Part 1- Sage Foster
Chapter 1
My mother, Angela Foster, had always been overprotective. It was like she was shielding me from the outside world, keeping me locked up for my own safety. For the most part, I didn't care, but I did care when she suggested I go back to school. School wasn't for me. I thought that this was obvious from the number of times I had missed days of school each time I fainted. It wasn't that I didn't take care of myself, I was really sick. I constantly had these dizzy spells, and my mother knew how to deal with them without sending me to the hospital. She said it was better if I didn't go to the hospital and I believed her, but no one else would. I wasn't sure if this school had a nurse, but even if it did someone was still bound to call an ambulance if I fainted. And I had no doubt that I would faint; it happened every month. While some girls had to worry about getting their period, I had to worry about losing consciousness. Unlike other girls, I never got my period. It wasn't like I wanted to be subjected to that, but it would have been nice to be considered normal for a change. I had no idea what was wrong with me. My mother always said I was perfectly healthy, but I wasn't. There is something wrong with me, I have some sort of disease. It isn't contagious, I had learned that much; but it was there, and it always made me feel different.
My sneakers squeaked as they made their way down the hallway. The floor was polished so well that I could see my reflection gazing back up at me, the queerness staring back at me. I was queer in more ways than one. Firstly, I had bright red hair, but I preferred to lie to myself and call it auburn. Also, the bright red hair was mismatched with my hazel eyes. People with red hair usually have green eyes, but not me. It looked like Autumn had chosen me to represent it, which is probably why Autumn has always been my least favourite season. I don't understand why people think Autumn is pretty, it isn't. It is just a scheme of red, orange and brown, the most disgusting colours that exist. There's no difference if it is called vermillion red, pumpkin orange, or mud brown, the shade doesn't matter. Autumn is ugly and there is no getting past that.
I can do it. I kept repeating this phrase to myself as I moved past the classrooms that surrounded me on either side. I hoped that if I said it enough times, the words would prove to be true. I could feel the eyes of the students in the hall scorching holes in the back of my denim jacket. There was one girl in particular who was staring at me, long and hard, like she hoped I would fall flat on my face. She had an electric aura around her, and blue seemed like her signature colour. Her hair was blue, and so were her clothes. I had always thought blue was a calming colour. Oh well, I guess it depends on who wears it. If I was Autumn, she was most definitely Winter.
I released a breath I hadn't realised I was holding and continued walking in the direction I thought the front office was in.
"You lost?"
I spun around on my heels and came face to face with a boy slightly older than me leaning against a locker. He was grinning at me. No, scratch that, he was smirking at me. His eyes were a perfect hue of yellow, almost golden. He was dressed to impress, in a tight black leather jacket and expensive looking designer boots. He ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair, forcing me to gaze back up at his face. His cheeks held the slightest hint of baby fat, giving him an appearance that suggested cute; but his attitude said more: he knew how to break a heart, and he would enjoy doing it.
"Sage?" he asked, surprised.
How did he know my name? I didn't get out much, and when I did I never spoke to boys.
"Don't you recognise me?" he inquired, with a slight tilt of his chin.
I shook my head.
"Ryan," he told me, as if the name would jog some kind of memory. "Ryan Simpson," he clarified when I gave him a blank expression.
Of course, when we were kids he used to tease me about my hair every time he came over to my house. He used to say I look like a scarecrow and that the farmer across the road should hire me to chase away all the pesky birds. His mother, Margaret Simpson, was a good friend of my mother's. A couple of years ago she used to come by often with her son. As time passed their visits became less frequent, and then stopped completely. I had always wondered why they didn't come by anymore, but I didn't ask my mother. I decided to rather count my blessings that I wouldn't have to see Ryan anymore.
"Do you need help getting to where you need to be?" Ryan asked me now
I was going to say no, but then reminded myself that it was probably best to say yes, since I really was lost; and Ryan looked more mature now. He wouldn't call me scarecrow, and even if he did, I was mature enough to ignore his taunting.
Ryan walked with me to the office and was nice enough to wait for me while I received my timetable from reception. We were early for class so he took the liberty of introducing me to his friends. They looked like a rowdy bunch.
"So, where you from?" Calum Smith asked me. He was a gangly boy, who looked more like a man. He had muscles that banded around his upper arms. He was obviously proud of them, wearing a T-shirt vest to show them off. His blond hair was spiky and stood up with the help of gel. His skin was pale, it was so white, that one would assume he only lived on protein shakes.
"My mom used to home school me," I replied, thinking about how she worked extra hard to run her book shop, while at the same time teaching me how to work out the value of the variable in Algebraic equations.
"So, you've had no real experience?" Calum enquired.
"Well, I went to school when I was younger."
"He didn't mean school," Derek Conroy chimed in, with a look of amusement on his face. Derek, like Calum, was brawny. But Derek looked younger and more vulnerable. His skin was a rich chestnut colour, and his eyes were dark and mysterious.
"Then what did he mean?" I asked, confusion creeping into my mind.
"Nothing," Ryan gave his friends a warning look and placed his hand on the small of my back, before steering me away from them.
"What did he mean?"
"You're too innocent," Ryan said, looking like he was fighting to hold back a laugh.
"Huh?"
"Forget it." Ryan shook his head, causing his hair to fall into his eyes.
***
"Do you want to sit with us?" Ryan gave me a shock as he came up behind me.
"Sure," I told him.
It was break time, and the first couple of periods had gone by painstakingly slow. I hadn't made a single girl friend and I was beginning to think I never would. Every single girl in this school just stared at me. More specifically, they stared at my hair. I have never liked my hair, but that doesn't mean they have to act like I'm an alien. For all they knew, I might have dyed my hair. But then again, who would want to dye their hair red?
Calum and Derek were sitting in the cafeteria and immediately looked up when we approached them. I pulled up a chair and sat down next to Ryan. Ryan moved his chair closer to mine, as if he was afraid I might run away from him.
The cafeteria was what I envisioned a normal school cafeteria to look like. Long plastic benches that looked like they would break under the slightest bit of pressure, and matching white tables that were stained yellow with age. I noticed the Winter girl from earlier looking at me with a wistfulness in her eyes. I was surprised, until I realised that she was actually drooling at the sight of Calum. He seemed to be the eye candy here.
"You want anything to eat?" Derek asked, getting up.
I shook my head. "I'm good, thanks."
"You need to eat something," Ryan told me, running a hand through his already tousled hair.
I had brought a peanut butter and banana sandwich, but now I didn't really feel like eating it. I wasn't hungry and I was about to tell Ryan this, when Calum chimed in for me.
"Bro, she needs to maintain her perfect figure," Calum said as he winked at me.
I blushed bright red as heat spread to my cheeks.
"Don't blush, sweetheart," Calum commented. "I'm just speaking the truth."
"Don't mind him," Ryan whispered in my ear, his hot breath tickling my cheek. "He's like this with every girl."
"Don't turn her against me," Calum accused. Either he had really good hearing or he took a wild guess at what Ryan was telling me.
Derek appeared with food and conversation ceased as the three teenage boys began shamelessly stuffing their faces. I watched in horror as tomato sauce squirted out of the side of Calum's mouth and bits of food flew out of Derek's. Ryan was the only one who seemed to eat decently, and I wasn't sure if that was for my benefit or if he just wasn't a messy eater.
"You look traumatised," Derek observed. I was surprised he swallowed before speaking; I would have expected him to talk with his mouth full.
"I'm not," I replied, trying to be nice.
"Don't lie," Calum accused, using a serviette to wipe his mouth.
"I'm just..." The boys looked at me expectantly, while I racked my brain for the right phrase, "not used to the environment of a school cafeteria."
"Huh," Ryan looked down at his plate, smiling to himself. "I could have sworn you were about to say something a little more offensive to the gluttons before you."
"You're not a glutton," I replied.
"I know that." Ryan shook his head. "I'm talking about those two." He used his index finger to point to both Derek and Calum.
Calum feigned offence, "You don't think I'm a glutton do you, Sagey?"
Ryan choked as he took a swig of his soda. "Sagey?"
"Sagey sounds cute," Calum responded. "Don't you think?" This question was directed at me so I answered with a slight nod of my head, although I thought Sagey sounded weird. It sounded like it was the name of a pet dog, or maybe a cat.
Please vote and comments if you enjoyed this chapter.