Looking into the mirror, I smoothed out the black skirt I was forced to wear as part of my new school uniform. I was in my old bedroom, the one I had as a kid. I pulled the blue sweater over my white collared shirt, fingering the school crest embroidered on my chest. I tied my hair back into a low ponytail, though some strands of golden-brown refused to go back. I picked up my backpack. Once filled with clothes and whatever I needed to run was now full of pencils, notebooks and whatever else was needed for high school. 'Course, I got the list from Spencer, who also lent me all the stuff.
I slipped into my boots and walked out of my room. The house was pretty quiet with only the sound of the TV downstairs filling the air. I headed downstairs towards the kitchen to grab some breakfast. Hopefully the kitchen was stocked with food.
Last night was definitely interesting. Dad and King Jacin never did reveal what they were talking about to us - so much for me being there. Yet, when they both arrived to the dinner table, only moments after the girls and I came back from our little talk, I noticed streaks on Dad's face... like he was crying.
I was curious on what they talked about, but I didn't ask when we were coming back.
I walk into the kitchen to find Dad and Spencer already at the table. Three short stacks of pancakes surrounded them, piled with maple syrup and fruits. They each had a cup of coffee in hand as they stared at the screen in front of them.
My brother looked up at the sound of my footsteps, then immediately slammed his screen closed. Then Dad looked up, first shocked, then wore a smile on his face.
"Good morning, sweetie," He greeted. "Pancakes?"
What was that all about? I wondered, eyeing the laptop. "Morning," I muttered, opening the fridge door. "I'm fine, thanks." I heard Spencer ask if he could have my pancakes, then the sound of a plate sliding across the table. I turned back around with a jug of orange juice. "Do I have to go to school? Spencer makes it sound like it's torture."
Dad shot a look at Spencer, who casually licked the maple syrup off his thumb while looking back at him. "What? I was complaining about university, not high school."
"Well then." Dad turned to me. "High school is a horrible place with horrible teachers and massive amounts of homework. There will be tears and laughter but mostly tears. But remember, nothing is as bad as the Institute. Now, go on and rule high school. We'll be here when you come back."
Now, it was our turn to give Dad weird looks. "You couldn't have given me a pep talk like that, Dad?" Spencer asked, grabbing the juice jug from my hand and pouring a glass for him and me.
"I'm sorry, your mom was in charge of your high school pep talk," Dad apologized. He got up from the stool he was sitting on and went to put his dishes in the sink.
"Why am I even going to school in the first place?" I asked. "I mean, what if I accidentally set something on fire or something?"
"Going back to school will make you fit in better, you'll be like all the other kids," Spencer said, finishing off the first pancake on his second stack of pancakes. "And you won't let you get seen with powers, because you can control them, right Lauren?" Both Dad and Spencer eyed me carefully, waiting for my answer.
"I'll try," I muttered, slinging my bag on my shoulder.
Dad looked at me straight into my eyes. "You better do harder than try, Lauren. You have to keep it all a secret, okay?"
I rocked back and forth on my heels. "Okay, daddy."
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I fished for it, finding that Aidan sent me a message: meet you are school or wanna walk together?
I looked at the clock on the corner of my screen. It read 8:11 AM. "When does school start?"
Dad looked at the clock mounted on the kitchen wall. "Uh, in about nineteen minutes. You better get going." He kissed my forehead, wishing me a good first day. I smiled in response, replying to Aidan: meet me at birchmount and spruce, we'll walk the rest of the way together.
I grabbed my coat and headed outside. A blast of cold, winter wind greeted me on my front doorstep, though it hardly bothered me. Double checking that I had enough money for lunch, I walked down Spruce Avenue to where Aidan was supposed to meet me.
Along the way, I thought about last night. Dad and King Jacin must've been talking about the Institute's plans, right? That's all that's been on everyone's mind for a while now. And there must be a reason behind why Dad was back? Is he here to get more information? Is he just acting innocent? Should I have taken him down the moment I saw him?
And along with that, why did it look like Dad crying before dinner? Why did he look so broken when he walked into the house yesterday? Did something happen back at the Institute that he won't say?
Thinking about his relationship, I thought about mine. Yesterday, I told Jessica, Alyssa and Taylor that I might be falling for three boys, but was that actually true? I kissed Tyson but felt a lot closer to Aidan. And Cole? He was just a boy that I met a few days ago. I couldn't possibly be falling for him, could I? Either way, he looked familiar, which bothered me. I knew I saw someone like him before, possibly at the Institute. I just couldn't put my finger on it.
"Woah, woah, woah, watch where you're going, girl." I looked up to find that I was so lost in thought, I bumped into Aidan. "Ready for the first day of school you'll remember?"
"Kind of... what about you? This is your first too, no?" I asked him as we started walking. The snow crunched beneath out feet. Unfortunately, people haven't gotten the time to clear the fresh snow on the sidewalk.
"I actually remember my first day of kindergarten, remember?" He said. Right, 'cause I gave him all his memories back. We walked in silence for a few moments until he spoke again. "So, what were you and the girls talking about yesterday?"
"Nothing," I say quickly. Too quickly that he gave me an odd look. "Nothing, just... girl stuff, you know. They think I spend too much time with boys."
"I mean, you do," Aidan said.
I shot him a look. "What, you don't like me around so much?"
He shook his head. "No, I appreciate your company. But you should get a chance to talk with someone about... whatever girls talk about."
I let out a laugh. "It's not very interesting, if I do say so myself."
The sound of a bell chimed in the distance, signalling probably the start of the school day. Rosewood High wasn't far from here, as far as I could remember.
"Quick, we can't be late," Aidan said, bursting into a sprint. I trailed behind him, my hair flying in the wind.
We reached the front door, where Tyson, Alyssa and Jessica were standing, along with a tall woman with greying hair. She wore a black suit and had her hands crossed in front of her, glaring at me and Aidan.
I gulped. Her name tag read Principal Adams. I had a feeling we didn't give her a good first impression.
She didn't say a word, instead turned around and started walking, gesturing for us to follow her. The woman led the five of us to her office - a messy room with piles of paper around every corner. She took a seat at her desk, looking at her computer.
"The first bell rings at precisely 8:30 AM and classes begin at precisely 8:35 AM," She said in a stern tone. "Lunch is at 11:45 and lasts exactly an hour. If you are no in class by 12:50, you will face consequences."
I glanced at the others, all who wore semi-terrified expressions of the principal.
The principal each handed us a piece of paper. "Here are your schedules, along with a school map. If you have any issues, please contact our school guidance counselor, Ms. Domenico or myself. Please be advised that is you cause any mishaps, your parents will be contacted immediately. Now, you might want to head to your classes. A guide will be there in each class if you need help."
We were sent out - or, we ran out of the office in an instant. None of us wanted to be in the room with that strict woman for any longer.
"Meet you in the cafeteria for lunch?" Tyson asked. We all nodded, then headed out separate ways.
Alyssa and I were headed the same direction - upstairs and to the left. I had English first period while she had math.
"You aren't new here, right?" I asked her as we climbed the stairs. "I mean, you and Tyson were here for the first year of high school, right?"
She nodded. "It's been a while but I still remember Principal Adams. She was never very friendly and hated tardiness."
I gave her an odd look. "Who uses the word "tardy" these days?"
The girl laughed. "Maybe your English teacher." She glanced down at my schedule. "Yeah, Ms. C is all about the olden days, though she's hardly forty."
I looked at my schedule closer. "Why are there empty spots in my timetable?" I asked. "They can't all be free periods."
"No, they aren't," Alyssa stated. "We're choosing electives next period with Ms. D, the guidance counselor. One on one, though. Look, this is your class." She stopped in front of a classroom door covered in pieces of paper, each with names and characteristics on them. They were all brightly coloured.
"Alright, see you at lunch," I told her as she continued down the hall.
I knocked on the door to find myself standing in front of a tall, brunette woman with a big smile. "You must be Lauren, I heard you were coming to join us." She welcomed me into the classroom, where students were working on what looked like a poetry assignment, looking at the board.
To my unfortunate surprise, Cole was sitting in the back row, watching as I walked in. "Hey, Lauren!" He greeted, loudly. Soon enough, the entire class looked up and greeted me hello.
Everyone here couldn't have known me. The kids at my old school, yeah, but not everyone.
And then I remembered of the attack I was involved with when I was twelve. That thing made headlines.
"Looks like most of the class already knows you," The teacher, Ms. C, said. "Lets see... you can sit next to Cole, who will be your guide for the week."
He wore a huge smile on his face, removing the bag on what was probably supposed to be my chair. I rolled my eyes as I walked towards him. Why him, out of all people?
"You should be happy, I'm actually quite popular here," Cole whispered when I stood next to his desk. "Girls would kill to sit next to me."
"Whatever." I took a seat next to him, placing my bag on the ground. The teacher went over with the class on what they should be working on - a poem which they had to present next week.
"Ms. C is pretty nice, you know. Marks hard though, she almost failed my sister," Cole said.
I could hardly hear his words for that's when my head started pounding, making me yelp.