But even so, Shakey couldn't help but ask.
"I... don't really know. I guess I just don't feel comfortable around random people. After everything that happened, I guess I'm still just scared of letting random people into my life," Humphrey said as he sighed, swishing his half-filled coffee travel mug. He actually didn't know if it had a real name. Coffee canister? He didn't care about what it was called, all that mattered was the ever-glorious fluid that gave him enough energy to get through the day.
"Well, maybe it's time you change that! I mean you used to be one of the most popular kids at high school, until junior year when you unexpectedly quit the football team mid-season,"
"Wow, Shakey, real smart to bring up the exact thing that caused everyone to hate him in the school," Salty said in a rare sarcastic tone. They all knew why he had quit the team, but the aftermath was what had made Humphrey so reserved in the first place. He didn't want to go through anything like that ever again. His friend group went from the unusual but cool to quite possibly the most bullied and hated in the whole school. Worst than all that bullying though was what he had seen Humphrey go through. He never wanted to see his friend that hurt again.
But he also wanted to see him open up and show his friendly side to everyone.
"It's alright Salty, he's right. Me quitting the team was the cause of all the torment we went through. And I do need to start changing... at some point anyway." As they started to enter the building he took one last subtle glance at the group of people that was still staring at them. After a quick glance he looked ahead. He already knew who those people were. He didn't know if they knew him, but he definitely knew them. He sighed. It didn't take much to really notice who they were. They were all quite popular.
One was a guy named Hutch, he was especially known as the current star receiver of the school's football team, if Humphrey stilled played he probably would have been the one throwing to him. Though Hutch had a few other quirks that gained his popularity. That being his charisma, assertiveness, and overall kindness. All around he was just a good dude.
The second person was a nice petite girl who went by the name of Eleanor, Ellie for short. The ever cheery girl was well known for her position as the captain of the school's cheerleading squad. Quite possibly the face of positivity at the school she was well known for her determination to help people. Which compared to the girls from his high school cheer squad she was by far a welcome surprise. He doesn't quite remember anyone ever having mean words for her ever. Well maybe except for her ex. Who honestly was just a douche anyway.
The last but not least member of their squad was Paige, who just like the name ironically suggested, was a bookworm. She was more of the quiet type, kind of like Humphrey himself. But for the most part probably without the cold aura. She does talk to people when spoken to, another rather kind individual. She was possibly one of the smarter people in the school always scoring top five in her major's exams. She also doesn't hide her intelligence, and her shyness all but disappears when she is in an intellectual debate. Speaking of which, she's on the debate team. Though that may have been obvious.
From what Humphrey had gathered they were also basically lifelong friends, apparently, they were in the same friend group since middle school but apparently, they only make up a third of what that friend group was. Honestly, Humphrey couldn't imagine being around that many people all the time. His three friends were more than enough, at most he could probably tolerate another two people at most.
Another quiet sigh escaped him, what was he thinking? He just said he had to become more social. Besides if people wanted to be friends with his friends he wasn't gonna deny them the chance, it wouldn't be fair to them. He really needed to think about what the hell he was gonna do. He would have to start getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. He would have to open up with people at some point.
"If you want trust, you'll have to give some away" Once again those words found a way into his head, not exactly the time to be remembering shit in his opinion. Whatever he would just think more about this later.
Maybe he won't be thinking about that later. Now probably would seem like a good time to panic. The start of a new semester and he's in his class. His new class. With a bunch of people, he doesn't know. With a new teacher that just seems ever so passionate about the subject. Oh, and he was studying something he was actually interested in. Music.
None of that was the problem though.
It would seem like the world was against him today. Why couldn't his teacher treat this like it was any normal class?
He sighed as he stood up. He was partially tempted to glare at his teacher for daring to ask him to introduce himself to a bunch of people who didn't care who he was. And vice-versa. He refrained from doing so though. He may have been annoyed at his teacher at the moment but overall his teacher seemed like she was super cool. So he would just have to suck it up.
All eyes were on him, and for a second he was happy that he sat near the window at the back of the class. For some reason, he felt less cornered. The anxiety was hitting him hard but he would be able to let that pass. Besides if he embarrassed himself too much he could just jump out the window. "Uh... Hello, my name is Humphrey, Humphrey Macklin... I got nothing else to say..."
He blew it. He panicked and he blew it. He sat back down and sighed. This was not a good start to his attempt at "changing". Why did he want to change again? Wait did he want to change? Maybe he was just agreeing with Shakey to avoid the confrontation that would ensue if he didn't agree. That might have actually been it. If he really wanted to change then he would have attempted to do so already. It took all his willpower not to sigh again. He really needed to work on that actually. He wasn't actually the type to sigh so much.
The teacher awkwardly attempted to transition from that to the lesson, going with an awkward "Well... okay." before beginning the lesson. It seemed like today was quite a weird day to join the class. It would seem that before the semester ended and the class went on break that they were given the task to make their own song. A wide range of genres was the result. Some of the students even experimented. Some of them took it seriously while some kid just made a song where he talked about making a sandwich and he tried his best to compare it to intercourse. He was fairly quickly scolded by the teacher.
He learned that the teacher was actually quite scary at that moment.
With his major out of the way, Humphrey made his way to his next class. Fun philosophy, a class where he would bring his already decent knowledge to a new height. Now that he was switched to the honors course (Not that he wanted to be, but since he was here he might as well look for the positive) he hoped he'd get more of a challenge from these classes. Not that he would try that hard anyway. He did minimum effort to get at most a B+ overall (He ended up mostly getting low B's and a few C's). He didn't want to appear stupid, but he also didn't want to show how smart he really was. Doing so would only bring attention to him, something he'd rather stay clear of for now. Not after high school.
"Hello there, you must be the new student... Uh, Humphrey, right?" said someone offering his hand to the omega.
Though caught off guard Humphrey quickly connected the dots and accepted the shake from the professor. "Uh yes sir, that's me. Mr. Moz, I presume?"
With a small chuckle, the teacher retracted his hand, "Oh how rude of me. Yes, I am Mr. Moz. I was quite excited to have a new student make the honor roll. As you can probably tell I'm quite new to the whole teaching thing and I have a rather small roster of students. I think I only have about 16 students in the class now including you. I hope you enjoy my class,"
The smile that was plastered on the teacher's face was something that Humphrey both admired and was creeped out by. Was that what he used to look like? He mentally slapped himself, no need to be thinking stupid things.
With greetings out of the way, Humphrey made his way to an open seat. There were a few people in the class. Some of which he was familiar with. From what he could tell some of them knew him too. Though none of that mattered until he noticed something that slightly ticked him off.
Kate Glover.
Something just had to ruin his day further. First, it was the awful impression he probably left on his first class. Now he just had to be in the same class as the one and only school princess.
Princess was actually a nice way of putting it. She would be counted as a snobbish, short-tempered queen if it wasn't for the fact that her mother already existed. Being the daughter of the man that made this whole university gave her much more leeway than the other students. He wasn't actually sure if she was ever properly punished for any of the shit she's done. Lashing out at students. Nearly getting into a full-on fight with the Linebacker of the football team. Hell, she basically screamed at Hutch when he just said hello. She was the untouchable and unapproachable princess of the school.
Wait shouldn't she have been in the AP course?
Actually, he didn't care to have that answered. What did matter was the fact that she sat in the one seat that looked appealing to Humphrey. The back seat next to the window. She was completely isolated and no one even dared peek at her.
She was living his dream at the moment.
He sighed. He shouldn't care so much. If anything this gave him an excuse to sit near someone else and probably make a friend. He scanned the rest of the room real quick, everyone else had already seemed well acquainted and there didn't seem to be a single group that looked like it would be open for him to join. Okay so probably a no on making a new friend. But he was determined to make one later. Probably.
Unsurprisingly every seat in the back row wasn't actually taken except for the one where Kate sat at. Probably a precaution by the rest of the students. Something he should probably abide by just in case. It would be the smartest thing to do. He could easily avoid any confrontation with the princess by doing so. It was the absolute only option. Just sit anywhere that wasn't the back row.
He took the other back corner seat.
He sighed again. As smart as that all sounded and as much as he wanted to avoid confrontation the want to sit in the back row far exceeded that rationale. He was so going to regret doing this wasn't he? Taking a sneaky glance to his left he could see her from the corner of his eye. She seemed to have turned her attention to him. She even seemed slightly ticked. But she ended up just rolling her eyes and decided to look out the window.
It didn't take long for him to suddenly hear the idle chat of the rest of the class.
"Whoa, the Princess didn't even blow up on the new kid? That's crazy..."
"Wow, the new kid has some guts..."
"Don't you guys know who that is? He's the Callous Clam. He probably wouldn't give her the time of day in the first place. I'm more surprised he's on the honor roll,"
"Callous Clam?"
"That's the name that I hear a bunch. Apparently, Cindy had attempted to talk to him a few times but he didn't do as much as acknowledge her existence. He's super cold and extremely quiet. He's friends with Mooch,"
"Whaaa!? Mooch is friends with such a character!?"
"Yeah Mooch only ever has nice things to say about him though which is weird. Considering the overall opinion of him is negative. For good reason though,"
"How long until he's ripped to shreds by the princess?"
"I give it until lunch,"
"The princess is gonna kill that dude..."
"Is he like a sociopath?"
He didn't want to hear another word of this. Quickly grabbing his headphones and putting on a random playlist he looked away from all the people instead suddenly finding the wall rather interesting to look at. Actually, to be fair the wall was actually littered with a bunch of posters. Some about philosophy stuff while others seemed to just be hobbies that the teacher had. Including a couple of rock bands and a rather large poster of Paris. Did the teacher ever go to Paris or something?
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when the teacher came up to him and took out his headphones. "First of all good taste in music. I also am a bit of a fan of rap. But as much as that is great I would appreciate it if you actually paid attention to the lesson. I would rather have my new student avoid getting on my bad side," the words were surprisingly threatening. The professor proved that he could actually be quite frightening if he wanted to. Were all his professors gonna be scary today?
"Sorry, sir..."
He barely heard a snicker come from his left. No doubt it was from the princess herself. She probably saw this as his karma for daring to take the seat he took. He repressed the urge to sigh then and there. He didn't need his teacher coming at him for more than one thing a day.
The teacher seemed to notice her too as his smile suddenly grew wider and he walked back to class. The look on his face gave away something that sent a chill down Humphrey's spine. He was definitely planning something. And Humphrey immediately knew he wasn't gonna like it. "Anyway back to the lesson at hand. As I was saying before. I want you all to work on a project for the next two weeks. This project will be done with a group of two to four. Strictly two to four by the way. I'm mostly telling you two in the back... Actually, let's make things even more interesting," the smile was back as wide as ever, "Humphrey and Kate, you two will be working together!"
Humphrey immediately tensed. Was the teacher serious? Did he not notice the impending disaster that was definitely gonna occur? Was he a psycho? There was no way he'd work with Kate. No way in hell. In fact, he'd actually do the whole project and TRY just to work alone! But no way was he gonna work with the princess. He'd rather be paired with every bully from high school at once rather than her!
Okay, maybe that was a bit harsh.
Kate who was equally as against the idea as Humphrey decided that instead of internalizing her thoughts she'd give the professor a piece of her mind. "Fuck no! I'm not working with the kid who was just put on the honor roll and can't even pay attention. No fucking way. I'd rather die. Hell, I'd do everyone else's project before I spend a second with this guy,"
"Your opinion of Humphrey is noted. And I will choose to ignore that opinion. In my class what I say is absolute. If I tell you to jump out the window and run back to class you do just that. I do not care if you have a broken leg or if you think your authority exceeds mine. You WILL do as I say,"
She seemed to give up after that as she rolled her eyes, "Then please tell me to jump out the window. It would be a better task than working with him,"
"Kate," the professor's voice became extremely cold and intimidating. He was indeed very scary. "I can contact your father in a heartbeat. Hell with how much we talk to each other I could easily send you from the honor roll down to the regular classes. You already went down from your AP courses, would you like to once again fall down another level?"
She looked ready to retort but after a bit of her mouth just hanging open, she just shut it. Not without a rather childish growl though. She was pissed but she knew she couldn't lash out with this teacher. Doing so would result in her immediate demotion to regular courses. Which apparently was something that was so awful to her that she swallowed her pride.
"Now are there any other complaints?" Mr. Moz said looking straight at Humphrey. Probably hoping for him to cower in his gaze. Instead, Humphrey stared back at him with a stolid expression.
Unexpectedly Humphrey sighed leaving the class shocked. He was basically asking for death with that sigh, "It would be pointless to list my complaints wouldn't it?"
The professor smiled, all the more interested now, "Most definitely. Though out of curiosity I do wanna ask what complaints you have? I hope they are far better or just as laughable as Kate's,"
The class laughed at that.
A lot of Humphrey really wanted to just not say anything. Seeing that trying to convince his teacher would be pointless anyway. He felt like he'd regret opening his mouth if he said his complaints, as logical as they are. He was stuck in a position where no matter what he did he wouldn't like how it ended. He should have just kept his mouth shut before. Better yet he should've just said he had no complaints. Would that have been a better answer?
Not the time to start getting in his head.
He decided that he'd just deal with telling him his complaints, "Okay. Well, working with princess over there in itself sounds like an awful idea. Pointing out the obvious, she clearly has a lot of disdain for people in general. And if you had to give her a partner it would have been smarter to pair her with a girl as she clearly seems to be more comfortable around other women, often showing aggressive behaviors to men. Number two I myself ain't the social type and I clearly have many problems related to work ethic as shown by my previous grades in not only university but high school to which I'm almost certain you have checked. Three pertaining back to the first point again we don't have any sort of positive chemistry. You'd get a better project from a couple of rocks. And that's only part of the problem. But as you said it was pointless I also find expressing every point to be meaningless,"
The class was silent for a moment. Kate looked even more ticked. She looked at the professor for a moment before he subtly gave her a reluctant nod. He knew he wouldn't be able to stop her anyway. "You claiming I'm a sexist asshole?"
Humphrey turned giving his full attention to the very angry blonde. He was honestly surprised she hadn't blown up yet. That was probably soon to change though. She seemed ready to burst. Well, time to put his expert skills of avoiding confrontation to work.
Actually no.
He didn't care enough at this point. If this played out right the professor would change his mind about their partnership. Possibly. Even with that, Humphrey wouldn't just say a blatant lie. He didn't know if she was sexist, so he wouldn't actually claim it. "Well, it's either that. Or you have massive trust issues and a bunch of anger issues that you clearly can't control. You have a problem with almost everyone. The only people you talk to is your group of friends that happen to all be female. Also, you lash out at much more men than women. So unless you have a good enough explanation for that then, yes. You may be a sexist," that didn't mean he wouldn't imply it though. Also, he was not gonna think about how hypocritical he was being.
"Like your one to talk Clam. And I do have my own explanation. For one most of the time the people that approach me for the sole purpose of annoying me happen to be men. But at least I give people the time of day. Don't think that just because you try to stay away from the spotlight that people don't know who you are. The kid who only has three friends in the whole school. All three of those people having much better reputations. In fact to the point where people actually wanted to be friends with them. Sadly they can't because you also happen to be in that group. You're so cold to everyone and you make an effort to ignore them to the point that you show a clear superiority complex. Not to mention your constant sighing as if it's so much energy to just be around people. You're a pathetic hypocrite,"
Okay, harsh.
But it was working perfectly for his scheme. Also superiority complex? That was hilarious to think about.
He opened his mouth to refute her. All he needed was for her to blow her fuse. "Okay enough. First of all Humphrey, you bring up some interesting complaints, though they are all refutable. But I'm sure you knew that. In fact, I'm pretty sure if I decided to refute your points you'd already have a rebuttal ready so instead, I will further assert my authority and tell you that you will work with Kate. And secondly, purely out of curiosity what makes you think I know your high school grades?"
Humphrey nearly tsked. He was a bit ticked at the teacher. He was just doing his job though. Maybe Humphrey was more upset at the fact that his overall plan failed. He would be able to sulk later though. "It was mostly a guess. But I heard you talk about knowing the headmaster. From the implication and how you spoke it would seem that the two of you are rather close. Add that with the fact that you seem rather passionate about both your job and your students it wasn't that much of a stretch to think that you would have our past academic records,"
The professor smiled, "Well I'll be, the 'Callous Clam' can pay attention. Very observant Mr. Macklin. Yes, I do indeed have all your past academic records. But I know much more than your academic history Humphrey. Not that I have any interest in telling everyone about your past. That being said you are proving further that you would be absolutely perfect as Kate's project partner. I look forward to seeing what you two produce. Class dismissed early, better get an early start on your projects everyone,"
Today was totally getting worse and worse.
"So how's the honor roll, Humphrey?" Salty asked, taking a bite out of his burger. So much for him trying to eat healthier.
Humphrey's response was a sigh. The three immediately shifted and made sure that they looked as open as possible for their friend. Knowing full well how reluctant he was when it came to talking about himself or his life. Especially on bad days. It was clear this was one of those days. "It... was troublesome. My first class was okay I guess. A little awkward. I... tried to be more uh... you know... friendly? It didn't go out well. I think I panicked and had this sudden burst of social anxiety. And class 2 was even worse. The princess herself is in that class. We had an immediate dispute. And what's even worse is that now I'm forced to work with her on a project for a couple of weeks. So now I'm forced to tolerate her enough to get a passable grade,"
Salty and Shakey scoffed. Mooch on the other hand looked a bit confused. "The princess? You mean Kate right? She's actually a pretty cool person. Surprised you two aren't actually getting along,"
Now it was the other three's turn to look confused. "Are we talking about the same Kate? Kate Glover? The daughter of Winston Glover?" Salty asked.
Mooch only nodded. "Yeah, one of her friends is in my culinary class so I've seen her a few times. She's pretty cool. I've actually had a chance to talk to her too. Nice girl,"
Humphrey let out a sarcastic chuckle at that, "If there was one word I would never use to describe her, it would be nice. Are you certain we're talking about the same Kate?"
Mooch could only frown at him. He caught the indirect insult thrown at him, whether or not Humphrey meant it. "Yes, Humphrey. I know we aren't exactly on your level of genius but I know someone when I see them. Kate Glover, the Kate Glover, came to my culinary class and we did have a pleasant conversation. She is actually a really cool person. Actually, she reminds me a lot of you. The whole putting up this wall of assholery to hide how you actually are,"
"I'm offended at the fact that you just compared me to the princess,"
"And I was offended at you implying that I was stupid,"
Humphrey prepared a comeback, but his words couldn't come out. He looked like an idiot with his mouth hanging open. He could see Mooch have a wide grin, "Touche Mooch. I'm sorry I indirectly called you stupid, it wasn't my actual intention,"
Mooch gave him a soft smile, "I know Humph. I know. Don't expect me to apologize for comparing you to Kate though. I don't plan to,"
"How incredibly rude."
With that, the crew laughed and went on with their lunch. Something that Humphrey really needed after such a bad start to his day. He just hoped nothing ruined it.
"Oh hey, Mooch!"
That just ruined it.
The world loved to go against him, didn't it? Turning around he saw 5 people. All of which he knew. None of which he liked.
If he was honest he didn't dislike most of them. Lily was a nice person, much unlike her sister. Someone who could be compared to a shy angel from what he had heard. Actually, now that he thought about it. The only two people he didn't like was Kate and her friend Diane. Jasmine, Lily, and Gloria were perfectly cool by him. Even if he would never actually take the time to talk to them.
"Oh hey Jazz, everything alright?" Mooch gave her a bright smile. One that Humphrey knew all too well. Mooch most likely had a crush on Jasmine. He would definitely deny it though, funny enough Mooch probably wasn't even aware of his feelings for her. He was usually oblivious to those things. That and when he did find out he wasn't the type to go after what he wanted. Something that Humphrey hoped he would change, for his own good.
"Oh yeah. Our table was taken by Garth and a few other people from the football team. And well there aren't many people here and I recognized you so I thought, wouldn't hurt to ask right?" Jasmine returned the smile. Humphrey appreciated that. Jasmine was someone Humphrey heard a bit about. A kind of cheery girl. Not in the obnoxious loud way. But the uplifting aura and sometimes animated expression kind of way.
So basically the walking incarnate of the word adorable. As described by random people he heard talk about her.
Mooch looked to them for confirmation, to which Shakey shrugged and Salty sighed before doing the same. Salty much like Humphrey had his own issues with the group of friends in front of them. Him having his own issue with Diane in one of his classes. Apparently, they had a pretty huge disagreement and the bad blood still remained a bit. Humphrey for his own response gave Mooch a nod. He honestly didn't care if they sat with them, as long as he wasn't pulled into the conversation he would be fine.
"My friends are okay with it so yeah!"
It didn't take long for the girls to start talking with themselves and Mooch, Shakey would occasionally join in on the conversation. Humphrey did what he did best, stay quiet. Salty had the same idea until he struck up a conversation with Humphrey. "Humphrey, I do need to ask. It's been on my mind for a while,-" his voice turned to a whisper as if he wanted no one to hear what he was about to say, "Are you gonna try out for the football team this year? I know you stopped Junior year because of your dad and shit and then everything went down. But like, you used to have so much fun doing it. So... like... yeah,"
Humphrey frowned. This again? He hadn't played a snap of football in years. He wasn't even sure the last time he touched a football. "No. Definitely not. I have no reason to do something like that,"
"But..." Salty lost his voice after he said the one word. Something that confused Humphrey.
With a sigh knowing he probably wouldn't get to hear the rest of what Salty wanted to say Humphrey decided to completely shut it down. "No. I'm not gonna do it. That dream died Junior year. And now I'm not sure I could pick it up again. Besides I lost the passion for it when I realized how fragile everyone was to everything that went down. I'm not gonna risk something like that again,"
"Keeping secrets over there Clam?"
Humphrey resisted the urge to sigh at the name. But he couldn't resist the frown the immediately formed, "No princess. No secrets here. Just not something you'd be interested in hearing," as he spoke he slowly looked at her. Catching the way she was looking at him. She had a shit-eating grin as if she had caught him doing something awful. She had a look that just showed her contempt. Her condescending gaze somehow irritated Humphrey a bit. But that irritation left as quickly as it came. He didn't want to risk becoming angry.
Superiority complex huh?
"I'm not so sure about that. I'm supposed to learn about you so I can give an accurate analysis of what philosophy you could fit into the most. You know. For that project that we have together?" Her smile only got wider. Was she trying to rile him up? Like how he had done earlier to her?
"Funny that you say that after you tried so hard to switch from being my partner,"
Her smile disappeared after that, "You also wanted that. You even went as far as to provide points to the teacher trying to explain why we would be such shitty partners. While providing the casual insult my way,"
"As if you didn't?"
"Did I say that I didn't?"
"You implied it,"
"Did I? Or is that just something that you just assumed?"
"..." She had him there.
Could someone please interrupt their conversation so he didn't have to deal with this shit?
He knew no one would. Kate had this natural aura of dominance over people whether or not she noticed it. If he had to guess though, she definitely did. She was basically untouchable on school grounds and even outside of them no one would dare try anything with her if they knew who she was. That natural dominance was enough to make most people stay as bystanders.
"You're strangely silent Clam. Run out of comebacks?"
He sighed, "I'm guessing you want to know what we were talking about?" Kate nodded, basically urging him to continue. He sighed again. He suddenly felt a heavy lump in his throat. He was having a hard time getting the words out. Was he anxious to talk about his past this much? He looked like an idiot at the moment, his mouth partially open and his vocal cords not working.
Thankfully Salty had recovered himself in time to save him. "Kate it's something extremely personal for him to talk about. We weren't talking about you or anyone else,"
Kate's expression softened at that. Something that didn't go unnoticed by Humphrey. Suddenly he had a pang of guilt for basically calling her sexist earlier. "Oh, I didn't know it was something like that. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable... Humphrey,"
Did she just refer to him by his name? "Uh... it's fine Kate,"
Things were awkward for a bit after that, but soon enough none other than Mooch came to save the day. Thinking of a way to lighten the mood with a casual conversation Humphrey didn't quite pay attention to. He was too focused on his own self-pity. His mood had gone down drastically after the realization that he came to.
He knew the whole thing still bothered him, he just didn't expect it to still be this bad. He sighed pushing the thought to the side before striking up a conversation with Salty, hoping to further bury his thoughts. "So what about you Salty? Gonna join any clubs this semester?"
Salty looked surprised at Humphrey's sudden action. "I don't think I will. The only reason why I joined clubs in high school was because I liked Veronica remember? I never actually had any interest in art or gardening,"
Humphrey nodded remembering the whole Veronica drama, "I sometimes forget the lengths you went for her,"
"The worst mistake of my life,"
They chuckled at that, "It was quite the experience, one that I really hope never repeats again. You... you're all good now after that... right?"
Salty's mood dropped, catching the wistful tone in his voice. "Yeah, dude. I've been fine since the end of senior year, why?" He didn't have to ask. He knew why the question was asked.
"Do you... think that maybe I have hope too then?"
Salty looked down after hearing it. Even if he knew the reason before Humphrey said it, him actually saying it hit so hard. Humphrey used to be ever the optimist. He was also insanely logical in his thinking, but even he felt hopeless at times. Something that usually was easy to forget considering how he usually acted.
Humphrey had a perfect mask. One honed from years of experience.
Salty still felt some regret for not knowing about it sooner. But he was here now so he would be the best help he could be. "Of course you can Humphrey. Healing takes time, you know that. You're a special guy, I have no doubts that you'll make a full recovery," he said it while giving Humphrey the brightest smile he could possibly give. Something that Humphrey had done for him a million times.
Now it was his turn to give that smile.
Humphrey gave him a weak smile back, "Thanks Salty, I really needed that,"
"No problem Humphrey,"
Kate for her part had kind of been listening in on the conversation. She hadn't tried to. She just had really good hearing and the conversation between the two had somehow caught her attention. She tried her best to be as inconspicuous as possible, listening to them as she was talking or listening to the other conversation between her group of friends and theirs. But somehow the conversation between the clam and Salty had gotten her attention.
Maybe it was because she had called them out earlier and caused an awkward atmosphere for a bit. Maybe it was because Salty had mentioned it was something personal. Or maybe the natural mystery behind the "Callous Clam" had been enough for her curiosity to be peaked. Maybe she was hoping for some info into why he was such a cold asshole in class. Whether it was to justify his behavior or if it could be a reason to justify her hatred towards him. But the conversation didn't really help her with that.
The conversation only confused her more. Which just ended up playing to her curiosity more. Something that was extremely troubling for her.
At least she would have an excuse to find out though. Having him as a project partner in a project that's whole purpose was to find out the inner workings of his thought process. Asking why questions was a huge part of philosophy.
She would solve the mystery of Humphrey Macklin.
I honestly thought at the beginning I would do the full school day, but in the end, I really liked where this would leave it off. So I just decided that this was a good finish for it. Why? Probably because I'm lazy.
I don't really plan for Humphrey's or Kate's past to be something that I reveal too soon. I also don't really know how long I plan to make this story to be fair. But either way, neither of their past will be revealed that quickly.
Also quick thanks to Keith and Circuit, you two gave me the motivation to write again with the whole Choose Your Own Path thing we're doing. Very fun and much thanks.
Anyway, I hope this chapter was a good start and hopefully I can get back in the groove of writing again. And with that, I'll see all you amazing people in the next chapter.