Obsessed

Chapter 2: Hesitate

Autumn walked into the new looking high school. She was pleasantly surprised by how modern the large campus was, with what appeared to be a main three story building and a few smaller looking buildings that appeared to house electives. 

As Autumn perused the halls for the main office, people didn't give her a second glance. It was early enough for there to be only a couple groups of teenagers hanging out, most appearing to be done early with morning practice for sports or musical activities. 

The office was easy to find, as it was marked by a large sign and had two clear double doors that revealed the inner office area. Autumn wandered inside, as if this was something she had done before, trying to contain her nervous energy. No matter how many times she did it, moving to a new school still caused her a little bit of anxiety. 

The boy sitting at the reception desk smiled when she asked about getting her schedule and handed her the paper work. 

"If you don't mind me asking, are you a student here? You look a little young to be a receptionist." Autumn asked, noting that he was dressed in a simple t-shirt and had his hair gelled into a quiff. 

"Yeah, you got me," The boy who was identified as Peter by his name plate grinned, "I work here as an elective, since I'm a senior." 

Autumn was satisfied with his answer and then frowned when she noticed that there were two separate offices, marked with different plaques.

"Are those offices for the principal and vice principal?" Autumn questioned, pointing to the two ornate doors.

Peter turned a little pale, not dramatically, but enough that Autumn noticed, "Uh, no. One is the principal office- Mr. Theopolis- and the other is for our student council president."

When Autumn merely nodded while eyeing the second door which was not marked 'Mr. Theopolis'. Peter shook his head, almost in dismay at her curiosity, and quickly explained that if she had any questions or couldn't find a class that she could come back to the office or ask anyone wearing a red jacket.

Autumn wanted to ask what Peter meant by the red jacket bit, but noticed that he was essentially dismissing her. Shrugging, she left the office, noting from the map that her first class- Physics- was on the third floor, and thus labeled room 309. She figured she should find the stairs and find something to do on the third floor to kill time before class. 

After snapping a photo of the map- because looking at her phone brought her less attention than looking at a map- Autumn located one of the stairwells and began the long walk up to the third floor. She was glad that she had worn jeans, because she felt like if anyone was walking up behind her, they might get a good view up her skirt if she had worn one. 

By the time Autumn reached the third floor, she was slightly winded and vowed to herself that she would try to get in some more cardio so she wouldn't turn into a panting fool every time she had to go to class.

"... 306... 307... 308... 309." Autumn read the room numbers out loud, because no one else was in the hall and she had a habit of talking to herself. Once she reached the room she wasn't surprised to find the door locked with no light on inside. It was 30 minutes early she reasoned, although she was a little peeved, because she liked to get to school early and hang out in the classroom drawing or reading.

What else is there to do, she wondered absent-mindedly. Pulling out her phone again, she looked at the map and noticed- with glee- that there was a library on this floor. Autumn walked down the hall and took a right to be met with the glorious sight of another set of clear double doors that showed her a relatively empty lounge space. 

The doors were unlocked and she walked in fisting the straps of her backpack, hoping that no one would be around and try to start up a conversation. She took a breath, savoring the smell of old books and dust, this was more like home to her than anywhere else. Most libraries looked the same, or at least felt the same.