Chapter 1: HOW ALL THIS TROUBLE BEGAN, WHAT SEEMS LIKE A LONG TIME AGO
It all started a year ago, I went to this stupid school thing, my mother forced it upon me, and I promise you, if he hadn’t have been there, I would have died! It was some science excursion for year 6’s. We were supposed to meet new people and have fun and… learn… I got on the dingy old bus and sat with Kelly, she is kind of my friend, but I don’t really hang out with people… ever. I prefer my own company. Anyway, this was a lead up to year 7 and we were all going to the same High school. We got off the bus at Sunnydale High, our future imprisonment; we lined up at the front office and waited ‘patiently’ for the principal, but by patiently I mean all the little cliques got together and chattered about what this day held for them. I stood alone. I looked round at all the groups. The Nerds, destined for: top class, smartness, and a very small, star-trek addicted group. The Populars, destined for: boyfriends, posses, fights between each other, and everyone loving them but secretly loathing them. The Ditsy blondes, destined for: Guy followers, delusional happiness, and lots of friends, but low grades that would forever haunt their futures, unless they got the dreamed about cheerleading scholarship. I scanned over a few more groups, foretelling their futures until one group caught my eye. The semi-known guy group. There were about 20 guys standing around and talking, I saw three girls with them, they were talking to a boy with brown hair, spiked up at the front, I looked at his uniform, it said clearly on it ‘Kintly public school’. A smallish school. He looked away from the other girls and saw me looking at him, I looked away, but out of the corner of me eye I saw him put his hand up, as if to gesture for me to come over and join them. I pretended that I had found a rare beetle on the back of my hand. I heard him say to the other girls he was with, “umm… yeah, see you later,” I sighed in disappointment as I heard his footsteps coming my way. They stopped next to me and I felt a cold breath on my bare neck. ‘Rare beetle, rare beetle,’ I thought to myself.
“Hello?” He was talking to me; I couldn’t just ignore him, especially since I was the one looking at him. I turned around to see him standing, slightly taller than me, almost uncomfortably close. I looked up filling the small gap in our height, straight into his eyes. I looked into his eyes and I took it all in. Every little detail, every single line, and then I looked further, into his life, all the secrets behind those innocent eyes of his. Somehow those secrets and inner struggles drew me to him, I felt that I wanted to get to know him, well. But at the same time, they repelled me as if telling me not to get involved in his past, and not to be a part of his future. I was almost star struck by this first encounter. No one had ever had such a strong influence on me. No one. He didn’t even need to speak.
“Umm… Hey,” I hesitated before speaking deciding whether to go with my instincts, but adopting the idea of rebelling them.
“I’m Bobby, It’s nice to meet you,” He said with a great smile on his face, he was obviously pleased that I had accepted his offer.
“Oh… I’m Amberly McLinte, Umm… likewise, I guess,” I felt stupid after saying that, but he didn’t pick up on it, he was just happy to be with a new… friend, yes, we were friends. It felt like it anyway.
“So, I saw you checking me out a minute ago, yeah?” He teased me, as if we had been friends for a long time.
“No!” Was my immediate response? I think my reply was to quick, because he smiled as if to say, without words, that I was and I was just denying it. It was a typical boy comment though. “I wasn’t checking you out, I was looking at your group,” I told him, mater-of-factly as I started pointing out some of the other groups and telling him my theories, he agreed with most of them, and laughed at a few, I couldn’t help but smile when he laughed, it was so… human.
“So, why are you standing alone?” He changed the subject, he sounded quite interested though, sadly, he also seemed sympathetic; I personally hate sympathy. I was about to answer when the principal came out and started to speak. “Hello and welcome, year 6! I hope that today is both an educational day, but also fun and that everyone meets someone new, in preparation for High School. You will be split into groups and then you will get your nametags and instructions for the day. One of these year 12’s and some people from the Student Council will be your leaders for the day, they will take you around and show you all of the things around High School, also, ask them any of your question,” the principal informed us, he was trying hard to be fun and interesting, but to everyone he was addressing, it was a dismal failure.
He split us into our groups and told us who to go see for our nametags. There were roughly 12 people in each group. I lined up and while I was waiting I investigated who was in my group. Ahead of me was Kelly, always eager to be involved, then 4 people I didn’t know, this boy I had seen before, I thought his name was Fredrick (but later found out his name was William), then there was two more unknown kids, and then there was me. “Hello, you name?” A nice looking senior girl asked me, she had long brunette hair, was quite tall, and looked like a dancer. “Torrance Nightingfail,” I lied without a fault. Torrance is my preferred name and Nightingfail is representative of what a fail I believe my family and I are, I just hope they don’t read this, because I don’t think of them that way anymore!
“I think that guy is staring at you, it is either you or me, but I’m pretty sure it is you!” The senior said to me as I was leaving the desk she was appointed too. I followed the line her eyes were directing. It was Bobby, of course. I was only glancing so he didn’t see me brief look. Why was he looking at me like that?
