Chapter One: The New Kid.
Nikita knew that she shouldn't have done that; if was a fetal mistake, one she knew should would never do again. She watched as the flames drew higher, almost engulfing the entire tree, and she feared that maybe it would take the whole forest with it. She could only watch, and felt helpless.
The trees were widely spaced, and the fall leaves have already fallen. But she still feared; out of the darkness, she could see another figure. It was herself; only not. Her long dark brown hair curled and loose over her shoulders. She was waring an old-fashioned dress, something that would seem rare to find.
She lifted her hands, in the direction of the burning tree. Nikita's hand moved, in sync with the mirrored figure. Her gaze left the stranger, as the stranger turned away from her. Her mouth now moved; giving off a strange language that she's never heard in her life. She heard an echo, and she realized the stranger was saying the same foreign words.
The fire settled easily. She watched as burned flakes of branches and bark fell softly to the ground, as the tree now a black charcoal. It looked so un-healthy, and she found herself walking towards it. The stranger did the same, and she felt even more scared; seeing herself so close to her. Her hand touched the tree, and she immediately felt pain. But it wasn't the kind of pain that hurt her, she was feeling what the tree felt. Her duplicate looked her straight in the eyes.
"Nikita."
"Nikita."
"Nik-"
Her eyes flew wide open, and she nearly flung herself off the couch.
"Nikita! Jeez, you nearly hit me!" Cried her sister. She was tall and lean, and her short dark hair straightened.
"Sorry, and what do you want?" She asked, feeling the need to snap, but resisted.
"Dinner, we're having Chinese food." She followed Marla into the well-sized kitchen that had a bleached light. It made the room feel like an autopsy room, where bodies would lie. She wasn't sure why she was thinking this.
XXX
She always had weird dreams, and she was well aware that they were lucid. It was hard for her to remain asleep when her thoughts were so rapid. She was excited for the start up of school again; but there was something inside her that made her dread it as well.
She knew part of the reason for not sleeping well; she had a previous nap, and she was fretting about what she was going to wear. She estimated that it was around midnight when she finally slept. This was one of the rare nights where she didn't dream. It felt like she only closed her eyes for a small amount of time before her alarm casted off angrily.
She opened her eyes, blinking a few times. She was staring at the darkened wall, before she got up and flipped the switch off on her clock. She winced a bit, as bright light filled the room when her eyes weren't fully prepared. She surfed through her closet, and would a nice round neck white tee and a silky black cardigan.
She took her clothes to her bathroom, and looked in the mirror. Her hair was nicely waved, and her pale toned skin reminded her of marble. Her eyes were dark, almost black. She quickly washed her face, as a morning routine. She put on little make up, seeing that it wasn't really necessary to have a lot on.
She slipped into her clothes, and took one last glance in the mirror. She removed the long strand of hair and tucked it behind her shoulder. She smiled to herself; in a way to give herself confidence. She came to the main level, where she saw her mother sitting in the old wooden chair by the TV.
"Morning mom," She said, looking at her mother's tired eyes as they lifted from the news paper.
"Morning," She said, resuming her spot on the page. Nikita nodded to herself slightly, then turned to the kitchen, where she took out a bowl for cereal.
The morning came fast and easy for her, and she came to find herself swaying through the school hallways moving with the flow of other students. Something wasn't right though, what was it that everyone was buzzing about? Even with music in her ears she watched as people looked around to make sure no one was looking as they spread the word.
She found her way to homeroom, and still felt the weird auras. The girls where all flustered, and excited. She brushed it off, thinking that it must be the back to school rush that they were feeling.
The people walked in like sea waves, until the classroom was filled with at least thirty people. The teacher walked in and calmed everyone. She scuffled away her iPod, placing it deep in her pockets.
"We seem to have a some new students, one in which is in this room now. Christopher Price, would you like to tell us about yourself?" Mr. Jefferson said eyeing a figure in the back. All the heads turned, and she felt hers move with the crowd.
In the back was a rather handsome man, he looked nothing like the regular high school guys, but she couldn't precisely put her finger on what exactly was different. He had ruffled black hair that seemed to have a shine to it. His dark eyes looking directly at me, and his lips twitched as he prepared his story.
"I came from New Jersey, I have a relatively large family," He started off, his voice seeming soft to the touch, but something about himself made her feel the need to steer clear. "I moved because my parents found a good job here. I love music and art, and school." He explained, a twist in his lips and they curved into a smile. Something in her gut fluttered, but she wasn't really sure what it meant.
"Interesting, now, I have you class schedules.." the teacher drowned out, and the students slowly took their eyes off of Price.
She turned rather quickly, and something in her gut had signalled something, but she was unclear. She clutched her stomach, as if everything was going to spill out of her.
"Nikita," Mr. Jefferson said as he handed out the little slips with classes, teachers and times written on it. I had art right after this, and then math. She was happy to see guitar as an elective, and P.E.
We didn't stay very long, only to have the teacher send us off after he went through the school rules. I gathered my bag, and hauled it over my shoulder. I made it passed the door way before a light finger tapped my shoulder.
"Hello, would you mind showing me to the art room?" Christopher said, looking at her. She gave a nod, and looked out into the hall way where students walked.
"I have it next, as well." Nikita said twiddling her thumbs. He gave her a smile. He seemed so gentle, but there felt like there was something dark about him.
"You're Nikita, correct?" He asked, following right beside her.
"How did you know?" She asked, looking at his clothes. He had a gray sweater on, and black jeans and converse. He had a black binder tucked un his hand. He seemed to have dark circles around his eyes, and it made him look ill.
"It says on your sheet," he said eyeing the paper that was exposed right in front of her.
"Um, yes," she said. "So you like art?"
"It's what I like to do, yes," he said in a way that made her feel stupid. She felt a little repulsed, and felt like she didn't want to meet him.
"Here's Mrs. Glossop's room," I nodded, as he opened the door for her. She took a seat at the far table, only to see that he had followed her to sit next to her. His even breathing felt calming, and she took out a piece of paper, and drew what came to her mind. She wasn't really thinking about it, but she ended up drawing a picture of a twisted looking man, and the picture looked childish, but in a way very artistic. She reached for the water paints, and froze, glancing at Christopher's paper. On it was what looked like her, but in a sense, it wasn't. The drawing illustrated the same hair, and shape, but the facial structure was slightly different; almost like the woman's face in her dreams. She soaked the brush in the water and then circled it around a couple times on the ivy colour. She painted underneath the man's eyes to make ill-looking rings. The bell was about to go, and she placed the paper on the rack to dry. She felt rather alone, even though the school was rather filled with many students who felt the same, only none that would really relate to her. She looked at her wrist, as the scares showed up vividly, showing every little detail.
She saw a hand pass by her face, and turned to see Christopher, who was placing down his own piece of art.
"Well, I'll see you later I guess," he said, giving off a smile. She half smiled back, and took the opposite door, leading to the secret stairwell. Her school was old, and half of it was created in the eighteen hundreds. It caught on fire not long after, and they replaced it with a whole new building, and few areas survived, like Mrs. Glossop's room, the stairwell and the top floor. The old bricks gave off a cold feel, but at the same time, a type of comfort, as if they were her own walls, protecting her from the world.
She found the math classroom, and was slightly relieved to see that Christopher wasn't there. She took a seat beside Kayla, who was a tad bit taller than her.
"Hey Nikki, how was your summer?" she asked, her face giving off a slight smile.
"Good, it was too short though," I joked. I was good friends with Kayla, but we had our differences. Math felt short considering all Mr. Pierce was making us write notes. Break came, and I saw what Mr. Jefferson was talking about. There were others like Christopher there, I saw him hanging out with a pale girl with short black hair with blond streaks. She was wearing a black sweater and white skinny jeans, there was another guy, who had light brown hair and a white oxford shirt and a blazer. There were a few others, but she couldn't make out their features. Were they all related? None of the looked the same, the only thing they all had in common was the dark circles around their eyes.
She didn't realize it but she felt like an idiot when she did; they were all looking back at her. She tore her gaze off immediately, and tuned into what Kayla was talking about. Kayla invited her to the bonfire on the weekend, and she accepted. She didn't really think about it, the words just slipped out, approving of the event.
"So, did you hear about Christopher?" Kayla asked, nibbling on her granola bar.
"Yeah, he's in my art," She said, looking at Kayla's body that was slumped against the wall for support.
"All the girls are swooning over him, but I think he looks like the Gothic type. I mean, not that that's a bad thing,"
"And you like that don't you," Nikita teased, smiling slightly at her.
"Well all mysterious guys are sexy! They're suspenseful."
"Mm, normal guys are overrated anyways," Nikita added.
"It sucks most high school boys are either un-attractive or ass holes," Kayla said, obviously disappointed.
"I have to agree, so, see anyone you like out of the new-comers?"
"I guess, that Matthew guy looks rather attractive," Kayla pointed out the guy with the blazer and oxford shirt. "His brown hair is so amazing."
"I have to agree, where do you think these people came from?"
"I have no idea, I heard they were transfer's from a boarding school in New Jersey."
Nikita looked over her shoulder, and saw Christopher, talking to Matthew.