By the time we got to school, it took us a little over five minutes. It was a really big building in the front, and off to the sides were other buildings that were probably attached to the school. I couldn't believe how big it was. It looked so different than my last high school down in Naples, with barely any plants and there was some kind of weird huge fence, keeping God knows what out. People were scattered around, some near the gate, some sitting on benches, and others near this big tree hiding from the main windows so they could smoke their cigarettes. I noticed my brother's eyes shoot straight to them, which concerned me deeply.
Right then and there I realized how bad this was most likely going to turn out to be. The students looked so scary, and mean, that I almost didn't want to look any of them in the eyes. Jake and me found the front office easily, and went to check in as fast as we could. I could tell he was nervous, just by the way his hands were balled into fists. It was really scary, at least for me, because I knew I wasn't good at being alone.
"Here you go," the lady said to him, rolling her eyes like she was irritated. "Jake Marshell, correct?"
"Yes." He took the small packet quickly and practically ripped it from her grasp.
She shook her head at him and clicked her tongue a few times. "You'll be in section B," she smirked.
"Okay," he said coldly. "Thanks," and he turned around and began to walk out.
"Wait for me," I urged.
"Why? You're probably not in the same building as me."
"Yes I am," I stated firmly, like I actually knew where I was going to be.
The foreign lady spoke up immediately after my mouth closed. "Section C," she smiled, yellow and big teeth showing entirely.
"No way," I refused.
"Yes dear." She strained out her arm holding the packet, but I didn't take it.
"I can't be alone, you don't understand," I begged. "I have being by myself. I don't even know where I'm going."
"That's exactly why there's a large map in this packet," she mumbled softly, rolling her eyes and heavily sighing.
"Rosalie," Jake groaned. "You're a junior this year."
"But can't you at least walk me to my first class? I'm shy," I said, folding my arms across my chest and giving him my innocent puppy dog face.
He stared at me blankly. "I'm going to be late. Maybe I'll see you around," he shrugged, not caring.
"But you're in a different part of the building," I argued.
"Can't you just act like a big girl?" he scowled.
How could he be so mean? "Thanks a lot," I glared at him.
"Yup."
"I hate you," I told him loudly.
''Cool.'' He turned on his heel and then walked out the door turning left.
I looked back to the lady still holding out my packet, and stared down at the floor. Suddenly a girl walked in, stomping her feet along the way. She had short, dark, black hair and was wearing sweatpants and a sweater for an outfit. Her eyes were to the side of her, as if an invisible friend was standing a few feet away, which I didn't really understand. She looked angry as she reached the desk. "I'm late on the first day, yeah I know," she muttered.
"Well it's not something to be proud of," the foreign woman spoke.
"Okay. Big whoop? Don't really care."
The lady wrote out a late pass and didn't hand it to her. "Why is everyone giving me an attitude this morning?"
"Maybe because you hated me these last two years," she guessed, sarcastically.
"Wait, I'm late now?" I interrupted, as the girl standing next to me caught my eyes.
"Yeah," she answered for her.
I looked back to the lady and wanted to scream at her. "I wasn't late when I first got here," I complained.
"Yes you were."
"No. You didn't give my brother a tardy slip," I argued, hating how my morning was turning out to be.
"That's because he took his packet and left," she smiled rudely.
"Then give me my packet and I'll leave," I said, as the girl next to me shook her head. "Getting a tardy slip on the first day of school isn't exactly something to be happy with."
"Yeah. I agree with her," the girl frowned. "If her brother wasn't late then she isn't either."
We both got dirty looks from the lady as she handed us both a late slip. "Now you both are," she snapped.
"That's not even right," I snapped. "I shouldn't have to be late. I am never late."
"This morning you are. I'm sorry. Now here's your packet and you may leave," she said, about as irritated as I was. "It's not my fault you were being difficult."
"Where's your boss?" I asked sarcastically, the girl next to me started laughing. "Because the tone you are using with me is desperately hurting my feelings."
"Here," she stated, keeping her back straight and her head high.
"Where's the principal?" I asked, leaning my arms on the desk and moving closer.
"You're still late whether you argue with me or not."
I grabbed the packet and crumbled up the tardy slip. "Now I'm not," I smiled, throwing the piece of paper at the wall.
''Good one,'' the girl said, giving me a slight grin.
''Thanks,'' I weakly smiled.
I walked out of the office and saw a sign pointing to the right, which said building C so I followed it. I got to a long hallway and realized the lockers were all outside along the brick walls, almost the same as Naples High back in Florida, which gave me a slight boost of happiness. The classrooms were leading into the building, and there was a huge courtyard in the center of everything, which had tables and benches everywhere.
I took out my packet and unfolded the map, which led me to where my locker was. I had to walk up a short flight of stairs and down a long, wide opened hallway, and to the left of me was a ledge overlooking all of the tables that were spread out in the courtyard. It was C-33 and not that hard to find. My class schedule was what I was really looking forward to finding out, so I put it up against my locker and tried to memorize it as best as I could.
Science
History
Lunch
Math
English
Gym
Elective (Track)
I knew for sure that I was going to sign up for track; the one thing I loved to do most was to run. Running was good for me, because it gave me a chance to escape from all of my everyday problems, and to let out all of my hidden emotions that were built up inside of my chest. I folded it back up and stuffed it in my pocket, and then tried to open my locker, which took me about two full minutes to figure out the lock.
When it finally opened, I realized how late it was getting. At this point I didn't even care, which really didn't make any sense. That definitely wasn't like me. I always cared about school until this one moment where nothing seemed to bother me. I took out my school journal and carefully placed it on the top shelf in my locker, hoping to get some peoples phone numbers in there, threw my bag inside with it, and then closed it tightly.
I put my head up against the cold metal frame of it, and let out a deep breath as I closed my eyes anxiously. I thought I was alone until I heard someone walking down the hall, which caused my heart to drop instantly. When I slowly turned my head I saw a boy, and that was the first time I saw 'him'.
He wasn't that close to me until he went to his locker, which was about ten down from mine. He had jeans and a gray t-shirt on with a backwards, red, baseball cap on his head. He had light brown skater hair, which was so hot, and I could see his bright blue eyes perfectly even from this far away. He was so attractive that I couldn't take my eyes off of him. I watched him cautiously as he shoved a textbook into his locker, and then slammed it closed as he walked past me without saying a word. He didn't even look at me as far as I knew, not once.
I stared after him in amazement, and also in confusion because I felt so weird. It was bizarre how much I wanted to know him, and how strongly I already felt for him. This stranger who I had never met before sent shivers down my spine, and really made my heart go faster, literally. I couldn't understand why I was so affected by his appearance, and why I wanted to speak to him as much as I did.
After he turned the corner and left my sight, I silently walked to my first class. I got introduced to my teacher who was named Mrs. Gilson, and I sat down at the desk in the back of the room, far away from everyone else. All of the students were staring at me as if I was from another planet, which made me very uncomfortable already. She gave us our textbooks and folder and we basically did nothing serious the whole period, which was amazing.
For the rest of the morning I didn't speak to anyone, because I was too busy thinking about the boy I had seen earlier. Why was I thinking about him so much? Why did I care? Why couldn't I get him out of my head, and off my mind?
Lunch eventually came and I was scared. When I say scared, I mean terrified. I didn't like the fact that I was new to the whole town therefore I wouldn't be familiar with anyone, or that I would be sitting at a table all by myself as all of the kids would be staring at me like I was so sort of alien.
I walked into the lunch room slowly and noticed how many people there really were. There were tables everywhere, and each group of people looked different. The ones that really caught my eye were the Goth tables (where they wore all black), the geek table (where they wore big circular glasses and high socks with non-matching outfits), and a jock table (where everyone was wearing some kind of sport uniform).
The minute I stepped inside I stopped walking, because I realized that I had nowhere to even sit. I wasn't about to just randomly sit with a group of people that I didn't know, so I turned around without paying attention and bumped into an older boy. The lunch tray that was in his hands almost fell causing the hot soup to spill on his shirt everywhere.
My mouth dropped open in horror as his dark eyes started glaring deep into my brain. He threw the tray on the ground making a loud grunting noise, as the room went quiet and everyone turned to watch us.
"I'm so sorry!" I gasped, covering my mouth with my hand.
His eyes bulged out of his head and he stepped forward as I quickly backed away from him. "Watch where you're going!" he yelled.
"I didn't mean it," I said honestly.
"You didn't mean it?" he screamed.
My jaw dropped open, and I was shocked at how angry he was. "No," I replied, terrified.
"My shirt is covered in chicken noodle soup."
"I said I was sorry," I muttered nervously.
"Yeah well sorry doesn't cut it!"
"I don't know what to say then," I said softly.
"This is all your fault!"
"I wasn't paying attention," I admitted, as I looked around to see all the students laughing at me.
He pointed to the spilled soup all over the floor and made a complete fool out of me. "Clean it up!" he demanded, as I flinched from his voice. "Now!"
I wanted to cry. How could he be this mean? "I'm sorry," I repeated, until he yelled again. "Really I am."
"Just wipe up the mess you made and go buy me another soup," he ordered.
I bent down to listen to him until someone took my arm and yanked me back up.
It was 'him', the boy who I had seen in the hallway earlier. "I'll do it," he said, as we looked into each others eyes for the first time. My heart began to race in a way it never has before.
"But I knocked the soup over," I whispered, him still holding my arm firmly. "It is my fault."
"You didn't do it on purpose though," he said loudly, making sure everyone else heard.
I stood motionless, hoping this was all just a dream, but it wasn't. "Okay," I said, until the other boy started yelling at him.
"She needs to clean up the shit she spilled all over me!" he snapped.
"Calm down Connor," he said relaxed, as he let go of me and moved me towards the door.
"This has nothing to do with you," he growled.
"She's a girl. She accidentally bumped into you and you dropped the tray," he laughed, no humor intended. All of the people were dead silent, staring at him in amazement.
"But she knocked over my damn food!"
"It's hardly a good idea to yell at her for an honest mistake," he stated, in full control of the situation.
"Look at me, man," he said disgusted, but a little less angry.
"I'm really sorry," I said again, as he looked at me in confusion.
"Let me handle this," he frowned, and I nodded. "Go," he whispered to me.
"I'm soaked because of her," Conner sulked.
"You'll live." He glanced over to me and gave me a dirty look, almost like he was waiting for me to leave. After that I immediately got the hint, and walked as fast as I could out of the lunchroom and down a few halls until I found a bathroom.
As soon as I got inside I went into a stall and locked it as fast as I could. What just happened? Why was I always making a fool out of myself? Why wasn't I paying attention to where I was going? Everybody in practically the whole school was staring at me, probably laughing after I ran out, because I stood there like a total idiot! But besides being humiliated, I was in shock. The boy who I couldn't get my mind off of had completely saved me. Right when I was about to start crying in desperation he showed up, and who knows what he said to Conner when I was gone. All I knew was that he didn't have to do help me, but he did. That had to mean something.
For the rest of the day I didn't speak to anyone. I went to my classes and didn't say more than a few words to any of my teachers. People were still looking at me, and I tried to ignore them as best as I could. I felt so stupid, that I actually couldn't wait to get home to my mom for a change. The bell finally rang because it was the end of the day, and when I was done putting my textbooks into my locker I was lightly tapped on the shoulder from behind.
I turned around after it was closed, and saw her. "Stephanie!" I smiled, as she darted forward to hug me.
"Rose!" she laughed loudly, making every student that was around us stop and stare.
"I didn't see you anywhere today," I said sadly.
"We actually have lunch together," she giggled. "But I was in the gym signing up for track."
"No way," I laughed, completely amazed.
"It might seem kind of weird because I'm a girl, but I love to run," she shrugged.
"Dude," I smiled anxiously. "Me too! I signed up during class."
"That's awesome!" She linked her arm through mine and we walked down the hall ignoring everyone around us.
"I'm kind of the laughing stock of this school now," I whispered. "Just so you know."
"Why?" she gasped, eyes wide open.
"No comment," I smiled.
"What happened?"
"In the cafeteria I accidentally bumped into this kid, and his soup spilled all over him," I laughed. "It was so hot it was almost steaming. And he threw his tray on the ground and ordered me to clean it."
"Sucks for him," she said blankly.
"He was screaming at me," I whispered, trying to keep my eyes off of everyone who was hovering around us as they slowly walked by.
"Really? That's terrible," she frowned, stuffing a water bottle into her purse.
"Yeah. But some random kid saved me from his temper," I smiled, remembering the boy I wanted so badly to meet.
"That's so sweet," she smiled, as we walked past the front office in a rush.
"I know. He's really cute, too," I giggled.
"Ask him out," she instructed. "You have to. Come on, you have to call dibs before anyone else does."
"No," I laughed. "I don't think so."
She giggled, linking her arm through mine. "You have plenty of time."
"Are you walking home?" I asked her nervously.
"Well I can if I want to, but my brother sometimes offers to take me," she said.
"Oh," I sighed.
"But sure," she said, us both jumping with joy because the day was over. "I'll walk with you!"
We started walking down the school's sidewalk as I saw Jake standing around at least ten boys who looked nothing but trouble. A few of them were smoking, which wasn't much of a surprise. They were the exact boys that we saw this morning when we were walking in.
"Just avoid them," she whispered anxiously. "They're the losers."
I stared at Jake as his eyes caught mine and he frowned. "Hey," I said to him.
"Shh," Stephanie edged. "Run!"
I laughed as Jake stepped in front of us. "This is Stephanie," I said to him, and then turned to her. "And this is my brother."
She suddenly smiled, dazing into his eyes, which made me want to gag. "Oh, this is your brother? Hi," she said to him, smiling sheepishly.
"Hey sexy," he winked.
"Can you not?" I growled at him, pulling her along with me.
"I'll be home later," he called out.
"Nice meeting you!" Stephanie shouted over her shoulder, most likely flirting with him, even though I was trying to ignore it. I knew she was way too good for him.
"Sure," I mumbled. "Like I care."
She laughed quietly. "I'm so sorry," she gasped.
"For what?"
"He is so adorable! Like, oh my gosh! Rose, is he single?" she laughed hysterically, and then snorted, making me crack up laughing with her.
"Yeah, and he's not your type," I stated.
"But he's so hot. He's tall and those brown eyes, so hot, so," she stopped, staring at me, nervously.
I shook my head and let out a long breath of aggravation. "Yeah he might be cute, but he's a pain in the ass."
"A hot pain in the ass," she said quickly.
We finally got to the woods and headed down the stone path. We talked about random things, and were angry that we didn't have any classes together. We decided we were going to come up with a plan that will change that, but we had no idea what we were going to do. I told her about how Jake was a lot of trouble, and she told me that the kids we saw him with were total junkies, and that was why she wanted us to run from them at first.
That concerned me. "Seriously?"
She sighed. "Sorry to tell you, but yeah. Three of their friends dropped out last year," her voice dropped.
I rolled my eyes. "I hate how people can just give up like that."
"And ruin their whole future," she agreed.
"Exactly. I mean working at McDonalds for the rest of your life is not the best idea," I said, her starting to laugh at the truth in my voice.
"I totally just got a great idea. I'm going to go to the guidance office tomorrow to see if I can change a few things," she told me cheerfully.
"Like what?"
"Well my main priority is trying to switch into at least one of your classes," she smiled.
"That'd be awesome," I told her, mostly excited. "I hate feeling alone."
"Trust me, me too."
"But don't you know people?"
She shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. But, well, things are different this year."
"Are they?" I asked her, not sure what she was referring to.
"Yeah, I had a best friend, now I don't. I don't get along with a ton of people anymore. But they're all drama starters and horribly grouchy anyway. Everyone is so rude. We do live in a snobby town you know."
"I did too. Florida is where everyone thinks they're better then you," I said slowly. "So fake, bleach blonde hair and fake long nails. All of my friends were geeks, because they were the only nice ones."
"I know exactly what you mean. My half-sister is kind of," she hesitated. "Special."
We slowed our pace. "Special needs?"
"No," she moaned. "If I tell you, you have to promise you won't say anything."
"I promise," I said, holding out my pinky.
She smiled as she took it. "Do you swear?"
"Yes. I pinky promise."
"Do you take promises seriously?"
"Of course I do," I said. "Especially pinky promises, they're legit."
"Okay, I can't believe I'm about to tell you this," she took a deep breath in, and then let it out quickly. "She can see spirits," she whispered.
"What?"
"Well, she can see dead people," she frowned, scrunching her face together.
"Wow," I said, truly amazed.
"Well, I mean not in a bad way, don't be scared, please."
"I'm not," I answered.
"She can interact with spirits, people who haven't crossed over."
"That's really special," I told her, wondering if she would be able to contact my grandfather somehow.
She stopped walking, and so did I. "You're not freaked out?" she hesitated.
"No," I shook my head. "Why would I freak out?"
"The last person I told that to never spoke to me again," she laughed nervously.
We began walking again and I realized how good of friends we already were. "People can be so stupid," I said.
"Well when they're scared, they run," she said.
"That's what my mom does. She took us from our father," I said softly.
"It must be really difficult not having both parents under the same roof."
I nodded, perfectly agreeing with her. "Are your parents divorced?"
"They're not really my mom and dad," she said, looking a little embarrassed.
"They're not?"
"No. Well," she paused. "Not exactly. We're adopted."
I didn't know what to say. "They're still your parents," I smiled.
"Thanks," she whispered, throwing her arm around me. "You're already my best friend."
"I'm glad!" I laughed. "And you're mine."
"Me and my brother are twins so we're obviously related by blood, but my step-sister is adopted too. So, her parents could have been mediums or physics or something and we wouldn't know."
"I think it's really cool. She has a gift."
"She used to be scared," she said carefully, almost like she didn't mean to say it. "Like I mean terrified."
"I would be too."
"The people she sees are dead. And they sometimes come to her and she tries not to look at them," she stopped, looking me in the eyes.
"It's okay," I told her. "I'm still not scared, don't worry."
"You sure? Because I can stop talking," she offered, seeming really nervous and another emotion I couldn't quite figure out.
"Relax. I think it's cool. Does she help them, you know, cross over, or whatever?"
"No. She tries to avoid them." She slowed down her pace, looking terrified herself.
"I'm not going to get freaked out. I'm good with these things," I told her. "I won't judge you for a gift your sister happens to have."
"So if I tell you that sometimes they're bloody and try to kill whoever she's with, what will you say?"
"I'd say, damn that sucks," I laughed.
"Good. But I was kidding, thank god."
"I still can't believe Jake found the bad druggy's to hang out with," I said, angry and disappointed.
"Maybe he'll find someone else," she guessed. "There are a bunch of straight edge kids too."
"He desperately needs to make some life changes."
"I hope for his sake."
"I hope for our family's sake. He stole a lot of cash from our father's safe and it was because he owed someone money," I told her quietly.
"What a shame," she whispered, as we finally reached the back of my house.
"I'd invite you inside, but my mom wasn't in such a great mood this morning," I offered. "I think I should talk to her."
"Oh it's no problem," she said happily. "I should be getting home too. They didn't know I decided to walk."
"Okay," I said.
"I'll just see you tomorrow," she told me. "Let's meet here, and I can walk with you and Jake."
"Of course," I told her. "That's a good idea. Where's your locker?"
"Upstairs. It's across the hall from yours," she told me.
"Cool!" I smiled, loving that everything was beginning to feel like home.
"Bye," she hugged me, and then headed quickly back onto the path.
"Bye," I called after her.
I got inside safely and noticed my mom cleaning the kitchen counters, with tons of dishes still in the sink. "Hey," I said, kissing her on the cheek.
She looked up and smiled. "I'm sorry about this morning."
I put my bag on the table and walked to the sink. "Can I wash the dishes?"
"That would be nice," she said, as we were quietly working together. "How was school?"
I shrugged. "It was alright," I said.
"Tell me about it, will you? How are the teachers?"
"Eh. They're okay," I laughed. "I signed up for track."
"That's very good. I'm glad they have it."
"It won't be starting for at least a few weeks though. They give us free time for last period."
"That's very reasonable. You could get your homework done early."
"What am I going to do during the winter?" I asked, starting to get sad.
It took her awhile to answer me. "Go sledding with Jimmy," she offered.
"No. I mean what am I going to do for myself?"
Even though I was concentrating on the soapy dishes I knew her eyes were on me. "You have a few months to think about that."
"I guess you're right," I admitted.
"Did anything else happen?"
"I almost got beat up by a big scary kid," I frowned. "I wasn't paying attention so I bumped right into him at lunch."
"And what did he do?"
"He started yelling at me," I said nervously.
"Yelling?" she raised her voice, getting mad.
"But I spilled hot soup on him," I admitted. "I did do it by accident though."
"And so did any teachers see?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.
"No, but the whole cafeteria did," I laughed at myself, and then I remembered the boy.
"Did he get in trouble? I'll call the principal right now," she started saying, grabbing the phone until I stopped her.
"No. Please don't. Someone handled it for me."
"Ugh, fine. I'm sorry," she said, as someone opened the back door.
"It's alright," I whispered, knowing he was my hero of the day.
Jake stepped into the kitchen and started laughing like crazy. "Dishes?"
"Yeah," I answered bleakly.
"Yuck. You're a weirdo."
"Stop it," our mom said, as he scowled at her. "It's very nice of her to help me."
"Blah blah," he groaned loudly.
"You smell like an ashtray," she said quickly. "Go air yourself out."
"Are you assuming that I smoked a whole pack of cigarettes?" he smiled. "Because I'm pretty sure it was more."
"Get out of here," she said, not letting him bother her.
I was done with the dishes, and I didn't want Jake to start a fight with me so I started walking away.
"Not you," she said, staring after me. "You don't need to leave."
"But I'm finished," I said carefully.
She nodded and smiled weakly. "Oh, okay," she replied. "Thank you."
"Thank you," Jake mocked her, beginning to walk towards the basement door until I stood in front of it.
"Stop being rude," I crossed my arms.
"I'm not rude."
"Yeah you are."
"Rosalie," he growled, his mood changing dramatically. "Move it."
"Say you're sorry, she didn't do anything to you," I told him sternly.
He sighed. "Get out of my way," he snarled.
"Should I tell mom how you've made friends with a bunch of wanna-be drop out druggies?" I threatened.
"You don't even know them. And I don't care, do it. Tell her right now for all I care. She should already know," he said, pushing me to the side.
"Whatever," I said, closing the door for him.
"Thanks," she laughed. She actually laughed.
"For what? You're my mom. And you're his mom too. Therefore he should respect you," I said honestly.
"You really are growing up," she smiled, giving me a big hug.
"By the way," I said slowly, as she began to walk away. "I met this boy."
"What's his name?"
"Well I saw him in the hall, so I don't really know yet. He's really cute though," I smiled, biting my lip.
"You're blushing," she sang.
"Am not," I said, walking into my room, looking in the mirror.
Okay, so maybe I was. For the rest of the day I watched TV and played with Jimmy. I decided that I was going to start writing in a diary, but the second I picked up the pen I realized I didn't have it in me to express how sad and distraut I was feeling. The night went by as slow as ever and finally it was time for bed.
The next two days, Tuesday and Wednesday, went by very fast. Stephanie changed her class schedule so that now we have our first two classes together. It's actually really nice. We sit next to each other and ignore everyone who tries to talk to us. I guess you can say a lot of the girls consider us popular, which feels really different to me because I was never the popular one.
We picked a lunch table to sit at and we sit by ourselves. It's the smallest one, square shaped, so that two people can fit on each side. She told me that when her sister's visions settled down that we'd be sitting with her as well. I thought it was cool. I really was looking forward to meeting her, not only because she was Stephanie's sister but also because of the amazing gift she had.
Finally Thursday came and classes went by fast, and I was really looking forward to going to lunch. I wasn't hungry at all, but Stephanie had told me that her sister was going to be there. I was looking forward to it so much that I was practically running down the hallway, racing up the stairs to the second floor so I could put my books into my locker. As soon as I reached the top, of course I was too busy looking down at my shoes instead of paying attention to what was in front of me, and that's the one moment that changed my entire day.
Without realizing I wasn't by myself, I rushed straight through the doorway and I bumped straight into someone. I was rushing so fast that both of my books fell to the ground, and right as I looked up into his eyes is when I lost my balance and almost fell onto my knees.
Thankfully, he caught my fall, and swung his arm around my waist, holding me against him. “Whoa,” I gasped, finally gazing into the stranger's eyes.
That's when I noticed he wasn't a stranger at all. It was the boy I had seen on the very first day. “Whoa,” he whispered, staring down blankly at me, stunned.
“Um,” I muttered, still staring into his amazing blue eyes.
His eyes widened, his arm still around my waist, balancing me on my feet. “Yeah,” he mumbled, as I eventually backed away, still staring silently at him.
Then he dropped his attention to the ground and he quickly picked up my books. “Oh, it's okay,” I somehow let out, him standing up and carefully handing them to me.
“Here,” he frowned, as I took them and held them tightly against my chest.
“Thanks,” I softly said, him nodding and continuing to stare at me.
“My fault,” he half grinned, walking passed me and racing silently down the stairs.
I turned around and watched his back until he went through the doorway, and no longer could be seen.
I couldn't exactly breathe at this second, obviously because the boy I had seen on the first day of school had just held me in his arms, so I shoved my books into my locker and leaned my back gently against it. I was in shock that something that random had happened, and I couldn't understand why I was making it such a big deal. I took a few deep breaths, walked by myself back down the stairs, through the courtyard, and into the cafeteria where I saw Stephanie sitting at our table.
When I got there I was a little confused because she was alone.
"Hey," I said, sitting down across from her.
"Don't worry," she smiled. "She's coming."
"Okay, that's good."
"You have to excuse her sarcasm though."
"Sure. How old is she again?"
"There she is," she whispered, looking over my shoulder.
When I turned my neck, I realized how familiar she looked. She had short black hair and was wearing a lot of black clothing. It was when she sat down next to her when I realized I knew who she was. "The first day of school," I smiled at her. "You're the girl who came in the front office after my brother left."
She didn't smile back. "Yeah."
Did I say something wrong? "Nice to meet you," I said quietly.
Stephanie elbowed her until we shook hands. "Rose," she said. "This is Darlene."
"Sorry," Darlene said nervously. "I'm just not in the best mood."
"It's okay," I said, taking an air sip of Stephanie's orange soda.
"You were the girl who was pissed off because she gave you the last pass," she said.
"Yup," I grinned.
"And I have to be perfectly honest, after you left I couldn't stop laughing. She looked stunned that you actually spoke up to her. She even got the tardy slip off the ground and threw it into the recycling bin."
"She was getting on my last nerve," I said quietly, rolling my eyes.
"Yeah, mine too. Anyways, I heard my 'loving' sister Stephanie blurted out my secret," Darlene questioned.
"Yeah, she kind of did. Is that all right with you? I can forget about it if you want?"
She shrugged. "Are you going to tell anyone?" she asked softly, begging with her eyes for me not to.
"Of course not," I answered dryly. "I wouldn't do that to you."
She finally smiled. "Okay, thanks. Then it's alright."
"Wait, you can really see the dead?" I whispered, scooting closer to the table so I wouldn't have to talk so loud.
"Yeah, sadly," she said, biting her lip. "I had one attached to me on the first day."
"In the front office? I knew you were looking at something, I just didn't understand because I couldn't see it, or, him or her," I laughed under my breath. "Sorry."
"Hey, at least you're trying to make some humor out of it," she shrugged, and then nodded. "And yeah, it was a girl, just about our age. She scared me. She's gone now."
"Well then, that's good. So," I said to her. "What grade are you in again?"
"I'm a junior like you guys," she laughed. "Why?"
"Really?" I asked, looking at Stephanie.
"She is," she agreed. "She just turned sixteen though. She skipped 3rd grade."
"So what?" Darlene asked anxiously. "No big deal."
"I feel so left out," Stephanie giggled. "And it is definitely a big deal!"
"Why?" I asked her.
"Because Darlene skipped a grade, and my brother did too," she frowned.
"Really?"
"Yeah. The school that he could just skip to 12th..."
"And the school just let him do it?" I asked, not understanding how that was possible.
She stopped smiling and so did Darlene. They looked away from each other. "Yeah. He can be really smart."
"Like too smart," Darlene added.
"Yeah. And my brother can be highly irritating and brainless," I groaned, making them laugh.
"I like her," Darlene said to Stephanie. "She's really funny."
"And I like you too," I smiled.
"Keep this one," she whispered. "I can tell she'll stay true."
"I will. She's not like all these other drama queens," Stephanie answered.
Darlene suddenly stopped. "Kate was the worst," she sighed.
"Yeah."
I was so confused. "Who's Kate?"
Darlene answered me before Stephanie could. "She was Stephanie's friend last year. She tried to get with her brother," she laughed. "It was funny, but it turns out she was just using Stephanie to get close to him."
"That's not cool," I whispered, looking at her sad face. "Sorry Steph."
"It's fine."
"I won't be like Kate."
"He actually made her feel like an idiot," she said happily.
I stared at Stephanie's uneasy face. "How?"
"He just ignored her until she tried to kiss him!" she said.
My mouth fell open. "That's horrible!"
Darlene smiled. "And I just had to be walking into the room at that very moment. But it was funny," she squeaked.
Stephanie gave her a dirty stare before looking back at me. "All the girls love him. I feel bad for him."
"He goes here?"
"Yeah," she nodded. "He doesn't come to lunch though."
"Why not?"
"I don't know. He says there's nothing in here for him," she shrugged.
"There's food," Darlene stated. "Duh."
"Shut up," Stephanie whispered.
"Just being honest here. Boys are supposed to like food."
All I did was laugh for the rest of lunch. I was having so much fun, not even trying to, which made me so happy you would never believe. I finally understood what God had in store for me. HAPPINESS.