"My name is Eren Cross." He paused briefly. "I'm sixteen." That was all. Everyone stayed quiet for a second before the teacher stepped in. "Everyone, help him adjust. He's new to Weston."
The students all murmured among themselves. The new transfer student, although quite good-looking, wore a faintly unpleasant expression, as if mildly annoyed.
He went to the last desk and sat down. Class resumed. Eren preferred being ahead. He skimmed through the material. A few days passed. A few students approached and tried talking to him. He responded when necessary, nothing more. Conversations ended quickly.
The students observed that he answered every question the teacher asked before others finished thinking. At first it impressed them. Then it started to irritate them. A label had already formed. Smart. Quiet. Probably a nerd.
At the end of class that day the teacher announced that they would be conducting a test the following weekend and told everyone to prepare for it. The class reacted as expected, sighs, complaints, and groans.
Eren barely looked up. He had already skimmed through the material once. That was enough.
Or so he thought.
A few days after the exam, the results were posted. Eren walked up, eyes scanning the list calmly.
He stopped. His name wasn't at the top.
His expression shifted for the first time. Slightly, but enough.