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This chapter is dedicated to {roxxy2o9} for being totally awesome and helping me with critiques ^_^ make sure to check out her stories! She is an amazing writer and deserves all the support she can get.
Now the picture to the left>>>>>>>>
At the end, take a guess who it is ;)
By the way, please listen to this song. It was my inspiration to this story along with another two songs that you'll see in the distant future.
**You don't know anything...you don't know anything...you don't know anything about me.Once it starts, it never stops..Discipline, it's all I'm not..Can't help myself, you listening?..Why can't I say just what I want?
You don't know anything
No, you don't know anything about me
Steady damage, cross the line
What's become clearly defined
Steady damage, cross the line
What's become clearly defined****
“Salve Liberi,” ‘hello children’,
“Salve Magistra!” ‘Hello Teacher!’ the class chorused, as I stood at the foot of the door looking like a fool. Sure, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to know what they were saying, Latin isn’t so far off of English or Spanish—in which I speak fluently—but what really boggles my mind is that I actually ended up in this class. I wasn’t even remotely aware that this class even existed! Wasn’t Latin a dead language? The teacher suddenly averted her squinty eyes at my direction.
“A new student?” she clapped her hands enthusiastically, beckoning me forward. She was a jolly old thing, with thinning frost white hair, a round wrinkled face, and small brown eyes. Standing beside her made me feel like a skyscraper as her petite frame just hit shy of my shoulder.
I licked my dry lips, “uhm, yeah.” I muttered, my eyes dancing over each face in the class, “I’m Elaine,”
“Marvelous!” She beamed, “welcome Elaine, to Latin 1. Here take a seat—” she motioned to a front row seat across from her desk. Just my luck—“I’ll get someone to catch you up to speed, but first—everyone! Let us give Elaine a proper welcoming. Dice, Salve Elaine!”
“Salve Elaine,” they all cheered, most had smiled on their faces as they greeted me while others seemed relatively uninterested.
“Salve,” I responded, scurrying over to my seat before any additional questions were to be asked.
Thus, the class took its normal course; new student forgotten. I took out my binder and pencil as the teacher instructed we do translations from specific textbook pages. One could imagine my expression as she began to speak Latin as if we all knew precisely what she meant—I felt completely and utterly lost. Lost and alone—she would turn to me, a wolfish smile on her wrinkly face and proceed with her fluent tongue as more foreign words jumbled out. As stupid as I am, all I was able to do was smile back and nod vigorously. Just praying that what she was saying was nothing important.
I don’t think I fooled her because just then she averted her gaze toward the girl beside me, “Aldana, sweetie be a doll and help Elaine catch up on the basics while I explain the new unit.”
The girl pivot her head to me, she had big honey brown eyes and matching hair. She had been reading a thick novel intently, but now she glanced back at the teacher brightly “uh sure, I’ll help her,” she shifter her position to face me completely; a warm smile on her face.
“Hi, I’m Aldana Luna,” she introduced herself, sliding a bookmark into place before shutting her novel altogether.
“Hey,”
She scooted her desk closer, “okay, so the basics are simple, when you want to get her attention, you raise your hand and you must always address her as Magistra, never as miss, or teacher—she gets real ticked off if you do that. Also if you want to use the restroom you must ask in Latin, here,” she ripped out a piece of notebook paper and began to scribble on it, “Licet iri mihi latrinam, means ‘can I use the restroom’ just say that and you will have no problem in going, and once she gives you permission don’t forget to say multias gratias, I’m sure you can guess what that means,”
I thought for a second, “It means much thanks, right?”
She nodded “Exactly, see? You got this. Now that you have the basics I suggest you write down the vocab for unit 5—which is the one we just started. It goes like this,” she jotted down something else on the piece of paper, then inched it towards me so I can get a better view, “you just have to write down the word, then the translation in English and finally a derivative to go with it. Then you are good to go.”
She handed me the fraction of paper as my guide. I uttered a quick thank you as I began to do my work. It didn’t seem all too hard, at least not to a certain degree. Considered I was so new to all this.
“So where are you coming from Elaine?” Aldana asked, scooting her desk closer to mine.
“Erm, Florida. Miami, Florida to be exact.”
“Legit! Miami’s a real cool place…or so they tell me, I’ve never been,” she chuckled, “So why move here? Out of all the beautiful places, why move to the worst?”
My pencil halted mid-word, “What do you mean?”
Aldana’s eye glinted as she prepared herself to let me in to her world, “Well, here in Irving is the worst part of Dallas anyone would wanna move to. ‘Cause you see there is this major gang that ‘owns’ this part of town. They call themselves ‘The Blood.’ I say its sick though, no one can go out at night or even enjoy a weekend at the movies because they are everywhere. They seem to have more shootings now because of them, and they are always doing other bad shit.”
My heart began to pump hastily in my chest, “d-do they just…kill at random?”
She shook her head, a assuring smile curled her thin lips, “Nah, they mostly always have targets, like a rival gang or just people who are stupid enough to mess with them—but if you happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time…then your screwed.”
By the smug look on her face, I knew she didn’t lie. Swallowing hard, I tried to concentrate on my work but I couldn’t. Not when there was a gang of psychotic guys prowling the street, killing more people by the second just because they take the pleasure of it. Holy cow, if I would of known this place was gunna be like this then I would of just stayed in the woods with Izzy.
Izzy.
That name caused a wave of homesickness to surge through me. I bit my lip hard to keep me from crying, and it wasn’t until then that I realized Aldana had been speaking to me the entire time.
“…so you don’t have to worry much about them.” She finished.
I knitted my brows together, “I’m sorry what did you say?”
She pressed her lips slightly, and then cocked her head to the side—her eyes like two lasers boring into mine—she studied me sedately before finally answering. “I had said that some of the gang members come attend this school, but they won’t do anything if you stay out of there way, so you don’t have to worry about them.”
I squirmed in my seat, the look that she had given me earlier sent a chill deep into the marrow of my bones. It was as if she could see through me, as if I had displayed all my secrets out for her to see. “Sounds, fine. I don’t plan to interact much so there’s no problem there.”
There was a tense silence as she assessed my words completely, then she smiled brightly at me as if I had not just spoken, “you know,” she drawled, “you don’t have to be all lonely all the time. Maybe I could accompany you at lunch, you know just so that you have someone there to talk to. What lunch do you have?”
I hesitated, why should I agree? She obviously knew I was uninterested in making friends, so why push the limits?
“B lunch,” I answered with a sigh of resignation, yet deep inside a spark of curiosity ignited at this girl’s valiance. “I’ve got B lunch.”
Her face lit up, “Cool! So do I, we’ll meet each other there. I sit with three other people, I hope you don’t mind. They’re amazing though, real easy going and super friendly and I guarantee that you all well get along just great. Tomorrow then, right?”
“Uh, yeah I guess,” I smiled back, hoping it appeared warmer and more genuine than what it felt. Just then the bell buzzed, and all the students leaped from the seats; content that the class was finally over. They charged for the door like a stampede of wild elephants. I’d hate to be amidst them, getting trampled from every angle.
I shivered inwardly, reaching into my bag for my schedule so I can continue off to my last class of the day.
“If you want, I’ll help find your next class,” Aldana offered, she hovered over my desk with an amiable smile on her pretty face, “I know my way around here real well, seeing I’m a junior and all.”
I nodded, still rummaging through my bag, “Yeah, that’s fine. I didn’t know you were a junior, you looked like a sophomore—I’m a sophomore.”
“Well this isn’t a core class, so they tend to mix the grades in classes like this—juniors, seniors, freshman, and sophomores you name it. Uhm, what’s wrong? You look kinda panicked,”
I ignored her, stacking my notebooks and laptop on my desk, leaving my bag empty yet my schedule was nowhere to be found. At the verge of hysterics, I thought back to the many times I had it out. During fourth hour…before lunch in the hallway…at the library—
The library!
That’s right I had taken it out to tell Nahuel the time.
Shit.
But wait, I could of sworn I placed it back in my bag just before I left.
“What’s wrong?” Aldana repeated her face a mask of intense concern as she eyed my blanched expression, “You lost your schedule?”
I nodded slowly, “Yeah, I think I left it in the library during lunch.”
She hissed softly as she inhaled sharply through her teeth, “Well this won’t do, I doubt you’ll find it there anymore. The librarian has a tendency of throwing away anything students leave behind—trust me. I lost three homework assignments that way.”
I raked aggravated fingers through my dark hair, “Splendid! My first day just keeps getting better and better.” I wanted to pull my hair out and howl out with as much insanity as I could muster, yet a rational fraction of my brain contained it all under a tight lid; urging me to be mature about my actions.
Aldana pursed her lips, her mind reeling before she curled her lips and began to reorganize my bag. “Come on, we are going to the counselor’s office to get you another copy of your schedule. Easy,”
My hope rejoiced, I got up and followed her out the class as she lead the way to the counselor’s office. Walking in caused gooseflesh on my delicate skin, then I thought of the irony of it all, being that the counselor’s office was the most frigid place in the entire school when shouldn’t it be the coziest?
“Mrs. Pepper?” Aldana called a soon as we reached an empty desk. When there was no answer, Aldana rounded the table to glance inside the filing closet at the far end wall. Suddenly the front door burst open, causing us to both jump in start.
“What are you two doing in here?” A deep voice boomed. I remained still where I was, not daring to face him. As for Aldana, she sauntered back to my side, a grimace on her face, yet I could have sworn I saw a spark of amusement in her eyes,
“Calm your tits, Justin. We just came to see Mrs. Pepper,” she explained,
There was an irritated sigh, “She’s not here as you can see. You shouldn’t be trying to get yourself into trouble Aldana, I don’t think I’ll be able to save your ass every time.”
Aldana snorted, “Wow, captain safety patrol, I am so sorry, I didn’t know I was going to cost you your badge.”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” he muttered much to his disdain, “why are you so…ugh never mind.”
Aldana smirked triumphantly, “I thought so. Anyways where is that old woman?”
“Off to get a mug of coffee…again.”
She chuckled, “I swear that woman is addicted to that stuff. ‘Wait right here, gotta get me a nice cup of Joe,’ she says. Does she even sleep with all that caffeine in her system?”
This time Justin laughed, he had a deep silken laugh, the genuine type. “I doubt it, I’m just hoping she crashes one day, so maybe I’ll be relieved from her constant nagging.”
Aldana seemed to like the idea, then she turned to me and smiled reassuringly, giving my should a light nudge so I turned around. Ever so slowly did I twist at the heals, coming face to face with this mysterious voice. To my complete surprise it was just another student, seeming no older than me.
“Justin, I want you to meet Elaine,” Aldana introduced, “Elaine this is Justin. He just so happens to be one of the legit people that sit with me at lunch.”
Justin had turquoise eyes, the irises near the pupil were sprinkled with a miniscule amount of violet. His bulky body threw me off a bit, steal muscle aligned with a thin layer of fair skin. Seriously, what is up with all the cute looking guys at this school? I swear there have to be some ugly ones around…somewhere.
Justin hastily stepped closer to thrust his hand out for me to take, “hi, it’s nice to meet you Elaine,” he greeted enthusiastically, I reluctantly placed my small hand in his enormous one, he had a strong grip—a grip that lasted longer than necessary—I could feel the rough calluses that lined up under the crease of his fingers.
“Nice to meet you too,” I pulled away all too forcefully, then stepping back I kept a vigilant eye on him. While he continued to smile broadly at me as if I were a prize he was ready to receive.
Aldana cleared her throat, “So ah Elaine just moved here from Miami, Florida. Cool right?”
“Yeah! What brings you here?”
I hesitated, my green contact eyes flickering from his eager face to Aldana’s, before I found my voice again. “Uh, m-my dad’s job, he is a construction worker and he got a big project starting over in down town Dallas.”
Justin nodded, his rumpled brown hair falling over eyes. I noticed her had a mixture of golden highlights in random strands of hair, scattering over his head but mostly on his fringe.
“Awesome, well I assure you it isn’t that bad here. Sure it has a lot of flaws but you’ll get used to it over time. So welcome to the group, by the way we aren’t as weird as Aldana…that’s just her.” He joked, filling the cold room with his warm laughter. I couldn’t help but smile, because the fact that I was finally being accepted into this place really brought some light into my dark perspective of things.
“Its fine, being weird is like the norm for me,” I smirked, earning a laugh out of them both this time. The door swung open and in entered a tall middle aged woman holding a steaming mug to her lips. Her cold black eyes landed on us for a brief second before continuing to her desk.
“Can I help you kids with something?” she inquired in a reedy voice.
A loaded silence followed before Aldana spoke up, “yeah, Mrs. Pepper we need another schedule copy for Elaine here because she lost her other one.”
Mrs. Pepper’s eyes roamed over me brusquely before flashing back to Aldana, “what’s wrong with her? Can she not speak for herself?”
Aldana frowned, “Yes, but—”
“Then let her talk. It is her schedule not yours.”
Aldana looked over at me with sympathy in her light eyes, sort of urging me to speak as well.
I cleared my throat, mustering up all the strength to keep my voice even. “Mrs. Pepper, I lost my schedule and need another copy,”
Mrs. Pepper nodded, her dark hair brushing at the nape of her neck, “Very well, name and grade.” She tapped her filed nails against the keyboard, a variety of pages flashing on her computer screen.
“Elaine Rivera, 10th grade.” I answered curtly, keeping my eyes on the red wood oak desk. This counselor seemed pretty fancy, in her white blouse and black slacks. Fancy furniture—brown leather seats, and polished tables—not even a single rogue ball of lint polluted the sanitized air.
Mrs. Pepper turned to me, a condescending mask on her rough features, “You have a very interesting record, Miss Rivera. Not very promising if I say so myself, but for your own good do not attempt anything of the sort here, are we clear? Girls like you aren’t appreciated in a school of high standards such as this.”
I didn’t respond. I just kept my face as neutral as I possibly could, but inside I was dying. My past isn’t anything I am proud of but then again, we all make mistakes right?
She sneered, knowing her snarky comment hit a nerve. There was a shuffling of paper and then the shrill noise at the printer finished its copy. Mrs. Pepper handed it to me and waved me away like I was some fly that was hovering over her food, a nuisance. With my chin lifted high, I walked out; Aldana and Justin not far behind.
“Elaine, wait.” Justin called, with long swift strides he was able to catch up to me, “don’t pay much attention to Mrs. Pepper, she is old and crabby. She hates kids for all we know.”
Aldana caught up, placing her hand on my shoulder, “Yeah, Justin is right. She says mean shit like that to every new student—scratch that, she says it to everyone period. Don’t let it get you down.”
I didn’t meet their eyes, instead I glanced back to where the guidance door was vaguely in view, “But what she said was true though.”
They didn’t answer. Why would they? They didn’t know me, so they had no way in consoling me.
“I have to go to class, I’ll see you guys tomorrow—maybe.” I continued to walk, “I’d hate to get you in trouble.”
“Elaine, pl—” Aldana was cut off, probably by Justin. I might not know the kid, but I’m glad he had an open mind in these sorts of situations and let me go without another word.
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My ride on the bus to return home was just as it was in the morning. I got on and took the first seat up front. Shifting my body, I rested my head on the cool window and blasted my music in my ears. I missed my home so much; there were no words to how heavy my homesickness weighed down on my shoulders. One thing I was sure of was that Izzy is probably going to fly over here and strangle me for not even texting her. Would she ever forgive me for abandoning her at such times? I just hoped she was doing alright…considering her parents had a ruthless way of discipline.
I flinched, imagining how her punishment might have gone. There was a tap on my shoulder, causing me to yelp in fright.
“Sorry,” Olivia holding her hands up in a sign of peace, “Just wanted to give you a note.”
She handed me a packet of papers, folded neatly in half. Did she write me a freaking novel? I thought she said a note not a five page essay.
I took the packet either way, a polite smile already stretching my lips. “Thanks.”
She returned the smile and without further words returned to the back of the bus. Biting my lip I unfolded the packet of papers, and as soon as I got a glimpse of what was inside all color drained from my face.
It was my schedule.
At the bottom there was additional writing, all in black sharpie marker. Not the neatest handwriting but it had elegant curves along with sharp ridges, making it seem as if enraged yet gentle.
Elaine…wow, what a beautiful name. See? Now was it so hard for you to just give me your name? But enough of that—next time you storm away, make sure to zip up your bag. You never know what could be stolen. Especially in a bad school like this.
With LOTS of love,
Nahuel.
Oh and by the way. Turn around.
Cold sweat trickled down my neck, as I slowly pivot my body until my eyes bore into dark brown ones. They had a devilish glint in them that caused my stomach to do multiple summersaults. Nahuel was seated right behind me, a condescending smirk on his masculine face.
“Hi Elaine.” He leaned forward, “Now what are the odds, that you and I ride the same bus home.”
I didn’t answer. Instead I whipped back around and plugged my earphones back in my ears.
My day just seems to be getting better and better.
And to make matters worse, I could have sworn I heard him chuckle to himself right before my music blasted in my ears.
God help me, I mentally prayed, swallowing hard.
Copyright © 2012 Cynthia Montoya
All rights reserved
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Okay, so here you all go ;) make sure to vote and comment on it. What are your thoughts on Nahuel? On Elaine? How about Aldana and Justin? What do you think will happen next? hahaha so many questions, and so little time.
I'm not so sure when I'll upload again, seeing i have EOC testing all next week. i have to prepare for that. Either way, as soon as i figure out a date I'll post it up and let you all know.
Until then my lovelies!