Soft morning sunlight shone through the small window at the top of the wall, right above my head. I groaned, fighting not to doze off again. I slowly sat up and took my phone off of my nightstand. Once I turned it on, I read the time, and it said seven ten. I widened my eyes. That gave me barely enough time to get dressed, eat breakfast, and get my things together! I shot out of my sheets like a bullet. I ran straight to my dresser, took some fresh clothes out of it, then ran down the stairs and to the bathroom.
The door squeaked with protest as I opened it. Man, Aunt Gretchen really needs to fix her doors, I thought as I flipped on the light. It pierced my vision as always, but my vision always readjusted. Closing the door, I stripped down to my skin. Thankfully, I took my shower last night, or else I would be having to walk. Well, on that note, I rarely even took the bus, so who cares.
I slipped on some new undies and put a pair of skinny dark blue ripped jeans over them. A turtleneck grey shirt covered up my bra, and, most importantly, my mark, which no one has seen. I meant to keep that a secret, but I accidentally said to Gale that I'd explain today. I widened my eyes in realization. I did tell him that. I bit my lip. Crud, what would I say?
I threw a silver chain necklace around my neck to complete my wear. I took my brush out of my drawer and went through my long auburn hair. I decided to leave it down today, just for fun. Fresh mascara covered my lashes, fresh minty teeth to smile at people, fresh scent so I wouldn't get that disgusted look. I think I was set. I headed down the stairs, where my aunt was yelling at me.
"You're going to miss the bus!" she nagged, then handed a plastic bag with a couple of waffles in it. "Don't forget your backpack and boots," she added. "I won't," I said, then grabbed my black-and-white bag, threw on a random pair of black knee-high boots, and rushed outside.
The air was crisp and refreshing, which was a sign of good weather for later in the day. I heard the sound of tires on asphalt as the bus neared me. I wasn't on the same bus anymore. The school found out that I wasn't on the same bus route anymore, so they switched me to a different one. I was going to meet my driver for the first time, so I hoped that he or she was nicer than Mrs. Fisk.
The bus screeched to a halt in front of me, and I happily climbed aboard. My driver was a tall, lean man, with dark hair and extremely blue eyes. He had slight scruff, and that made him look a little cute. He only looked to be about in his early twenties.
"Hello. I'm Mr. Knox. I hear you're my new bus student," he chuckled at the last part.
I nodded, trying not to blush, then turned down the isle. There were only a couple kids on it, not like the other one where there were loads of kids, mean kids. I took a seat somewhere in the back where I could look out the window.
The landscape went by in a blur, with a couple stops here and there, and in no time we were at the school. The bus didn't get very full at all, and I liked it. And I don't usually like bus rides. I hopped off of the vehicle and walked the front steps up to the glass double doors of the building.
Lockers lined the long, wide hallway, then branched off into seperate ones. Stairs in the center of the corridor led up to the second floor where my one and only favorite class was, French ll. French was my favorite language to learn because my mom had spoken a little bit of French, but I wanted to learn the whole language, so I started taking the class last year.
"Audrey!"
I turned around to see Gale jogging towards me through the crowds of teens.
"Hi, Gale. What do you want?" I crossed my arms and turned my body to face him completely.
"Oh, I was just going off to my first class, but meet me during lunch at the end of Hall Z," he told me, then walked into a classroom that my back was facing. Hall Z? I thought. That's the scariest place in school! If you don't know the history of Hall Z, then here it is:
Hall Z is a short hallway that's dark and doesn't have any lights on in it. The old, beat-up lockers are usually stashed there, and the floor and walls are stained and dirty. The kids nicknamed the place Hall Z because of how scary it looked. Don't ask me why it was named that. The name was just floating around and everyone started using it. Even the teachers are catching on to it. The hall is located on the second floor, and if you take a right, you'll see the cafeteria, and then Hall Z. It's really close to the cafeteria.
I arrived at my locker, which was close to the front of the school, and stuffed my backpack in. I don't care for having it on my back all day. I grabbed my History book and a pencil, then headed down the corridor, passed the stairs. Soon I came to the room which I was last at on Thursday, the one with Ms. Fields. The door was slightly open, so that meant she hadn't closed it on any late kids.
When I peeked around the corner, I could see half of my History class there. Wow, the bus really got me here early! Usually I would walk in to History at the last second, about a few seconds before Ms. Fields would close the door. I was starting to like my new bus route.
I took a seat in my ordinary place, somewhere in the mid-back section. My book flopped down onto the desk, making it rattle with tension. I checked the clock, which was perfectly positioned at the top of the doorframe. Five minutes until class starts. More kids were swarming around the spaces between the desks, catching up with the latest gossip and news with their friends. One was even getting a smooch in with his girlfriend in the corner before the teacher saw. I sighed and ran a hand through my lose auburn hair. This was going to take a while.
Five minutes later, Ms. Fields walked in, closing the door behind her. "Good morning, class," she smiled, her gaze flicking around the students. Then her gaze landed on mine, and her face fell. She was probably thinking about what happened to Aria and Kimberly. I quickly turned my gaze downwards and started fiddling with my pencil.
"Today, since we watched a movie on Greece on Friday to start off the new unit, we will be learning more about the topic today. Get out your notes papers, please." Ms. Fields walked over to her desk and pulled out a small remote control from a drawer and clicked a button. The projector came on and the whiteboard filled with words that was supposedly our notes.
Rustling filled the classroom as the students got ready their notes. I was already a step ahead of everyone, already writing down the words.
"Greece was established in...." her words were dimmed out as I focused on writing. The reason why I zoned out on her was that she flips through the slides fast, so you wanted to get as much information as you could. I hated this part of World History.
"Audrey, would you like to answer that question?"
I whipped my head up so fast that I was dizzy afterwards. "What?"
"I said, what is the geography of Greece like? Were you zoning out on me again, Ms. Gunn?" Ms. Fields cocked her head. I hated when she did that. She always asked questions to people who she thought weren't listening, and then gave us punishments if we didn't know the question.
But thankfully I knew it.
I had written it down absent-mindedly on my paper, so I just glanced down at it and said, "Mostly mountains, not enough farmland." I gave her a quick smile, then went back to writing.
Ms. Fields widened her eyes in astonishment. She was surprised because I didn't really get those quick questions correct a lot. "Okay, then. The geography didn't make..." she went on again. Some emotion sparked inside of me, like a wave of relief and a tingle of pride at the same time.
Finally, the hour long period was over. Just two more periods until lunch, and then I had to meet with Gale. My stomach dropped. I would have to tell him my secret. He was on to me, I just knew it. He would probably be following me around trying to see whats up.
I hurried to my locker through the tide of students to my locker, where I unlocked it and exchanged my World History book for my French book. My favorite class was up next. I was suddenly excited, and I practically hopped up the stairs to the second floor.
French went by with no late homework from Friday. There was just another new set of words to learn by the end of this week. After that, I had an elective, which was Web Programming. They basically taught you JavaScript and how to apply it to making games and websites. That was pretty fun. It was my second favorite class.
The bell rang for the next period to start. I got up off of my seat in the computer lab and walked out the door. I took a deep breath in, thinking about how to break my secret to Gale. Maybe I shouldn't tell him. No, then how would I get around it? What lie would I tell? I couldn't exactly say, 'Oh, hey! Yeah, about that blue flash, an alien spaceship came down and just so happened to blast Aria and Kimberly to icicles!'
I put my stuff away in my locker and walked up the stairs to the cafeteria. I walked in line and got my food, which only consisted of a sandwich and a juice, then ate. I ate quickly, reminding myself that Gale would probably be waiting. It was his free period and my lunch hour.
I made my way over to the double doors and to the left, where the hallway turned to the right and revealed Hall Z. The end of it was dark and lights flickered every now-and-then. Gale was leaning up against the stained, dirty wall, half-covered in shadows.
"Gale?"
"Audrey! Come over here."
I slowly stepped into the short hallway, passing by a couple battered doors in the process. The doors led to old janitor's closets, but some of the janitors still used them. I soon was standing next to Gale, heart beating like a ton of freight trains.
"You have something to tell me?" he crossed his arms.
"Yes...well, er..." I couldn't seem to get the right words out. My mouth gaped open and closed like a goldfish.
"Well?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Let me just show you." I stepped back, stomach churning with butterflies. "Don't freak out, okay?"
He nodded. "I won't, I promise."
Yeah, right. I bet he'll scream his little head off once he sees this. Pride flooded through my body as I raised my arm towards Gale. Tingles spread through my lower right arm as it transformed into a whirring, light blue-glowing cannon that was ready to shoot an iceball at anyone who threatened me.
A smirk danced on my face. "Like what you see?"