Evolution (Book 1 of POE chronicles)

The Secret Origin of Tom Triole - Part 2

I couldn't sleep again. The nightmare of my brother in the burning building with my father had been too much. Getting up, I was careful not to wake my roommate as I headed out of our dorm. It was just after 6 am and the entire corridor was deserted, just the way I liked it.

Desperate for some fresh air, I headed towards the main staircase when the sound of something clashing against stone echoed across the entire atrium. Who would be awake at this hour?

Peering down from my vantage point, I saw a girl standing at the base of the stairs and looking around in awe.

"Who are you, what are you doing here at this time?" I asked, a million thoughts running through my mind. The girl jumped when she heard my voice, looking around before settling her eyes on me. My breath caught when I saw her; she had dark brown hair and the most vivid shade of blue eyes I had ever seen. They reminded me of the sky on its clearest day. She was also breathtakingly beautiful. Not that it mattered to me. Pretty girls are nothing but trouble.

"You are French?" She asked, before clasping a hand on her mouth. I frowned; another annoying girl who couldn't stay out of other people's business.

"How did you know that?" I asked, my already bad mood worsening.

"Your accent." She replied, her body trembling slightly, but she held her chin up at me. Narrowing my eyes at her, I tried to remember if I had seen her before.

"You still haven't told me who you are." I said; no one had dared talking to me like that in a long time. Everyone knew to leave me alone. And I like it that way.

"And neither have you." She retorted as I walk towards her. She was wearing a pair of faded jeans, a plain shirt and it all made sense when I saw the suitcase next to her."

"I am Tom Triole. You must be new." I replied, surprising myself that I had given her my name. This girl wasn't like the others I had met. She might be annoying, but they all were.

Looking right at her, I saw a sparkle of recognition in her eyes, as though she suddenly knew who I was.

"Have..." I was just about to ask her when Miss Sewell appeared.

"Abigail Beckett, is it so hard to try and keep up?" She asked, her hands on her hips as the girl scrambled to get towards her. I didn't think I had ever met her before as I caught a last look on her face; otherwise I would remember.

The thought of Abigail Beckett stayed in my mind longer than it should have, and it wasn't long until I heard rumours that a new girl had arrived. So she was new.

Heading to history class late from getting a few books in my dorm, I took the short cut via the medical corridor. My mind was still on the new girl when Mr. Clement appeared; I wasn't sure what he said, but I nodded yes anyway, figuring he needed me to pass something along.

Then Abigail Beckett walked out. I almost thought I was having a hallucination, until I realized that Mr. Clement wanted me to bring her to the headmaster's office.

Luckily for me, she seemed equally shocked to see me. So I quickly used that to my advantage.

"Are we going to go, or just stand around?" I rolled my eyes at her, curious to see how she would respond. To my surprise, instead of retorting like she did last time, she blushed. Then promptly slipped on the floor, only managing to regain her balance at the last second.

Unable to resist, I laughed and her face blushed a deeper shade of red. Feeling a little sorry for me, I told her to follow me and started down the corridor. Smiling from ear to ear, I replayed the look on her face and was glad that there was no one around to see me smile.