Nova's Semester

Chapter 3

By the time third period has rolled around she figures she's going to have every class this year with Arnold just like every year since seventh grade, given by his and her last name. They're close in the alphabet and that just so happens to be the method used to create the students' classes, every single year. She doesn't know if she would be able to handle Arnold all year long, again. Arnold wasn't the worst-looking guy at the school, but he definitely wasn't the greatest-looking dude. He had sandy blonde hair worn in a pompadour cut, green bugged-out eyes, and the bulkiest glasses she had ever seen on a person. Nova had met Arnold in the seventh grade, at the time she didn't think anything of him, until one day he had asked her to the winter dance the school was throwing. She had to politely let him down telling him she wasn't going to the dance in the first place. Ever since then he tried to get her attention, like when he broke his arm in eighth grade trying to flip off the playground slide to impress her, but it didn't. She also remembers the time in sophomore year, she came to school on valentine's day and a bunch of "letters" could visibly be seen hanging from the air gate at the top of her locker, when she opened her locker more fell at her feet. She was so embarrassed she remembered picking one up and opening it and immediately seeing Arnold's face. It was a picture of him in a tuxedo, it was an oddly good picture of him, but it freaked her out to no end. She didn't even open the rest of the letters fearing what she might see, instead picked all of them up and threw them into the trash, and immediately went to find him. When she did, she laid into him telling him that she didn't want to be his girlfriend like she had been trying to tell him since the seventh grade. She couldn't wait for the school day to end, and it was only the first day. When the bell rings signifying the end of class Nova all but runs out of the class giving a worried-looking Alaric a small wave.

Nova couldn't have done anything worse to herself than turning in her electives late because she got the only class, she didn't want this year, gym. She hated the entire walk to the gymnasium, she couldn't stand getting changed in front of people, choosing to always go to the bathroom stall to get some privacy. The fact that she also had a male gym teacher this year was annoying. She thought all male gym teachers were overactive and boisterous, they always had favorites, she couldn't think of a single male gym teacher she had that didn't prefer a specific student over others. She enters the gym following the other gaggle of students and to her relief, the bleachers are pulled out far enough to fit a small class. She sees other students already sitting down in just their regular school clothes. She can at least give credit to whoever was teaching this class that the first day wasn't actually a gym day but an introduction day like everybody else. As she takes her seat, she decides to take out her schedule to see just who was teaching this year. She figured she would see the name Donny Hubbard the usual male gym teacher who taught there but next to the teacher information instead she saw a man named Finn Mikaelson. 'Oh great" she thought, looking around the room she didn't seem to find the mystery man in question recognizing almost everyone on the bleachers. Her head snaps up as she hears the bell give its final warning ring for students to get to class. She then hears the sound of the gym office door squeaking as it's opened, and when her eyes land on the man that is Finn Mikaelson, she is taken aback.

He doesn't look anything like she thought he would, he is not old for one, and he doesn't have a beer gut or weird glasses. He looks refined, gentlemanly almost. As he continues to walk toward the middle of the room Nova can't help but admire the man. He had ashy brown hair with a shorter version of an ivy league haircut with the top swept over to the side. He was rather tall and intimidating, brutish almost, but it confused her. Mystic Falls was a pretty small town where everyone knew everybody, she would have definitely noticed someone like him. When he gets to the middle of the room, he clears his throat and gives a slight smile before he opens his mouth. "Good morning, everybody, how is everyone today?" There was a pause before various students answered at the same time in the same monotone voice, a variety of good, ok, and greats, can be heard before it goes silent again. She can only guess what everyone was thinking, probably the same thing she is, who is this guy? When her attention is brought back to him, he has seemingly pulled out a clipboard from thin air. "When I call your name just respond with an affirmation, please." When he starts listing off the names of students Nova lets her mind wander. He's most definitely educated, the way he speaks, the way walks, the way holds himself. His accent was most definitely not like anything she had heard before, like a British New Yorker. What kind of guy would become a gym teacher if he knew as much as she thought he did?