Quinn sat on the edge of the bed. It has been less than twenty-four hours she's been here and she wished she never came to Blue Haven. She felt homesick, lost and abandoned among strangers. But she must prove her dad wrong. She can very well stay in a small town without any fuss.
How I miss you mom! If only you were here, everything would have been the same again. But nothing will ever be the same again, she realized - arms crossed.
She must at all cost avenge the death of the mother however impossible it may seem. Whoever did this had no right to snatch her mother from her.
She welcomed the overpowering anger filling her restless mind. The feeling was so intense that she felt a burning sensation on her skin. She examined her right arm closely. A small first-degree burn was present, tanning her sensitive skin on the spot her long fingers made contact.
She did not even want to understand how she got burnt. Strange things were happening here but why and how? She dismissed those confusing thoughts. Instead, she glanced at the old dark pendulum clock hanging on her cream wall. Five-fifteen, still too early for breakfast. She stood by the over-sized window facing the rich vast woods . It wasn't that creepy in daylight...just silent and wild.
A speck of clouds had gathered in the sky. It was gloomy enough to make Quinn have seconds thoughts. She just wanted a normal day at Rossmore High School. But this was already a bad start. It felt more like a rising pale dawn and nothing like a small ray of sunshine to enlighten her first day.
She dressed up, taking all her time curling her long hair. She was not in a mood to confront her grand-aunt yet but went downstairs anyway.
Sitting in an armchair was her grand-aunt, deeply engrossed in an Agatha Christie novel. The tapping of her red heels caused her to look in her direction. Her gaze slowly assessed her whole body in much the same way a criminal would examine his victim after assaulting and stared up again.
"Good morning granny," Quinn said, flashing a wide smile.
"Is that what you're wearing for your first day?" the not bothering to smile back grand-aunt questionned.
"Yes," she replied. She examined closely the crimson top and black mini skirt she wore. It seemed fine, knowing this attire emphasized every curve of her body, the red color giving her a bold confident appearance to deal with her very first day at Rossmore High School. Surely her grand-aunt was not imagining her dressed in the 19th century for High School.
"You resemble more like a bitch and less than a student. Go back and change," she barked.
"I'm not and by the way granny, you must stop being so judgmental!" Quinn fumed back.
Not bothering to see the reaction of her grand-aunt, Quinn made long strides, opened the front door with difficulty and walked out. A cold breeze slapped her face, refreshing her mind. The neighbors were giving her a friendly smile as she passed by, clearly all intrigued to know who she was. Hopefully the town seemed normal in broad daylight.
Rossmore high school was just three miles away and she preferred walking. This would be a good exercise to calm her nerves. All her efforts of being nice were being futile. She wondered why her grand-aunt hated her so much.
On her way, she came across a cake shop where a wide variety of freshly baked goods daily; gourmet cookies, fresh apple cake, cheesecake slices, chocolate eclairs, strawberry torte, decadent brownies and muffins were displayed in the window. She stepped inside, still indecisive about what to eat as they all made her mouth water.
She bought a brownie on the way as a replacement for breakfast. As she waited for her double espresso, a hand rested on her shoulder. She turned back to stare in the face of a woman in her mid thirties who gave her a friendly smile.
"If I'm not mistaken, you're the relative of Helen Deveraux, right?"
"Yes... and you are..."
"Oh! How silly of me!" She pushed her long black hair away from her face. "I'm Eva Beckett. You can call me Eva."
"And you can call me Quinn," she added with a warm smile.
"Going to high school?" she said. Quinn nodded and drank her double espresso.
"I'll drop you. It's on my way to the hospital." Quinn considered the option. "I'm a doctor, you can trust me."
"Okay."
***
Eva showed her some shortcuts she could use if ever she had to walk again. All the way, they held a friendly conversation but Quinn was alarmed. She knew Eva wanted to extract information about her stay here in Blue Haven. It was hard enough to adjust and being the new gossip in town wouldn't help.
She pulled over at Rossmore high school and just when Quinn reached for the doorknob, she stopped her.
"Quinn, whenever you need help, remember I'm always available for you," she said gently.
"I will. Thanks for the ride." She got out hastily, desperate to get away from this curious doctor.
For a moment, she stood, rooted on the spot, gazing around her in dismay. Not only did the sky lacked colors today, even the high school was grey. It seemed like it was designed by some maniac who was obsessed with that dreary color. It appeared dull and uninviting to Quinn. New hallways, new lockers, new classrooms, new desks, she thought. New faces instead of the friends she'd known in New York. Oh, it couldn't be true.
But she knew she had to embrace the sudden change in her life. Now was the time to prove to herself that she can belong here, in Blue Haven.
The parking lot was crowded with other students. Laughter sounds from cliques girls, joined with excited conversations on the left side and shouts. As she walked by, heads turned in her direction. The guys gave her appraising looks while the girls stared back viciously. Quinn flashed a confident smile, walking straight forward. She was used to that kind of attention by now.
In front of her, a small group had circled three blondes, all dressed in royal blue with high long ponytails and a shy looking boy.
"How many times will I have to repeat myself Luke, whenever you see me around, you better make yourself scarce," the tallest super long ponytail blonde said. "Or else dumb boy, the consequences will be nasty."
The boy named Luke lowered his head silently and he fidgeted with his glasses as they slid down his nose.
"You seem to forget my punishments. I have to refresh your memories now, don't I ?" she continued in a vicious tone.
She stepped forward and slapped the boy. Luke jerked away, his hand automatically covering his brick red colored cheek.
"This is the result of disobeying my orders," she said in a superior tone.
Everyone just watched in full amazement, standing there doing nothing to stop this craziness.
"Now for not forgetting again..."
Just as the mean blonde was about to strike again, Quinn snapped forward, grabbed her hand, twisting it as she did so. The other girl gasped painfully.
"Treating violence with violence is usually beneath me but you're an exception!" Quinn said softly. She dropped her hand, almost flinging it away.
"You must be Quinn Richards, the new girl in town. Otherwise you would have thought twice before stopping me." She gave her an evil smile. "Never mind, now that you're here, you'll occasionally pay for this disruption," the blonde vehemently threatened.
"You have no idea who you're dealing with," Quinn told her in a low, deadly voice, a smile forming on her full red lips.
Miss super long ponytail stepped back and her two friends took her away from the crowd - the same crowd a minute before not doing anything to stand for Luke now clapping and whistling for her. Luke, eyes still fixed on asphalt, thanked her shyly and ran away, not daring to glance backwards.
"Wow that was quite a show! This is the first time I've seen Scarlett quiver with fear," a hazel-eyed girl about four inch shorter than her, dressed in a fiery red color dress contemplating her sandy hair with red highlights said. She was gracefully beautiful with her square face and pale makeup.
"By the way, I'm Jade Moore, the girl in charge to show you around," she went on, brushing away her wild curls off her face.
"So Jady girl, will you just bore her to death or introduce us too, huh?!" a voice behind Jade mockingly remarked.
Jade chose to ignore the voice.
Quinn gave a friendly smile, shifting her gaze from Jade to a tall pair of handsome boys standing side by side accompanied with a nervous short girl who wore no makeup.
"Here, allow me to introduce myself and the rest of the gang," the most stylish one said." He shoved Jade slightly on the left so he can be the center of attention.
"I'm Ash Williams, a.k.a the hottest boy of this high school," he laughed huskily at her, his sterling grey eyes locked on her. The others sighed in exasperation.
He pinpointed to the other boy with same grey eyes as him and the girl wearing an oversized orange sweater and faded blue jeans. "This is Jason, my twin brother and that's Lisa, definitely the most reserved girl in Blue Haven.
A thin silence followed. They all studied her thoroughly. Jade pushed Ash aside and stood near Lisa.
"Lisa is not reserved, just a bit shy and you're not the hottest boy around Ash, Dravon is!" she corrected.
"Agreed," both Lisa and Jason confirmed.
Ash rolled his eyes and lifted his hands in a whatever gesture. Quinn had no idea who Dravon was but they all seemed to be fond of him.
She beamed at them. They looked like the coolest gang of this high school and they were here, talking to her. She wasn't expecting that kind of attention. It was overwhelming how she was being treated as one of them even they all met just some minutes before.
A quick glance at her watch showed it was almost eight o'clock. She'd better hurry to find her way to the principal's office. She gazed at Jade who was supposed to show her around but she seemed preoccupied talking to Lisa.
Ash however missed nothing as he grabbed Quinn's arm and headed inside. They all followed them. Again, heads in the hallway turned, probably analyzing her as she was escorted, with surprisingly methodical steps down the long corridor filled with students.
A rising sound of hot gossip followed their trail in the hallway. Quinn could only pick on bits of their loud conversation.
"-That's the girl who slapped Scarlett-"
Another random voice interjected. "-Maybe she's the one who will dare to bring Scarlett down-"
"-Even the elites are giving her a lot of attention. They normally don't interact with strangers-"
Quinn wanted to hear more but Ash squeezed her arm which brought her attention back to them.
"If you're wondering why they're so curious about you, drop it! We're the Blue Monarchy elites here - the exclusive group everyone envies and want to be a part of!" Ash informed. "The Blue Monarchy society have existed ages ago. It consists of the teenagers with the same family bloodline as the ancestors who created the society." Quinn instantly admired them more. It was true other students wanted to be with them. She could read their faces.
"We heard you met Dravon last night?!" Jade interrupted.
"Dravon?"
"Dravon Blackwell - the hottest boy and son of the richest founder of Blue Haven! He literally owns this place with the flourishing hotel business. Most of the buildings including our High School, forest and monuments belonged to his ancestors, now his legal heritage," Jade gossiped.
"And without any doubt, the strongest one of all," Lisa added with a shy smile.
Oh, so he is Dravon!, Quinn thought. No wonder both Jade and Lisa were always chanting praises about him. He was truly devastatingly handsome.
She let her gaze wander around the hallway of Rossmore High School. The interior was nothing like it's dull grey exterior. It was dressed in cream and red walls and shiny white flooring just like the water in the mornings, brought to a high polish by the caretaker.
"He said you were stupid enough to wander alone on the highway, what happened?" Jade asked, a worried frown forming on her forehead.
The nerve of him! How dared he call her stupid!
"He apparently forgot to mention the fact that you're exquisitely beautiful," Ash winked down at her.
"You're not stupid, just brave!" Jason voiced after a moment of reflection.
Jade stepped forward, took Quinn by her right arm, holding it tight. Quinn winced slightly.
"What is it?" Jade questioned, dropping Quinn's arm instantly. Ash, on the other hand, leveled her arm gently, examining her skin through sterling grey eyes.
"This mark..." he said. It can't be! Could she be one of us? Maybe that's why Blackwell asked us to keep a close eye on her, he thought.
Quinn frowned. Something was wrong, she could feel it in her bones and the gradual speeding of her heart. The burnt mark of her skin which had formed a line this morning now resembled somewhat like an infinity sign. They looked down at the mark, nodding all at once.
Okay, this is weirder than she thought, Quinn acknowledged.
"Jade, I think it's highly time to ..." Lisa never got to finish when Jade made a dismissive wave with her hand, and, shortly after, ushering Quinn to the principal's office, leaving the Blue Sonority gang behind.
Not even bothering to knock, Jade barged inside a rather neat white office, with a nervous Quinn behind.
"Dad, this is..." Jade announced.
"Quinn Richards", her father confirmed. "I'm Fred Moore," he grinned, gesturing them to sit down.
"I've heard a lot about you, Miss Richards. It's an honor to have a smart student with straight A's among us. Your dad wants the very best for you. Quinn lost her smile at the mention of his father as he never showed any interest in her studies. "You're in good company with Jade and the rest of Blue Sonority. They'll guide you around," he beamed.
"Now ladies, time for your classes!" He handed her the schedule and they mechanically headed for the door.
"Jade, if your dad is the principal, why not inform him about Scarlett's behavior?" Quinn asked.
"Simply because her dad's the sheriff in town. She uses his dad's authority to traumatize and bully others," Jade explained.
Quinn frowned at this, then checked her new schedule with interest.
Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling... The loud sound of the bell echoed in their ears.