Daylight shone into team RWBY's dorm on Neo's first day of class, but she was still fast asleep. If left alone she likely would've slept up through lunch, but her eager leader had other plans. The girls were jolted awake by the ear splitting sound of Ruby's whistle. Neo nearly flew off the bed at the noise, completely caught off guard. Blake rubbed her eyes with an irritated expression, while Weiss and Yang glared at the caped girl.
"Damn it Ruby, I told you not to use that whistle anymore!" Weiss shouted.
Ruby shrugged, "Sorry, guess I forgot."
Weiss sighed angrily and flopped back onto her bed. Ruby frowned at her team's lack of enthusiasm until a cheerful Neo hopped down from her bunk. "Morning Ruby! What classes do we have today?" she asked with a smile.
"Um, let's see... Today we have Oobleck's class in about an hour, then Professor Port's lecture, and then combat training with Professor Goodwitch."
"Cool! I guess I'll grab the first shower," Neo said, seeing how no one else was out of bed yet, and Ruby was already dressed. She grabbed her new uniform that Blake had been nice enough to get for her and headed for the bathroom. She shut the door and undressed, turning on the water as she finished.
Alright, first day of class, she thought as she stepped into the shower. The hot water cascaded off her body, taking with it her remaining fears for her first day. I can survive lectures, just gotta zone out like when Roman would rattle on about the White Fang. Combat training will be a nice break, I just have to make sure I don't go too crazy. It'll be nice to fight these guys for fun. Maybe we'll do partner stuff, that'd be awesome! I could get paired with Weiss, maybe fighting together could get her to start trusting me. She kept her shower short, not knowing how long the other girls would take. She got dressed, fixed her hair and moved to open the door, but stopped with her hand on the handle when she heard Weiss and Yang arguing outside. Gently, she cracked the door to see what was happening.
Yang had her hands on her hips, glaring at Weiss. The heiress sat on her bed, arms crossed, glaring back. Ruby and Blake stood beside Yang, both looking angry at Weiss. "Weiss, if she wanted to do something to us she'd have already done it while we were asleep," the blonde said angrily, and Neo felt her anxiety come back.
Shit, I guess I should've known this would happen, Neo thought sadly. I get that she doesn't like me, but why does she keep instigating? I haven't done anything to her directly, not even when I was still with Roman. If she keeps acting like this I'll never get my chance to prove myself to her. Although I'm starting to think it wouldn't be much of a loss if I didn't.
Weiss huffed, "How do you know she didn't?"
"Um, maybe because we're all still alive?" Yang snapped back. Ruby looked uneasy.
"Guys, please stop," their leader begged. "It's not good for us to fight like this. Weiss, you said you'd give her a chance. If you keep acting like this, then she'll never get one."
"Why should I give her a chance?" Weiss exclaimed. "Maybe she's not here to kill us. Maybe she's here to watch everyone fight so she can report all of our strategies back to the White Fang!"
Blake had been standing quietly until then, but now she'd had enough. "GOD DAMN IT, WEISS! SHUT UP!" she screamed, fed up with the argument. "Yes, she doesn't exactly have the cleanest history. And yes, we don't have any outstanding reasons to trust her. But you know what? When you found out about my past last semester, you thought the same things about me. And I remember you saying that it didn't matter as long as I wasn't a part of the White Fang anymore. What makes Neo any different?"
Weiss went to respond, but hesitated. Neo felt a few tears welling in her eyes and decided now would be a good time to end the argument. "Everything alright out here?" she asked timidly, fully opening the door.
Blake smiled, "Yeah, everything's fine." She shot Weiss a look, and the heiress nodded without another word.
"Dibs on the next shower!" Yang said, snatching her clothes off the dresser and rushing into the bathroom before anyone could argue.
The room was silent for a few minutes. Neo glanced over at Weiss, who was looking very conflicted, and couldn't help but feel bad. It's not her fault. None of them should be trusting me like they are. I haven't done anything to earn it.
The silence continued until Blake decided it was starting to become awkward. "So Neo," she began, looking for anything to have a conversation about. "Do you need anything else before class?"
Neo thought for a moment, smiling at how friendly Blake continued to be. "Um... I guess I'll need a notebook or something."
"I think Weiss has a few extra ones," Ruby chimed in. "Maybe she could give you one."
The girls turned to Weiss, bringing her out of her thoughts. "I, uh... Yeah, I think I have some extras," she said, reaching into a desk drawer. She pulled out a medium sized binder and tossed it to Neo. "Here."
Neo caught it and smiled, "Thanks."
"No problem," Weiss replied, giving a small smile in return.
Yang emerged from the bathroom and Weiss took her place, followed by Blake. Once she was dressed, the team headed for Dr. Oobleck's classroom. Neo quickly found she wasn't a fan of school uniforms, fidgeting with her blouse for the length of the walk, much to Yang and Ruby's amusement. They arrived a few minutes before the bell rang and sat near the back of the hall. Neo sat with Ruby on her left and Blake to her right, Yang and Weiss sitting beside them respectively. "So what's today's lecture on?" Neo asked.
"Post-war Vacuo," Yang responded, sounding less than enthusiastic. Ruby groaned and put her head on her desk, covering it with her notebook. Neo laughed and turned to Blake.
"What's the professor like?" she asked.
"He's an... interesting person. He was with us on the train, you might've seen him then. Only thing is he's just a little—" Blake was interrupted as Oobleck rushed into the room in a blur, stopping at his desk to take a drink from the thermos.
"Good morning children, we're going to get started right away with today's lesson on post-war Vacuo right away! Please open your textbooks to page one hundred three and follow along!" Oobleck rattled off, moving around the front of the room and writing incomprehensible lines on the chalkboard.
"Hyper..." Blake finished, and the girls all laughed. The lecture began and within minutes the members of team RWBY assumed their usual roles: Ruby asleep at her desk, Yang daydreaming, Blake listening off and on and occasionally writing something down, and Weiss furiously taking notes. Neo was writing with the same fervour as Weiss, eager to take in as much knowledge as she could. She occasionally glanced up at the rest of her team, each time saw Weiss looking over at her. The heiress was quick to look away every time she was caught, leaving Neo wondering what she was doing.
Why does she keep staring at me? she thought. I'm not doing anything wrong, am I? She doesn't look angry. What is it then? The lecture continued and eventually ended before she could answer her question, and the quintet headed to the dining hall for lunch. Again, they met up with JNPR and sat together. They got their lunches and sat down, and Nora was disappointed to see that Neo was eating a normal amount of food. Throughout the meal, Neo noticed Weiss continuing to stare at her, but this time decided to ignore it. Even so, it still made her uneasy. I know she said she'd keep an eye on me, but I didn't think she meant it literally! What does she even think I'd be doing while I'm with everyone? Neo thought, pushing food around her plate.
"Not hungry after last night?" Jaune joked.
"Huh? Oh, um, yeah, I guess," Neo stammered.
"You okay?" Ruby asked, sounding concerned.
Neo put on a smile, "Yeah, I'm fine." The others weren't convinced, but didn't pry further. Lunch ended and the group moved to their next class, Neo making sure to sit next to Weiss in the hope that she wouldn't continue to stare at her. The lesson began, and Professor Port was almost instantly derailed and began a tangent about a hunting trip from his youth. It wasn't long before Neo decided to take after Ruby and set her head on the desk, but a slap on her shoulder prevented her from falling asleep.
"Get up!" Weiss snapped. "If you expect to succeed here this is not the way to do it. This is important stuff!"
Neo groaned and turned her attention back to the front of the room in time to hear the professor explaining in detail the difference between crimson and scarlet. She turned back to Weiss with a smug look. "You were saying?" she asked, and Weiss huffed.
"Okay, maybe not paying attention right now won't hurt you, but getting in the habit of it will."
Now she's trying to be helpful? What the hell is her deal? Neo thought. She rolled her eyes, but decided Weiss was right. She kept her attention at the front of the room, glancing at Weiss every now and then, and was relieved to see the heiress wasn't constantly looking her way anymore.