Chapter Text
“Okay. New school. New year. New place. No friends. This is gonna be great.” Oscar stared at himself in the mirror, already bullying himself internally for every little detail about his appearance.
His mom had put him at this very fancy private school thing, with only 20 students. He begrudgingly put on his uniform, fidgeting with the navy collar nervously.
The outfit consisted of something fancier than most schools with uniforms might have—this one was stupidly extravagant and even more stupidly expensive, after all. He had a navy blazer, black tie, white undershirt, matching navy pants, and black leather shoes that clicked when he took a step.
“C’mon, Oscar! It’s time to go!” His mother called from downstairs.
“Coming!” Oscar took one last look at himself, making a gagging sound at his own appearance. Totally healthy.
“Oh, look at you!” Oscar’s mother took his face in her hands, smiling proudly. “Looking all cute for your first day of school!”
“Ehh… thanks.” Oscar pulled back, making an attempt to head out to the car.
His mother started the car while he fidgeted with his seatbelt.
The car ride was mostly silent, as his mother was concentrated on the road, and Oscar was on his phone the whole way there.
Oscar looked up at the big school building, except it wasn't just a school. It’s also the fucking place where Oscar will be living for the next little while.
Oscar got out of the car, hauling his suitcases from the trunk.
“Have fun!” Oscar’s mother hugged him. “I’m gonna miss you soooo much!”
“I’m gonna miss you too, mom,” Oscar said, pulling away from the hug. “Love you!” He called as he began to drag his suitcases towards the building.
“Love you too!” She called back, smiling proudly.
Oscar flashed a grin back at her before walking through the grand doors of this place.
Some fancy guy in a suit led Oscar to his room, which had a fancy door and above it a plaque labeled “Room 3”.
“Also,” the fancy dude said. “You’ll be sharing your room with one other boy. His name is Lando.”
“Oh.” Oscar shrugged, opening the door. The room was quite big and fancy, but the first thing he noticed was a boy, around his age, sitting on a bed.
“Hey,” Oscar called gently, walking into the room with his bags.
Lando’s gaze immediately flickered up to Oscar. “Hey!” The older boy grinned, enthusiastically kicking the frame of the bed with his heels.
“Lando, right?” Oscar paused in the doorway, slightly frightened by the enthusiasm radiating off of the other. He could already hear Lando’s little British accent, and found it—no, no. Oscar had just met him.
“Mhm.” Lando quickly nodded, bouncing slightly where he sat, the bed squeaking.
Oscar wondered what other ways Lando could make a bed get squeaky—NOPE.
Feeling his face flush at whatever the fuck that thought was that had just entered his mind, Oscar stepped inside the room.
Oscar rolled his bags over to his bed, which was on the opposite side of the room from Lando.
He then walked over to the Brit, silently critiquing his pace as he tried to find an appropriate speed for approaching the other. Oscar wasn’t usually the brave one, but Lando seemed so friendly, and Oscar couldn’t help but approach.
“I’m Oscar.” He held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.” The Aussie smiled.
Lando took Oscar’s hand enthusiastically, shaking it with enough force to make Oscar’s arm jerk violently.
“You too.” Lando’s eyes were bright, his voice still enthusiastic.
That accent, oh that accent. It made Oscar feel a way he didn’t understand yet.
Oscar unpacked his stuff silently, wondering about Lando and what his deal was.
Oscar could tell Lando’s face was flushed, and Oscar couldn’t tell if it was from excitement or something else.
Then, right as Oscar had finished unpacking, a loud announcement came through the intercoms. “All students please report to the main hall for orientation in the next 10 minutes. Thank you.”
Oscar shot a glance over at Lando. “Ready to go?” He asked, already standing up.
Lando jumped up, bouncing behind Oscar as they headed out the door.
Many other students were heading out of their dorms, all very different from one another. This was going to be one interesting year.
They all headed to the main hall, where the principal and other teachers were waiting.
They all circled up before the principal spoke. “Hello, my name is Mr. Wolff.” His voice boomed around the large room, gaze flickering from student to student. “You have all been graced with the privilege of attending Suzuka High. Here, you will only be accompanied by 19 other students, all specially chosen for this academy.” Mr. Wolff explained.
“Since there’s only 20 of you, all of you will be in the same classes. Here’s how the schedule goes. History.” Mr. Wolff began, walking around the circle of students, shoes clicking on the tile floor. “Math. Then lunch. After lunch, P.E. and science. You will have a rotating schedule every other day. The next day you will have literature, computer science, lunch, health, and finally mixed activities.” He finished.
Mr. Wolff once again returned to the outer center of the circle. “Now, all of our teachers and students will introduce themselves with their name, what they teach, or a fact about you.” He nodded to a teacher on his right to begin.
“My name is Mr. Mekies.” The man spoke calmly. “I teach science.”
The next one went. “I’m Mr. Stella and I’ll be your math teacher.”
“I’m Mr. Vasseur and I’ll be teaching reading.”
“I’m Mr. Wheatley, your P.E. teacher.”
“My name is Mr. Cowell and I’ll be your computer science teacher!”
“I’m Mr. Vowels, your history teacher.”
“Permane. Health.”
“I’m Mr. Oakes!” A man spoke.
“And I’m Mr. Komatsu!”
“We’ll be teaching mixed activities.” The former announced.
“Now,” Mr. Wolf began, “please introduce yourselves. You can go first, Lewis.” He pointed to a tall black boy with a dark buzz.
“My name is Lewis Hamilton, and I enjoy fashion!” Oscar noticed the student was quite stylish.
The circle went around with all the students, most people’s interests mundane or simple, till it got to a brown-haired boy with an accent that was almost French, but not quite. “My name is Charles Leclerc, and I enjoy playing piano.”
But that wasn’t the interesting part, until it got to the next person.
“My name i-is Max Verstappen and I like Charl—cats.” He stuttered. “I like cats.”
Charles giggled, placing the back of his hand over his mouth, though his cheeks flushed. Max seemed unable to stop staring.
The second to last person was Oscar, who felt a sudden rush of pressure and nervousness with all eyes on him. After a moment, he found his voice. “My name is Oscar Piastri, and I like gaming.”
Finally, it was Lando’s turn. He slightly bounced, a large toothy grin as he began to rapid-fire spit out words. “My name is Lando Norris and I like gaming and music like I’m really good at DJing and—and—” He eventually trailed off as he caught the weird stares most other students were giving him.
That filled Oscar with a mix of rage at the people in the room and empathy for Lando. For some stupid reason, Oscar decided to speak up. “What? He’s just excited? Be nice.” He scoffed, crossing his arms while keeping a stoic posture.
Some side-eyed Oscar, some didn’t seem to care, but Charles just gave him a knowing glance with a flicker of mischief in his eyes.
Eventually, the students were told to go explore the campus.
Oscar headed out into the garden, hoping to find solace in the warm outside. It was quite gorgeous, the beginning of September signaling that plants wouldn’t be dying just yet.
As he strolled between vibrant trees and plants, the Aussie couldn’t help but chuckle when he noticed Lando running after him.
“Waaaaittt!” The older panted as he skidded to a halt beside Oscar, almost running into a tree before he stopped himself.
“Hey, Lando.” Oscar felt easily influenced by the Brit’s… interesting personality, a small feeling of giddiness brought by Lando making his lips tilt up.
Lando stood up straighter now, curls bouncing as he stepped closer to Oscar. “Got nothing else to do and no one else to annoy, so hello, my victim.”
Oscar wasn’t sure whether to laugh or be terrified, so he just smiled politely. “Should I be worried?”
Shrugging, Lando seemed already distracted by a marigold bush next to his feet. He plucked a golden-orange flower, placing it between Oscar’s swoopy hair and ear. “Nah, I don’t bite. Usually.”
Oscar froze, face matching the red accents on the marigold, breath hitching when Lando’s fingertips lingered upon his ear.
Then, he registered Lando’s words.
I want you to bite me—NO. FUCK. BAD OSCAR.
Oscar shoved the idea back with his squeaky bed conception—a little vault that the Aussie unfortunately could predict would be getting fuller.
“Th-thanks.” Oscar’s shaky voice was almost a whisper, desperately willing his blush to calm down.
Lando shrugged, smiling. “Aaannyyytime.” The lilt in his voice almost seemed to get stronger with the drawn-out word, sending another flutter to Oscar’s stomach.
The Brit seemed bored, swaying his limbs absentmindedly and eyes staring off into the distance despite the two having just arrived in the garden.
Meanwhile, Oscar was privately dying, his face flushed and fingers trembling ever so slightly where they brushed the flower on his ear. The petals were delicate and almost waxy, like touching a greasy kitten’s fur.
“I’m tired.” Lando remarked, despite seeming full of energy and enthusiasm.
Oscar arched one eyebrow. “Are you sure?” He questioned the other boy.
Humming, Lando just tilted his head to the side and fixed his gaze on something in the distance. He was staring at a bird soaring above.
For some reason Oscar found that incredibly endearing, how Lando could be so distracted by something so common and simple. To most people, a bird might be underwhelming, but Lando seemed transfixed with his wide eyes and attentive posture.
Eventually Oscar was able to snap Lando out of his trance, and the two began to head back towards the school building. The dirt crunched beneath the two boys’ feet, leaves rustling overhead in a soothing rhythm.
To Oscar’s surprise, Lando asked him an actual question. “So, where are you from?”
The question seemed a bit odd to Oscar, but he was happy that Lando had started up a conversation. “Australia.” He replied.
“Ahh, okay.” Lando nodded slowly. “Makes sense, ‘cause of your accent.”
Oscar hummed in acknowledgement. “And you? UK, right?”
Though the other boy seemed completely distracted with the gravel moving beneath his feet, he answered. “Yeah, Bristol.” Lando looked up, meeting Oscar’s gaze for a moment. “Speaking of which, where in Australia are you from?”
“Melbourne.” Oscar replied, glancing at Lando for a moment before averting his attention to the grand school doors that he and Lando were approaching.
A high-pitched scream followed by a long string of swears sounded from the window of the second floor. Oscar sighed, shoulders slumping as his grip on the handle went slack. “Well, this is going to be fun.”