My palms were sweaty against the brown leather couch as I anxiously awaited for my mother to open her mouth and address me. My father was no where to be found. Probably at work, because that's all he seemed to care about. I tried to tell myself a lie. My head was prepared for what my mother was going to say, but not my heart. I've been through this situation so many times that it was fairly recognizable. My eyes were fastened on my fragile mother. Her blue eyes looked worried as they stared right back at me. I saw her glance away as her eyes set upon the ancient coffee table to her left. In seconds of my mother opening her wide mouth, my whole world came to a halt. My immediate reaction was to throw something that was close in my reach. In short time, I decided that the Japanese Cherry Blossom candle that sat upon the ancient coffee table was the best idea. I watched as the glass shattered against the hardwood floor. I stared back at my mother and watched as the look of distraught danced upon her face. And with that, I bolted up the stairs without missing a beat. Once I had reached the top step, I dashed for my bedroom immediately.
"No!" I screamed as I slammed grand egg-coloured door behind me. The anger and adrenaline flowed through my veins as my back slowly slid down the door and felt the uncomfortable feel of my t-shirt sticking to my back.
"You can't make me, not again!" I shouted. I could feel my voice losing its touch already, but I didn't care. I didn't care about anything at the moment, especially my parents. I brought my knees up to my chest and buried my head. In seconds, I heard my mother scurry up the hardwood stairs. She came to a halt at my bedroom door. Just by her voice, I could tell that she was in tears.
"Please, Rose," my mother spoke calmly. "Let me talk to you, please! Open the door!" she replied with a faint knock.
It took me a couple of moments to regain my sanity before replying. I loved my mother. I loved her very much, but at the moment, I wouldn't mind giving her an exchange of words. A took a deep breath and decided to not be too vulgar with her. After all, she was my mother. I gripped my hands on the beige carpet below me before replying.
"No! Go away, mom! You promised me, you promised! You said we were going to stay here for good! I finally get to see the place I was born and we move already? It hasn't even been three solid months! You can't do this to me!" I screeched as I made a fist and punch the door. Ouch– that hurt. But I didn't care.
"Rose," she huffed, "please open the door. You know the reason for our move, do you not? Your father's job requires him to move every so often. Honey, I know what you're going to say next, but your father's job puts food on the table. It gives us a roof over our head. I am sorry, I really am," she sighed as she leaned onto the door.
Without a second to waste, I said, "Ever since I was five years old, you promised me that you would take me to London and we would live here for good. You said that we would stay in the city that I was born in, the city that our family is in, and now it's all gone? Where are we even moving to, anyways?" I replied in a faint voice as I wiped the tears with my index finger.
"America, honey! America! Haven't you always wanted to go there?" she spoke with such positivity. America, I thought. What was so special about that place that we had to move? I have always wanted to go visit America– but moving there? Away from my home, from where I was born?
"When are we leaving?" I asked, with my voice much calm this time around.
"In three days, dear." I felt my stomach drop. Three days? Three days? I moved my neck back and felt the door hit me right above the head. Ouch– that hurt, again.
"Mom, please go away," I sighed. Right after I replied, I swear, I thought my mother was going to say something again to try and calm me down. A few moments passed without words being exchanged, until finally I heard faint footsteps descend down the stairs.
I lay my head back once more, carefully this time. Thoughts danced around my head as I just sat there, wondering. Not even for three months, I thought. I moved my legs from my chest and placed them on the floor. I got myself up, opened the door from my room and headed for the bathroom. When I reached the bathroom, I opened the adjacent door, turned on the light and locked the door behind me. I stared up towards the ceiling. The light bulb was very dim. Dad said he was going to fix it, but I guess he never got around to it. Typical.
I grasped my hands against the marble counter and started to examine myself in the mirror. My eyes were so red– from the crying, of course. The tears really hid my hazel eyes. Today, they looked a lot greener than usual. Sometimes my eyes liked to be greener one day, or browner the next. I didn't know why. I focused on my hair. It was a complete mess! My dark red hair was waist length. Everybody said that I needed a hair cut, but I couldn't care less. I loved my hair the way it is, I wouldn't change it.
I had a couple of freckles on my face. Never really liked my freckles, but I do love my nose. My nose is petite, and I am very thankful for that. I couldn't live with myself if I had a freakishly large nose. The part that I love about myself is my hands. My hands are so small it's unbelievable. My fingers are very slim that every time I find a ring that I'm interested in, it never really fits me. No ring ever fits me, and I hate that. After a few moments of looking at myself passed, I turned on the tap and let a rush of ice cold water hit my face to wipe away all the tears. I turned off the tap with my wrist and took the nearest towel which was to the left of me and cleared my face. I turned off the dull light, unlocked the door and headed for my room. I decided that I would be going to bed early. I didn't even bother changing my clothes; I just jumped in the bed and felt the fatigue take over me.
The rays of the sun invited themselves in as if I was a knowingly friend of theirs. I groaned as I threw my right arm over my eyes, blocking all the light. Clearly, I didn't care too much of being the sun's friend. I lied there for a few moments before pulling my arm back and raising my body. I swung my feet off my bed and slowly stumbled out the door only to come to halt of brown empty cardboard boxes with a note attached to one of them. I blinked for a few moments to get the sleep out of my eyes before detaching the note.
Morning, honey! Your father and I are at work, as you know, and won't be back until six this evening. Please start packing your things, as we will be leaving for California tomorrow. Don't even bother with the furniture, were getting new sets once we are finally in Beacon Hills, which is the city we're moving to. I really hope that you understand the reason for our move. See you later!
P.S. There's left over pizza in the fridge!
Love, Mom
Tomorrow? We're leaving tomorrow? She just told me yesterday that we're leaving in three days! Fucking liar. Whatever, I thought. Like there's a difference, I'm still moving.
And with that, I began to pack all of my belongings. My walls would of had to been the most difficult part because of all my posters and such, but I made it. I was only done in a few hours.
I had no friends to say goodbye to, as I am quite a shy girl in school. No family to say bye to either, as they all lived in another city while I lived in London. Although it was only five in the evening, I decided to go back to bed. There was nothing left for me to do, everything was done. And even if there was something, I was too exhausted to even do it.
The next morning was a total blur. My mother shook me awake about a million times. I just wanted to lie in the sheets and stay in England. Fifteen minutes passed until I had finally got up. It took me about twenty minutes to get ready and gather my belongings. In no time we arrived at the airport. The airport was packed, but I was so familiar with airports, as I was used to moving all the time. I never really stayed in a place for only a few months. I couldn't really blame my father, but I could blame his idiotic boss who thought that my dad doesn't have a family or anything to care for. The plane ride from London to California was about several hours. Once we got off the plane, we gathered all of our belongings, and headed into a nice big black van which my father's boss had sent for him.
The whole time driving, I was discussing about school with my dad. Apparently, I'll be attending Beacon Hills High School, and I'll be starting tomorrow. Great, I thought to myself. My dad and I didn't really have the greatest relationship. He was never really around to talk; he was always just busy with work. He was the kind of man that loved his job more than his wife and kid.
Our new house was about fifteen minutes away from the airport, not that far at all. Once we had finally reached our new home, I grabbed my belongings and got out of the door immediately. I looked over at the house to examine it. It was about the size of a normal house. It had a very large front porch with the pillars and front door being a nice, bright white colour. The colour of the house itself was a mix of red bricks. The grass was as green as ever and there was also a little garden in the front. I guess I have to learn to love it.
"You can go on inside. There's new furniture in the house. Pick any room that you want," my dad stated while he was unpacking the vehicle.
Without a second to lose, I dashed for the front door and closed it behind me. The inside of the house was beautifully large. The outside did no justice. The floor was all hardwood, and the walls were pained with different textures. The stairs were hardwood as well, and could be seen right when you walk through the door. A humongous chandelier hung upstairs and was shining the whole house as the rays of the sun were beaming in. I decided that I would examine the rest of the house later and head on over upstairs to look for my new room.
I rushed up the stairs to more hardwood floor and to six grand doors with beautifully designed golden handles. I opened the first door to find the bathroom. It was quite large as well. There were two marble sinks, a huge mirror, and a shower that I had never seen before in my life time which looked pretty expensive. The walls were painted a beautiful beige colour with texture. I closed that door and open the next one, which I then decided was going to be my room. It was big– a lot bigger than my past room. The walls were a bright yellow and the furniture was dark hardwood French, with beautiful French-designed golden handles. The mirror had three parts. The middle couldn't move, while the right side and left side were moveable. My bed was a twin bed, and again, it was dark hardwood French furniture. Wow, I thought to myself. I think I'll like it here.
It was nearly eight o'clock. I decided to unpack tomorrow, but just find something half decent to wear tomorrow for the first day at school. After all, first impressions mean everything. I plopped my suit case on to my beautifully large bed and began to search. It took me about twenty minutes for me to find the perfect outfit to wear. Once I found it, I put my suit case to the left of my bed on the floor. I ran into the bathroom to take a quick shower before going to bed. There were towels already in the bathroom which was perfect because I had no idea where the other towels from home were. Once I got into the expensive shower, it took me a good ten minutes to figure out how to work the thing, with all the different buttons and showering settings. It was pretty confusing, but I got the hang of it. After my twenty minute shower, I changed into a pair of gray shorts and a Doctor Who t-shirt and headed back towards my room.
As I began to tip toe through the surroundings of my room, I found myself sitting upon the window ledge. With one movement, I pulled back the blinds to examine the neighbourhood. Although it was eight, it was still fairly light out. I had a sudden desire to go for a walk. I grabbed my hoodie from my suit case, slung it on me and descended down the stairs. Once I hit the bottom of the stairs, I wasn't able to locate my parents anywhere. Whatever, I shrugged. Slipping on my shoes, I opened the door and headed on outwards.
It was getting a little bit dark as I continued to wander around the area, but I managed to find a park. I began to walk towards it, hearing my footsteps crack on the woodchips each time I took a step. I plopped myself down on a swing and continued to push myself slowly. I checked the time on my phone. It was nearly nine o'clock and it was getting darker by the second. Obviously, my parents still think I'm in the house since they haven't called yet. My eyes glanced around the scenery. No one was at the park. Of course, it was pretty late, but I didn't care. I continued to push myself further into the atmosphere until I heard a sound. My stomach dropped.
I stopped moving, trying to recall just exactly what I heard. My feet were now touching the ground. I glanced around the park one more time but I couldn't seem to find anything out of place. Maybe it's just my imagination, I thought to myself, until my eyes focused on something particular.
I could see in the distance glowing golden eyes which were piercing back at me. There was something different about these eyes. It was as if they weren't even human. Slowly, I got up from the swing and stood up straight. I knew I should have turned around at that moment in time, but there was something drawing me to whatever was standing from a distance. One by one, I took small steps, getting closer to those eyes, but still keeping my distance. What was it? I wanted to know. Suddenly out of no where, a ripping sound came in, polluting the atmosphere. I jumped back. What was that? It sounded like… a howl. A howl? I thought. Impossible.
I saw those glowing eyes begin to turn back before looking at me once again. It started to move in my direction. I felt my pulse rising. I slowly began to back away, but it felt like my feet were locked in position. My eyes were still focused on whatever was standing from a distance, until I got a closer look.
I gasped, putting a hand to my mouth as I was finally revealed to what the thing was. It didn't look human, but it had a human body. It also had large claws, fangs, and uncontrollable side burns. It couldn't be… no… It can't be!
Another howl sounded from the distance, and I watched as the creature looked back. His eyes turned to face me again and locked with mine. "RUN!" it screeched, and I did exactly what I was told—I ran for my life.
I slowly opened the door to my house and closed it quietly behind me. My parents were asleep so they didn't know I left the house. Good, I thought. I would've gotten in a lot of trouble. I rapidly made my way up the stairs until I reached my room. I closed the door behind me, my back against it. Okay, so let me try and evaluate what I just seen. There is no doubt about it that the thing wasn't human but it had the body of it. And those other features—the fangs, the long nails… Could it be possible that I seen… a wolf? But, not just a wolf. A werewolf. I shook my head.
"No, no," I repeated out loud to myself. "That stuff only exists in Doctor Who and Harry Potter. That stuff isn't real…" or is it? Whatever it was, I needed to stop thinking about it. I closed the light to my room, jumped in my bed, pulled the covers over me and called it a night. No more thinking about this werewolf crap.
I awoke with a start as my mother woke me by yelling out my name. I had no idea what time it was because I hadn't set up my alarm clock yet. Everything was still basically packed. It took me awhile to actually wake up and get up, but once I did, I started to get ready. I wore a pair of dark skinny jeans with a nice blue and white lace top. My hair was straightened and flowed down my back. I paused for a moment, sort of recalling what happened yesterday but shook my head.
"No, Rose, stop. Stop thinking about it," I stated. As soon as I approved my appearance, I rushed to the bathroom to quickly brush my teeth and wash my face. Once that was over, I headed downstairs to catch a ride to school from my mother.
"Oh, don't you look nice!" my mother smiled as I was slowly walking down the stairs still half asleep. I gave a slight grin and pleaded her to drive me to school so I wouldn't be late. Once she agreed, I went to the front door to put on my black lace-up boots. I liked to call them my "Katniss boots" because they reminded me of something Katniss, from The Hunger Games, would wear.
"Aren't you hungry?" my mother asked. I sighed and replied, "Mom, you know I'm not a breakfast-type person, so why do you even bother asking?" With that, I exited the house and headed straight for the red Honda car. It was quite warm today, which was a good thing. I could never stand the cold. Once my mother had entered the car, she handed me a brand new backpack. It was purple, not really my style, but it will do I guess. "Everything you need is already in there," she added as she was turning on the car.
The drive to school wasn't that long. It probably took only five minutes. I knew most teenagers would feel nervous right now: going to a brand new school in a brand new country, but I wasn't. I was totally used to this, even if it wasn't the first day of school. I took a nice long glance at the school. It was big. When I mean big, I mean huge. Probably the biggest school I had ever attended. The school was a dull gray colour, but the entrance had grand stairs that lead to a grand door. I read the Beacon Hills High School sign, which was bolded in letters. I snapped out of my trance as my mother started talking.
"Well, have fun on your first day, honey!" my mother said with a smile.
"I'll try not to have too much fun," I replied sarcastically. I got out of the car and slammed the door, heading for the grand door that was awaiting for me at the front of the school.
There were a lot of people outside talking to their friends, discussing homework, talking about the "awesome party" they attended last night. I dashed up the stairs and opened up the grand door to find myself in a humongous inside. The inside looked just like a regular high school, but ten times larger in size. Great, I'm going to have a fun time navigating myself around this place. I turned to my left and saw that the office was there. I entered through because my mother told me I had to pick up my schedule in the main office. The office was pretty big as well. I focused to the front and saw a male student talking with the receptionist. I didn't know whether to wait inline, but then I saw that there was another computer and an empty computer desk, which symbolized that there was another receptionist. I decided to move from behind the student and wait in front of the empty computer chair. I was to the right of the student as I over heard the receptionist talking to him.
"– days. You skipped four days of class this week and you skipped the whole week last week!" cried the receptionist.
"I only skipped because I wasn't feeling well," replied the boy in a masculine tone.
"Jackson, that's your excuse every time," she yelled. "The principle would like to speak to you about your behavior. I'm telling you Jackson, if you don't smarten up, you're going to get expelled," she said in a serious tone. "Now, excuse me while I help this young lady." Once the receptionist said that, the boy turned to look at me as I looked at him. We both held awkward eye contact for a few seconds until the receptionist started talking.
"What can I help you with, dear?" she asked with a smile.
"Uh, hi. Um, I'm just looking to pick up my class schedule," I replied.
"Oh, you're the transfer student from London, aren't you? Well, welcome to Beacon Hills, sweetie. Now, what's your first and last name?"
"Rose Harrison," I said in a stern tone.
"Rose Harrison," she repeated. "Hold on a second, honey." I watched as the receptionist got up from her desk to go through her files.
From the corner of my eye, I could see that the boy, Jackson, was looking at me. I didn't want to look back and create any more awkward eye contact, so I just pretended I didn't notice. A few moments passed and the lady came back with my schedule.
"Here you go, sweetheart! And just in case you didn't know since you are sixteen years old, you're in Grade Ten. Sorry, but I have to go and grab my coffee, have a lovely day!" she grinned. "And as for you Jackson, the principle would like to see you in five minutes," she exclaimed before rushing to grab her coffee. I glanced at my schedule for a few moments to take everything in. English, Math, Lunch, Biology, and Physical Education, I repeated in my head. I glanced at the schedule a few more times before I was startled by someone's deep voice.
"Hey, we have English together. I could show you where the class is if you'd like?" I turned my head to the left and saw Jackson looking over my shoulder at my schedule with a grin upon is face.
"Thanks for the offer, but I think it's better if I navigate myself around the school," and with that, I walked out of the door and headed up the stairs looking for room 232.
I did feel kind of bad declining his offer, but he seemed like a trouble maker if he were to be talking to the principle, and I didn't want to involve myself with anything like that on the first day. Then again, maybe I should have taken his offer because it took me quite awhile to find room 232. Once I did find it, I walked to the door slowly, knocked, and waited until the teacher opened the door.
"You're late," he stated as I entered the room and watched as everyone was looking at me.
"Ahh, you must be the transfer student from England," the teacher spoke. His accent was slightly different from the Americans, it sounded Australian. He got up to introduce himself to me. "Hello, my name is Mr. Z and I will be your English teacher! What perhaps might be your name?" He was a dark haired man with brown eyes. He was a very attractive young teacher. I could sense that the girls probably played dumb while being in his presence.
"Uh, Rose," I responded while looking at the floor.
"Well, hello Rose! Class, please welcome Rose!"
Everyone in the class started chanting, "Hi, Rose." I felt my cheeks heat up. I gave a faint grin to the class and a half wave.
"Now, Rose, you can seat yourself over there," he pointed to a seat beside a boy with dark curls who was looking in my direction. I tried my best to avoid eye contact.
"Oh! But before you go, please take this copy of The Princess Bride. We are studying this novel in class and we have already started, so you must catch up!"
"I've already read this book like a million times. It's my favourite," I said with a smile.
"Well, perfect then! Now, go take your seat," exclaimed Mr. Z.
Everyone watched as I went to go take my seat. Once I sat down, Mr. Z. began talking about the novel. I crossed my hands together, keeping my focus down on my desk, but I could feel the boy to the left of me staring me down. He tried to make it look like he wasn't in fact looking at me, but I could so tell. After a few moments passed, I decided to look up at him, which was a big mistake because he caught my gaze.
I swear, I felt the breath knock out of me as soon as I looked up at him. He had the bluest eyes I have ever seen in my life. Boys with dark hair and blue eyes were the death of me. They were bluer than the sky or the sea. The rest of his face was simply exquisite. He had the most defined jaw line along with perfectly shaped lips. I was staring at him. Oh god. Oh god. OH GOD. I was staring at him and he completely noticed. I turned my head away from him, trying to face the front of me, but it was hard. He was still looking at me, but I pretended that I didn't notice. Slowly, I turned my head to look at him again and he was still looking at me, but in a different way.
By the way he was looking at me; he seemed as if he recognized me from somewhere. He looked down upon me with those blue eyes intensely. I slowly looked away to the front of me, and that's what broke the silence.
"I'm sorry if you think I'm staring at you, it's just that you look awfully familiar," his velvety voice spoke. I turned to face him again, my gaze catching his.
"I-I'm Rose," I grinned, offering my hand.
"Isaac," he stated, taking my hand and slowly shaking it, giving me a smile. Oh gosh, his smile. His smile. It was perfect, just like the rest of him. I gently pulled my hand back as he did the same.
"I apologize again for looking at you like that, but it's like I've seen you from somewhere," he spoke.
"Well, that's impossible. I just got to town yesterday and I haven't even walked around town yet. Only place I've been to yesterday was the park." At that exact moment, I saw his jaw clench up. Oh god, did I say something wrong.
I mentally kicked myself in the face. Way to go Rose. Did I offend him? I had seen from the corner of my eye that he was still looking at me. My eyes were straight to the front this time. I eagerly wanted to know what he was so tensed up about, but didn't bother to speak to him again. One thing was for sure;
I was going to like it here.