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The Outcast
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Melanie was definitely not having a good first day. It was made clear to her outright that she was too different to be here at this school. When a group of girls came up to her table, lead by a tall brown haired girl who was obviously the leader, and who started telling her she didn't belong, Melanie wanted nothing than to disappear like a ghost right there. She wanted to run away and cry herself to sleep. She wanted to go home—but she knew there was no 'home' to go to anymore.
"Why not just leave while you still can? No one will notice the absence of one unimportant girl."
The girl who'd spoken reminded Melanie of a royal princess by the way she held herself; long, lusciously curled and flowing brown locks that swept over her shoulders. She had sharp and critical emerald green eyes, with a hand on her hip as she snarled at her. Great, she'd just made her first enemy.
"Why don't you head back to your palace and leave us in peace, Princess," came an annoyed male voice behind them.
The girls whirled around on their stylish, super high stiletto heels to face the handsome newcomer. The boy who'd spoken didn't seem that big and scary, and despite his handsome features, he appeared really pissed off with an annoyed, 'I-won't-tolerate-any-nonsense' attitude. He was definitely someone you wouldn't want to mess with.
"Well, look at what the ruddy cat dragged in. This doesn't concern you, Chase McAllister, so I'd walk away if I were you." She threatened in that lilting accent of hers—Melanie couldn't place where the girl was from.
"Just because you're some 'Duchess' or whatever back where you're from, doesn't mean you can order everyone here around; America is a free country. I'd advise you to go away before I decide to do something drastic, like burn your precious hair off your thick scalp." The boy practically growled. Even though he sounded tense and absolutely dangerous—with his dark-flint eyes—his posture was relaxed, his arms hanging at his sides.
This put a royal frown onto the girl's face. "You better watch yourself, McAllister. Just because you've played with fire before doesn't mean I'm afraid of you. I could get you kicked out of here before you fall asleep tonight."
Something about her statement caused Chase's eyes to flicker with something deep within, but they quickly went back to their usual flinty selves. "Well, you should be afraid, dear Cathrine. And if you think your threats are worth anything, you've got another thing coming. Now walk...away..." He forced out impatiently, his words coming out harsh and threatening. "Go and gossip with your friends and don't come back until you've learned how to be nice to people."
This sent them scurrying away, but not before Cathrine threw one last threatening glance Melanie's way before strutting away with her and her clique.
"T-Thanks for doing that..." Melanie examined her savior that stood before her now, shifting his weight to one leg as he stowed his hands deep into his pockets. He had shaggy, chocolate brown hair with bangs that swept down into his dark eyes—eyes that told her maybe he didn't care about his appearance, or rather, anything at all. She could barely make out the color of his eyes because of the bangs. He was also pretty tall. His ratty jeans managed to stretch all the way down to his sneaked up feet, ripped up around the knees; his clothes looked like they'd been through a lot—maybe even a fire, with smudges of dirt and grass on them. His demeanor told Melanie right away that he couldn't care less what anybody thought of him.
"Yeah, don't mention it—seriously. Pretend it never happened. Just make sure to stay far away from Cathy and her groupies." For the first time, he really looked at her. "So, you're the new kid everyone's been gossiping about."
Melanie raised an eyebrow. "I guess I am. I didn't know everyone here was going to be so rude like that."
"Yeah, well, you get used to it. Some people prefer to be left alone and stuff like that. I would know because I'm one of them, so this will be a one time thing. Everyone has to learn to fend for themselves, it's how you survive here and out in the real world." He told her rather candidly. He sure spoke his mind often.
"Umm, okay. Thanks for the tip, I guess." Great, Melanie thought sourly. And there went her chance at making friends here. She hadn't planned on making any friends at first, but secretly she had hoped she would.
Apparently not.
When the end of lunch bell rang, the scooting of chairs could be heard as everyone got up to dump their trays and leave. Melanie did the same, but slowly. "Um, you wouldn't mind if you could show me the way to my next class, would you? I have...Independent Studies?"
After a few moments, the boy sighed and gave in. "Yeah sure, I don't care. Why not?" Chase lead the way out another exit on the first floor, heading towards the library. "Normally in this class you have one-on-one time with a teacher who talks to you and yada-yada in the library. Mostly about your grades and how you're doing in class, like a guidance councilor." He explained. "Other times, it's like study hall. The library is the most quiet place on campus because the librarian likes it that way. She's very strict and a little off her rocker if you ask me."
Melanie just nodded, keeping quiet as they walked.
"So, I have to ask...what's your gift?"
Melanie really stared at this guy. He had made it clear he wasn't interested in being her friend, so why did he care? Could she trust him?
"You're not going to make fun of me, are you? Like everyone else?" she asked timidly, her gray eyes casted to the ground.
Chase gave her an 'Are-You-Crazy?' look. "Of course not, I don't stoop to their level. Everyone is so petty and not worth my time. I promise I won't make fun of you; I take people's abilities very seriously." He said, then paused momentarily before adding, "Well, except for one person in particular."
Melanie sighed, deciding to go ahead and tell him. It couldn't hurt. "I can. Ghosts sometimes appear to me, asking for my help to cross over, stuff like that. I wouldn't say it's a talent—more like a curse."
Chase shrugged. "It's not that bad-and it's no curse, trust me."
"People thought I was crazy because I 'talked to myself.' My–my parents kind of thought so, too, but they loved me anyways." Melanie tried not to dwell on the thought of her parents. She just couldn't handle that right now.
"Yeah, well, you're definitely not crazy. So is that it?"
"Pretty much; it's nothing exciting, I'm not sure why people here are making such a big deal out of it." She glanced around at all of the people around them.
"I think it's because you're the only one who has this kind of ability, but this kind of attention will fade over time so don't worry about it too much. In a few weeks, you'll be old news and no one will care."
A few weeks? How comforting...
They reached the doors to the library and Chase stopped there. "Well, here you go. I gotta head back to class. Good luck with the rest of the year."
"Thank you, for everything." She called to him before he was completely gone.
"Yup. Don't mention it." He threw the comment over his shoulder as he walked away, leaving Melanie to venture on inside by herself.
What interesting kind of people they had here...
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