So, I re-wrote the story...again. I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated. My life's been a little...fucked up, for lack of a better word. I don't know when I'll be able to update again since my laptop is out of commission.
Buuuuut, here's the new and improved Smashed into Pieces!
Aiden
October 5, 2006
8:12 a.m.
Hallway
I hate being the new kid at school, I really do. The whole meeting new people, making new friends, learning new names, following new rules, it all just creeps me out. Significantly. I guess I'm just like 98% of the population: I fear change.
When you're the new kid, everyone stares at you. I hate it. I hate the whispers, the pointing, the stolen glances, the rumors. And I absolutely hate how everyone looks at you like you're an expensive car and they're all looking at your qualities and judging what you offer, just to see if you're worth buying—er, befriending. It's degrading.
I sighed loudly as I looked down at the school schedule clenched in my hand. "Room two-oh-four, World History, Mr. Scott, period two," I murmured to myself. I hesitated outside the classroom door, desperately wanting to run back to my dorm room, call my parents and go home, back to Montreal.
8:15 a.m.
Hallway
Unfortunately, I was still standing in the cold, dreary hallway, staring at a heavy wooden door instead of the cozy, warm house we left in Montreal.
Pulling from the reserve of courage I normally save for the stage, I took a deep breath and opened the door. I immediately felt the 30 pairs of eyes stare at me and I felt my cheeks get hot and my pulse start to race.
"Yes? Can I help you?" asked a tall, thin man with thinning black hair and an almost pure gray goatee.
"I'm, uh, a new student," my voice came out all dry and raspy so I cleared my throat and tried again. "My name is Aiden Eberheart."
"Ah! Miss Eberheart, I was wondering when you'd show," he teased gently.
"Sorry sir, I got held up in the provost's office."
"Do not fear my dear, you are forgiven," he smiled, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "In class, we've been learning about the French Revolution. Now, we've split into groups and each group is assigned a person, event or thing specific to la revolution. You may work with…" he paused now, scanning the sea of faces. I could see some groups quickly drop their gaze, not wanting to be volunteered. As soon as I was sure a great pit was going to open up under me and swallow me whole, a quick motion caught my eye. I looked up and saw a couple of smiling, friendly looking girls, waving their hands.
"Miss Tunney? Miss Wenham? You're volunteering to take our newbie? Are you positive? I'm sure there are many other groups willing to take her…" he trailed off again, this time giving the rest of the class a stern glare for not being as amiable. "Alright. You've worn me down. You may have her."
One of the girls, the blonde one, actually clapped her hands. I grinned. Of course, they'd be the ones to take me in, I thought to myself.
I strode quickly across the classroom and started up the stairs to where the two girls sat. When I came up to them, they moved so I was to sit in between them. I took the bag off my shoulder, slung it over the back of the chair and sat down.
"I'm Sarah Wenham," the blue-eyed blonde said almost immediately. I schooled my face to not let anything show but polite interest in a new friend as I shook her proffered hand.
"And I'm Kate Tunney," the dark haired girl said, smiling. Her white teeth flashed brilliantly against her dark, mocha colored skin.
I couldn't help but to grin at their enthusiasm. "I'm Aiden Eberheart."
"We know," Kate said laughing. "Where'd you move from?"
"Montreal," I replied.
"Why the mid-semester move?" Sarah asked.
I quickly went through my short list of answers to this specific question and opted for the non-creepy one. "My father got a new job teaching at Harvard this last summer, leaving my mother and me in Montreal. They both didn't want to move me so late in my 'high school career'," I made sure they knew how bogus that sounded and they laughed. "But, I wanted to move. I wanted to experience something different, even though it terrified me. So my mom and I moved to Boston to be with my father. And voilà."
"What does your dad teach?" Sarah asked.
"Anthropological history. And speaking of history, shouldn't we be doing a report or something?" I asked, eyeing their copies of New Moon lying on the desk.
Kate's smile took on a mischievous glint. "My older sister, Kara, took this class when she was a senior. Her project was on Marie Antoinette. Our project is on Marie Antoinette."
"I see. The whole recycled-assignment-from-older-sibling deal?" I asked, smiling.
Kate tapped her nose and smirked. "Do you have any siblings?"
I shook my head. "Nope, I'm an only."
"You're so lucky. My younger brother drives me crazy," Sarah said.
"Hey, let me see your schedule," Kate demanded suddenly, holding out her hand. I handed her the crumpled piece of paper that at one time resembled a class schedule. Her eyebrow lifted when she saw it and I gave her a sheepish smile.
She whipped out a purple pen and started writing on it, commenting on my choice of classes and the teachers I'd be dealing with. Apparently everyone loves Mr. Scott. I recalled his wide, friendly smile and his bouncy walk and immediately understood why.
"So what do us young people do around here for fun?" I asked.
"Well, there's Nicky's. It's a teenage friendly bar. There are pool tables, foosball, an old jukebox and the best cheeseburgers in town," Sarah said, grinning.
"Then there's that new teen dance club in Gloucester," Kate added, still scribbling on my schedule.
"Ooh, I love that place," Sarah commented. "And Nicky was talking about hiring a local band to play a few nights a week."
After that, they delved into a discussion about Spencer Academy. The who's who and what's what and all that jazz. Sarah's boyfriend, Caleb Danvers, is captain of the swim team, on honor roll, student body president, perfect attendance, up for valedictorian, already accepted to Harvard Law, and apparently devilishly handsome. I feigned interest in the seemingly new information.
Kate's boyfriend, the uniquely named Pogue Parry, is an average student, owner of a bomb ass Ducati ("If he paid as much attention to his schooling as he does that damn bike, he'd be a much better student," Kate muttered), swim team member, and possesses a killer bod as well, to which Kate beamed with pride. Caleb and Pogue have been best friends practically from the womb. "Inseparable," Sarah added.
"Well, not totally inseparable," Kate said suggestively with a lecherous grin.
Sarah pinked prettily, "That is true."
I giggled.
The two boys have two other very close friends: Reid Garwin and Tyler Simms. Reid is the practical joker, the bad boy, the troublemaker. He's apparently roguish, brash and sarcastic. Tyler's completely different. He's the shy, quiet one, the smart one of the two, the good boy.
"Oh, and stay away from Aaron Abbot," warned Kate. "He's a total jerk."
"Not to mention totally gross," Sarah added, shuddering delicately. "And his girlfriend, Kira Snider is a mondo bitch."
I nodded. "Duly noted." Already aware of them, I thought.
The bell rang, releasing class. We stood, collected our bags and made our way down to the main floor and out into the hall. Once out of the classroom, Kate handed my schedule back and pointed me in the right direction of my next class.
"We'll see you in Chemistry!" Sarah called out as the sea of bodies carried us in its current. I watched as they expertly weaved in between the bodies and could almost feel myself turning green with envy.
I sighed and turned around, almost colliding with a body in motion. "Oops. Sorry!" I called after their retreating form. Blushing faintly, I carefully made my way to Mr. Downer's Trigonometry class.
As I walked down the hall, I looked out of the large windows that lined one side of the corridor. The woods surrounding the campus were absolutely beautiful. All the greens, golds, reds, oranges, browns…it was all breathtaking.
I rounded a corner and collided with someone. Hard. I dropped my history book, a few notebooks and my schedule as I went sprawling to the cold, unforgiving floor.
"Jesus Christ! I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" I heard someone ask.
I looked up what seemed an impossible distance and saw a tall, blue eyed brunette male looking down on me, concern etched onto his pale face. "Yup, I'm fine," I looked down and saw that I couldn't get up on my own without flashing panties. The guy must've noticed as well because he stuck out his hands. I grabbed them gratefully, letting him help me to my feet.
"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked again.
I laughed. "Yes. Look. No bruises, no breaks. I'll live," I bent down to retrieve my things. He also crouched down to help and snagged my schedule.
"Here," he said, smiling.
"Thanks," I replied, feeling myself smile in return as I tucked the piece of paper between a textbook and notebook.
"No problem," he said a cocky grin on his face. He looked like he was going to say something but the school bell rang.
"Oh stink," I muttered. "I'm going to be late."
"So what? I'm sure the world will still spin."
I grinned. "True. I should make a good first impression since it's my first day. But an impression that's too good means that I'll always have to live it up. But a relatively bad one would grant me all sorts of freedoms. Oh the choices, the choices," I mused aloud.
He laughed. "Well, in that case, welcome to Spenser. And just so you know, there's no pool on the roof of the cafeteria."
"What?" I asked.
"People like to pull pranks on the new students and that one is a favorite."
I laughed. "Couldn't they be more creative?"
He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "Idiots are easily amused."
I laughed again. "Well, I really should be going. I don't want to be too late. Maybe we'll run into each other again at a more convenient time."
"Maybe," he said, shrugging one shoulder and grinning.
I turned around with a small wave and started walking down the empty hall towards my next class, totally bemused. Then something occurred to me. "Wait! What's your—" I called out, swiftly turning around to address the mystery guy only to find that he'd already disappeared "—name?" I finished weakly. Completely bewildered, I turned back around and continued on my way, trying to figure out why he looked so damn familiar. And why the sight of him made me terrified.
The final bell rang.
10:25 a.m.
Ms. Pott's Chemistry class, room 134
I had just finished telling Kate and Sarah about my mysterious meet-cute. Their reaction was just as I expected: typical.
"That's so cute!" Kate said in an excited half whisper. "But I have no clue who he could be. He could be one of many," she added on. Typical Kate, I thought, always one to speak the truth, no matter how hard it is.
"But the school's not so big that you'll never see him again," Sarah quickly added. I internally shook my head at Sarah's tendency to try to reassure, even if with false hopes. "Maybe you could look through old yearbooks?"
"That's a great idea!" Kate exclaimed, no doubt trying to make up for her unintentional faux pάs. This is just how they are, I mused. Kate's exclamation was a little louder than before and earned us a steely glare from Ms. Pott. We giggled and spoke only in whispers for the rest of class.
10:55 a.m.
Hallway
Kate was currently telling me how Pogue and the rest of the boys had left during the previous period for an away meet at some public school which means that the guys are totally going to kick ass and take home the gold because, I mean, Hello! everyone knows that private schools are so much better than regular old public schools, so I would not be meeting them at lunch but that was, like, totally okay because everyone was going to see a movie that night since we had, like, a teacher workday the next day which means no school, at least in the States.
It took me a few moments to comprehend what had just been said. Kate didn't seem to notice for she was busy on her phone. As the pieces fell together, I barely had enough time to contemplate on how in the world anyone understood her when she snapped her head up and looked at me expectantly.
"Uh, can I get a rain check for the movie? I still need to unpack, plus Mr. Downer gave me a ton of trig to catch up on," I said, trying in vain to juggle my history, chemistry and trig textbooks as well as my trig workbook and a few notebooks.
"That's totally cool. You can make it up by having lunch with us and by going to Nicky's with us tomorrow night," Kate negotiated.
"Sounds great. But, can we find my locker? I think I may lose it soon."
Sarah laughed and grabbed half of my books. "What's your locker number?"
"Uh…" I struggled to find my schedule, which had my locker number on it. When I'd finally found it, I noticed that Kate had written down the dos and don'ts for the teachers I had, directions to my classes, which of the Sons and girlfriends I had in my classes. I turned to give Sarah a look as if to ask where in the hell she got all this information. Sarah shrugged, looking completely confused.
"It's locker number one-eighty-eight. It's on the way," Kate announced. Sarah saluted her back as we were led down the hall.
After we stopped by my locker and dumped my books, we walked out of the main building and out into the chilly October afternoon. As we walked, I again marveled at the beauty of the old buildings and the autumn woods. "You know, its beauty like this that makes me wish I were a better painter," I said, gesturing to the scenery.
"Me, too," Sarah agreed wistfully, looking around.
"So, what do you do?" Kate inquired.
"Do?" I asked, frowning in confusion.
"You know: sports, writing, music, art…? Like, I write for the school newspaper and Sarah head of the photography club and yearbook," she explained.
"Ah, got it. Um, I played soccer, I play a few instruments and I'm a theatre nerd," I said as we neared the cafeteria.
"Which instruments?" Sarah asked, opening the door for me and Kate.
"Thank you. I play the piano, guitar, violin and the cello…sort of," I smiled.
"'Theatre nerd'? Like, you do school plays and junk?" Kate asked.
"'And junk'? How eloquent, Miss Journalist," I joked. "But yeah, school plays and community theatre."
We got into the lunch line and Sarah pointed to someone off in the distance. "Ooh look, Mahoney's saved us a table."
I looked in the direction she was pointing and my gaze zeroed in on a lone redhead, reading a book and munching on a salad.
Kate looked down at the lunch I'd picked out and eyed it critically. I looked down too, checking to make sure I hadn't done anything stupid. The Caesar salad, bottled water and array of fruit looked normal enough, so I turned a questioning look to Kate.
"Smart choice on the lunch," she commented. Some of the stuff's a little…sketchy." With a semi-terrified look at the kind looking lunch lady, I scurried up to the register to pay.
After I gave the harried looking lady my student number, I followed the two girls through the crowded lunchroom. A few tables ahead of us, I saw the redheaded girl looking in our direction. She was giving me the oddest look. Normally I don't notice those things, but this was a confused look, like she was having a case of dejά vu. Or maybe she just had a really bad headache. I don't know.
Kate and Sarah stopped at her table, just as I expected, and sat down. I followed suit, setting my tray down and gracefully tripped over nothing and landed heavily in my chair. I could feel my cheeks heat up as the three girls stared at me. "Whoops," I muttered.
Kate smiled kindly at me. "Aiden, this is Sheena Mahoney, Tyler's girlfriend. Mahoney, this is Aiden Eberheart, she's new."
I played this next part perfectly: the naïve new girl. "Hi Sheena, it's nice to meet you."
She shook her head slightly. "Nice to meet you too. But please, for the love of all that is holy, please call me Mahoney."
I laughed. "Mahoney. Got it."
"And sorry for staring at you earlier, you just look really familiar…" Mahoney trailed off, frowning slightly.
"Oh, no worries. I get it a lot," I joked. Mahoney smiled at me, but it still looked like she was trying to place me.
"Did you guys see what Kira wore to Nicky's last night? I swear, I almost threw up," Kate said, thankfully directing the conversation elsewhere. I sat back and listened to their conversation, quietly finishing my lunch.
12:02 p.m.
Courtyard
Sarah, Kate, Mahoney and I were walking back to the main building. Sarah and Kate were having a conversation about what Kate should get Pogue for his birthday.
"Do you have AP English next too?" Mahoney asked, falling into step beside me.
"Uh, yup," I said as I checked my schedule.
Mahoney smiled and filled me in on the class. "Mrs. Ortho is very laidback. She doesn't really care if you talk, read, sleep, do other homework or show up late. All we do is read, watch movies, read, do book reports and read. It's a little tough, though. On top of all the homework and reading we do in class, we're to read 1,500 pages on our own time. And at least two classics a semester."
"It's mostly a Brit Lit class," Sarah added, joining in on our conversation. Kate was off in the distance, on her cell phone.
I smiled to myself. I smelled an easy A. All I do in my spare time is read. And I love classic literature.
We came to the door to room 205 and the girls herded me in and to Mrs. Ortho's gargantuan desk. "Yes? Can I help you girls?" asked the large, smiling woman. She had short orangey-brown hair that she spiked, bright blue eye shadow and heavily rouged cheeks.
"Yes," Sarah said, gently grabbing my arm and pulling me forward. "This is Aiden Eberheart, she's the new student." Ugh. I am getting so tired of being introduced like that.
"Ah, yes. Miss Eberheart. I've taken the liberty of emailing your previous teachers, you know, to get a sense of what you've learned. And, I must say, I am quite impressed. Your classes seem to be a bit more advance than ours. You've studied Greek and Roman literature?" she smiled up at me.
"Yes ma'am."
"Excellent, excellent," Mrs. Ortho said warmly. "If you don't mind me asking, what do you plan on studying after Spenser?" she asked, handing me a textbook.
"Theatre."
"Interesting choice," she looked at Sarah, Kate and Mahoney. "It's really great that you girls have taken Miss Eberheart to your bosoms. Now, go sit so we can get started."
I gave Mahoney a weird look as we climbed to our seats. "Yeah, she says weird stuff like that. All the time," she explained as I giggled.
We all found seats together, opened our textbooks to the correct page and talked all through class.
2:00 p.m.
Hallway
"What did I just learn?" I asked slowly as we exited Ms. McNally's AP Government class. We had just enjoyed a particularly enriching discussion of Ms. McNally's favorite television shows and how they bizarrely tied into today's lesson. I shook my head, still trying to wrap my brain around it.
"Get used to it," was all Sarah said, laughing.
After we stopped by lockers to trade out books, I gracefully bowed out of dinner with the group, my trig books clutched to my chest. "Are you sure?" Sarah asked earnestly.
"Yes, I'm sorry. I have a ton of homework and I have yet to fully unpack." I explained.
After our goodbyes I went straight to my dorm room, only getting lost twice. I opened the heavy door and sighed at the mess that awaited me on my half of the room. I so didn't want to unpack.
I trudged to my desk and dumped my books and bag on the chair. Turning, I threw myself onto my bed, utterly exhausted. I kicked off my shoes and lay awake, staring at the ceiling. About five minutes later, a knock sounded at the door. Groaning in protest, I rolled off my bed, shedding my school issued blazer and loosening my red tie. I opened the door and found Kate on the other side. "Hi," I said dumbly. I hadn't told her my room number.
"Give me your phone," she demanded, smiling.
I turned and pulled my phone out of my bag and placed it on her outstretched hand. "How did you—" I began before she cut me off.
"I told the secretary that we had a group project and I really needed to talk to you," she shrugged, busy doing whatever to my phone. A moment later, she handed it back to me. "Here, now tell me your number," she demanded, pulling her own phone out of her bag.
I rattled it off, still caught off guard by her all business attitude. When she asked if I needed help unpacking, I shook my head. "No, no. I couldn't foist this torture on my new friends. I can handle it."
She laughed. "Okay then. We'll pick you up tomorrow at 5:30."
I closed the door after she left, looking through my phone, trying to figure out what Kate had done. When I got to the contact list, I understood. I had seven new numbers: Caleb, Kate, Mahoney, Pogue, Reid, Sarah and Tyler. I laughed softly and turned to face my monstrous mess. "This is going to take me forever."
7:30 p.m.
Dorm room
My roommate, Cassandra Rainier, found me standing in the middle of the room, my hands on my hips and looking at my half of the room in triumph. When I heard Cass laugh, I turned around and gave her a goofy grin.
She dumped her stuff on her bed and sat down. "Finally finished?" she asked, eyeing my sure to be frazzled appearance.
"Yep. And I installed the curtain rod and curtain like we talked about," I said, pointing to the dark material pushed up against the far wall. The curtain, when pulled out, cut the room in half, effectively giving each half privacy. For when we were getting 'frisky', as Cass put it.
"Sweet," Cass said, drawing the word out into two syllables. "David's throwing a party tonight. Wanna come?"
"Who's David?" I asked. At Cass's shit eating grin, I knew. "Boyfriend?" she grinned wider and I laughed. "Thanks, but no. I'm going to take a long shower and make a valiant attempt to tackle the mountain of trig homework I have. Maybe next time?"
"Sure. Tomorrow?"
I shook my head as I grabbed my dorm bag. "Can't. I'm going out with some friends."
Cass shrugged. "Maybe next weekend?"
"Definitely," I walked to my dresser and pulled out a pair of yoga pants, a Beatles t-shirt and clean undergarments. "I'll see you later," I said as I snagged a towel and left the room.
I tried not to freak myself out with thoughts of ghost stories as I walked through the empty, dark hallways on the way to the showers. I wasn't paying much attention. Which explains why, when I rounded a corner, I collided with a hard body.
A strangled shriek attempted to escape my paralyzed throat as large hands reached out and gripped my arms, straightening me before I could lose my balance. "We've got to stop meeting like this. What would people say?" a familiar, amused voice remarked.
I looked up and saw the same blue eyes and brow hair that I saw in my last clumsy encounter. "Yeah we do."
He eyed my bag and clothes. "Heading to the showers?"
I blushed and nodded. I looked down at myself and inwardly cringed. I looked a mess. I was still in my uniform, minus the tie, sweater vest and blazer. My blouse was untucked and unbuttoned a bit and my sleeves were rolled up to my elbows. My long, curly hair was thrown up haphazardly in a messy bun, which probably looked spectacular.
"Make sure you lock your stall—there are some pretty weird people around here."
"Thanks, I will," I was a little weirded out by the dark look on his face and quickly made my exit. Nevertheless, I locked my stall when I reached the showers.
Forty minutes later, after braving the freezing floor in bare feet, I walked back into my dorm. Dumping my things by my dresser, I noted that Cass had already left. Stretching, I made my way to the adjoining the half-bath to brush my teeth.
As I brushed, I studied my reflection. I knew what everyone sees. They all see a girl who looks self-assured, who knows who she is and what she wants. But, the truth is, I don't know who I really am or where I come from. I chose to move to Massachusetts not only to be closer to my father, but to also find my past.
Thanks so much for reading! I'd like to give a huuuuuge thanks to my little sister and beta (who doesn't have a fanfic account yet), who not only has helped me in what I've written so far, but she's also helped in what will happen eventually. :)