The Safe Place

Chapter Three

Sorry I disappeared. I don't have any real explanation, but... here's a chapter? Thank you for your patience. I really appreciate all of you more than you know.

The days leading up to school went surprisingly smoothly, despite the tension between me and Marie. She stayed out of my way, and I stayed out of hers, for the most part. Now, however, as I sat alone in Sean and Owen's office, I was overcome with a familiar, overwhelming sense of loneliness. I was most definitely nervous for the days ahead.

It wasn't the mission itself that had me on edge, but the role I played. It was my first year in a public school(I had always been home schooled before now), and I was meant to play the naive, oblivious shy girl, blending into the background, observing and befriending students without forming attachments. I had never truly heard anything positive about high school aside from the dances and sports. I felt vulnerable in such a new situation, despite having spent hours preparing and learning about the role I was to play and how public schools worked.

I gripped my plain, grey backpack as the warning bell rang. Taking a deep breath, I stood, finding it quite easy to get into character as I called the old-Sang back. Invisibility was my specialty.

Trembling with nerves, I started towards homeroom.

~ | ~ | ~

It felt like all eyes were on me as I entered the room, making me shrink into myself. Half of the class seemed to be asleep, the other talking and goofing around. There were only two empty chairs, both next to rather... unpleasant looking boys. One seat at the back of the room was adjacent to a guy not-so-discreetly handing out cigarettes to his friends, a scraggly goatee covering thin lips and an angular chin. The other seat was at the front of the class. Behind it was an intimidating mass of pure darkness. His tanned face was twisted into a fierce scowl, eyes so dark I couldn't tell where his irises ended and his pupils began. A golden hoop earring glinted in the light, contrasting his black hair and... entirely black outfit. If I had met him in a dark alley, I was sure I would've run screaming. Even now, in a fully lit room with two dozen witnesses, my fight or flight reflexes kicked in and I cringed away.

Neither one of the boys seemed like great options.

The bell rang and I jumped, grimacing. I had to choose quickly. Tall Dark and Scary or Potentially-Misjudged-Smoker?

Potentially-Misjudged-Smoker it was.

Giving Tall Dark and Scary's desk a wide berth, I quickly made my way to the back of the room. I internally groaned as I saw the backpack filling the seat I had thought to be empty. Anxious, I tapped on Potentially-Misjudged-Smoker's shoulder. "Um... is this seat taken?"

The guy swiveled in his seat, flipping me off. "Fuck off, bitch." A split second after he turned to return to his conversation, he did a double take. "Well fuck me," he slurred, a predatory grin spreading across his features. He reached back to throw the bag from the seat. "Have a seat."

"Oh, I uh, never mind!" I squeaked, though a sudden wave of disgust and irritation washed over me. I wasn't as helpless and naive as I used to be, but calling him out would attract too much attention, right? It didn't matter too much if he only creeped me out. He wasn't hurting me.

"Naw, don't be like that. You got the seat." He tried to pat the seat, but unable to reach all the way, gave up and patted the desk.

I glanced back at the other vacant spot at the front of the room, but the teacher's irritated gaze was trained on me, and he motioned for me to take the seat. Embarrassed, I complied, trying to ignore the skeevy guy staring back at me.

"Welcome to homeroom," the teacher started. He was a short, pudgy man with graying dark hair. "I'm Mr. Ferguson. Check your schedules. If it doesn't say room 135, you're in the wrong class."

I smoothed my hands over my skirt, mentally reviewing my schedule. I was paranoid that I'd gotten something wrong, though I'd been preparing for this mission for a month, now.

Mr. Ferguson explained we'd have the ten minute homeroom period as time to study or whatever we pleased, then sat at a desk at the front of the room opposite the door. The guy in front of me immediately turned to face me, still grinning. "So, gorgeous, what's your name?"

I bit my lip, not answering.

His smile slipped away, replaced with a sour frown. "Well? You gonna answer me, bitch?"

A slow, subtle movement caught my eye as the boy huffed and began to outline in surprising detail what he wanted me to respond with and where that situation would lead. In the seat next to the creep sat an athletic looking guy with long blond hair and fine, model-like features. His warm brown eyes were trained on his desk, expression bored, but I watched as his sneaker-clad foot snagged the creep's backpack and began to pull it towards himself, inching across the dirty tile floor. A sudden flash of movement later, and the blond boy was pocketing what looked to be two twenty dollar bills, and the creep's bag was back where he had thrown it.

...had I just watched someone steal money? I had heard thievery was a problem at Ashley Waters, but already? I filed the incident away for later, not too eager to help the creep get his money back, but knowing Owen would want to hear about it.

For the rest of the bell, I kept my gaze trained mostly on my desk, ignoring anyone who tried to speak to me. I couldn't help but sneak a glance or two at the blond boy, however, his smug smirk catching my eye.