Under Water

Chapter 4: Squirrels and toothprick-catapults

When I stood in front of my locker the next day, someone placed her hand right next to my face and slammed my locker shut. I jumped, shrieked and turned around to go all ninja on whoever it was. Sady stood there, flanked by her minions.

"You cannot talk to Finn Evans. Ever." She snarled.

"Uh..."

I blinked twice. Okay. This is it. She finally snapped and started murdering people she dislikes. With me on top of her list. And, well, because we're talking about me, a super-smart answer followed my idiot "Uh."

"Do I need to call the asylum?"

I swear I saw the steam coming out of her ears. I never saw her that mad.

"Are you...okay? You look like you're going to explode any second. I don't think the principal likes brain tissue on the walls. And neither do I."

She blinked and looked at her minions, who looked just as confused.

"Yeah. Whatever, freak."

And with that last confusing answer, she took off, bumping her shoulder against me so hard that I flew against the lockers.

I groaned, feeling the bump already forming on the back of my head where it collided with my locker.

"Are you okay?"

I jumped around, readying myself for another run-in with some escaped asylum-patient. But my precautions were unnecessary, because it was only Finn. (the only was totally misplaced here, by the way)

"Hi...?" I trailed off, awkward rubbing my head.

Finn was looking as his usual drool-worthy self. Like I didn't have enough trouble with Her Royal Bitchness.

"What do you want?"

Honestly, I didn't want to do this, but Sady looked freakin' scary in her stay-away-from-Finn-Evans-or-I'll-effing-kill-you-mode.

He frowned.

"Alesha, did I do something wrong?"

His blue eyes that could turn ice-cold, where looking at me with that sad look in it. I gulped. Not fair! I can't pull off the puppy-eyes-look at all! He took a step closer and I shuffled backwards until my body connected with the lockers. He was still slowly approaching, watching me with those endless blue eyes...

"Alesha?"

I blinked and blushed because I was totally checking him out and he probably caught my ogling look. Then the conversation with Roxy from yesterday appeared in my head. No. I couldn't like this guy. He was probably some creepy serial killer who abducted lonely schoolgirls after school. I shivered, and not in a good way.

"I...uh...need to go."

He raised one perfect eyebrow.

"Where to? School doesn't start for over 15 minutes."

I blinked, rapidly searching for an excuse.

"I need to go...uh...walking."

Face, meet Palm.

Although I did not found that funny to me, mister look-at-me-I'm-so-cool was obviously laughing at my expense. (You know, when someone isn't laughing at your face but you just know that he's laughing with you?) I puffed out some air, put my hands on my hips and narrowed my eyes.

"Are you laughing at me?"

He shook his head, amusement colouring his eyes.

"You are laughing at me." A cold, cool statement. (At least, I hope so. To me, I sounded like a squirrel that was trying to eat his own tail.) He shook his head, a smile now carved on his face. I huffed, figuring out that I could better silence my sleep-deprived brain (you know, when you've slept so little that you're more hyper than SpongeBob on crab burgers.) walk away now to prevent further damage.

I swept my hair out of my face, managed to almost slap myself in the face at the same time and walked away with the cool comment (remember the squirrel?)
"I'm going to do my walking now."

Really.

I'm going to do my walking now.

Remember SpongeBob? Yeah, make that Patrick the Star.

When I finally was out of sight (I checked 3 times, just to make sure.) I went on a search for Roxy.

When I walked through to school corridors for the zillionth time (not really, school started in 10 minutes.) I gave up. Rox had to save herself and get her own butt to class. She tended to forget that there were classes and she still got good grades (as in Einstein-good. When we were 5, she made a catapult from toothpicks alone to shoot some annoying boy that kept putting bubble-gum in my hair. And that on the age where most toddlers just snot and drool. And before you ask, yeah I was one of those snot-and-drool-types. That's why I provided the munition. You don't want to know.)

When I turned around to walk to my class, I walked past an empty classroom.

"She can't go with you. She isn't ready."

Roxy? I stopped and sneaked closer.

"She is coming with me, Circe."

Come again? That's not her name. And that voice...

"But, Finn..."

Wait, what?!