Whispers of Rumours

Chapter 1

Conrad High School had a brand new English teacher this year. Today was the first day of my Senior year, and guess who I had first hour? English, with Mr. Phillips; The new teacher, who was probably going to be just as boring as the rest of the English department. I absolutely loved English, even though I never particularly liked any of my instructors. Writing was a sort of get away. My head was always stuck in a book, or jotting down ideas for my own novel in my special, beige, leather notebook I carried with me at all times.

When I strolled into my first hour class, my best guy friend, Joey, was sitting in a seat at the back of the classroom.

"Joey! Oh my goodness, you didn't tell me you were in this class!" I exclaimed with great joy. Joey and I had been through everything together. Since we were kids, in fact.

He held up a folded, orange piece of paper. "Got a schedule change, honey." His eyes twinkled. Joey always kept me on my feet. I sat down in the seat on his left and leaned over to whisper something.

"Did you hear about the new teacher? Nobody's seen him." I whispered spookily, as I widened my eyes in mock fear.

Joey chuckled, and played right on along. "Alessandra, you'd better be careful. I heard he's an old pedophile who preys on pretty girls." 

I rolled my eyes and laughed. "Puh-lease! Pretty? You're not looking the right way."

"Why do you always down yourself, Sandra. As your closest friend, I can honestly tell you that you are as beautiful as Aphrodite. If it wasn't true, I wouldn't go through all the trouble to assure you. You must know this by now, sweetheart." He grinned at me with a mischievous glint in his emerald eyes. I stared him down for a moment, until the school bell rang, announcing the start of the day.

I turned, smiling, and my eyes locked on the teacher that stood at the front of the room. To say he was gorgeous was an understatement. He couldn't have been anywhere older than thirty, and his face looked like a Greek sculptor had made it himself. He had shaggy, golden hair that dangled in his eyes, and he kept having to sweep it to the side. When he did, I could see that his eyes were blue, and the depth in them was as deep as the ocean. Leave it to me to make his description sound like something that came from a poetry book.

Mr. Phillips clapped his hands together. "Alright guys, my name is Mr. Phillips, and I'll be your English teacher for your last year in high school. I don't like dealing with troublemakers, so if you're planning on causing some trouble, please reconsider. Now, let's get started." His aura screamed that he was the leader. His baby blue eyes scanned over the room, and landed on me. We locked eyes for a split second, and then I glanced away, my cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"I'm going to be taking attendance, so make sure you're all in your seats!" Mr. Phillips announced to the classroom. I turned to Joey, my eyes almost bulging out of my head. His eyes were wide as well, although more in a subtle surprise.

"Joey, he's like, a model!" I whispered in a flurry of words.

"I noticed! No wonder all the girls are eyeing him like he's a piece of meat." He laughed silently to himself, and I turned back to the front. Mr. Phillips was already calling out names.

"Jenny?"

"Here."

"Joey?"

"Present." Joey called in a formal voice. He was always such the jokester. Had to make a scene out of everything, even if it was just as little as answering for attendance.

"Alessandra?" Mr. Phillips called suddenly.

I glanced up at the front desk, and answered quickly, my voice shaking. "Here."