As the morning peaked through Aaron's window blinds in a slowly escalating array of sunlight beams, Aaron found himself waking up to an alarm set by his bed. He groggily got up and stretched, swearing somehow this didn't seem right. Like he should be getting up with a different amount of mass. And indeed, when he got dressed in a t-shirt, jeans and a vest, Aaron was left pondering why these clothes felt so odd on him. Well, he guessed, he WAS a growing young man.
He shrugged it off, however, and started to head out. Going downstairs, he started eating breakfast his mother prepared. Pancakes, Bacon and Toast. He dug in with all the enthusiasm and hunger of a growing boy, and he only barely looked up to see his parents' beaming faces. Beaming perhaps a little too much. All smiles, relatively little substance this morning. Just seemed kinda like a show.
Making sure his school bag was together, Aaron headed out - walking to school was somehow not a new experience to him, and he was just hoping he could find his friends on the way to school. Hurrying along, he wound up stopping at a light alongside both Jack and a guy he'd never seen before;
The new guy was tall, brawny, and probably about a year advanced on him in the school system. He didn't look very toned, but he was definitely tough looking. His jawline was strong and only slightly softened from fat, his hair was coal black - wavy and slightly curled, and Aaron could see that the guy's arms and legs were huge and well developed. His eyes were somewhat icy blue, and Aaron could tell he cut an imposing profile. Jack seemed to be wary around him, but Aaron somewhat placidly introduced himself, "Hey. Uh...this is my first day and I was wondering---"
"You're talkin' to me." The big guy said, seeming almost amused by that. His voice was baritone, but not excessively rough.
"...Yeah?" Aaron started, and then asked, "Should I not be?"
The big guy shook his head, "...N-No, just, most people at the school know me, and that I'm not---" He paused, and then noted the walking sign was on, "You two. Walk and talk."
Aaron followed along, and Jack seemed to follow behind, trying to make himself seem small and outside of the huge Sophomore's notice. Aaron asked, "But I don't even know you, man. You don't seem that bad."
"...Know what?" The large student said with a casual smirk, "You're off my lists this year. Just cuz you didn't cower. Name's Mitch Lambert, and you're...?"
"Aaron Lansing." Aaron said with a smile and offered his hand. Mitch looked at the hand, over at the cowering Jack, and then back, and took the handshake for a rather long amount of time even as they walked;
"See ya 'round, Aaron." As they were getting pretty close to school, Mitch walked off, and Aaron was left somewhat bewildered. He knew on some level he should know who that was, but his mind was coming up blanks. He looked at Jack, who seemed relieved now that Mitch was gone. He was breathing pretty heavily, too...
"Who...was that guy?" Aaron asked, as he and Jack started to join with the throngs of students heading in to the school.
"That was Mitch Lambert, one of the BIGGEST bullies here. I don't get it - what made him act so nice?" Jack asked, visibly puzzled and a little bit afraid this was some kind of longrunning prank.
Aaron's eyes widened slightly, and even though the realization hit him and he too contemplated this being some sort of odd, cruel joke, it did seem like Mitch wasn't exactly antagonistic at all hours. Still, pretty odd reaction. "You're talking to me?" Instead of "get outta my face, nerd!" Aaron figured there might be more going on there.
Aaron also found himself noticing on his way to class that there was something odd about the school.
There were some buildings without lights on, and a few rooms that did not seem to be in use. These were marked with C and then a numeral. So, the likes of C-001, C-002 and so on. These rooms at a test seemed off limits - locked, and nobody tried to make any kind of entrance to these rooms. They seemed to show up one or two per around 5 or 6 classrooms.
Still, he felt decidedly out of place somehow when he went into his first class, History. It was like he'd done all this in the distant past some time prior. Jack was luckily in the same class, and similarly luckily, the two were able to sit by one another. It was a good day to be a student here it looked like. Aaron started to turn his head as he heard his first gossip of the year...
"Hey, did you hear about the new Principal?"
"Belinda West?"
"Yeah, her. I heard she's totally hot! 34 year old woman, hot and she knows it. Those button up shirts have gotta be selected for thin material..."
Aaron's attention turned to the idea, and he breathed, feeling for the first time the intensity of teenage attraction. Just the mental image of the buxom Principal made him almost uncomfortable. He squirmed in his seat, gritting his teeth a little bit, not wanting to just spring wood like this the first day in class. That'd be...really unfortunate.
Not helping matters was the announcement that played over the loudspeakers. "Hello, class, welcome to your new year at Sunwood Academy. We help the best and brightest students to become all they are meant to be. I consider myself an assistant to years of powerful transformation. Let me help you make these the best years of your life."
As the teacher started to take out materials, Aaron thought more about what she said...and how sultry and provocative her voice was. She was hot, no questions about it. Aaron squirmed in his seat as he tried to get himself back under control. The lesson would be starting soon, and he didn't want to be called on while he was dealing with libido! He gripped the seat of his desk and did some light breathing exercises...
Aaron finally cooled his jets in time for the history lesson to begin...