Runnin' - Naughty Boy feat. Beyonce and Arrow Benjamin
8 - Shocked Is An Understatement
Word count: 1727
"I'm ready to face it all, If I lose myself, I lose it all."
- Runnin' (song above)
***
Blink. Blink. Blink.
That's the reaction I received after introducing myself. I had to try really hard to restrain myself from laughing at their faces. They were so comical.
Priceless!
I quickly glanced behind stage at Casey who smirked at me and gave me a wink. She is probably desperate to take an image of this moment. Admittedly, I am too.
"I just want to say I am thrilled to be here learning. I hope you all feel the same!" I say, lying. Although, nobody can tell. I have practiced so hard in lying that no one can tell anymore. Swallowing at their still shocked faces, I pass the microphone back to Mr. Fisher.
He politely takes it and clears his throat. That knocks some of them back into reality, though some are still far away.
"Thank you, Whitney. Now we have to set down some rules for Whitney's privacy. One is that you must not ask her for autographs or photos. She is here to study like you, not to sign autographs.
"Secondly, do not ask her any questions about upcoming things. She is forbidden from releasing any new information on her upcoming events.
"Finally, Whitney will have one bodyguard who will be following her around. He will not be inside the classroom but he will be outside. So do not be alarmed. This is also for her safety. Is that clear?"
Nobody replies. You can practically hear a pin drop in this deafening silence.
"I said, am I clear?" Mr. Fisher repeats, louder.
"Yes," they all reply in sync. He smiles and then leads me off of the stage. As soon as I'm behind stage, I release a breath I didn't realize I was holding. On stage, I look confident and ready for anything but now I'm off stage, all of the nerves hit me like walking into a brick wall.
Only close people get to see me in this state. Casey rushes over to me and gives me a small hug. She already knows what I'm feeling, she's seen me at my lowest state.
"You did amazing. Honestly, I was giggling back here the whole time at their faces." She murmurs into my ear and I bark out a laugh. Casey has a really high pitched giggle that is pure comedy.
"Right, on a more serious note. We have your schedule here. Since you already know where you are going, Alan will ask you for directions. Mr. Fisher informed me that all of the students will go back to first period." Casey tells me and I nod. When she hands me my timetable, my eyes skim it for today.
I nearly groan when I see the word maths. How wonderful. Can you detect the sarcasm?
Casey opens the back door—the one we came through eariler—and gives me a side hug.
"I'll see you at home okay?"
I nod my head and watch her head to the second car. She gives me one last wave and then gets into the car. I mentally sigh, wishing I could be joining her.
Alan and I begin walking to the front doors to the school. I come to a halt at the bottom of the stairs and inhale. Flashbacks of when Callum and I walked into here, laughing. Or when I was being chased by Ares with a hollering Athena behind us.
I wonder if they will approach me today. No! You are not going to think about that. My inner conscious shouts.
Alan swivels on his heels and raises an eyebrow. He gives me a look as if to say 'are you—Whitney Winters—really scared right now?' I sigh and look past him, at the school. Thankfully, nobody has noticed me yet.
"I know, I know but...its just so surreal. I need two seconds to get my bearings." I say and set my mind straight. I am going to walk in there, like a boss woman and show them I am incredible.
I flash Alan a smile, telling him I'm ready and with that, I walk up the stairs with my head up and my shoulders back. Alan opens the door for me; I step through.
The hallways are packed. Students are either stood by their lockers talking or are walking to their next lessons. When they see me, they scream. Yes, freaking scream and run over to me. Before any of them can touch me, Alan puts his arm in front of me and blocks some of their view of me. I need to remind myself that later I should thank him.
All I can hear is squealing girls and multiple voices. Questions and compliments are being thrown at me, left, right and center.
"How are you, Whitney?"
"You look amazing in that outfit!"
"I love your hair."
"You were great in that last film!"
As flattering as it is to receive these compliments, I have to remind myself that some of these people were the reason I left. They bullied me, shunned me, hated me. And now they are acting like a completely different towards me like nothing ever happened.
A part of me feels angry at that. How dare they act like that, without apologizing for the torment they caused me. How dare they pretend to be nice to me. How dare—
My thoughts are cut off by Alan's loud, booming voice. "Listen up, Whitney needs to get to lessons. You can talk to her later but right now, she needs to go. So clear off." He shouts, in a cold voice. I refrain myself from flinching at his demand. Alan is a sweet man, deep down, but like me, he puts on a facade.
Reluctantly, they all wander off. Some girls give me longing glances. I nearly roll my eyes at it. They probably want to become my 'new best friend' so they can brag about it to everyone else and become famous. I hate people like that.
"Ready kiddo?" Alan asks.
I huff at the nickname and give him a playful glare. At least he knows how to cheer me up.
Alan walks in front of me to my first lesson: maths. The remaining pupils in the hallways turn to me and smile. Some are genuine and some are fake. Perhaps I could be friends with some people.
A girl, who I think is called Penelope, gives me a bright, almost blinding smile. Two years ago, we didn't really interact. She was nice to me but she was never around when I was being picked on. At lunch, I'm going to need to find someone to sit with and I know if I'm invited to the popular table, I will need an excuse. Despite hating most of them, I need to keep a good public image.
If one of them leaked to the press that I was a rude and ungrateful person, Casey would kill me. I need to remain Hollywood's golden girl.
Eventually—to my dismay—we arrive at my maths class. Alan gently knocks on the door and a few seconds later, the teacher opens it. Mrs. Thomas, who must have been expecting me, smiles and gestures for me to enter. Casting one final glance at Alan, I step in.
Instantly, the students sit up in their seats and flash me friendly smiles. Well, except for some cheerleaders who give me fake smiles. Gosh.
Mrs. Thomas leans against the front of the desk. She has short hair, that is turning a silver color. I remember her from two years ago, she wasn't my teacher back then but when I would pass her in the hallways, she would always start a polite conversation.
"Hello Whitney, its lovely to have you here." She sweetly says, with a smile. I return it.
"Thank you, Mrs. Thomas."
"Would you like to take a seat?" She asks, her eyes scanning the room for a spare seat. I copy her movement and nearly gasp at the sight of Athena, Ares, and Callum. How did I not notice them earlier?
"Should I sit on the seat at the back?" I politely ask her and smile.
"Of course sweetie." She replies and I head over there, ignoring the weird tingle sensation I feel when passing Callum. I swear, when I walk past him, he sits up straighter and shakes. But then again, maybe I'm imagining things.
When I get to the desk, I plonk my stuff on the ground. The people around me swivel on their seats to face me. Athena is sat a few desks in front of me, with Ares next to her and Max in front of her.
"Whitney, can I just say I loved your film with—" a girl is interrupted by Mrs. Thomas who gives her a glare.
"Miss Carrington, are you disturbing our new student?" She sternly asks and places a hand on her hip for effect. I stifle a laugh at the girl's bright pink face. She quickly turns around and drops her head in shame.
From then, I zone out of Mrs. Thomas. Not bragging or anything but I'm already good enough in maths so that I don't need to listen to her. I doodle in my notepad to pass the time, ignoring all of my surroundings.
When I feel several pairs of eyes on me, I glance up. All three of my friends are staring at me. I look into each of their eyes and see the want to talk to me, to explain things to me. But...I don't know if I'm ready for that yet.
When the bell finally rings, I'm the first out of my seat. I waste no time in going to the door and over to Alan. Several people call out my name but I pretend not to listen to them.
Next class is History.
{A/N: pretty boring chapter but it needs to be to lead up to big things. Mwhahaha.
Also I'm currently updating in psychology (lol) since I wrote this yesterday. My exam is in three hours (eek!). Thanks for all of the amazing messages guys. You are the best!!
Next update: 22nd May}