Angel Eyes

5

Isabella grabs the slice of toast and crams it into her small mouth before jogging up the bunker stairs to the front door.

"Kevin, I'm leaving! Bye!"

"Bye! Be safe," she could hear his voice from the kitchen.

She closed the door and walked to her bus stop at the end of the road.

Izzy pulled her bag higher on her shoulders. The yellow bus comes into view and she takes a sharp breathe.

She can feel the butterflies in her stomach wake.

What if everyone hates me? she thinks. What if I dress wrong?

So many worst-case scenarios scatter her brain's attention as she takes the first step. The driver was an old man with a cigar between his lips.

She makes her way shakily towards an empty seat at the back of the bus. Sitting down and exhaling, bag in her lap, Izzy tried to relax her nerves.

She was a mess the rest of the drive. At every stop her stomach clenched, kids coming on to the bus laughing with their friends and siblings, comfortable with the routine.

The driver slowly made their way up to the school. The door opened and he motioned for everyone to get off, actually he just kind of yelled and huffed.

The school was big. And tall.

Isabella stuck her hand into her pocket and pulled out her schedule and map.

She was starting school late in the year so she didn't have to memorize much for now. She walked to her locker located next to her second block class. Shoving books and notebooks and random pens into the small space, she slammed the green dingy locker.

Izzy had talked to Sam on the phone and gave her some tips on going to a new school. And staying out of notice. With her life now, she couldn't afford for everyone to know her face. She couldn't afford friends. She just wants to get through high school unscathed and uninteresting to her peers.

She walked inside her first class and sat down in the second to last seat in the third row.

The bell rang and the few stragglers who didn't make it on time paced through the door on their own time. It brought me back to reality, out of my deep thoughts.

She stared at her desk and started to memorize the few scratch marks and carvings into the cold surface.

"Good morning class. We have a new student today who will be joining us for the rest of the year. Now, wait I have the paper somewhere. Here it is, Isabella?"

Izzy liaised her head from her desk. Everyone had their eyes on her.

"It's a pleasure for you to join us. Can you tell us something about you, where are you from?" The teacher lady leaned against her desk looking at her new pupil expectantly.

"Indiana," she said shortly.

"Ok then, well welcome to Kansas!" She was beaming. Izzy nodded.

"Ok so we're going to start out new novel The Book Thief. Has anyone read it before?" She asked.

A few kids raised their hands, but Izzy didn't. No matter how much she wanted to express her love for the work of literature she adored, she couldn't attract attention.

First block passed fairly quickly and Izzy, tired and hungry, walked out. The rest of the day was spent having lunch alone and in the library looking over some reference books she took from the bunker. Kevin called them the "hunter basics."