His gaze was so intense, I shuddered under his stare.
Before I could think or even act, Ace broke our eye contact and walked inside the classroom. Once he was out of sight, I felt my body relax and my lungs seemed to remember how to breathe again.
“Hey, move,” someone sneered from behind me.
Turning, I realized I was now standing in the doorway and blocking the way for other students.
“Oh, sorry,” I mumbled, stepping out of their way.
A few students entered the classroom and gave me nasty looks. Shaking my head, I tried to forget about Ace and the strange way I seemed to be pulled to him. Entering the class, I realized now I had a whole new set of problems; where to sit.
Chapter Six
First Steps
S
ome people think near death experiences are the most traumatic and terrifying moments of their lives. For a teenager facing a full classroom of judgmental teens, that is the scariest moment of their young lives.
And now, I was living my biggest nightmare.
All eyes were on me as I walked inside the classroom. Most students were seated in groups, clearly, they all were already friends and had made their friend groups years ago. I was new; an outsider attempting to break the circles they had already molded together.
My homeroom teacher, Mr. Slate, was sitting at his desk and messing with his desktop computer. He barely looked up when I walked in.
Most of the seats were filled, but I found an empty desk in the very back row. As I walked down the aisle, I heard more rumors and whispers as heads turned to check me out.
Holding in my breath, I tried to keep a stoic expression on my face. I couldn’t let any of them know how terrified I was. I just hoped they couldn’t hear my knees shaking.
Sitting down, I allowed myself to breathe.
I pretended to make myself busy by arranging my notebooks on my desk and checking out the decor of the room. The white cinder block walls were covered in motivational posters and East Jaguars memorabilia.
Something out of the corner of my eye drew my sight to the large window overlooking a large farm. The fact that my new school sat beside a farm full of cows wasn’t what was odd here. No, it was the thick gust of black air that seemed to be swirling among the trees that struck me. My eyes locked on the sight as my breathing grew rapid. Not now. Please, don’t do this to me on my first day of school.
My legs trembled beneath me and my eyes pricked with tears. I was so lost pretending to be busy, I didn’t notice the girls in front of me turn in their seats.
“Hey, Lizzy,” Talia says.
I hadn’t even noticed her sitting in front of me until now. I whiped my head around and the darkness that was once consuming my interest, disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. I did my best to compose myself quickly. Smiling back at me was Talia’s minions, Bonnie, Amy, and Kate. As they sat there in their short skirts and phony smiles, I was reminded of that movie, Mean Girls.
“Hi,” I reply a little nervously.
Talia leans in closer to me and I can smell her flowery fragrance filling the space. “Just between us, hanging out with Maylee isn’t going to help your reputation here,” she whispered, plastering a fake smile on her face.
Shuddering, I tried not to growl at her. This girl had a lot of nerve. Never in a million years would I ever want to be friends with someone like her. Her dislike for Maylee made me like her even more.
Smiling, I leaned in so only Talia could hear me. “Just so we are clear, my reputation here doesn’t matter to me. In fact, if hanging out with judgmental girls like you is popular, then I will proudly label myself an outcast.”
I sat back in my chair and turned my gaze to the front of the classroom.
Talia sat in shock for a moment before she returned to her snarky friends.
“Hey,” a voice whispered from beside me.
I turned and noticed a girl with sandy blonde hair and a guy with wavy brown hair were smiling at me.
“Yes,” I replied, expecting them to lash out at me, too.
“That was pretty cool,” the girl said, smiling.
I allowed myself to calm down and I smiled back. “Thanks.”
“I’m Sawyer and this is Kade,” Sawyer said, pointing between herself and Kade.
“No one really stands up to Talia. She’s been like that since pre-school,” Kade informs me.
His kind, blue eyes are calming like watching waves on the ocean. He runs a hand through his hair and I watch as his waves move between his fingers.
“You’ve had to put up with her that long?” I ask, smirking.
“It’s a small town,” Sawyer says, shrugging her thin shoulders. Her blonde hair hangs down her shoulders and they look like rays of sunshine. I am instantly jealous of her looks.
“We should hang out sometime,” Sawyer offers, and I notice Kade blushes.
“Sure,” I manage to say, right before the teacher begins the class.
As I sit back and prepare for my first day at East High, I smile to myself as I realize I just made friends simply being myself.
After school, I met Maylee in the parking lot where we waited for Ace to drive us home. We shared stories about our first day of school and I was lost in a story she was telling me about a cafeteria meltdown, when Ace zoomed right past us.
Grabbing Maylee by the arm, he whispered something in her ear that had her eyes growing wide.
Standing by, I felt awkward. Should I just watch their heated conversation or should I start walking home?
“Ace, it’s not a big deal,” Maylee yelled out.
Ace’s eyes grew wide with anger and I saw him slam his fists into his pockets as he stormed past me and toward his car.
“What was that?” I asked, once Ace was out of earshot.
“Nothing, just family issues,” she said, trying to fake a smile. “Come on, let’s get to the car before Ace leaves us,” Maylee laughed, grabbing my arm and pulling me behind her.
There was something very strange about Maylee and Ace, but I was too afraid to ask her anything. I really liked Maylee and didn’t want to offend her and lose her friendship.
Ace was already revving the engine when we quickly jumped inside. Maylee barely had time to close her door before he sped off leaving a trail of smoke behind.
When they dropped me off at my house, I thanked them for the ride and quickly got out of the tension filled car.
Heading inside the house, I was bombarded with questions from my parents about my first day. After relieving them that all went well, I dropped my backpack off and fell onto the couch to watch some reality television. After a while, I grew restless.
A walk through the woods suddenly called to me and I just couldn’t resist anymore.
Letting my parents know where I was going, I ran out the back door and headed for the woods. I promised to be back before dark.
I began making my journey through the tall weeds and sunflowers that littered the area. A slight breeze filtered through the air like a caressing touch to the skin. I wasn’t sure where I was going, I was just moving on instinct. As I glided through the sea of hunter green grass, I spotted something up ahead. Increasing my speed, I advanced forward, excited to find something other than the expansive grass and sky.
As I approached, I noticed a large tree line that stretched as far as I could see. It seemed to go on forever, but that wasn’t what had caught my eye.