Chapter One: The Girl With the Roses on Her Arms
Kody laughed with his brother, his dark brown hair a bit ruffled from the wind that day. The two sat on the steps of S. C. Harten High School, surrounded by other groups of students wasting time before they were forced to enter the two huge black doors of their daily prison. The noise of talking and laughing filled the area, resounding through the entranceway. The smell of the season, too, took power. The smell of the crisp leaves, of cold fronts, of the pumpkin pies that the people were inclined to bake near the end of the season. The smell of autumn, curling its possessive tendrils around the pillars on either side of the door, grasping onto the hand rails and sliding slowly down the steps, engulfing everything in its path with fresh fragrances of an autumn day in Ohio.
But then, it all stopped. Hundreds of heads turned to see what had pulled up, pulled up to their school. The long, sleek, jet black limousine with tinted windows sensuously gliding up to the steps. A man in a suit got out of the driver's seat and slowly walked around to the passenger door on the other side of the vehicle, opening the door. The student body held their breath as someone got out, hidden from view behind the chauffeur. They all watched as the limousine pulled away, in all its glory, leaving behind a passenger. Eyes followed in silence as she walked up the steps, confidently but still nervous, looking cheerful yet undeniably sad, bold in this new world but frightened still of something that none could guess.
She earned a second glance from many, not because of the mixed emotions that so plainly and yet so secretly cascaded across her face, but because of her appearance. Yes, she was pretty. She wore a bright red mini skirt topped with a stylish sleeveless white blouse, her layered blonde hair falling luxuriously behind her as she walked up the steps in a pair of rather interesting black boots, cowboy-style boots, that one could only wonder at. But more than her beauty caught the eyes of so many, those who were close enough could see a more peculiar thing, all up her arms in an elegant design. Budding roses wound down her arm in a glittering pattern, like a tattoo yet almost too real to be made of ink.
The on looking ceased as she disappeared through the commanding doors of the high school, and immediately the conversations began again, the sound reclaiming the area as its own. Kevin grinned down at Kody as his younger brother regained a natural look on his face. "A bit stunned, huh, little bro?" His grin widened when Kody looked up with a slight scowl on his face.
"I was only looking. You've gotta admit, though, she was pretty interesting. Those roses.."
"You saw them, too? I thought it might be the sun or something. Yeah, those were strange. Maybe we'll find out the whole story behind her later."
The two looked up at the harsh sound of the school bell. Kevin slowly stood up, reluctant to go to class. "I guess I'll see you after school, then, Kody."
"You'd better. I haven't got any other way home." The two left each other, one going toward English and the other towards Band. As Kody walked, he contemplated. Who was this new girl? School had started two months ago now, why didn't she come earlier? Maybe she had moved from out of town or something. And what was up with that limo? Maybe her family was rich. And those roses..p
*****
"Name please."
"Rose Rockafeller."
"Grade?"
"Eleventh."
"And where were you attending school before you came here, Miss Roccofeel?" The principal sat in his large leather chair with his fingers pressed together, eyeing this new girl with roses on her arms.
"My sister and I were home-schooled by our mother."
"Where is your sister?"
"She's at home. She couldn't start today, she got sick, but she would appreciate it if I could maybe obtain a schedule for her as well as my own."
"Yes, yes, we'll see to that. And why have you come to this school? Why not be home-schooled?"
Rose glanced down for a moment and looked up again with sadness written in her emotional face. "Our mother died. There was an accident, and now we're under custody of our father. He has a job, so we got sent here."
"Oh, I'm very sorry to hear that. Very sorry indeed." He didn't look sorry at all. Rather, annoyed that he had to handle a new student this morning. His coffee was getting cold.
"Well, we're glad to have you here at Harten, I hope you enjoy yourself." He handed her a schedule and stood up, walking briskly toward the door. "Have a nice day, Miss Reofall. Just see the secretary if you need any help."
"Thank you very much." Rose walked out the door of the office, eyes glued upon the piece of paper the principal had handed her. As far as she could tell, it was just a large mass of letters and numbers generated at random. She stared hard, but no matter what she did, the schedule was, to her at least, totally unreadable.
"Ooof!" She bumped into someone and looked up, startled, seeing another student who looked as if he might also be a junior. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to.I just wasn't looking, and."
"It's all right, don't worry." He glanced at her schedule and noticed her confused look. "Do you need any help? It's your first day, isn't it?"
She smiled gratefully. "Yes, it is my first day. I.I can't exactly.figure out..how to read the schedule."
He laughed and smiled back at her. "Ah, the dreaded schedule. Not even the principal knows what it means. But maybe I can make something of it." He took the rumpled paper from her fingers and began to explain, rather incoherently, how to read a school schedule. Somehow, she managed to take it all in effectively.
"So then I have.English first period?"
He nodded with a grin. "So do I. Come on, I'll show you to the room. My name's Kevin, by the way."
She smiled shyly. "I'm Rose."
*****
Kevin sat down at the lunch room table next to his brother. "Hey, Kody, what's up?"
"Nothing much, a quiz in math, a sub in science." He slowly chewed on the 'meat' from the lunch room line, wondering what they had tried to treat it with this month. "What about you? Have you seen that new girl again?"
Kevin narrowed his eyes. "Why would you want to know?" He laughed good- naturedly, continuing with an actual answer. "Yeah, I did see her. She's in my English class. Her name is Rose."
"Heh. It suits her. Did you ask her about them? The roses, I mean?"
"No, it didn't come up."
"May I sit here? Or is this seat taken?"
The brothers looked up to see Rose standing there, holding a grey-green lunch tray with wondering eyes. Kevin stood up. "Yeah, sure, go ahead. There's no one else."
"Thanks." She sat down smoothly and picked timidly at her 'meal.' "You're Kevin's brother, Kody, right? You two look alike."
"Yeah, brothers.." Kody stared without meaning to, then shook his head and went back to picking at this month's leftovers.
"So, Kody, if you want to know so badly, then ask her."
"Ask me what?"
Kody suddenly looked nervous. "I.well, I, uh.."
"He wanted to know about.about the roses."
Rose glanced down at her bare arms, unsure of what to say. Should she tell them the truth? No, she would wait. It wasn't a secret she liked giving out. "It's a tattoo. You like?"
Kevin nodded, sensing that she was touchy about it. The reason, he had no clue, a tattoo was pretty cool, but if she didn't want to talk about it.. "So, why'd you start coming here? Did you move or something?"
"No. There was an accident a while ago. My mom and father were divorced before, and my mother had custody of my sister and me. She home-schooled us. But then there was a car accident. My father took custody, and since he works, we have to come here."
Another topic to be avoided. Kevin moved on subtly. "What's your sister like? Is she here today?"
Rose sighed inwardly, glad that he had not pushed her about her parents. "She's not here today. She got sick with a fever. But she should be here tomorrow. She's a freshman, by the way."
Kevin grinned at Kody. "Ah, so you can make another new friend."
Kody glared at his brother and Rose laughed, joining in.
"She's single, too."
"Come on, Kev! It's not like I'm automatically drawn to every girl I see."
"Ah, he's in denial now, Rose. He won't admit that hormones are powerful things." They talked nonchalantly for the rest of the lunch period, picking at the masses of mutant food products that they had procured from the large pots behind the lunch counter.
*****
"Are you ready yet?"
"Not yet- just a few more minutes."
"We don't have a few more minutes!"
"Wait, I just.I'll meet you there!"
"But you'll miss the bus!" Rose shouted up the stairs to her sister, who had only just gotten out of bed.
"Fine, I'll miss the bus then. One more day without school won't hurt."
Rose sighed. Being sick was one thing, but just skipping.. She glanced at her watch and hopped up and down, anxiously waiting. "Roxanne, I've gotta go.maybe I'll get the bus to come by."
"Fine. You go ahead.I can run fast, anyway, don't worry about me, I'll make it."
Rose sighed again as she closed the door to the house. Their dad had left about an hour ago. She had gotten a ride yesterday because it was her first day and because her father had had a day off. She would have, however, preferred to ride the bus to school.
As she walked down the sidewalk, a flashy red convertible rushed past toward the direction. She couldn't wait for their mother's car to come. She had inherited it, and all they had to do was to bring it to their father's house.
She wondered as the car backed up, coming back toward her, and then smiled as she saw Kevin behind the wheel, his brother sitting next to him.
"Hey, Rose! I wondered if you might like a ride. To school, I mean. Hey, Kody, you don't mind sitting in the back seat, do you?"
Rose grinned at him as Kody climbed slowly over the seat. "You don't have to. I'm almost to the bus stop." Then she remembered her sister. She really was going to miss the bus, no matter how fast she could run.
"Come on, Rose." Kody smiled from the back seat at her.
She sighed in mock-exasperation. "Fine, fine. But I'll have to ask you a favour."
Kevin grinned. "What favour might that be?"
"My sister's well again today, but she's going to miss the bus, though she refuses to believe it. If there's room, could we pick her up?"
"Sure, that's no trouble. She's at your house?"
"Yeah."
Kody leaned over the seat. "That was a sweet ride yesterday. What happened? Why ride the bus?"
"My father had off yesterday, and since it was the first day of school, he decided to have a limo drive us. He's back at work today." She looked up at their mailbox. "This is it. You can come in if you want, while I get her."
"Sure thing." The two followed her into the large house, peering around corners.
"Hey, Roxanne, I found a ride!"
A voice wafted from the kitchen. "Really? I'm almost done with breakfast, just cleaning up, I'll be there in a minute." She waved a hand around the corner. A black hand.
Kevin stared. "Wha.what? Your sister's hand.."
Rose turned to look at him. "What was that?"
Kevin didn't answer. He looked on in awe as a silvery tail, a black-tipped cat-ish tail, flicked around the corner. "What the.."
"I'll be right there, Rose, don't worry." The three jumped as they herd a crash and the harsh sound of breaking glass, accompanied with a feline hiss. "Aw, not another glass. Anyone care to come and help clean up?"
Rose sighed. She had managed to break yet another glass. "I'm coming, Rox."
Kevin and Kody followed her into the kitchen, which had almost gotten clean except for the broken glass. The smells of breakfast lingered, smelling appetizingly of fresh bacon and grits. Kody's eyes widened as he saw Roxanne, bent over the glass, trying to successfully sweep it up into a dustpan. With her tail.
***Terminer Chapitre Un***
To be continued
Kody laughed with his brother, his dark brown hair a bit ruffled from the wind that day. The two sat on the steps of S. C. Harten High School, surrounded by other groups of students wasting time before they were forced to enter the two huge black doors of their daily prison. The noise of talking and laughing filled the area, resounding through the entranceway. The smell of the season, too, took power. The smell of the crisp leaves, of cold fronts, of the pumpkin pies that the people were inclined to bake near the end of the season. The smell of autumn, curling its possessive tendrils around the pillars on either side of the door, grasping onto the hand rails and sliding slowly down the steps, engulfing everything in its path with fresh fragrances of an autumn day in Ohio.
But then, it all stopped. Hundreds of heads turned to see what had pulled up, pulled up to their school. The long, sleek, jet black limousine with tinted windows sensuously gliding up to the steps. A man in a suit got out of the driver's seat and slowly walked around to the passenger door on the other side of the vehicle, opening the door. The student body held their breath as someone got out, hidden from view behind the chauffeur. They all watched as the limousine pulled away, in all its glory, leaving behind a passenger. Eyes followed in silence as she walked up the steps, confidently but still nervous, looking cheerful yet undeniably sad, bold in this new world but frightened still of something that none could guess.
She earned a second glance from many, not because of the mixed emotions that so plainly and yet so secretly cascaded across her face, but because of her appearance. Yes, she was pretty. She wore a bright red mini skirt topped with a stylish sleeveless white blouse, her layered blonde hair falling luxuriously behind her as she walked up the steps in a pair of rather interesting black boots, cowboy-style boots, that one could only wonder at. But more than her beauty caught the eyes of so many, those who were close enough could see a more peculiar thing, all up her arms in an elegant design. Budding roses wound down her arm in a glittering pattern, like a tattoo yet almost too real to be made of ink.
The on looking ceased as she disappeared through the commanding doors of the high school, and immediately the conversations began again, the sound reclaiming the area as its own. Kevin grinned down at Kody as his younger brother regained a natural look on his face. "A bit stunned, huh, little bro?" His grin widened when Kody looked up with a slight scowl on his face.
"I was only looking. You've gotta admit, though, she was pretty interesting. Those roses.."
"You saw them, too? I thought it might be the sun or something. Yeah, those were strange. Maybe we'll find out the whole story behind her later."
The two looked up at the harsh sound of the school bell. Kevin slowly stood up, reluctant to go to class. "I guess I'll see you after school, then, Kody."
"You'd better. I haven't got any other way home." The two left each other, one going toward English and the other towards Band. As Kody walked, he contemplated. Who was this new girl? School had started two months ago now, why didn't she come earlier? Maybe she had moved from out of town or something. And what was up with that limo? Maybe her family was rich. And those roses..p
*****
"Name please."
"Rose Rockafeller."
"Grade?"
"Eleventh."
"And where were you attending school before you came here, Miss Roccofeel?" The principal sat in his large leather chair with his fingers pressed together, eyeing this new girl with roses on her arms.
"My sister and I were home-schooled by our mother."
"Where is your sister?"
"She's at home. She couldn't start today, she got sick, but she would appreciate it if I could maybe obtain a schedule for her as well as my own."
"Yes, yes, we'll see to that. And why have you come to this school? Why not be home-schooled?"
Rose glanced down for a moment and looked up again with sadness written in her emotional face. "Our mother died. There was an accident, and now we're under custody of our father. He has a job, so we got sent here."
"Oh, I'm very sorry to hear that. Very sorry indeed." He didn't look sorry at all. Rather, annoyed that he had to handle a new student this morning. His coffee was getting cold.
"Well, we're glad to have you here at Harten, I hope you enjoy yourself." He handed her a schedule and stood up, walking briskly toward the door. "Have a nice day, Miss Reofall. Just see the secretary if you need any help."
"Thank you very much." Rose walked out the door of the office, eyes glued upon the piece of paper the principal had handed her. As far as she could tell, it was just a large mass of letters and numbers generated at random. She stared hard, but no matter what she did, the schedule was, to her at least, totally unreadable.
"Ooof!" She bumped into someone and looked up, startled, seeing another student who looked as if he might also be a junior. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to.I just wasn't looking, and."
"It's all right, don't worry." He glanced at her schedule and noticed her confused look. "Do you need any help? It's your first day, isn't it?"
She smiled gratefully. "Yes, it is my first day. I.I can't exactly.figure out..how to read the schedule."
He laughed and smiled back at her. "Ah, the dreaded schedule. Not even the principal knows what it means. But maybe I can make something of it." He took the rumpled paper from her fingers and began to explain, rather incoherently, how to read a school schedule. Somehow, she managed to take it all in effectively.
"So then I have.English first period?"
He nodded with a grin. "So do I. Come on, I'll show you to the room. My name's Kevin, by the way."
She smiled shyly. "I'm Rose."
*****
Kevin sat down at the lunch room table next to his brother. "Hey, Kody, what's up?"
"Nothing much, a quiz in math, a sub in science." He slowly chewed on the 'meat' from the lunch room line, wondering what they had tried to treat it with this month. "What about you? Have you seen that new girl again?"
Kevin narrowed his eyes. "Why would you want to know?" He laughed good- naturedly, continuing with an actual answer. "Yeah, I did see her. She's in my English class. Her name is Rose."
"Heh. It suits her. Did you ask her about them? The roses, I mean?"
"No, it didn't come up."
"May I sit here? Or is this seat taken?"
The brothers looked up to see Rose standing there, holding a grey-green lunch tray with wondering eyes. Kevin stood up. "Yeah, sure, go ahead. There's no one else."
"Thanks." She sat down smoothly and picked timidly at her 'meal.' "You're Kevin's brother, Kody, right? You two look alike."
"Yeah, brothers.." Kody stared without meaning to, then shook his head and went back to picking at this month's leftovers.
"So, Kody, if you want to know so badly, then ask her."
"Ask me what?"
Kody suddenly looked nervous. "I.well, I, uh.."
"He wanted to know about.about the roses."
Rose glanced down at her bare arms, unsure of what to say. Should she tell them the truth? No, she would wait. It wasn't a secret she liked giving out. "It's a tattoo. You like?"
Kevin nodded, sensing that she was touchy about it. The reason, he had no clue, a tattoo was pretty cool, but if she didn't want to talk about it.. "So, why'd you start coming here? Did you move or something?"
"No. There was an accident a while ago. My mom and father were divorced before, and my mother had custody of my sister and me. She home-schooled us. But then there was a car accident. My father took custody, and since he works, we have to come here."
Another topic to be avoided. Kevin moved on subtly. "What's your sister like? Is she here today?"
Rose sighed inwardly, glad that he had not pushed her about her parents. "She's not here today. She got sick with a fever. But she should be here tomorrow. She's a freshman, by the way."
Kevin grinned at Kody. "Ah, so you can make another new friend."
Kody glared at his brother and Rose laughed, joining in.
"She's single, too."
"Come on, Kev! It's not like I'm automatically drawn to every girl I see."
"Ah, he's in denial now, Rose. He won't admit that hormones are powerful things." They talked nonchalantly for the rest of the lunch period, picking at the masses of mutant food products that they had procured from the large pots behind the lunch counter.
*****
"Are you ready yet?"
"Not yet- just a few more minutes."
"We don't have a few more minutes!"
"Wait, I just.I'll meet you there!"
"But you'll miss the bus!" Rose shouted up the stairs to her sister, who had only just gotten out of bed.
"Fine, I'll miss the bus then. One more day without school won't hurt."
Rose sighed. Being sick was one thing, but just skipping.. She glanced at her watch and hopped up and down, anxiously waiting. "Roxanne, I've gotta go.maybe I'll get the bus to come by."
"Fine. You go ahead.I can run fast, anyway, don't worry about me, I'll make it."
Rose sighed again as she closed the door to the house. Their dad had left about an hour ago. She had gotten a ride yesterday because it was her first day and because her father had had a day off. She would have, however, preferred to ride the bus to school.
As she walked down the sidewalk, a flashy red convertible rushed past toward the direction. She couldn't wait for their mother's car to come. She had inherited it, and all they had to do was to bring it to their father's house.
She wondered as the car backed up, coming back toward her, and then smiled as she saw Kevin behind the wheel, his brother sitting next to him.
"Hey, Rose! I wondered if you might like a ride. To school, I mean. Hey, Kody, you don't mind sitting in the back seat, do you?"
Rose grinned at him as Kody climbed slowly over the seat. "You don't have to. I'm almost to the bus stop." Then she remembered her sister. She really was going to miss the bus, no matter how fast she could run.
"Come on, Rose." Kody smiled from the back seat at her.
She sighed in mock-exasperation. "Fine, fine. But I'll have to ask you a favour."
Kevin grinned. "What favour might that be?"
"My sister's well again today, but she's going to miss the bus, though she refuses to believe it. If there's room, could we pick her up?"
"Sure, that's no trouble. She's at your house?"
"Yeah."
Kody leaned over the seat. "That was a sweet ride yesterday. What happened? Why ride the bus?"
"My father had off yesterday, and since it was the first day of school, he decided to have a limo drive us. He's back at work today." She looked up at their mailbox. "This is it. You can come in if you want, while I get her."
"Sure thing." The two followed her into the large house, peering around corners.
"Hey, Roxanne, I found a ride!"
A voice wafted from the kitchen. "Really? I'm almost done with breakfast, just cleaning up, I'll be there in a minute." She waved a hand around the corner. A black hand.
Kevin stared. "Wha.what? Your sister's hand.."
Rose turned to look at him. "What was that?"
Kevin didn't answer. He looked on in awe as a silvery tail, a black-tipped cat-ish tail, flicked around the corner. "What the.."
"I'll be right there, Rose, don't worry." The three jumped as they herd a crash and the harsh sound of breaking glass, accompanied with a feline hiss. "Aw, not another glass. Anyone care to come and help clean up?"
Rose sighed. She had managed to break yet another glass. "I'm coming, Rox."
Kevin and Kody followed her into the kitchen, which had almost gotten clean except for the broken glass. The smells of breakfast lingered, smelling appetizingly of fresh bacon and grits. Kody's eyes widened as he saw Roxanne, bent over the glass, trying to successfully sweep it up into a dustpan. With her tail.
***Terminer Chapitre Un***
To be continued