New Perspective

Two minutes before Zack Addy's third block class started and he calculated how long it would take to get to Ms. Audas' English class if he stopped by his locker. He shrugged and headed for his locker alone, just like his entire high school career. Not just high school, but middle school as well. Elementary wasn't too bad, he still has a few friends. That was over five years before. He walked through the groups of his classmates to his locker, where he spun his combo and quickly grabbed his English book from the exact same spot her put it in every morning- top shelf, far left between the wall of his lime green locker and his chemistry book. Alone, he walked to his English class, sighing heavily to himself as he took his seat at the front. He had one friend, Lance Sweets, who was in his English class and was forced to sit beside him at the front.

"Hello Mr. Addy." Ms. Audas said, getting her stuff ready for class. The rest of the students filed in slowly. She listened for the final bell and just as she turned the lights off and projector on, the last student rushed through the door, late as always. Ms. Audas finally just shook her head.

"Okay, class, get out your journals and answer the questions on the board." she stated, starting to pass their graded work back, singing slightly to herself. Zack was her brightest student. She'd only been teaching for a few years but was 100% sure that Zack Addy was the smartest student ever to roam the halls.

So when he finished earlier than anyone else in the class, even his best friend, Lance Sweets, she was positive that this project she and her old friend had set up for the students would be perfect for him. He needed to interact with people, so maybe then he'd be less awkward, socially.

Five minutes passed and Ms. Audas decided that she needed to announce the names of the students they'd be writing to, like pen pals.

She called the murmuring class' attention to her and flicked the overhead fluorescent lights on. There were several grumbles of protest at this and she merely shook her head, not really caring whether their eyes were being burned out of their sockets at that moment.

"Okay, guys. So I've got a little.... project for you all. You, individually, have been assigned a partner. And no, don't even start looking around. Because your partner is not in this class. Your partner isn't in this school. Okay, they're not even in this state. You have pen-pals." Ms. Audas said, gazing over her class as they let out a chorus of different groans and grumbles.

"Why?"

"This is juvenile!"

"You suck!"

"Dude, this is soooo stupid." were only some of the less offensive replies to the teacher's news. Zack and Sweets- which is what everyone called him and he just went along with it- looked around at their peers as they griped in their own way. Zack himself didn't mind this assignment. Sweets wasn't too thrilled but he kept his own mouth shut since he'd gotten himself into trouble before by speaking his opinion of a teacher's decisions.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. You hate me right now." she said, pulling herself onto one of the empty desks at the front. She pulled the list of names that Ms. Hinman had sent to her to give to her students.

"So.... they'll be writing first but just so you know who'll be writing to you, here they are."

"Let's see.... Zack Addy, you'll be partnered with a Jack Hodgins. Temperance, you have one Seeley Booth....." she read through the list, finally getting to Sweets, "And Mr. Sweets... you have the fortune of having miss Angela Montenegro as a partner."

She double-checked the list and nodded in satisfaction. Each student seemed ticked, except for the two at the front and the one odd girl at the back, Temperance Brennan.

"You're lucky, Zack. You get a guy. But I... have to write to a girl. What do I have to say to this girl? Nothing. That's what!" he huffed unhappily. Zack pat his friend on the back and fiddled around with his pen while wondering what his "pen-pal" was like.

Ms. Audas seemed to think that class didn't have anything else to do for the rest of the block, all 50 minutes of it so she left the class to their own devices.

"You'll be fine, Sweets. You're regarded as a friend among our peers. My approval rate is considerably less." Zack said sadly. He wanted to talk to this Jack Hodgins, so maybe he wouldn't judge him like his friends did.