"We have a new history teacher," Elena's best friend Bonnie told her as they walked to class.
"Have you met her?" Elena asked curiously.
"Him actually, and no," she replied, just as Caroline Forbes came dashing up to them.
"Oh. My. God, he is hot!" she exclaimed.
"Who?" Bonnie asked grabbing her arm.
"Alaric Saltzman, the new history teacher!"
Elena shook her head and slid past the two gushing girls into class, she wasn't in the mood for gossip. At one time in her life she'd been the first to join in on it, but she'd become a different person since her parents' death. Truth be told she should have died too when their car had gone in the water, but paramedics had found her on the bank and no one had known how she'd gotten there.
She took her normal seat, about three rows back, next to Damon Salvatore. Damon was incredibly gorgeous, but very cocky and self assured, he'd been after her since they'd met, but much to his disappointment, she wouldn't give him the time of day.
The bell rang and she turned her attention to the front of the classroom, paying attention for the first time to Alaric Saltzman, he was good looking, she couldn't disagree with Caroline on that. There was something about his eyes though, they mirrored an expression she'd often seen in her own, he'd been hurt, she could see that even behind the smile he gave his new class. His facade was a lot like the one she'd been putting up since her parents' death.
When the bell rang she took the Personal Questionnaire he'd asked them to fill out up to his desk.
"Thank you Ms…" he glanced down at the form, "ah, Gilbert, are you descended from the founding family?'
"Yes sir," she said smiling.
"Well Ms. Gilbert, I look forward to reading this and having you in my class."
Alaric
Alaric sat at his desk going through his first period class' questionnaires, he'd made them up in an attempt to be able to distinguish his students from one another, but they all seemed to be running together.
Sighing, he stood and left the building, deciding to do something he'd been putting off since he arrived, see Isobel.
Elena
"Emptiness its all around me I try to catch my breath, I barely survive and I can't go on and I come undone and there's nothing left in me" Hodges
Elena sat against her mother's headstone writing in her diary, she'd taken her brother Jeremy home, then walked to the cemetery to get away for awhile.
I'm not the same person I was then, and I don't know how to make everyone understand that, understand that a part of me wants to pull away from everyone and everything that used to matter, to reinvent myself. I'm tired of people treating me like I'm fragile since the accident. I wish I could go somewhere where no one knows me, where my parents' death didn't shadow my entire being…
The crunching of leaves startled her, she looked up surprised to see it was Mr. Saltzman crossing the cemetery.
"Elena!" he said as seemingly startled to see her as she was him.
"Mr. Saltzman," she said, smiling and rising to her feet, "How are you?"
"I'm fine, and please it's Alaric outside of class. So, Ms. Gilbert, I have to ask, do you always come to cemeteries to write?" he asked gesturing to her journal.
"I guess it does seem a little strange," she said with a laugh, "The truth is though, I come here all the time," she said glancing over her shoulder at the tombstones, "My parents are buried here."
She was surprised when he walked forward and put his hands n her shoulders, "It must have been hard to lose them at such a young age," he replied sympathetically.
"It was, we were very close, especially me and my mom, but honestly I think it's been harder on Jeremy."
"Jeremy is your brother?" he asked, "I hadn't realized."
Elena rose to her feet, "A lot of people don't at first, we're very different. Well, Mr….Alaric, I should probably get home, and I'm sure you have your own reasons for being here, so I'll leave you two them." she said before starting to walk off.
"I'll see you tomorrow in class Elena," he called after her.
She smiled over her shoulder, "I'll see you tomorrow."