Within several days, Peyton knew how to survive life at Strawgoh High School. She learned the difference between a locker and a book bag. For the first time in her life, she had to rely on herself to get from one classroom to another. (I'm sure she had some problems getting to her classes for a few days; thanks to Nicholas and Anna, she was able to navigate the halls of the school.)759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxy3oq89WuA
Even though she had Hedley, Peyton was still alone. None of the other students would talk to her for fear of Cassidy's wrath; even the Sirens Kayla, Kirsten, and Sophia had yet to actually acknowledge her existence.
Yet, the only people who spoke to her were Anna and Nicholas; their stories about life at Strawgoh High didn't make things better for Peyton. Most of their stories were the products of nightmares, including bullies, strict teachers, and the endless hours of homework that had to be completed. Sometimes, it seemed that no one was allowed to have any fun at Strawgoh.
"OK, that's enough. Stop it!" Peyton snapped as she stopped Anna from telling a story about a girl she hated for almost no reason. "I've had more than enough of your bad stories to last me the rest of my entire life!"
"Yeah, why can't you tell us a good story for once?" said Hedley. "A story that doesn't contain bullies or cruel teachers or even about Cassidy?"
"And I'm especially tired of hearing about Cassidy," said Peyton. "That girl is nothing but bad news. How can she be so "great" and yet ruin the lives of students everywhere?"
"That's all we ever know about her," said Nicholas. "She's going to keep oppressing us until the day we graduate."
"That is, if we don't drop out first," said Anna.
"I've had enough of those two," said Hedley as he pulled Peyton aside so they could speak in private. "I can't take this anymore! If I hear one more story about Cassidy, I'm going to snap!"
"Calm down, Hedley," said Peyton. "I'm sure we'll find someone soon."
"We better," said Peyton.
To be honest, she was tired of having people following her, asking her stupid questions, and making bad jokes about her choice in clothing. Someone would be hanging out with her, come hell or high water.
Yet before we can begin that part of the story, here's what happened the day before...759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf8Gv66OtZb
Peyton and Hedley went to the library to study the school's history before Cassidy came into the place. It appeared that the kids were happy with their school, until Cassidy sent Jacquel there. Nonetheless, Cassidy took control of the school two years before kidnapping Harry and Jacquel.759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXDAEbbzfBo
"Well, I must say this is interesting," said Hedley as he stared at a picture of six girls standing together in front of the school sign. One of those girls HAD to look like Jacquel, with her dark hair and mismatched blue and gray eyes.
The picture underneath the caption read: "Jacquelyn Ritterwolff, Josselyn Bradley, Raina Gilpin, Marley Collins, Abigail Hilliard, and Summer Edmondson. Freshman Day at Strawgoh High School, 2013."
"We've hit the jackpot," said Hedley. "It turns out that Jacquel had friends besides her spellcasting cousins. All we need to do is bring her and her friends back together."759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ00xAR2POWk
"I don't know if that's a good idea," said Peyton. "Who knows who these other girls are. Or where they are for that matter. I mean, are they nice?"
"Or maybe they're just as mean as Cassidy is, and we know Cassidy was behind the whole thing," said Hedley.
"I can't trust her, not even for a second," said Peyton. "I say that we track her friends down."
"It's worth a shot," said Hedley. "After all, I believe we were sent here for a reason, even though we both don't know what it is yet."759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD6uXFNDTyU
Unknown to Peyton and Hedley, Cassidy, Azalea, and Dulce was sitting outside the library. They were planning to humiliate Peyton for standing up to them. Cassidy was angry because Peyton defied her and made sure that she would not get her way.759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtL5Sd8VpaD
Azalea said, "Check it out guys, Payton is sitting at the computer."
"Why should we care?" said Dulce.
"Because I found out a way to humiliate her," said Cassidy.
"And how are we going to do that?" said Azalea.759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtg1gnpTcb2
"You'll see," said Cassidy as she held up her video camera. As she recorded Peyton and Hedley looking up something on the Internet, she thought to herself you’re so going down, Peyton Hanner.759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoNEQnnN6T1
