Before you start school, they tell you to be yourself. This advice is pretty reasonable, but it's when you hit high school that you realise how inaccurate it actually is.
Being yourself in high school is like jumping into a pool of piranhas. Naked. It'll eat you alive.
Which is partly why people like Phoebe choose to pick on me. When I started high school, I was myself, I was the nerdy girl I had always been, but when she started using it against me, everybody started listening to what she was saying. This meant nobody wanted to hang out with me, which didn't seem like much of a problem until they started targeting me directly. Calling me names, pushing me in the corridor, or simply spreading lies.
The thing is: I don't know how to make it stop. And I don't think there really is a way to do so.
Maybe having friends that stick up for me would help, but like I said, being by myself all the time isn't a problem like it should be. I enjoy my own company. At least, I think I do.
Noticing I only have five minutes until first period, I quickly shuffle to my locker with my head hanging and shoulders slumping. Maybe Jace's encouragement wasn't true after all- this year is going to be exactly like sophomore and freshmen year.
Twisting the lock to the different numbers, I gaze around me, suddenly aware of how busy the corridor is. This makes me slightly nervous, so I hurry up and swing my locker open, collecting my books as quickly as I can.
I stop when the hysterical chatter of two girls beside me catches my attention. They're giggling to each other about something one of them said. I usually stay out of other peoples' business, but they're so close to me that it's hard to ignore them.
Adding my calculus book to the stack in my hands, I hear the first girl with long brown hair say to the other, "I heard Phoebe's already called dibs on him."
Confused, I plonk all of my books into my bag and linger at my locker a little while longer. The sound of Phoebe's name sparks my interest, and I can't help but listen in.
The other girl, who has platinum blonde hair and blue eyes, complains, "That's so unfair! She can't call dibs, he's new which means everyone should get a fair shot."
The brown-haired girl giggles, clutching a text book to her chest. "He's a person, Amy, not a seat on the bus."
The girl with the blue eyes sighs dramatically, slamming her locker shut. "Would be nice if everyone else got a chance though. Apparently he's hotter than Liam Fitzgerald."
Despite only being a junior, Liam Fitzgerald is the captain of the school's treasured football team, and is without a doubt the most attractive boy at our school. Maybe even in all the state of Oregon. He has shocking blonde hair and big brown eyes, as well as an admirable, muscular frame. All of which are enough to woo most of the girls at our school. But he's a womaniser, and isn't subtle about it. He's also a good friend of Phoebe's, and so I try to avoid contact with him at all costs.
So far, I've been successful. Let's hope that's one factor that stays the same as sophomore year.
I'm not intrigued to hear about the new boy, he'll be like the rest of the new kids that join late. At first, quiet and reserved, and then boisterous and egotistical. And if he's as attractive as the girls are saying he is, then he'll be a part of Phoebe's group as quickly as you can say 'I told you so'.
Disappointed, I shut my locker and head to biology, making it through the door just before the bell rings.
---
"And that is why I decided to learn the guitar instead of French," our biology teacher finishes, grinning like he's revealing the answers to the universe.
We were supposed to be learning about mitosis, but Mr Belk had begun to talk about his personal life instead. Again.
Sighing, I glance at the clock, twirling my pencil around between my fingers. The lesson is only half done, and the thought makes me internally groan.
Expecting another while of Mr Belk explaining how he taught himself the guitar, I notice the door swing open abruptly. Everyone turns their gaze towards it, disinterested.
A teacher steps through the door, with a student behind her, keeping about a meter distance between them.
Everyone suddenly sits up straighter, some of the girls sorting out their hair and placing a fresh smile on their faces, while some of the boys grin to each other. The mood suddenly lifts, almost hitting me in the face but catching me off guard nonetheless.
I have no idea why everyone has suddenly started acting so weird.
Then I hear someone behind me enthuse, "It's the new guy!"
I look up, and observe him closely as he walks slowly into the classroom. And I realise just how attractive he really is, like the girls next to my locker had said. But it isn't just that he's attractive, a lot of guys are attractive, he is almost...angelic. Like he can't possibly be classed as a human because of his astonishing looks. Like he's not even real.
The boy has a head of deep brown hair, naturally curved upwards at the front - the colour of tree trunks in the deepest part of the woods, the ones that don't lose their leaves in the winter. His clear skin verges on olive, a beautiful colour, and his eyes are a striking green. His eyelashes are dark, and his nose is curved a little. He smiles widely, his straight white teeth exposed between his pale pink lips.
He's wearing a navy hoodie- his hands tucked into the pockets- a large, cosy-looking one, with dark jeans and black vans. Everything about him is so coordinated, it makes me suddenly feel extremely self-conscious.
The woman who was escorting him turns to the class and starts, "This is Caleb Myers. He's new here, and I expect all of you to make him feel welcome."
A girl behind me purrs, "I'll make him feel very welcome." Her friend giggles.
I gag and try to shake away the memory of what I just heard.
The teacher sends a smile to Mr Belk, pats Caleb's shoulder, and then walks out the door, leaving us all to gape at the gorgeous new guy.
He flashes a smile to no one in particular, but it makes almost all of the girls swoon. I swear I hear someone behind me gasp.
"Mr Myers, find a seat, I was just about to talk about my journey of teaching myself to play guitar. The guitar has a possible Babylonian origin, which inspired..."
As Mr Belk continues, while not one student is listening, Caleb begins to make his way down the aisle, observing each student in turn. Everyone watches him.
I can't help but roll my eyes. Obviously he's just trying to find the prettiest girl so that he can sit beside her, or the most popular-looking boy so he can make his way onto the football team without needing to try out.
But despite that being his potential motive, he completely walks past the popular boys and girls, which are all clustered around a few desks at the front, and doesn't return their smiles.
My heart practically stops when he halts in front of me. Is he going to make a joke about me? No one sits beside me, so is he going to call me a loner? Maybe Phoebe already told him who I am, and why he needs to stay clear of me.
I can't take my eyes off him, and I find myself getting short of breath. I stiffen and my breath catches. His presence is almost overwhelming, but not in a bad way. Up close, I notice that his green eyes hold specs of blue, nearly turquoise, making it look like he has the world in his eyes.
He gestures casually to the seat beside me. "Is this seat taken?" His voice is just as perfect as the rest of him, almost like a soft, smooth blanket being draped on whoever he is speaking to. And that just so happens to be me. I just don't understand why.
Everyone else in the class has their eyes on us, wondering why on earth he has chosen me. I'm not popular, and I certainly am not the prettiest.
Remembering that he has just asked me a question, and is waiting for an answer with his thick eyebrows raised slightly, I shake my head quickly, feeling the need to gulp. Maybe to swallow the nerves.
He sits down beside me, evidently content, while avoiding the gapes from the rest of the class. The nervousness I am suddenly feeling makes me mess with the hem of my grey sweater with the tips of my fingers.
He turns to me and holds out his hand. Completely and utterly puzzled, I slowly take his hand in mine, feeling a rush of warmth at his touch, and shake it. The students around us mutter to one another in condescending voices, eyeing our locked hands with frustration.
"I'm Caleb." His smile widens, his eyes wild and perfect.
"Lena," I reply slowly, unsure.
His hand slips out of mine. He considers it, his eyes calculating, and then responds, "Lena. That's a pretty name."
"Um...thank you." My cheeks burn, while I'm not exactly sure what the hell is going on.
He chuckles at my reaction, and adds, "It's nice to meet you, Lena."
---
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I'd just like to say that if any events that happen in this book are similar to events in another book, it is purely coincidence, and I have not intended it to be this way. Let me know, and I will do what I can to change it :)
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