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Jai woke up early that morning, to get ready for school. She'd been off an on with her attendance, but today was her first day so she figured she ought to go. Her room was still pretty bare, having pushed off shopping more until that weekend, or she was waiting on deliveries.
She started the coffee while she hopped in the shower. She quickly got dressed, downing one cup of coffee, and deciding to leave her hair natural. She really didn't spend a lot of time at the apartment, at least yet. She'd only been there for a week, and she'd literally only come home to sleep and shower, so finding breakfast was tougher than she thought.
She ended up with a bagel, filling the to go mug on her way out. She was meeting up with her friends after school, so she also had a duffel bag to take, so she had a change of clothes, which consisted of joggers, a tank top, and proper shoes. She headed out the door and down the back stair well, heading to where she'd parked the car in a little garage. It had been her sixteenth birthday present.

She followed the GPS to the school, and pulled in, stepping out of the car and heading in to the office. She was just below average height, so the heels made her just above average height, and she easily walked in them, hips swaying and all.

Turned out she was a few minutes late, but the ladies in the office were really nice, getting her schedule set up and giving her a map. Despite her reputation, she had great grades, and was in all AP classes, so when she walked into her first class of the day, a few minutes late, all dark and new, she got a few looks. She sat in a empty seat, more towards the back and pulled out a notebook and pen, crossing the legs that seemed to go on for days.

The teacher smiled and nodded, stopping the lesson, "Okay everyone, this is Jai, our new student?"
Jai nodded, but didn't say anything, writing the date at the top of the page in her notebook. The teacher, taking the hint, still smiling, "She's new, and I expect you all to help her with anything she needs."
Just like that, the lesson continued.
Jai looked around, memorizing all the faces, but doubting any of them would be friends long enough to add names.

Jai was three seats behind a girl in cardigan, and she smiled and shook her head. The girl was gorgeous, dressed like she belonged in an AP class, but gorgeous. She shook the thought away as she took her notes, jotting everything down in loopy cursive. About half way through the class, the teacher wrapped up with that part and he sat in his chair, "So, there is a big project at the end of the semester, one that takes place of a midterm, so to speak. Based on all of your testing scores, I don't think a midterm would be all that much of a challenge. Now, I'm going to pair you up, and give everyone a list of topics to choose from. I know working in pairs isn't what normally happens in an AP class, which is why I want to challenge you to work together. If you come up with a topic of your own, run it by me in the next week or so and I'll approve it," he said, picking up a piece of paper, and reading off names. He got about half way down, "..Tarbox and McGarrett," he announced, everyone was shuffling around a bit, sitting with their partners, because the last half of class was going to be used to brainstorm.
Jai didn't know anyone, but the teacher motioned to the cardigan girl, and she stood up, put the notebook in her purse, grabbed a chair, and pulled it up to the girl's desk.

She couldn't help but smile as she imagined what the girl was probably thinking, "I'm Jai," she said, setting the purse down and crossing her legs.
As everyone settled in, the teacher walked over to the two girls, "Now, Jai, this is Samantha," he smiled and nodded, "I paired you two up because she is my best student, and I thought it might benefit you in all aspects of school," he nodded, "Good luck girls," he said, heading off to talk to the other student.
"Samantha," she thought for a moment, "Can I call you Sam?"
She leaned back in the chair a bit, a big pair of sunglasses holding her bangs back.
The topic sheet was passed out, and Jai put her's in her notebook, "You can choose," she said, putting the notebook away again, "Are your eyes green?" she asked, looking at the girl steadily, "They're pretty."

Jai could visibly see Sam's irritation with the pairing, but the project would be fine. Jai had forgotten to get the bobby pins from the bathroom and put them in her purse, because normally that's what she would use when her hair got in the way. Jai had glanced over the topic sheet, but it wasn't all that exciting, not that her AP classes had ever been.

She figured Sam would stick to the sheet and pick something and they could go from there. When she looked up from the sheet, her cheeks were a little pink and Jai smiled, "You're welcome," she said, pulling off the sunglasses and fiddling with her hair to get it to stay the way she wanted to. The girl complimented her, which Jai figured was just a formality but she smiled anyways, "Thanks," she said.

The girl looked like the kind that would be good at just about anything, but the stuttering and the cheeks suggested maybe she wasn't good at taking compliments. Jai pulled her phone out of her purse, her friends already having texted her. It practically killed her to not be able to go, and it was only first period. She put the phone back and looked at Sam, who was looking at the sheet. Class was almost over, so Jai wrote down her number, "For project purposes, of course," she said, sliding the piece of paper with the loopy writing over. She figured if they had one AP class together, they were bound to have more.

Jai wasn't stupid, the opposite actually. However, the decisions she made? Not as smart. She got up, putting the chair back as the bell rang, "Let me know what you decide," she said, before heading out into the hall and pulling out the map.
She had two more classes, then lunch.
She found out neither classes were with Sam, and when she got to lunch she sat at a table over by the windows, pulling out her phone. She hadn't even thought about lunch, so she pulled out some cash and got a salad before sitting back down, the only one at her table.
She had her headphones in, tapping her foot to the classical music and eating. All of her friends lived nearby, but they'd been graduated for at least a year.
It'd started after her brother died. She needed an out, and at his funeral one of his friends had come, and she'd remembered him talking about what his friend had done, so when he invited her to lunch after, it went from there, and she'd ended up training with him and his crew.

Here she was, stuck in a high school till the afternoon. She just hoped it'd go by fast.

Jai looked up as Sam walked up and she pulled her headphones out of her ears, "Not at all," she said, before picking up the tea she'd brought, wishing she had coffee. The lunchroom wasn't too loud, but every table had its distinct group of people and the conversations were endless. She flipped her phone face down so she wouldn't get distracted, and moved her stuff so Sam could sit down.

Jai had spent a lot of time in the city, especially in the last couple years, but she'd always gone to school in the suburbs so this school was pretty big compared to her old one. She definitely preferred city life. As far as the school stuff, she was impartial. After the irritation she'd seen that morning she was surprised Sam would volunteer to sit by her, but she was cute, and she was smart, so it was an all around home run.
"Did you pick a topic?" she finally asked, not exactly sure what else to talk about. She doubted she wanted to hear anything about her, not that Jai would give her the full story anyways. She tucked the headphones back in her purse and looked at the girl, as she finished the salad.

She pulled a bar of chocolate out. Chocolate and coffee were her thing. She broke it into little squares and organized them like a pyramid as she looked at Sam. She didn't know why, but she couldn't help but look at her. Her eyes, her hair, the glasses, as she found herself unwilling to give up her own story, but wanting to know Sam's.

Jai made a mental note to eat a big dinner, because with all the exercise she did it would kill her energy to only eat this. Jai swallowed her chocolate as Sam said she had picked a topic, and was quite surprised at what it was, curious what her opinion was on it, "I like that, not even half as boring as I thought it would be. All good. Gays are cute, we should all be able to get married," she laughed, having some of the tea.

Jai knew she was looking at the tattoos, and when she asked, she wasn't surprised. The jacket sleeves were rolled up to her elbows. The arm with the flowers had her brother's birth and death date, the flowers being the same kind they'd put on the casket, neither arms were finished, "I have another one on my thigh," she shrugged, "Tattoos tell a story. I have to get them finished eventually, I just have to pick another chapter of the story to tell. It's like..you might not know what it means if I don't tell you, but it's a reminder of everything," she shrugged, "It's different for everyone."
She almost laughed at the parent part, cracking a smile, "I didn't tell them. When they found out my mother looked like she was going to have a heart attack. By number three she stopped talking about it, because she knew I'd get more," she ate more chocolate.

Switching the topic, she pointing to the paper, "That's really good though. I'm surprised it's on there. It makes people squirmy. I went to pride in the city last year, and let me tell you," she smiled and shook her head, "I'd do it again."
Jai had never hidden her preference, from her parents, friends, strangers. She tended to be very blunt, so if people didn't like it, she didn't need those people.
With the cardigan and overall look, she was curious to see what her opinion would be, but with the blushing and stuttering? She had a feeling she knew.

Jai shrugged, "I wouldn't think they would. It's a little more opinion and less fact. Normal AP kids don't go for that." It was true. AP kids were more factual, all about their GPA.
Jai was surprised at Sam's reaction to the whole thing, almost feeling stupid for complimenting her eyes, but when Sam started to get a little weird about it all it made Jai question it. She just pushed the thought away and went with the flow, "It's like, I mean you're always going to have people that have an issue with it, but the people I surround myself with don't care. I'm me, no matter who I date. I guess I just always thought it'd be too much work to hide it," she shrugged, finishing the chocolate, "It's like, being yourself is hard enough, but hiding that big of a part of you? That has to be hard, and I'm not going to hide," she shook her head and laughed, "I tried to fit in and not make anyone uncomfortable, but it wasn't worth it. Hiding it from other people is just another way to hide it from yourself."

She crossed her legs, knowing there was still some time left before lunch was over, "Listen, I don't know what your opinion is about it, I don't know if it makes you uncomfortable, but try watching some of the coming out videos on youtube to get a perspective of how much energy goes into worrying about other people's opinions. I guess I got lucky, there's some parents that like kick their kids out and it's just a total," she shook her head and sighed, "It's a shame."

If that was one thing she'd gotten lucky with with her parents, it's that they had never really had a problem with her being gay, not that she gave them a choice.
"Basically you have to worry about your own happiness, and not what people are going to say. It really feels so much better. But you have to be safe and gauge your home life first. I mean, like say someone is in a situation where their parents might kick them out or get angry, they need to already be out of the house, or have somewhere to go, or just wait, unfortunately."

She looked at Sam, wondering if any of that was the case. It wasn't her business to ask, so she'd leave it alone, "If you ave any questions or anything, feel free."
She got up for a second to throw the trash away and sat back down.
"I mean, there's always the option of telling your friends and the people you trust and just..being gay, without telling your parents. It's pretty easy for girls because it's like..you and your best friend are going to a movie or are having a sleep over, or studying or whatever, but really, their your girlfriend. I've had a few friends do that, so they can be themselves for the most part, then when their out of the house they deal with it. But I'm just rambling now," she shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair.

Jai looked at Sam as complimented her and she laughed, "Thank you, but I'm not good at writing down words," she said, but in all reality she wrote a lot. When Sam admitted it to her she wasn't surprised and she smiled, "Go on a date with someone, kind of figure out where your comfort zone is. But trust me, you'll know when you know.

The bell rang and as Sam got up, she said she'd call her, but Jai didn't get a chance to say it'd be better if it was a little later, because she probably wouldn't even get home till sometime around dinner.
Jai got up, and headed to her next class, smiling. She hadn't thought she'd talk to anyone, but she found herself thinking they could be friends.
She went through the rest of the day, taking her notes, but her mind kept wandering back to the conversation she'd had with Sam.
Should she take her on a date? She smiled and shook the thought away.
Turns out, she didn't have any more classes with her, but when the last bell rang it was almost a relief. She was texting as she dropped her stuff off at her locker. She ran out to the car and grabbed the duffel bag, deciding to change inside before she left.
One friend who'd been at work all day was going to meet her at the school, and Jai was going to drive them where they needed to go. She went to the bathroom, pulling on the joggers and the tank top and the shoes before heading back out to the car. Somehow she still made it look good.

Her friend ran up, it was a guy, in athletic gear like herself, and Jai put the stuff in the trunk, as she saw Sam walking out, "Hey, Sam! Call me after dinner, I won't be home until then," she said, waving with a smile before getting in the car.

She headed off to their normal spot and her entire group of friends met up and they all took off from there, running around the city and doing their thing.
She was gone for hours, and by the time she got home, she'd just grabbed some take out on the way, reminding herself to do the groceries that weekend, and she waited for a call from Sam.

Jai had finished eating around six, and she worked on finishing up the pull up bar in the third bedroom. There was her bedroom, a spare/office area, and a gym room. She'd hung from the backs of her knees and done vertical sit ups till she heard her phone. She dropped from the bar, and answered it, only slightly out of breath, knowing it had to be Sam, because it was the only number she didn't have, "Hey!" she said, sitting on the counter, opening her bottle of water, and drinking some. She walked to the living room.
So far she had a recliner, a tv on the floor, and a lamp. A lot of deliveries were expected that weekend, and she had to make a trip to the store too.

She sat in the recliner, pulling off her shirt to cool down. She still had the joggers on, and when they got off the phone she'd do her home, shower, and probably head to bed or go to the store to get food before she forgot, "Perfect timing, I'm glad you called, I thought maybe after we like talk more and assign like..what each other should do, maybe we could have like a night a week where we compile everything or something," she said.

She also knew she'd be more inclined to make food if there was someone else there. She didn't know if that was weird because they didn't know each other, and Sam probably didn't know she lived alone, but she'd at least try. Sam might not know what she wanted, but she was cute, and maybe Jai could help her figure it out.
She frowned at how the thought sounded, not meaning it like that. She met up almost every day with the crew, but she could definitely work around it. She remembered seeing Sam drive off in a car, so getting her over shouldn't be a problem, or even if she wanted to meet somewhere else.
She caught herself wanting to ask her how she was, but she reminded herself just because she was cute, didn't mean it was any of her business.