It wasn't bad enough that his parents had uprooted him and his siblings in order to ship them all halfway across the country, away from their family, friends, and the only life they'd ever known. On top of that came the pressure of starting anew in an unfamiliar place, mid-way through the semester after everybody else had already found their place. He'd had a good thing going back at his old school, had been one of those people who'd found his niche early on. Now he had to begin again, and he was bitter.
While he was usually an outgoing and talkative person, Caelan had barely said five sentences since he'd walked through the front doors of North Public High School that morning. Getting out of the biting wind and subzero temperatures had been the only positive aspect of his day, though his relief had been short-lived. Being the newest arrival meant having to stand up in front of every class and introduce himself, his usually confident and charming demeanour masked by his complete and utter loathing of the situation he was currently in.
"I'm Caelan Porter. My family just moved me and my brother here from the west coast. I'm still adjusting."
The less he said, the better. Nobody attempted to approach him or engage him, though he couldn't fail to notice the intense stares that he seemed to attract. He ignored them and kept his head down, moving through his first day as if on autopilot.
Things hadn't gotten better by lunchtime. People were still looking at him with curiosity, hushed whispers and speculative glances following him as he walked in the direction of the cafeteria. His older brother had a different lunch period to him, meaning that he entered the dining hall alone. Standing off to the side, he took a moment to examine his surroundings and identify the various groups of people littered around the hall. It wasn't too different to his old school, though his position amongst his fellow students had changed dramatically. Instead of moving towards the rowdy table of what he had identified instantly as the popular kids, he edged his way to an empty table along the fringes and sat down with a heavy sigh before pulling his (self-made) lunch from his backpack.