CHAPTER TWO
I found my hand hovering over the brass handle of one of the giant wooden doors.
I could turn back right now and run.
I had the address in my phone and it probably would only take 20 minutes to walk home. But, that would only buy me a day, maybe two, if I could muster up enough tears to convince Uncle Felix I needed more time.
I took a deep breath, grabbed the handle and swung the heavy door open.
Inside, students filled the halls with chatter and laughter. I could only see a small portion of the building, but I could tell that it was much larger than it looked from outside, and that was already intimidating enough.
I noticed a window-lined wall to the right. The glass on the door read: Administration.
The door chimed as I stepped inside and a dark-haired secretary with circular glasses and a floral print dress looked up from her desk, peering over her glasses. “Annabelle Kennedy?”
She knew my name?
I approached the desk cautiously. “Yes.”
She giggled. “Don’t be frightened child. It’s not every day we get newcomers.”
“Oh?” I asked. “It’s just such a large school.”
“Ah yes, but we take kids from the small rural areas around Burnwood. There’s quite a few.”
She spun around in her swivel chair and reached into the file cabinet behind her. When she turned back around she had file folder in hand.
“This is your class schedule. It was a quick do up since your registration was only three days ago, but if you’re uncomfortable with any of your electives we can try to find a place for you somewhere else.”
She opened the folder and pulled out a single sheet of paper and held it out.
“Thanks…”
“April Hawthorne. The school has this thing about students calling the faculty by their first name, but I’ve managed to get the okay on Miss April.”
I smiled. “Well, thanks Miss April.”
“If you want to take a seat, Mrs. Crawford will be out in a minute.”
I started for the row of chairs lined against the glass wall and stopped mid-way. “Who’s Mrs. Crawford?”
She laughed. “Sorry. Like I said, we don’t get many newcomers. Mrs. Crawford is the acting principal at the moment. Mr. Langley had a terrible accident during the summer, but we’re hoping he’ll make a full recovery.”
I nodded and walked over to the window. I was too anxious to sit down, so I stared out into the hallway at the crowds of students slowly dispersing in every direction. Again, I was reminded of the way my fitted skirt and loosely curled blonde hair set me apart from the rest of the student body.
Or maybe not…
Our eyes met from across the hall as he casually leaned up against the grey painted lockers lining the hallway. He was tall with short light brown hair and warm hazel eyes. He had a strong, lean build and unlike everyone else, he wasn’t wearing a stitch of plaid. Instead, he wore black jeans, a black T-shirt, and a black leather jacket.
At least I wouldn’t be the only person to stick out around here.
I wondered if he was new as well. He didn’t look like he belonged in a town like this. He looked like he belonged to one of the New York school clicks that always irritated me with their over-inflated egos and materialistic images. Better yet, he looked like he could be their leader.
“Annabelle?”
I turned to find a short heavy-set woman with a mocha complexion and curly brown hair standing behind me.
“I’m Mrs. Crawford,” she said as she slicked back a few grey streaked curls behind her ear. “I trust that you and your uncle have settled in?”
“Yeah, we’re definitely working on it,” I replied uneasily.
“Well, I am sure Burnwood will grow on you the way it has on me. Now, Miss April has provided you with your class schedule.”
She didn’t pose it as a question, but I nodded anyway.
“Well then, I shall show you to your first class. These hallways can get a little confusing in a school this size, but I’m sure you’ll find your way.”
I glanced over my shoulder before following Mrs. Crawford into the hallway, but he was gone.
As we made our way through the maze-like hallways, Mrs. Crawford gave a quick speech about policy, regulations, academics, and sports. We passed the gymnasium, library, cafeteria, and finally to my English class at the very end of the hallway.
Mrs. Crawford opened the door and stepped inside. “I’m sorry to interrupt, Ms. Kay, but we have a new student with us today.” She gestured for me to step inside.
I took a deep breath and stepped forward. Ms. Kay welcomed me with a smile much too large for her thin face and lanky body. Her mousy brown hair hung in a sloppily made braid, which somehow suited her forest green dress.
Something about her style and slim figure reminded me of my seventh grade teacher, Ms. Keller, a bubbly woman with a very warm heart who was always so kind to me. Perhaps the closest thing to a mother I had ever known.
“Welcome…” started Ms. Kay
“Annabelle,” added Mrs. Crawford.
Ms. Kay nodded. “Well, Annabelle, we’ve just begun so go ahead and find a seat.”
I glanced over the rows of desks, trying to ignore the awkward stares and deafening silence that seemed to be following my every step. I wandered down the aisle until I found an empty desk near the back of the room.
I took my seat and pulled a notepad from my bag and placed it on the desk. I dug around the bottom of my purse for a pen and pulled out a handful of different writing utensils. I kept myself busy by doodling on a blank page, but after a short time I couldn’t shake the uneasiness I felt.
It would be easy to chalk it up as nerves, but it felt like more than that. Finally, out of curiosity, I surveyed the room; and somehow I wasn’t surprised to see the same hazel eyes from the hallway staring back at me.
Our eyes met again as he stared at me curiously.
Could what I was wearing be that different?
I refocused on my doodles, trying to ignore the burning sensation his lingering stare left on me. From time to time I would sneak a quick glance his direction only to find his eyes still boring down on me.
Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore!
I turned, fixing my face into the meanest expression I could muster, and I stared back at him with equally intensity.
He blinked and, as though snapping out of a trance, the hateful look dissipated into something much softer. He looked away and I did, too.
I shifted in my desk and looked straight at the blackboard where Ms. Kay had already begun scribbling in chalk.
This would not be my favorite class.
I kept my eyes on the chalkboard for the remainder of the class. I didn’t feel his eyes burning through me like deathly laser beams anymore, but I didn’t check either. When the bell rang I gathered my notepad and pens and hurried from the room.
Second and third periods flew by so fast I hadn’t even had time to consider how hungry I was; but now, standing in the middle of the cafeteria with my tray filled with an assortment of separately packaged foods, while I surveyed the area for a place to sit among the many different faces, I was starting to lose my appetite.
The lunchroom tables were either full or entirely empty, presenting equally unappealing options. There was no way anyone would welcome me to an already full table.
“Crowded in here, isn’t it?”
Behind me was an average-sized girl with brown eyes and chemically straightened brown hair. Her mocha complexion and pink lips emphasized her bright smile and dimpled cheeks.
“I assume it’s always like this?” I said.
“Pretty much. That’s why we eat outside when the weather’s this nice.” She gestured for me to follow her, and we walked to the far side of the cafeteria and exited through a set of heavy metal doors.
She glanced over her shoulder. “I’m Jane by the way.”
“Annabelle.”
<
br /> She smirked. “I know. It’s a small town.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond. How much did this town already know about me?
She paused, placing a single fingertip on her chin. “You just moved into the house on Dunsley Street, right?”
Well, that answers it. They seem to know a lot.
“That’s the place. My uncle and I got in last night.”
“I know.”
Again?
She shrugged. “I live three blocks down from you and I like to run at night. So your uncle is kind of young, isn’t he?”
“I guess so. If you call 37 young.”
Jane crossed the concrete patio where several picnic tables were randomly placed and onto the freshly cut grass making way to a large football field. There were a few trees sporadically placed between the courtyard and the field, and a single picnic bench sat beneath the shade of one of the large oaks.
Jane dropped her backpack next to the bench and sat down. I sat my tray on top of the table and took a seat across from her.
She took an apple from her backpack and chomped into it. “So where are your parents?”
I choked back the water I had just sipped. “Sorry, what?”
“Your parents… where are they?”
I gently patted my chest until my lungs were clear and replied, “They passed away when I was really young. Uncle Felix is my only family now.”
She stopped chewing and stared at me quietly for a moment. “I’m sorry. That was horrible of me. It’s just that a lot of us here only have one parent, or less sometimes, but it’s usually a case of negligence or workaholic issues. I’m really…”
“It’s okay. It was a long time ago.”
I opened a package of carrot sticks and bit into one as I stared out across the field.
“So…” Jane started. Her gaze shifted to something behind me.
I turned to find three tall boys approaching the table. One was wearing a red and black football jacket and blue jeans. He had a dark complexion, probably of Spanish decent. There were intricate designs shaved on the side of his head, giving him a certain type of edginess.
The boy beside him was slightly taller and wore a black hooded sweater and blue jeans. He had short dark brown hair and brown eyes. The last boy was a face I could never forget only because I had seen it before.
“This is Annabelle,” said Jane. “She’s new.”
“New indeed,” said the boy with the unique hair designs.
He slid into the seat beside me, resting one arm atop the table. “I’m Cruz,” he said.
I inched myself over, trying to create some space between us.
“That’s Alec,” Jane said, pointing to the taller boy with dark brown hair. “And that’s Carter.”
Carter. So that was his name.
I glanced at him, not sure what to expect since our last encounter.
“Wait, aren’t you in my English class?” I asked Alec.
I had seen him before, and if my memory serves me correct, he was sitting next to Carter in English. Maybe he hadn’t noticed the strangeness between Carter and me. Please let him not have noticed.
He laughed. “I’m in your English class… and your history class, and in your French class.”
My cheeks warmed as the whole group chuckled, even Carter cracked a smile.
“Sorry. It’s been a distracting morning.” I gave Carter a sideways glance.
Alec sat down beside Jane and nudged her shoulder. “Don’t sweat it. You can make it up to me with a drink at the old mill grounds tonight.”
“The old mill grounds? Am I supposed to know what that is?”
Alec shook his head. “Newbies.”
I frowned. “Okay, townie. What exactly are the old mill grounds?”
Alec laughed, but it was Jane who responded. “It’s a big party over at the old mill. It’s been closed for decades now, but students use it as a party site.”
“I don’t know…”
“I wouldn’t.”
A tall, extremely thin girl with jet black hair and pale skin approached the table. She wore all black and had a thick layer of mascara and eyeliner around her green eyes.
The whole table let out a slight sigh and diverted their eyes.
“Annabelle, this is Trish,” said Jane.
Trish raised her hand. “Don’t bother. I already know who you are.”
“I thought you weren’t coming today?” asked Jane.
“Yeah, well Grams insisted.” Trish dropped her shoulder bag onto the ground and sat down beside Alec.
Everyone was quiet for a while, a long awkward silence filling the air as we all shifted in our seats.
Trish narrowed her eyes at Cruz. “You two look comfy.”
Again, the group sighed and I was beginning to recognize a pattern.
Cruz shook his head and shifted to face me. “The old mill is kind of difficult to find… especially for a newbie. I can pick you up.”
Trish glared at me, the vengeful look in her eyes almost tangible. They penetrated through me like ice. I knew anything I said now would have serious repercussions.
“She lives a couple blocks from me. You can meet me at my house and I’ll take you,” said Jane.
I hadn’t even decided that I was going, but the group had and that seemed to be all that mattered.
“It’s in the woods.” Trish smiled, but there was no kindness in her face. She narrowed her green eyes on me and continued, “There’s no lights out there. You could get lost… in the woods, all by yourself.”
“Trish, you’re so stupid sometimes,” said Cruz.
Trish leaned back and folded her arms. “I guess I should’ve expected this much from you, Cruz. A hot piece of ass comes walking by and you can’t help but be the hero. Pathetic!” she spit the words at him like venom.
“What time should I be ready?” I asked Jane.
I hadn’t wanted to go. Truthfully, Trish’s description of the Old Mill Grounds scared me. I didn’t want to get lost in the middle of some dark forest all by myself, but it was the only way to stop the bickering.
Jane looked surprised. “Meet me at my house at 9 p.m.” She ripped out a piece of paper from a notebook she kept in her bag, and jotted down her phone number and address.
The bell rang and everyone hurried back to the school. I started across the field alone as Jane held back with Trish.
Carter jogged up beside me. “Hey.”
I looked him over. He didn’t seem angry. Had he forgotten the whole incident or was this some kind of trick?
“Hey.”
He slipped his hands into his pockets and glanced over his shoulder. “I’m sorry about Trish. I wish I could say she wasn’t always like this.”
I shrugged.
“But, you stood up to her. She’ll respect you for that,” he said.
I laughed. “I think it will be awhile before she feels anything but hate for me.”
“She’s more bark than bite.”
I nodded. “Now that I believe. It’s safe to say it wasn’t something I said since she didn’t let me get a word out.”
He shook his head. “No. You didn’t do anything, except maybe catch the eye of Cruz.”
I laughed. “Not my intention.”
Carter smiled. “Can I walk you to your next class?”
I paused just outside the entrance to the school and looked at him. His brown eyes revealed a bright sapphire ring around the outer iris. I had never seen anything like it and it captivated me.
There was something truly spectacular about this boy.
I nodded and followed him through the hallways until he came to a stop.
He looked up at the room number displayed over the door. “This is it.”
“Thanks,” I said, stepping through the doorway.
“So, I’ll see you tonight?”
I nodded. “I’ll be there.”
He smiled and turned back down the hall. I watched him leave, unable to l
ook away. Something about him captivated me and I wondered if he felt the same way. It wasn’t a crush, I’ve experienced that before. It was something I never felt before and it filled me with excitement knowing that I would see him again tonight.