Gasoline [c]

A COLD RAIN IS FALLING

amber eyes half-lidded with an expression as dull as could be, sixteen-year-old scott prescott inhaled deeply before letting out a long, long sigh. "of course, mother," the words that left his mouth were simple and to the point, as per his usual style of dealing with a parental figure, "anything you wish. i will not disappoint you."

there was a brief pause as the woman on the other end of the phone spoke, which apparently was enough to mildly stretch the corners of scott's mouth; a sure sign that he was slowly losing patience, "again." he said flatly, as though agreeing with whatever his mother had said. "you can rest assured. or perhaps you require some form of said assurance: i am certain that a surveillance camera inside my dorm room can be arranged. i will let the roommate know ahead of time."

at the sarcasm, there was a sudden burst from the other end; as though she was angered by his response. quickly, the blonde pulled his phone away from his ear, "good day, mother." he said aloud before ending the call with a tap of his thumb.

gaze lifted as he awaited the 'tour guide' that was supposed to show him around... which, in all honesty, sounded absolutely pointless to him. he was perfectly fine with figuring it out by himself and yet, the office ladies insisted that it was a good idea. what they didn't seem to understand was the fact that scott was rarely wrong and rarely needed help, if ever. he would only end up being robbed of all his belongings by this 'tour guide,' he reckoned. this was a school for problematic teens across the country, after all.

his attention was caught when a loud voice hit his ears. amber eyes flicked to the source of the noise. falling into his field of vision was a redheaded girl who was currently waving excitedly at him. strangely enough, there was something about this simple sight of a hyperactive waving ginger that felt almost like deja vu. nevertheless, the sixteen-year-old only brushed off the thought; 'hyperactive waving ginger,' as if that was something rare.

"you must find your own behaviour 'cute' or 'socially acceptable,' otherwise i highly doubt that you would be acting this way at your age." scott began as he remained standing where he was, never even bothering to take a glance down to the hand offered to him, "but while we're together, i would really appreciate it if you could keep the obnoxiousness down a notch so as to save me the disgust and secondhand embarrassment."

with a sigh, he pocketed his cellphone, "lead the way," as if he was the one that was doing her a favour instead, "the sooner we do this, the sooner you can receive your credits for volunteering, right?" even if it weren't for credits, chances were, she was probably just doing this due to detention or anything of that nature.

A COLD RAIN IS FALLING

of course, that smile faltered briefly as soon as his words hit her ears; as if that was something unexpected. it would only be more suspicious if it didn't, actually. "a wise decision," said scott, never forgetting to arch an eyebrow at the redhead. not that he was hoping she would keep up with the 'decision,' since-

her cheery act returned and scott could've almost sworn that she hadn't made the promise. and, maybe she didn't. maybe it was a lie. dammit, it was probably a lie wasn't it? why did he think it was a good idea to believe a girl from some juvie school, even if only for a split second?

she went on with her blabbering and, dully, the sixteen-year-old reached into his pocket again, this time pulling out both his phone and his earphones. no matter. just as how she easily broke her own promises, scott was just as well-versed when it came to selective hearing, "wonderful campus for troubled teens." he never forgot to add.

then, he gave his glasses a push upward as his gaze flicked back to the ginger, "you must be mistaken. i did not ask for a rundown of the schedule." a flat response to her continued excitement. he uncoiled the cord of his earphones before popping the buds into his canals. opening up a playlist, the prescott sighed, "yes, i have been waiting for you this entire time while you preoccupied yourself with empty promises." he said, giving the '+' button a few pushes so as to crank up the volume to his classical music. even so, he read the movements of her lips and made sense of her last few words, "i will. make it fast."

with this, he proceeded to walk alongside of nora. he highly doubted that he had to actually hear her introductions and explanations of the facilities. he was smart enough to know what the purpose of everything was without her help, really.

A COLD RAIN IS FALLING

his gaze briefly scanned the buildings surrounding them before sliding back to his phone. he proceeded to check his email even as his tour guide spoke. it was almost as if she was charlie brown's teacher, or if she was talking underwater; he could tell that she was saying something but it was difficult to makeout what she was saying. of course, that was exactly what he wanted.

nevertheless, he cranked up the music a bit more, just so it would cover up even the faintest trace of her blurry words, "sorry. do you mind slowing down a bit? i'm having trouble understanding you." said the blonde flatly, though he never even looked up from his phone.

said phone was eventually lifted, however, just so he could snap a picture of the buildings, all of which were considerably smaller and dirtier comparing to the ones in his last school. there was a sneer of sorts upon his lips as he texted the pictures to his ex-classmates. contrary to popular belief, scott did have friends even if they weren't attending birchwood. he was the vice president of the student council, after all, and a rather appreciated and liked one at that.

his phone 'ding'ed when he received a reply. scott chuckled, a part of him somewhat relieved that he had taken a step forward and addressed the elephant in the room: the fact that he was now in an academy for 'troubled youths.' sure, it felt shameful at first but, he'd come to terms with the fact that he wasn't entirely at fault. he was stressed beyond belief and, well, it was a mere teenage mistake. he was at the right age (?) to be making them.

it should be fine as long as he didn't do it again. he'd get out of here in no time. unless of course, someone decided to plunge a knife in him.

the girl that was still walking alongside of him seemed like she would, that's for sure. he read the movements of her mouth. amber eyes blinked, "yes. are we finished here?" he asked, "this should be enough to get you some volunteer points. you're welcome." he continued to stare at her, mozart's piano sonata in c major still playing against his ears, "i've got tasks to accomplish, so, one last thing: which way to the dormitories? feel free to point it out rather than giving me verbal directions. your voice is starting to cause a migraine."

an eyebrow quirked, "and, should you decide to lie about it, i will report you to the office. thanks."