A/N: These first two chapters are not the best, I'm sorry. I promise it will get better. Send reviews please, and I will make changes :))
Tessa Gray looked up at the looming steps in front of her. They lead up to a beautiful building, almost blindingly white, and perfectly symmetrical. She read the name of the school again. Institute Preparatory: Home of the Shadowhunters.
Tessa grinned. It was finally time for a change. After living practically her whole life in New York, the opportunity to go to High School in London seemed like a dream come true. She had never been further than the outskirts of New York, and flying on an airplane had been amazing for her. Now, she clutched her backpack nervously and ascended the marble steps to her new school.
Inside, students raced back and forth through the hallways, their uniforms askew. Everyone looked rich: expensive, even. Bracelets and watches dangled from wrists, and purses were slung over just about every girls shoulder.
Tessa gulped. Her family wasn't very well off, and she was starting to feel out of place. To make matters worse, her skirt was unusually short, and it felt like she was exposed.
Trying to pull her skirt down and walk at the same time, she made her way to the office, where she was handed a schedule and a locker combination. Clutching the papers in her hand, Tessa hurriedly walked towards the direction in which she hoped her locker was.
She hadn't stepped more than three steps when she bumped into someone. Flustered, she dropped both her papers and fell to the floor. The person she had bumped into, a boy, bent down next to her and scooped her up. He had silvery-black hair, and intense silver eyes.
"I'm so sorry," he apologized. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."
Tessa shook her head. "Don't apologize. I wasn't paying attention. I'm new, you see, and I don't know where my locker is."
He glanced down at the piece of paper she was holding. "Ah, locker number 92. Follow me." He led her down a row of lockers until they stopped in front of 92. "I'm James Carstairs, by the way," the boy said, reaching out his hand to Tessa.
She blushed. "I'm Theresa Gray, but everyone calls me Tessa." She shook his hand and he smiled. "Well, everyone calls me Jem, Tessa, so you should too."
As they exchanged pleasantries, the first bell rang, and Tessa paled suddenly. "Oh no! Jem, I couldn't possibly be late for my first day of classes, could I now. Oh, do you think you could show me where Room 5 is?" He laughed good-naturedly and said, "of course, Tessa. Right this way. That's my first class, too."
He took her arm, and the two headed off to Maths, arriving just in time for attendance.
~~~o0o~~~
New girl. Jem? What. No way. He's so shy. Can't be. Tessa frowned, and looked pointedly at Jem. "Jem, why are they whispering?"
He blushed. "Well, I'm one of the schools star athletes, you see, and normally, uh, I don't really talk to girls. It's nerves, really." Tessa smiled at Jem. "Wow, I didn't know you were so popular, Mr. Carstairs," she said teasingly.
He grinned, then, and led her towards two empty seats. "I'll introduce you to my friends later," he said, already excited at the prospect of having a new friend. There was something about Tessa that was special, something that he was drawn to.
As soon as Maths class was done, he led her towards her locker, glanced at her schedule, and pointed her in the direction of the classroom. "History. Room 21. I'm not in your class, but I would take you there, sparing the fact that I have Football Conditioning. I guess I'll see you later, then." He waved, and Tessa waved back.
Pulling her shoulders up, she raised her head and proudly went in search of her new classroom. Even though Jem was nice, she now felt that she could be in charge of getting herself around the school. She would have to, anyways, if she was going to stay here on her scholarship.
~~~o0o~~~
She walked down rows of hallways which led to other hallways, until she finally came to Room 21. It was cheery, painted a bright yellow colour, and was shaped like a dome; bookshelves lining the rounded walls. Tessa sighed. Books were so amazing. She could get lost in a single book for hours upon end.
The bell rang, signalling the start of class, and she sat down in a middle row, and calmly began taking out her books. Suddenly, someone tapped her on her shoulder. "Excuse me," a voice said, rudely, "you're sitting in my spot."
Tessa looked up from under a wave of her curly brown hair to see a boy standing in front of her. Probably the most beautiful boy she had ever seen, with gorgeous midnight blue eyes and tousled black hair.
She found her voice, which had temporarily gone away, and spoke to him. "Sorry?" She sounded apologetic, but didn't get up. The class, noticing this, began to whisper, in almost the same way they did earlier in her Maths class.
The boy, who was starting to become annoyed, looked down at her expectantly. Does he expect me to move? Tessa thought to herself. She didn't have to, however, when the teacher, whose name was Mr. Blackthorn, took one look at the boy and spoke.
"Mr. Herondale. Please leave poor Miss. Gray alone and take a seat in the spot next to her. No more scenes will be caused in this class this year. Must I remind you of last years incident?"
He raised one eyebrow at the boy, and Tessa stifled a laugh. She wondered what the incident could have been. She stopped laughing when the boy frowned at her and took the seat next to her, grumbling and swearing under his breath.
Mr. Blackthorn nodded crisply and took a seat in his chair. "Students, please open your history textbooks to page 4. Today we will be learning about the Elizabethan times. Then I will announce your project partners!" He clasped his hands excitedly.
Tessa groaned. She never liked partner work. Ever. Especially since nobody she had ever worked with had done their share of the work. Maybe the new school would have better people, but she doubted it.
Shrugging to herself, she opened her history book and got lost in the world of Queen Elizabeth. It seemed like only a couple of minutes had passed before she was jolted out of her happy bliss. A long hand was waving in front of her face, and she angrily swatted it away.
The hand belonged to the handsome boy who sat next to her. He grinned cockily at her. "You wouldn't stop reading," he said. "If I hadn't waved my hand in your face just then, you might have missed Mr. Blackthorn read out the partner pairings." Tessa glared at him.
"Well, Mr. Herondale," she said evenly, "thanks for the hand waving." She said this sarcastically, and he of course recognized it. "No problem. And it's Will, by the way. Mr. Herondale is my father, though I'm sure you know that already." She rolled her eyes. "And why would I know that?" She whispered to him, as Mr. Blackthorn was starting to talk again.
His expression turned to one of puzzlement, before he quickly rearranged it into one of self-assurance again. "Like you don't know who he is," Will scoffed. He said this a bit too loudly, though, because Mr. Blackthorn whipped his head towards Will and Tessa's direction and frowned.
"Mr. Herondale. Miss. Gray. Would you like to enlighten the rest of us on your very important conversation? I must say, it sounded rather interesting. Do tell," he said dryly. Will grinned, and spoke before Tessa even had a chance to apologize.
"Well, Mr. B. Tessa here was just declaring her profound love for me," he said dramatically. "She even tried to kiss me." Mr. Blackthorn looked at Tessa, who was now blushing madly.
"Miss. Gray. Please refrain from putting forth your romantic advances in my classroom, please." He looked at his watch and frowned again. "Class is over. I'll just have to announce the partners tomorrow. What a shame." He frowned at Will and Tessa in disapproval, but dismissed them along with the others in the class.
As the students exited, Tessa could hear them whispering. Who is she? She sounds like such a flirt. Not even that pretty. Will? She angrily turned to Will. "What was that?" She demanded. "I did no such thing and you know it."
He nodded, his eyes alight with amusement. "I know. But you do like me, don't you? Everyone likes me."
And with that, he left the room, leaving a furious and red-faced Tessa behind.