After 12 | JJK BOOK 1

Chapter Two: School

The weekend went by fast and sadly, I had to start school today. Was I excited? No. The answer will forever be no.

"Lydia, come get your breakfast. We need to make a move, or else you will be late!" I heard my mum shout from the kitchen. I sighed, making sure I looked somewhat presentable, but I wasn't trying to impress anyone either.

"Lydia! Now would be nice," she said, losing her patience.

"I'm coming now." I walked out of my room with my bag and made my way to the kitchen. I bit into my toast and walked into the living room, where my mum was watching the morning news.

"What kind of news is this?" I asked, sitting next to her and focusing on the TV.

"The town's news, kind of cool, isn't it? They have their own little news channel." She chuckled while sipping her tea. I just agreed and continued eating my toast until I heard something that caught my attention.

"Another missing teen has vanished since Thursday. Sixteen-year-old, Rosie Parker was reported missing over the weekend by her family. This morning at 6 a.m., a body was discovered at the local park. There has been no confirmation yet, more news is to come soon. You are watching Dungrove News."

I sat there shocked, more shocked than I could ever be. I was scared, not only for me but for my mum. We were only new to this town, and we never knew about any disappearances. We knew nothing about people disappearing. This scared the hell out of me.

"What a shame for that poor girl," Mum says, getting up. "Time to take you to school. Come on." She reached for her car keys, and we headed outside.

I had reached Dungrove High with five minutes to spare. I quickly rushed out of the car, hearing my mum telling me to have a good day. I opened the door, and luckily, the office was at the front of the school.

"Hi, I'm here to get my schedule. I'm the new student." I kindly explained. The office lady raised her eyebrow and gasped.

I stood there, confused. Why does everyone gasp or react when they see me?

"Oh, yes! Lydia Smith?"

"That's me." I smiled as I got handed everything I needed.

"Have a nice day. Your locker is just around the corner."

I nodded and thanked her. I made my way to my locker, it thankfully wasn't that hard to find. The hard part was finding my first class, which was English. I opened my locker and started putting everything in it, but with my luck, the bell rang.

"Great! Just fabulous." I slammed my locker shut and scanned my schedule. "Room B4, where the heck is that?" I groaned as I tried my best to navigate the signs on the walls. Ten minutes later, I finally found it.

I walked in with a little knock on the door.

"Sorry I'm late, I'm new." My face went red as I felt so embarrassed.

"Ah, don't worry, love... You're Lydia Smith, am I right?" I nodded my head as the teacher cleared his throat.

"Well, I'm Mr. Williams. You can sit next to Nelly in the middle."

Nelly's hand went straight up. I walked to the middle but felt everyone looking at me from every seat in the room. I took a deep breath and sat down. I looked around and noticed everyone was paying attention. Not a single soul was messing around like regular teens would.

A few hours later, it was lunch. I haven't spoken to anyone yet but to the teachers to introduce myself. I grabbed a sandwich and a bottle of water from the cafeteria and sat down at an empty table.

"Hi, can I sit here?"

I looked up and noticed Nelly and another girl holding her tray. I shrugged as I gave them a nod, "Sure."

They both smiled and sat directly in front of me.

"I'm Beth. Nice to meet you!" The girl says offering a handshake.

I accepted and shook her hand. "Lydia," I said as I struggled to open the bottle of water.

"Oh, I know, loads of people have been talking about you," she slightly laughed.

I gave her a confused look. "Huh?"

She shook her head. "It's just that... Dungrove never gets newcomers. Our population here is just that small. We all know each other, and when we see a new face, we see it." She laughed.

"Oh," I laughed it off. "Anyway, how are you liking this place so far?" She asked, biting into her apple.

"I mean, it's okay, I guess. I'm concerned about this morning." I shrugged, leaving Beth confused while they looked at each other.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, this morning's news. How they said another person had gone missing, and a body was found today?" She nods for me to continue.

"I mean, I just don't get why nobody is making it a big deal. Like there's no warning signs or nothing," I said, playing with my hair strands.

Beth had gone pale. "Beth, are you okay?" I asked.

"He's unstoppable. He has gone too far," she whispered. Nelly quickly gives Beth a glare as she elbows her arm.

"W-What do you mean by that?" I stuttered. Beth shakes her head and looks around the cafeteria.

"Forget it. I've said too much already." Suddenly, they both got up and walked away, leaving me on my own.