A Heavy Heart To Carry

Chapter Two: First Day

      I removed the towel from my head and watched as my newly died hair fell over my shoulders. The black strands danced as I blow dried it, coming back to rest around my waist. I put a small amount of makeup on before dressing in a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. Part of me wanted to prep before I left, but there was nothing left to find. I knew everything there was to know about August Saunders.

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      I looked at the schedule I was handed. Math, Art, English and Biology. Wanting to get a headstart on the day, I went of search in my locker. I eventually found it, but not in the state I had been expecting. I recognized the two people from August's profile. The boy pressed up against my locker was August's best friend, Oliver, and the girl kneeling in front of him was August's supposed girlfriend. I considered my options and, not wanting to make much of an impression on my first day, decided I could stop by my locker after first period.

     I walked into what I assumed was my math class only to be confronted with stares and whispers. I looked around to find the room void of any teacher, so I took a seat and pulled out my notepad. I scanned the room through my peripherals but didn't see August. That was strange.

    "Hi! I'm Peyton." I turned to my right to see a girl with a bright smile on her face. She was quite stunning, looking about 5'11 with a beautiful face and slim figure. I returned the smile and introduced myself.

     "Regan."

     "So where are you from Regan?" She asked.

     "Canada." I tried to surpress a smile as her eyes widened and she began to badger me with all sorts of questions about how cold it was and if everyone there lived in igloos. After assuring her that it was much like America, I asked her where the teacher was.

    "Oh, Mr. Peters rarely comes to class on Mondays." She replied. "His wife left him a few months ago so he's usually drunk until Tuesday." I raised my eyebrow at this information and turned as I felt someone approaching behind me.

     "Hi, I'm Jessica." The girl in front of me was the one I had seen earlier this morning, August's girlfriend. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Peyton's face darkening slightly.

     "Reagan." I replied, looking up at her. She was actually quite pretty, with wavy brown hair and cat-like green eyes.

     "Could I talk to you for a minute, Regan?" I tried to hide my confusion and followed Jessica to the front of the class.

    " I just wanted to warn you that Peyton is kind of weird. You probably don't want to be associated with her, especially being new and all. You can sit with me and my friends at lunch if you'd like." I tried not to smile at her offer and decided to act like she was doing me a big favour.

    "Oh?" I said, raising my eyebrows." Thanks, I really appreciate that."

     "No problem!" She said with her hand on my shoulder. The bell rang as she turned away and I returned to my seat to gather my things. When I got there, I noticed Peyton had disappeared. Frowning, I picked up my stuff and headed off to Art.

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     It took me a while to find the Art room as it was in a different place then on the layout I had memorized. I walked in and was met by the teacher.

     "You must be Regan! I was very impressed with the portfolio you sent in! Take a seat, take a seat!" The teacher, who I assumed was Ms. Foster, continued to flutter around the room with small twirls and a hum coming from her lips. I turned and recognized Peyton sitting behind an easel, so I set up my things next to her. She was working on a sketch of landscape, one that was midly impressive. As she worked, I noticed her sneaking peeks at me, though I could tell she was trying to be discreet.

     "Hey," I said. She turned to face me and studied me for a minute.

     "What did Jessica tell you?"she asked, getting straight to the point. I scrunched my eyebrows.

     "She invited me to sit with her at lunch." I replied.

     "I mean what did she tell you about me?" I could see that Peyton was upset. Her eyebrows were pulled down and she had a tight grip on her sketching pencil.

     "Nothing worth hearing," I replied. She smiled at this and seemed to calm a little. She began to talk as she continued working on her drawing.

     "Jessica doesn't like me. I was the new student last year and we hung out a little. At first I thought she was really sweet, but then I realized she was just looking for yet another person she could manipulate. Not many people know her for the psychobitch she is, and she's been trying to make me suffer because I figured it out." I nodded at this and picked up my own pencil to being a sketch. Neither of us really had anything to say after that, so we just worked in comfortable silence until lunch came.

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     After I got my food I walked to the table where Jessica was waving.

     "Sit by me!" she said, scooching her friend over. Her friend didn't seem very impressed by this, but didn't say anything. "So I'm having a party this Friday, and you definitely have to come! It can be like your coming out party!" Jessica went on describe how awesome it was going to be, but I has stopped listening. Coming towards us was August. From his profile I knew that he was good-looking, but in person he was absolutely beautiful. I had met many beautiful and tempting men in my line of work, but Nathan had something softer to his appearance. I small smile graced my lip as I decided that, for once, I was going to have some fun with my work.