Aallotar [Good Omens]

Six - Another Idiot

Olly lingered outside of the classroom. A breeze swayed her stupid mandatory uniform as people passed through the corridor. It was silly, she believed, to start at a new school a week after it had actually began. People were already acquainted and names were already exchanged. But now, there was Olly. And the teacher was probably going to say her full name. Olly groaned.

It won't be that bad, she tried to convince herself. Just be your friendly self like mom would say, and they'll like you.

But as the last of the children cleared the hall like whisps of smoke, Olly could not bring herself to enter the room.

They'll be watching you, she thought. All of them. Waiting. Watching. Listening--they'll be listening. They'll be expecting you to say something cool. Or something stupid. They'll use it to tease you. First impressions are the most important, right? What if you stutter? They'll call you "stutter-Collins" or something more clever--something only they'll understand. Then they'll expect you to be that person. Always expecting. You'll never amount up to what you're meant to be. You'll never be what your father said you'd be. You'll never-

"Miss Collins?"

Yanked out of her mind like a hand from fire, Olly's head snapped upward and met the pointed nose and small eyes of her teacher, Mrs. Stevenson.

"Oh, um. Hello," she mumbled.

"Class has just begun. I'll let you off with a warning this time, but I'd love for you to not be tardy."

"I-I'm sorry. I was just kinda nervous."

Mrs. Stevenson gave Olly a thin smile that was not at all comforting and ushered her into the classroom. A wave of silence fell over the murmuring students as they turned and directed their attention to the front in a synchronized moment. Olly could feel sweat gathering in the creases of her palms. The large windows on the outer-wall let in light that hurt her eyes. The students were not in anyway intimidating, but Olly's mind made them out to be blood-suckers. She stared at the tiled floor.

"This is Miss Collins. Miss A-"

Oh no, Olly thought. Here we go.

"Ah-lay-ter?" Mrs. Stevenson said, chopping Olly's name into a million pieces.

"All-uh-tar," she whispered. Olly could feel tremors in her hands.

"Pardon, dear?"

"Just call me 'Olly'," she said and gave the class a totally real smile.

"Alright, then. Please take your seat, Miss Collins."

Olly traveled to the back of the room as the students retrieved their textbooks. Lingering eyes studied her before snapping away, thinking they weren't noticed. She saw them all. Especially the pale, brown pair that gazed without shame or embarrassment. Olly felt her throat tighten.

She sat and burned holes into the blackboard as the boy diagonal from her turned and sneered.

"See you later, Ah-lay-ter."

Lovely. Another idiot.