30 Days to Fall

Day -43

Second day of classes were both uneventful and the longest of my life, thanks to the stares and hushed whispers. I had a feeling that two days wasn't going to be enough to stop the stares and wonder at the new kid, I was beginning to think I should charge admissions to the zoo. I knew how it could be in a new school. If the school was as tight knit as it seemed to be, I really shouldn't have been shocked. But even with the mental preparation, it still didn't prepare me for dealing with it firsthand. I tried my best to ignore it, focusing on taking notes but it was easier said than done to do.

Since we were required by school rules, something I was informed of by Uncle Mark, that we had to either join a sport or do one hour of physical activity a day on our own, I chose swimming. I made my way across the lawns, students and faculty alike milling about, some moving towards their destinations, while others lingered in the afternoon sun. The weather was still warm enough to enjoy, fall had come but not the cold bite yet before giving way to winter snows and many were taking advantage of the weather before the winter months set in.

I followed the little campus map, something that was now becoming a constant I kept with me at all times, to the sports center. The sports center was a large building with facilities for both indoor and outdoor sports, but I wasn't interested in anything other than the large indoor lap pool.

I changed in the locker room, pulling on my all black bathing suit and black board shorts over, stashing my belongings in the locker before padding towards the pool. It wasn't full or overcrowded, only a few students using the indoor pools, some using the diving boards on one pool, while others swam laps in another. I could see the waves of heat, gently moving into the air above the lap pool, welcoming me to embrace it, calling me to it. I flipped off my flip-flops and slid into the welcoming water. All it took was the water to surround me, before my whole spirit felt lighter, my arms moving to begin the long strokes as I swam.

My mind drifted, moving from thought to thought as my body moved on autopilot, cutting through the water with each stroke before flipping at the wall and repeating the lap to the other end. My first few days of boarding school had been both up and down, but it had been better than the nightmare I created in my head. I had made acquaintances, not been bullied, no evil mean girls so far, the food wasn't poison encased in burrito shells, the teachers didn't bang a ruler on their desks while we wrote on chalkboards a thousand times.

I flipped, cutting through the water, increasing my speed as my mind moved, my body moving on its own, naturally moving through the water. When my head broke the surface, coming up for a break, the shadow of a person loomed over me, my head tilting back to look up. I don't know what I had expected, but what I saw standing above me was not it.

Bare chest and abs met my eyes, six well defined abs set under toned hard chest. His arms, the black inked feathers over both his shoulders, were rippling with muscles not bulging but lean toned definition that matched his tall body. His shaggy black hair pushed back from his face roughly, the ends dripping a bit, out of his eyes, his blue eyes popping from his face, the light color standing out against his olive skin. I swallowed, R.H. sure grew them hunky.

He didn't say anything, his head dipped downward to look at me before he jumped into the water beside me, his body disappearing under the water. My eyes followed behind him, watching his long strokes, his back muscles rippling, the black ink distorted yet clear enough to see it was there. My heart had enough exercise for the day, beating frantically as my eyes were glued to the hunk in the water. I climbed out and made my way back to the locker rooms.

I made my way to the mess, my stomach grumbling for sustenance the whole walk. I expected it to be like the previous day, me sitting alone. I looked forward to it being like the previous day.