Kat drove us to school the next day. Rosie came along to talk to the principal about Will, while Cody drove his own car. The building was just as I remembered it; almost nothing has changed over the years, not even the principal, who was still Mr. Horne that I remember.
"Mr.Horny?" Will asked, reading the name label on the desk. I laughed as Mr. Horne and Rosie glared at him.
"Just Horne," the principal corrected.
They started talking a little, discussing several issues including previous schools, old records, and other stuff that I wasn't paying attention to. Mr. Horne started looking at Will's old school records, certificates, and such with some expression on his face.
"You have quite a history, Mr. Allen," he said with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, he was going through some tough time," Rosie explained, "especially after my husband passed away."
Will sighed and rolled his eyes at that, and I saw a nervous look on Rosie's face.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Mrs. Allen," Mr. Horne nodded at Rosie apologetically.
"Baker, actually. I'm Rosie Baker. Allen is his father's last name," she corrected, and Will coiled his palms into fists. Alright, this just turned into a very tense conversation.
"You should know, Mr. Allen, that in my school, we barely accept any misbehavior or ignorance to the rules."
"Yes, sir," Will said.
"We have very few spots for more students here, so I don't want to feel like I made a mistake when I accepted you."
And I still wonder, are Will's past records that bad?
"I promise you, Mr. Horne, it was a phase and it's long gone now," Rosie said while Mr. Horne stared at her in a way that I couldn't put my finger on.
"And I'll take your words for it, Mrs. Baker."He then took other papers with my ugly picture on them. I don't get why these small profile pictures always look ugly, but I guess it's just my face. "Moving on to Ms. Shadow."
Man, it's been a while since I last heard that being called to me. He looked at my papers for a few minutes and asked questions about my online studying and all. He didn't mention anything about me being here before, though. He started listing a few rules to us.
"Tardiness and missing classes are prohibited. Cursing, woofing, threatening people, fighting and attacking people are prohibited. Gambling, stealing, and destroying property are prohibited. Gang and gang-like activities are prohibited. No gang-related paraphernalia is—"
"Prohibited," I interrupt him, repeating the same word he's been saying over and over.
"No, permitted," he corrects me, looking at me from under his glasses. "No gang-related paraphernalia is permitted, Ms. Shadow."
"Believe me, I'm not in a gang," I raise my hands in surrender, "…yet."
"No smoking or use of alcohol or other drugs, or being in the company of those who are smoking or using alcohol or other drugs. As for the school attire, Hats may not be worn in the building; girls may not wear skirts or dresses that are very short—"
"Thank God I'm not a skirt or a dress type," I remark, interrupting him again.
"Well, for you, Ms. Shadow, less ripped and more jeans, please."
Everyone looks down on my ripped jeans, which, to be fair, were excessively ripped that almost my whole legs were shown. I paired them with my white t-shirt and a gray flannel shirt along with my black shoes.
"Why didn't you just wear shorts?" Will asks, and I shrug. That's not a question to ask a girl. We don't buy ripped jeans to show our legs; we got shorts for that. We wear ripped jeans because they're ripped-jeans.
"Moving on…" And the principle kept on listing rules over rules, to which I wasn't really paying attention. I got distracted by random things in his office, like the picture on his desk of a little blonde boy, a basketball jersey with the school label on it that hung on the wall, a silver trophy with a gold medal around it that were on the bookshelf, and his bookshelf.
After that, he gave us our schedules and a list of all the books we need to buy.
We had our first class together, chemistry, so we said our goodbyes to Rosie and Kat and told them we'll ride with Cody. We were 15 minutes late to class and were told the same once we entered the class.
"We were speaking to the principal," I said.
"That's fine; it's your first day," the teacher said, "but next time will end up in a deduction of grades then detention. I'm Mr. Simon Fisher, by the way. May you, two, introduce yourself?"
Will motioned for me to start first. I look at everyone seated in front of me in an arranged pattern. I spot Jordan and Kyle at the far back of the class by the window. They both frown, and Jordan mouthed the words 'what the fuck?' to me. I ignore both of them and start my introduction.
"Sure," I say then look at the class. An average of 30 people is in it, all looking at me judgingly. "I'm Nicole Shadow. I'm 16 and 10 months, I play basketball, and I..." I trail off, not having the slightest clue of what more to add.
I remember my very first day in kindergarten when the teacher asked me to introduce myself. I was this little awkward chubby girl with the pigtails that wore boy clothes and sneakers. I told them my name, my age, and my hobbies. But I guess that things are different in high school.
"What school did you come from?" Mr. Fisher asked.
"I was taking online classes, actually."
"Like homeschooled?" Some red-head at the back said.
"No, it's online," I corrected.
"Well, you're doing it at home, so you call it homeschooling," she argued.
"No, it's just online studying."
"Yeah, at home, so you're a homeschooler," she shrugged.
"No, I'm not a fucking homeschooler," I exclaim in anger. Everyone widens their eyes, and some guys woo and whistle.
Mr. Fisher cleared his throat and said, "Ms. Shadow no use of such language is allowed in my class. Now, it's only a warning, but next time, it's a detention. Please take a seat"
"Yes, sir," I mutter, "illiterate bitch."
"What was that?" Mr. annoying Fisher asked.
"Nothing," I sigh, sitting next to Jordan. The whole class waits for Will's intro as if it's some rare live broadcast, and the girls really think it's a hot one. From my place, I can see every girl basically eye-raping him, checking out every part of his body as he spoke.
"William Allen, 17."
Those lonely three words got more than half the girls swooning, and some guy with a short purple scarf around his neck sighed dreamingly. If he wasn't gay, which I'm pretty sure he is, then he turned into one.
"What sports do you play, Mr. Allen?" Mr. Fisher inquired.
"Besides sex, basketball of course," Will smirked at his audience, which turned into a mix of girly giggles and encouraging laughs.
Once again, it only took the teacher a fake cough to quiet everyone down.
"Mr. Allen, spare us the sexual jokes; they're unacceptable in my class."
"Who said I was joking?"
"Take a seat, Mr. Allen."
"Way to leave a good first impression," I tell him as he passes next to me.
"I could say the same to you," Will sat behind me, next to Kyle, who didn't stop asking questions since I sat down. I simply told them that I'd tell them everything at lunch. Chemistry passed quickly, probably because I zoned out after the first 2 minutes.
Will and I went our separate ways after Chemistry. I had American Literature next, where I met Tyler and Cody and Amber. Just the people I wanted to see. I hadn't seen Cody since the morning; he'd left before breakfast. Tyler and Cody seemed cool, but Tyler and Amber, on the other hand, …not so cool. Tyler and Cody took the seats by the wall, while Amber and her group sat on the opposite side of the classroom.
I find an empty seat way at the back, in the middle column, and make my way to it. I sit on the chair, place my feet on the desk and push it to rock the chair back and forth. I hear whispers all around me, most of them talking about me. Yup, I'm the new girl everyone will start to talk about for the next week or two. The teacher wasn't here yet, so I got my phone out and read a text from Ryan.
Where are you? I didn't see you all day.
It's only been one class and he's already asking about my whereabouts.
Me: I'm in Lit. Got Math after this. See you at lunch?
Ryan: Nope. See you in Math ;)
At least I'll have Ryan with me in Math, I think. Tyler sits in front of me after making the boy leave his place. I don't look at him but keep my eyes on my phone.
"Nicole, when are we gonna be cool again?" He asks. I don't answer.
"Nicole, please, you're my best friend; I can't stand a day without talking to you," he tries again. My eyes stay fixed on my phone without really looking at anything specific.
Remember how I mentioned that I knew Jordan since I was 13? Well, Jordan is the one who introduced me to Tyler, and we somehow got closer really fast. Eventually, Tyler became closer to me in some way than Jordan is. Still, no one can ever replace Jordan.
"Listen, I don't wanna create a problem between us because of another problem that you're not even involved in."
I put my legs down quickly that the chair hits the floor hard enough to grab everyone's attention. "Excuse me? My two best friends are fighting then how am I not involved?"
"I'll solve everything, I promise."
"When, Ty?"
"When you promise me that we'll go back to how we were."
I sigh and turn my head to the side to see Amber's group staring at us. Amber was furious by the sight before her, glaring at me with all anger. At that moment, I don't look at her like the bitch of a girlfriend. Instead, I look at her in a different way, maybe that of pity? Sorrow? I don't really know. All I know is that she's now carrying a mini Tyler inside of her. Or maybe a mini Amber?
Alright, I'm getting nauseous.
"Okay, we're cool," I say. Tyler's eyes light up and he grins from ear to ear. He gets up from his seat and quickly leans over to kiss me on the cheek. I smile in surprise and notice Amber's eyes glaring even more if that were even possible.
I return back to my position and start to rock my chair again. A tall man with long black hair and a suit enters the class. Everyone returns to their place and quite down. He stands in front of his desk, hands in his pockets, and looks around the class till his eyes stop on me.
"Can you see me, miss?" He asks.
"Do I look blind to you?"
"I don’t know. You tell me," he motioned his head to my comfortable position.
"Oh, I'm really sorry," I quickly fix my way and sit properly.
"Did you ever attend my class before?"
"No, I'm actually new."
"You don't seem new to me."
"Yeah, about that? I just got distracted."
"No, I mean you look familiar. What's your name?"
"Nicole Shadow."
"Shadow," he repeats and nods, "Interesting. I'm Logan Meyer."
After Literature, Mr. Meyer asked me if I attended this school before. I told him that I left for some issues I was going through, and now it was time to come back. He took a long look on my face, observing every feature of it that I started to feel uncomfortable. Then he just smiled and sat on his chair after telling me that I'm dismissed.
I found where my locker is before I went for math. I sat by the wall and waited for Ryan. Ryan stood by the door and looked around the class till his eyes caught mine. I suddenly feel something flutter in my stomach when I see him. He grins and strides to where I'm sitting. He takes me by surprise when he suddenly presses his lips against mine.
1, 2, 3…
Only a 3-second kiss managed to grab the attention of the whole class and a few people from outside. People started murmuring and gossiping around us. And I was considering to just fitting in. Change of plans: I'll be the talk of the school.
"Hey, girlfriend," Ryan smiled at me.
"You're not really helping me blend in, you know?"
"I don't care," He sat next to me then moved his desk and chair closer to mine. "I missed you."
"It's only been a day."
"So? Is that a crime?"
The murmurs were put down once a man entered the class. He was a short, old man with white hair only covering the sides of his head. He used his foot to push the wooden step near his desk. He climbed on it, put down his books, wore his eyeglasses, and looked at the class.
"I hear we have a new student, am I mistaken?"
I raise my hand for him to notice me.
"Oh, it's a girl!" He exclaimed as if I was a newborn baby. "What's your name?"
"Nicole Shadow."
"Alright, I'm your math teacher, Mr. Hamilton," he flips the pages of his textbook. "Today's topic is about the same complex numbers you've taken for 2 years now, only they're even more complex."
And I started counting the minutes till lunch. Ryan told me to sit with him at lunch. He precisely said, "You'll sit with us at lunch, alright?", and I have no idea who "us" are. It was already time to find out when the bell rang, and everyone rushed outside.
I left all my stuff in my locker before going with Ryan to the cafeteria. It was like a jungle in there. If Ryan weren't holding my hand like his life depended on it, I would've lost him in the crowd. After we got our food we joined a group of people sitting at a table in the center of the cafeteria. Ryan greeted them all and then introduced me as his "girlfriend". It still sounds weird coming out of him, while he says it so casually.
"Nicole Shadow, it's good to finally meet you," some dude said from across the table.
"Same here."
"Oh, I forgot to introduce you to my friends," he pointed at the guy who was just talking to me. "This is Elliot." He then pointed at another guy with bleached blonde hair," this is Blake, and these are Veronica and Charlotte." The two blondes waved at me.
"We're twins," one of the girls said.
Just when I was about to dig in my club sandwich, I felt a poke on the back of my shoulder. Whoever this is will get out the worst of me for poking me. I hate people who poke; it's just overly annoying. I also don't like hugs or massage or people playing with my hair. Basically, any physical contact drives me crazy.
I close my eyes and blow my steam out to calm myself down as I stand up and turn around to meet my victim. Some pitch black haired guy with blue eyes frowned at me with a half-smile. What now? He thinks it's funny to just poke people. Even if he was damn hot, I'm not letting this go; I'm that stubborn.
"Nicole Shadow?" He chuckled, "No way!"
ns 18.68.41.146da2
