Chapter 1
THE huge green signs pass over my mother and I, as I fidget uncomfortably in my seat. I try reading the signs as quickly as I can. 'Welcome to Norman; the friendly city.' The friendly city, I hope that's true. I've moved many times before, and it all worked out, but this time it just seemed like something bad was going to happen here. Usually we Aaron's get these types of things right. I gulp and see the approaching homes, and then comes a school, my school, Norman North High School.
"That's your school, Dede." My mother, Rachel, points towards the large building, keeping one hand on the wheel. It was constructed with bright red bricks and a blue roof. It looked a bit torn down, so I suspected they didn't put too much effort into repairing the school from tornadoes. They had five separate buildings that I could see. Having separate buildings in Norman didn't seem like a very good idea.
Norman didn't look anything like it did in the Wizard of Oz. One, it wasn't black and white, two, I didn't see any falling houses, and three, there weren't any munchkins around to greet us. I'm glad all those things weren't true, because if they were, living here would've been a lot harder. I was more nervous than I expected myself to be.
I was coming here to stay with my dad, Tom, since we hadn't seen each other in a while. His house was a small, homey house. It looked a lot like the home I had back in
Normal, Illinois; except it had only one floor and a basement. But I was fine with
whatever size the home was. It was an olive green color, with dark green shutters. It had a chimney at the top, which I remember I used to camp out here on Christmas, and wait for Santa to crawl quietly down the chimney, and give us presents, and leaves no trace behind; besides the disappeared cookies and half drunken milk.
My dad rushed out of the screen door as quickly as he could, as we pulled into the drive way. His expression on his face was ecstatic. His arms were opened wide when I
opened the door, and he hugged me with his big bear hug, and pecked me on the
forehead. I was glad I was making someone smile. My dad's features were a lot like mine. The nose was curled up a bit, mine was small, but his was big. We also both have brunette hair. Everything was the same, except for our personalities. My dad liked to
express out loud what he was thinking. I leaned more towards keeping things to myself.
I hope you like it here," then he said really quietly, so my mom couldn't hear, "I even got you a welcome home present. Well, not really a welcome home present, but a welcome backpresent."
My dad let go of me to let me breathe, and to go get my luggage out of the trunk. When he was done with that he went to go put my luggage into my room, while I said good bye to my mom. I went to tap on the window, and my mom rolled down the window.
"What was that your dad whispered to you?" My mom had a slight grin on her lips, trying to make herself look suspicious.
"Dad just said he got me a welcoming present."
"Why, your father is going to spoil you rotten!" My mom's eye's narrowed.
"Mom, don't worry I'll make sure he doesn't get something huge." I rolled my eyes, dramatically, and then we both laughed.
"I'm going to miss you, honey." Rachel reached out and hugged me tightly. "I'll miss you too, Mom." I hugged tighter and then let go and stepped back for her to be able to back out without her running over my toes. She backed out slowly and
waved.
"Bye!" Her wave gradually faded, as I replied good-bye back. I was going to miss her energetic personality, and her big-toothed smile. But I'll settle with Tom's tiny, crooked grin. I turn around and see that exact grin staring back at me on the porch. I nonchalantly maneuvered my way through the bushy landscaping onto the sidewalk, and up the steps to the porch, and Tom led me into my current home.
The screen door slammed shut with a loud bang! I recoiled back a bit and Tom said, "You'll get used to that." I highly doubted that, but I nodded slightly. The home had a nice and easy feeling to it. The walls were painted a creamy green to match the theme outside. To my left, there was a tan, leather couch against the wall that aligned up with the flat screen TV which hung up on the opposite wall. A coffee table sat right in
front of the couch. There were a few magazines stacked up on top of each other, a TiVo network guide, and a few coasters, which had a picture of a bear devouring a fish. Tom
must have gotten that as a souvenir on our Alaskan Cruise to Ketchikan. There was also a rocking chair in the back corner with a rug hanging over it. There was a bookshelf in the corner that was almost empty, except for a few 'How To' books. I was definitely going to have to add a lot more books into that shelf.
To the right of the room was a closet, which had the laundry, washing machine, drier, and ironing board in it. We continued walking without speaking a word, towards the kitchen. There was a stainless steel fridge to the right in the kitchen which was in the middle of old fashioned wallpaper and appliances. The wallpaper had yellow flowers going up and down the green background, with white cabinets overlaying them in some places. In the middle of the kitchen was an island with multiple amounts of utensils, pots and pans. The counter had white tiles reaching all the way to the other side of the kitchen.
The sink was filled to the brim with dirty dishes. He had no dish washer, another thing I was going to have to adjust to. There was an oak table right under a wall-to-wall window. The window made the room very lively and bright. The house didn't exactly have a backyard, unless you count a small forest.
"Now, you don't want to be going out there, Devin. Some people say that it's infested with tornadoes. But you have to be inside the forest to actually see the tornadoes. Don't go start getting all spooked out on me, because the guys and I have scanned that area and we've gotten nothing." My dad rested his hand on my shoulder. "Are you ready to see your room? I hope you'll like it. It's not much but..." His voiced faded away as we descended down the stairs. A loud creak was heard every step my dad and I took.
The door to my room was left ajar, but I ignored that and I walked through the doorway eagerly. It was a tiny, yet an agreeable size for a room. The room was a creamy purple and a desk was sitting in the corner with my dad's laptop on it. The bed was a day bed with dark purple covers and pillows on it. I recognized the stuffed animals on the bed from when I was younger. The drapes on my window were a tan color, which made
the sun seem brighter than it actually was. It was a beautiful room, compared to how
my dad had decorated it.
"Thanks, Dad, a lot. It's amazing." I tried to say this with the most exciting tone without giving my tiny lie away. I was never a good liar.
"You remember Croy Baylee? His daughter, Destin, used to own this bed. Did you know she's about your age? She goes to your school, too. I'm sure you guys are going to be great friends. Croy's got a son, too. His name's Alex, he helped paint this room. He and Destin are twins. So you're probably going to see him, too. I'm sure you guys are going to be great friends, too." He walked towards the doorway and before he left he added, "I'll just let you get settled in. There's a bathroom across the hall." He continued to leave, but then returned saying, "Oh, and if you need me, I'll be in my office. It's across the hall and to the left." He then left, officially.
I reached for the light switch and let out an audible sigh. The light bulb was burnt out. I set up a date in my mind to go into town and get some new light bulbs on Saturday. I was just going to have to settle with the sunlight today. My thoughts traveled onto school.
I was going to have to go to school tomorrow, no exceptions there. It was me as the new girl, all over again. It was a popular school, so I wouldn't be obsessed over, maybe. The one down thing was, was that I was the daughter of the best storm chaser in town. It seemed kind of odd to be recognized by so many people just because you chased storms. But since I was living in Norman, that'd be like my dad was the mayor of Norman. Tomorrow was going to be a wild ride.
I went to rummage through my luggage and put all my clothes into the drawer and closet. I had enough clothes to last me for a whole school year and a summer. After finishing up with putting my clothes away, I debated on whether I should reread Wuthering Heights, or start on Pride and Prejudice. Those books were both classics and were on my summer reading list in my high school in Normal, Illinois. I went with Pride and Prejudice and began reading chapter one.
I was never a fast reader, but I always managed to finish books in the same time it would take a fast reader. That was why my mom thought I read too much, but it wasn't
that I read too much, but it was that I read for a mind-boggling long time. I was sometimes glad that I read slowly, because I could enjoy my book longer. I also
was angry that I read slowly because I could never finish the amount of books I want to in a certain amount of time. But reading slow was the least of my problems.
Pride and Prejudice was amazing so far, but the problem was, was that Mr. Darcy was the rudest character I've ever read about in a book. Though, I continue to read on even with my disappointment. Once I reach chapter twenty, I put the book on my desk and lay down on my bed to rest and think a little bit. I doze off twisting and turning as my dreams unfold.
Beep! Beep! Beep! My alarm clock wakes me up at six-thirty and I get up stumbling towards the hallway and into the bathroom. I take a quick five minute shower drenching my hair with my coconut shampoo. My headache had disappeared. I go and grab a plain yellow short sleeved shirt and a grey camisole under it, with a pair of blue jean shorts, and a pink zipper jacket. By the time I was done with that it was ten past seven, so I go upstairs to the kitchen and make Tom and I breakfast. I rummage through
the cabinets and find a loaf of bread and some cereal, the only things there that were good
for breakfast.
I find a toaster in the corner on the counter and place two pieces of bread in both of the slots. While the bread was being toasted I placed the only two cereals in the middle of the table and grab two bowls, two spoons, a butter knife and two cups from the dirty sink and clean it thoroughly. The bread pops out of the toaster with a quick and frightening, 'Clank!' I jump at the sound of it and put both toasts on separate plastic plates and place them on the table. I reach for the fridge and see that it's almost empty, except for tons of cans with cokes in it, orange juice, broccoli, expired sour cream, butter, and a lot of frozen Lean Cuisine's. I take the butter and orange juice and place it on the table.
Once I get everything in its place I sit down to eat. Tom comes in as quietly as a mouse, sits down, and grabs a bowl and some cereal. He looked awful. Below his eyes
were deep purple, he was paler than ever, and his nose was a dark red. As I thought this
he coughed wildly and then sneezed. Tom was definitely sick.
"Thanks, Dede." His voice was as crackly as ever.
"Dad, are you feeling well?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just don't think I can make it to work today."
"Do you need anything, Dad? I can get you some more orange juice." I stood up slightly, but Tom stopped me.
"No, no. I'm fine. You just focus on getting to school."
"Umm, Dad… I don't have any way to get to school. I left my car with Rachel."
"There's a bus stop on down the street. But since I'm sick and stuck at home," he coughed viciously again; after his cough was over he smiled a bit. "You can just use my car, it's in the garage. But be careful with it. I have to keep it in good condition for tomorrow's chase, if I can even go." The last part was said stubbornly and he stopped talking with a sniffle. A grin came back on his face, and he looked like he struggling not to laugh.
"Thanks, Dad." Oh no, I was going to have to use Tom's storm chasing car. I just hoped it didn't have any gadgets on it. At least I wouldn't have to wait impatiently at the bus stop.
Once I was finished with breakfast, I headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth and fix my hair. It looked fine without fixing it, but I didn't like it getting into my face, so I put it into a ponytail and it flowed a little past my shoulder. I didn't put any make up on, because I always thought it made my face feel like it was covered with invisible clothing, and because I didn't feel the need to.
I returned to my bedroom and grabbed my book bag and headed upstairs and then for the garage door. I pressed the button to open the garage door and the light flooded in quickly and peacefully. The light reflected off of Tom's car, it was a black Lexus. Why would Tom have a Lexus for chasing storms? It didn't even look a bit broken, no scratch. It even looked brand new. Maybe that had something to do with Tom's tiny smile.
I snatch the keys slowly from the small hanger on the left wall and settle myself in Tom's car. As I put the keys into the ignition, I notice a note in the passenger's seat. I pick it up, and notice that it seems to look like a letter. I open the envelope carefully and
read the hard to read script.
Dear Dede,
I'm extremely glad that you're staying here with me for entire summer and school year. I hope your stay here isn't too excruciating. I know I can be a bit boring sometimes, but I always thought you'd like to live here. With the tornadoes and all and I know how you love science. But, just to make your visit a little bit better, I got you a little gift. Well, it's not really a little gift, but a big gift. In fact, you're probably sitting in it right now. I hope you like it. Enjoy your new car!
Love, Tom
P.S. I got your license's plate customized. It says 'Devin A.'. You can just take a look at it. If you don't like it I'm so sorry. I hope you do like it. I should have waited and asked you. But you know how I get, impatient.
This was my car; Tom had gotten me this car. It was too amazing to believe. I wanted to rush back inside the house and thank Tom more than a thousand times. But I took a peek at the clock and read that it said seven forty. I had about thirty minutes to get to school. But I was too busy concentrating on what my dad had done for a moment. Tom was the most generous, loving father I could ever ask for. Even if he wasn't the most fun person around, he was still very kind and caring.
The car was still running when I reached for the wheel. I flipped through the stations on the radio quickly to find a station I liked. I found a station that was announcing the weather and I kept that one on. My dad was right, I did love science; especially weather science, just like my dad. I guess it runs through our blood.
The weatherman's voice was soothing and calm as he announced that there would be a severe storm at two in the afternoon, but it wouldn't turn into a tornado, just a storm. I was glad it wouldn't be becoming a tornado, because of two reasons, one, I would probably be stuck at school hiding under desks and two, Tom would be determined to go
chase the storm no matter how sick he was.
I turned the corner very carefully and than a brown bricked, blue roofed, building came into view. It was Norman North High School again. Except for this time, the parking lots were filled with students, and teachers. I turned into the school grounds and searched for a parking lot for nearly five minutes and finally found a parking lot the farthest away from the main office. The walk from my parking space to the office wasn't as nearly as bad as I expected it to be, because most of the students were gone by now; except for a few students who didn't even look like they were going to any of their classes. I eyed them suspiciously.
They all looked my age except for one. They seemed to be lost in an intriguing conversation, and they all looked expectantly towards the older one. They were all very exquisite, but the eldest looked not only exquisite, but adventurous. He had couple of scratches on his face and he looked somewhat too proud of himself. His hair was golden blonde with a few brown highlights. It looked like there had been hundred twenty miles per hour winds in his hair, but he still managed to look unbelievably unique. His lips
were thin and looked like they were almost frozen, because they were almost a light blue. His cheeks had rosy tone in it, but just barely.
I got just one glance of his smile, but it didn't look like a laughter smile, but an evil smile. I hated thinking he was evil, or even anyone of them. His teeth were all perfectly white and straight. He seemed to not care what he wore also, because he was wearing a T-Shirt that said I rode a tornado and lived. I laughed at his T-Shirt thinking it was kind of funny that he would buy that shirt and wear it in Norman. He glanced sharply over at me and I stopped laughing, even though it was the quietest laugh I'd ever laughed. He was the only one who looked in my direction. My heart was pounding, viciously, and blood rushed to my cheeks. I looked away quickly a walked away towards the building. I could feel one pair of eyes following me as I walked into the office. I figured it was his eyes; I continued blushing and walked faster. His eyes were a deep sea green blue. They match his face perfectly.
The office was more than I expected it to be. It was almost like a doctor's office. I sat in the waiting room for three minutes when one of the lady's at the front desk called on me. I got up and stumbled on the uneven carpet, again blushing.
"Make hast, make hast!" The lady snapped twice, making her statement twice as rude. The two others who were waiting too were giggling as silently as they could. This was not very quiet at all for one of them.
"Quiet!" Snapped the lady again. "Now, what do you need? Oh yeah, you're the storm chaser's daughter, Devin Aaron. How very pleased I am to meet you. Let me get you your schedule and a map," she rummaged through the cabinet below the counter quickly and mumbled Aaron over and over. "Ah! Here we are. Now, the schedule might be a little complicated for you, so let me show you how it works. Today is an odd day so you'll go to all your odd day classes today, which are P.E., Trigonometry, Chemistry, and Latin. Tomorrow you'll have Drama, World Geography, French, and U.S. History.
"Here's a map of the school grounds," she grabbed a highlighter from a cup filled with pens and pencils. "The gym is on the opposite side from where the office is so you're going to have a long walk." She continued telling me the quickest route's to all my classes and she circled with her highlighter where all my classes were. Even though she was extremely cranky, she was also very helpful.
Once she was finished speaking I replied a soft thank you to her and left the office to head to the gym. I still had the map out so I was knew where to go. I was worried that I was going to be late to my class the very first day since I couldn't find anyone. But I continued walking towards the gym. The gym was also a separate building, but it was connected with the cafeteria. Getting to the gym wasn't hard; the hard thing was building up enough courage to actually go into the gym. I pushed the heavy double doors hard and entered the gym nervously.
There were nearly thirty students playing basketball in four different courts. It looked like it was boys against girls on each court. There were also about twenty students running around the indoor track painted onto the floor. A whistle blew fast and
hard when I entered the room. I heard the squeaking of tennis shoes as everyone turned to look at the coach, who was walking towards me keeping a fast a steady pace. I started blush even more wildly than I did earlier today.
"Class, this is Devin Aaron." Whisper's spread around the room quickly when they heard my last name. "She is going to be in our P.E. class today. I want you to be under your best behavior. And that means you, Michael!" Laughter rose about the room and a tall sherbet headed boy rose, bowing. He grabbed the basketball and slam dunked it into the goal with a loud swoosh. He winked in my direction and mouthed 'Call me'.
"Class, continue with your activity." She walked more towards me and spoke just to me. "My name is Coach Burks. My student assistant isn't here today, but his name is Keith Bennett. Destin Baylee will show you what we're doing today. Destin!"
A short and skinny girl ran over towards where her name was called. Her hair was a bright blonde, and it was short and perky. She wore thin glasses and she had a thin smile across her lips. Her feet hit the floor ever so lightly. When she reached us she placed her feet firmly on the ground and put her hands on her hips eagerly.
"Yes, Coach Burks?" Her smile widened.
"Would you care to inform Miss Aaron what activity we're doing today?"
"Sure thing, Coach Burks!" She wrapped my arm around hers and we both walked towards one of the locker rooms. "First you need to change into your P.E. clothes. Like these," she gestured towards her shirt. "You've got some, right?"
"Yeah." I rummaged through my bag and found my P.E. clothes.
"You can just go into there and change into them, I'll wait here." Her feet were planted firmly on the ground once again. I changed as quickly as I could and rushed out of the locker room and into the gym. She was sitting were she said she would, looking towards the people playing basketball. She heard my footsteps and led me to one of the basketball courts and starts a small conversation.
"Doesn't my dad know your dad?"
"Yeah, I think so. Thanks for the bed, by the way." I smiled a bit.
"It was my pleasure! Today we are playing basketball, ugh. After you make at least five shots, going against a guy, which is, like, totally impossible, you have to race against another guy, again, totally impossible. Sounds like fun, huh!" She let go of my arm and skipped over to who I now know was Michael and grabbed his arm.
Standing next to Michael, was a sophomore, he looked like I saw him in that
group I saw earlier today, who didn't look like they were going to go to school. He was definitely one of them. He was very tall and had brown hair and brown eyes. He looked like he was staring at me intensely.
"Destin, who am I going against?" I was still looking towards the guy in the group.
"You're going against him," she pointed at the guy who was in the group. He stepped forward towards me and put out his hand for me to shake. I reached forward uncomfortably and shook his hand.
"Hi, I'm Jason Andrews." He stared straight into my eyes and I shied away looking down.
"Hi, I'm Devin Aaron." I replied back still looking down.
"Yeah, I know. Coach announced it." Boy, did I just feel really stupid. "Are you ready to play some basketball?" I nodded slowly but surely. He grabbed a ball and dribbled it back and forth and between his legs.
"Now, since I'm such a gentleman, I'll let you have the ball first." He grinned at me and I blushed, again. He passed the ball with the slightest force, which was still pretty hard. I caught and tried to find a spot to shoot. This wasn't exactly a game, but it felt like it was Horse. When you missed a shot you get a letter and if you get all the letters of Horse you lose. But this time we just had to get five shots. I stood at the free throw line and shot the ball it landed on the rim but then went into the hoop. I passed the ball to Jason and he shot from the same spot except for a little bit further back and shot it and made it also. We continued like this for ten minutes and we were the first ones finished. So, we made a conversation with ourselves while we waited for everyone else to finish up.
"So, how long are you going to be staying in Norman?" He was slouching against
the wall looking worn out, sweat dripping from his brow.
"A school year and a summer." He looked disappointed.
"Oh. Well, what classes do you have next?" He asked hopefully. Luckily, I had remembered my schedule.
"Umm… Trigonometry, Chemistry and Latin." His eyes lit up brightly.
"I have Chemistry third block, too!" Now it was my turn to ask questions.
"I'm not sure if this is right, but were you out in the parking lot with a whole bunch of sophomore's and a junior? I was just curious." He fidgeted awkwardly with his fingers.
"Yeah, those were just my friends." He turned away from me and stood up. "C'mon, it's time for us to race." He places his hand in mid air for me to place my hand to pull myself up. I take it and he thrusts me up, I was in the air almost. When I landed I stumbled back. His eyes widened like he let a secret out. He had picked me up with one hand.
"Whoops, sorry." He picked me up and put me on my feet. I didn't care that I fell, but that he was so strong. How can anyone be that strong? Maybe it's just my imagination.
We walk to the track and everyone is lined up to begin racing. This was one sport I was sure I would win. I was always the fastest runner everywhere I lived. Though, I didn't actually like to run. So I never practice or anything. My dad always said when I was little that I was born a fast runner to chase storms. I always thought that that seemed like a silly reason to be a fast runner.
Jason was to my left, and Destin was to my right. Coach Burks started the count down, "3… 2… 1… Go!" We all darted forward like a huge stampede being released suddenly. To my right Destin had disappeared, but to my left Jason was by my side. I could see Michael trailing behind Jason and me. Jason and I were in the lead, but not for long. I pushed myself forward like a bullet with my hair flowing furiously behind me. Jason was still on my tail. I kept the same pace the whole way, until I reached the finish.
"Good job, kiddo!" Coach Burks patted me softly on the back. I was breathing
heavily and ferociously. Jason appeared by my side again, and then came everyone else one by one. "Have you ever thought of joining the track team?"
"Umm, no, not really." I shook my head as I replied, wiping my sweat off with
my forearm.
"I really think you should. You even beat Jason, and he's pretty fast. I think
"Jason should join the track team too but he won't do it." She eyed Jason.
"I just don't have time." Jason tapped his watch screen.
"I'll do it!" I was eager to be apart of the track team.
"You're going to do it?" Jason looked shocked, I couldn't see why that would be such a surprise.
"Yeah, it seems like a great opportunity!" I started to breathe at a normal pace
now but Jason was still breathing heavily.
"I'll do it, too." He looked more eager after I signed up. I got even more suspicious. Coach Burks looked like she was going to burst out crying of happiness. Track must mean a lot to her. P.E. seemed to last forever until the bell rang. Everyone shuffled out quickly.
Jason, Michael, and Destin stayed with me helping me find my way to my next class. I told them I had Trig. in unit four, room five - zero - four. It turned out that Destin had that same class with me. She assured me that I'd have tons of friends in that class. Michael's class was the closest, so Jason was still walking with us when we reach Trig. and there we departed.
Mrs. Foley was teaching in this class. She was young and lively, and she seemed to be very kind and caring. She placed me beside Destin since I already knew her, and since she was the only one without a partner. We just reviewed today, and Trig. blew by like a breeze. Destin struggled with the review, so I figured she wasn't the best at Trig., especially since it was a review. The bell rang and everyone went to the cafeteria.
Destin walked with me the whole way and she talked the whole way there. I was glad she didn't give me time to speak because I was too focused on Track. I didn't know why Jason would sign up only if I signed up. Jason and his friends were definitely very strange, I wonder if all his other friends are strong like him. Maybe it's a secret group of superheroes? This was bound to get out of hand. I sighed audibly.
"What?" Destin snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Oh, nothing."
We went through the lunch line and bought our food and sat at a table in the
middle of the cafeteria. I knew only two people at that table which were Destin, and Michael. They both introduced me to everyone; there was Emily, Jordan, Connor, Caroline, Andrew and Jackie. I wondered if Jason was going to sit with us, but I didn't see him.
Finally, Jason came into the cafeteria, but not alone. His friends were with him. Their supposed leader was there, too. Blood rushed to my cheeks again. Jason spotted me, and walked towards us.
"What the heck is Jason doing, walking over here?" Connor looked furious; he rested his hand on Caroline's shoulder protectively. Jason came and sat down and turned to talk to me.
"Hey, Devin, do you want to sit with my friends and me over there?" He looked at me hopefully. I turned to consult with Destin, and she nodded cautiously. Why was Connor angry at Jason?
"Sure." A smile flashed across his lips. I could see the 'leader' in the background with an angry expression on his face. Everyone else in the group was smiling. I wonder what his problem was. I got up and walked over to the circle table in the far right corner
and sat with Jason and his friends. I felt uncomfortable with all those eyes staring at me, and that I was the only one with food. Jason finally introduced me to his friends.
"This is Greg, Drake, Parker, Tate, Rick, and Bennett. Well, actually his name is Keith, but us like call him Bennett, because that's his last name." Keith, Keith where had I heard that name before? Keith was Coach Burks assistant! I wanted to ask him why he wasn't here today, but I was too afraid since he seemed to be the leader of this 'group' and because he kept staring at me furiously. I turned to look in his direction, but when he caught my eye, he jerked his head to look in the opposite direction, at the coke machines. So I decided to change the subject.
"Why was Connor angry at you back there?" I said this as quietly as I could because it was meant for Jason. No one heard that wasn't supposed to hear, except for Keith, who jerked his head back in my direction. It was like he could here everything, even the buzz of a fly.
"Well, I was going out with Caroline, but I broke up with her," he picked up my
apple off my tray and twisted off the stem. "And Connor is kind of over protective of her, because he is like madly in love with her."
"Oh, really? Was she okay?" I lean forward intently, sincerely worried for Caroline's well being.
"Well, I don't mean to sound rude," he looked deeply into me eyes and I looked down at my feet, uncomfortably, feeling his eyes on me. "She was begging for me to take her back for weeks. I said no to her because Connor was miserable that she didn't like him. So, I did Mr. Joyce a favor!" He stomped his foot down furiously, and I recoiled back a bit. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see out the window that the winds had picked up speed. I then focused back on Jason and placed my hand carefully on Jason's shoulder.
"He just cares more about what Caroline wants, rather than what he would want." Jason released his tension. Once Jason was calm, the winds had stopped. I stare at Jason curiously.
"What?" My eyes had returned back to his. His eyes were full of curiosity, also.
"It's just that, when you were relaxed, the wind had stopped…" I must've sounded really stupid just then, because Keith, Jason and everyone else at our table stared sharply towards me. My shoulders tensed at the awkward stares. Keith stood up in a heartbeat and waved for the others to follow him. Everyone stood up, except Jason, walked towards the doorway, and waited for Jason to follow.
"I got to go." He stood up and started to walk away, but I interrupted him.
"But, school isn't over. Where could you possibly be going?" I tilted my head to the side curiously.
"I'm going to the dentist. They're going to the dentist, too. Sorry I can't show you through our next class, don't worry it's simple." He pointed nonchalantly towards the others. Jason continued to walk towards the group, leaving me alone at their table. I looked around the lunch room and ate my food peacefully.
The bell pealed throughout the school and people jumped out of there seats and out the door. I dodged as many people as I could, so I could try finding my class on my own. I rushed into the classroom and entered Chemistry. I had found out that the
teacher's name was Mrs. Dillard. Jason was right; Chemistry did pass by like a breeze. We did review in this class, too. The bell rang again and people stampeded out of the door.
I found the next building easily, because it was right next to the office. When I reached my building, the school grounds were mostly empty. I started to reach towards the door, and then I looked towards the same forest that stretched through my backyard and to the school. I could see Jason, Keith, Greg, Tate, Drake, Parker, and Rick were all rushing towards the forest. Once they entered the forest a major wind pounded against my face, making my eyes water, my hair blew wildly behind me. I reached for the doorknob and stumbled into my classroom, making a grand entrance. Students had already taken their seats and the teacher was writing on the chalkboard.
"Thank you for joining us, Miss Aaron. Please take a seat," he continued to write on the board. I looked around for the closest seat and found one next to a boy who looked a lot like Destin, except for taller and muscular. His binder was on the desk I was going to sit in, so he moved it to the side.
I sat down next to him and looked at the board and read:
NEW STUDENT TODAY!!
WELCOME, DEVIN AARON.
- MR. MORAN
I sighed audibly; Mr. Moran had announced that I was coming. I also saw that he had underlined Aaron; great.
"Is there a problem, Miss Aaron?" He was right in front of me; the only thing separating us was the desk. He was young with orange hair, which looked like it used to look redder and a bit perkier. I shook my head scarcely.
"Now, since you're new, I'll lay down a couple of rules for you," he paused and grabbed a ruler, which at any moment seemed like he was going to smack our table with it. "Rule numero uno, no talking unless you're asked to speak by the teacher. Rule numero deuce,
absolutely no laughing or smiling," a few people giggled, but Mr. Moran droned on. "Now, those are just my two most important rules, the rest of my rules are up there on the board; any questions?" I shook my head at a slow and steady pace.
"Good. Now I assume that you have already learned the basics of Latin, so we're going to just let you join in when ever you like." He returned to the board and below wrote something that seemed like total gibberish.
"Alex, will you get Devin a Latin textbook, please?" Alex got up, went to Mr. Moran's desk, got a textbook and placed it on my desk. I replied thank you and waited for the teachers instructions. "Class, use your textbooks to decode this Latin saying. We will be doing different sayings for the rest of the class period. And for the student that gets the most correct will have no homework. Ready? Set, go!" Pencils started to scratch onto paper and paper in textbooks flapped and ripped. The board said 'Fortis notus, sacrificium sibi tacet.'
I grabbed my textbook and began flipping through the pages. Fortis, I found meant 'bravery', notus meant 'is well-known', sacrificium meant 'sacrificing', sibi meant 'yourself' and tacet meant 'is silent'. I wrote down all that I found and it read, bravery is well-known, sacrifice yourself is silent. I raised my hand and he came and approved it. After his approval, he handed me a worksheet with similar Latin gibberish. I started from the beginning, searching through my textbook.
We did that for the rest of the class until everyone finished and we checked our papers. I had gotten three wrong out of those thirty questions and so did another girl in our class. We had gotten the most right so Mr. Moran told us we didn't have to do the homework, which was do two other worksheets with other sayings in Latin on it. I was starting to like my teacher.
The bell rang and everyone rushed out of the room with hushed voices. Once I was outside I looked towards the woods expectantly. I could see no one, going in or going out of the forest. I started to turn towards the parking lot, but then someone stopped me. I ran into their giant, muscular figure and fell backwards onto someone who
I couldn't tell who. I trampled up repeating sorry over and over. I had dropped my
books, but I found that they weren't on the ground. I looked up to see Jason was holding them, I sighed then laughed.
"Thanks." I replied blushing at my stupid blunder.
"No problem." He handed me my books and glanced at me for a moment. Then I realized we were so close together, we were almost touching, so I backed away one step.
"What?" I smiled shyly and titled my head. He looked like he was really in thought. Like he wanted to tell me something important, but he wasn't sure if he should. His glance turned over to the something, but I couldn't tell what because whatever he was staring at was behind me. I turned my head almost all the way around and got a quick glimpse of Keith shaking his head no, furiously. I snapped my head back at Jason, Who was looking at me again, he sighed audibly. He sounded like he was annoyed.
"Look, my friends and I were wondering if you'd want to come and hang out with us." It all came out in a blast, I wasn't sure if I heard it right. Did he say his friends?
"Did Keith really say that?" I asked, positively sure he does not want me anywhere near him nor near his precious forest. I slouched and crossed my arms, and my eyes narrowed. I was also annoyed.
"Well…no. But I'm sure he would say it," He looked down, ashamed and muttered something. "In another world…" He sighed. I released a bit of my tension. I took another peek at what Keith was doing and saw that Keith was no longer there. I was furious again, but then someone bumped into me and I dropped my books once again. I sighed and bent down to pick my books up. Once I returned back from the ground, I saw Keith standing next to Jason. Keith was maybe an inch or two taller than Jason, I realized. Jason nudged Keith.
"Oops, I didn't see you there," He was speaking to me. Keith said this in the dullest tone he could manage. Jason nudged Keith again. "Sorry." Keith rolled his eyes dramatically. Jason sighed and continued to speak like we were the only ones there.
"So, would you want to come to the forest on Saturday with—?" Jason had gotten interrupted by Keith.
"I'm sure you're busy, so we'll save you the trouble of saying no; c'mon, Jason." He tugged at Jason's sleeve, which seemed like no trouble at all for Keith. Jason was
frowning like never before, it seemed like it didn't belong on his precious face. I was busy that day, but I didn't care, I just wanted to make Keith even angrier.
"I'm not busy, I want to go," I replied back, with a stubborn look on my face. "What time?" Keith had frozen and he looked furious. His face had turned redder than I expected it to be. The winds picked up and pounded against my face. Keith looked like
he wasn't even breathing. He let go of Jason's shirt forcefully, the winds continuing to speed up. Jason's almost perfect teeth shined brightly, I could see that he was ecstatic.
"At two thirty, will you really go?" He asked this in complete disbelief and total happiness. I nodded and turned to look at Keith. He had cooled down a bit and his hair was beautiful. The wind even seemed to have made his hair have more texture. I was staring at him, almost drooling like a dog. Keith looked straight into my eyes and I recoiled back. His eyes were full of hatred, but I guess I couldn't tell because his eyes just made me love him more. I then snapped out of it. Did I just think that I loved him? That couldn't be possible, he hates me, maybe even loathes me. I recoiled back from that thought; it pained me to think that he would loathe me.
I continued to stare at his features. His muscular, tall, figure was standing straight up, looking very proud, but at the same time very malicious. His eyes were aligned perfectly straight across from each other. His nose didn't have one slant in it. His lips perfectly thin and the deepest, most beautiful red I had ever seen. His mouth was in a thin line, which looked like it wanted to turn into a frown, but he prevented himself from doing that. The color of his pupil was even amazing to me. It was pitch black like everyone else's but his just seemed like it was even more beautiful than anyone else's. His deep blue eyes were breath taking. The blue was the kind of blue any painter would love to have. It had not only blue in it, but a tiny hint of deep sea green. I could get lost for hours in his eyes and not even know it. That's what I was doing right now. Maybe I did love him.
I felt a tug at my shoulder and I awoke from my day dream. It was one of Jason's friends, it was Parker.
"I here you're going to the forest with us, is it true?" I nodded still staring at Keith; Keith looked like he couldn't tell I was staring at him, but I could see that he knew my eyes were on him. A smile spread across my face and I stopped staring, I felt really awkward right now. I had just found out that I loved the person standing right in front of me, who was in no way going to love me back. He had a strong hatred for me, for now, that seemed like enough. I am out of my mind.
Then I returned back to the question Parker had asked. What was such a big deal
about the forest? It was just a forest, wasn't it? I ponder this question, still mixed within all the emotion I had just experienced. Then I remembered what Tom had said about this mysterious forest. It was infested with tornadoes. Oh, sure, like I was going to believe that. But maybe I should be in my guard, because Tom did say that I still shouldn't go in there. I giggled at the little tale that Tom had warned about. I decided that I should go, just to see what it was all about, but I should be cautious.
"Well, I'd better get going. Tom is probably worried by now. He may think that I've been overcome by a tornado," I laugh a little and expect maybe at least one person to laugh, too. But no one laughed; all they did was staring viciously, except Jason, of course. Did they have something against tornadoes? That would be ridiculous. I pull
myself together and look towards Keith for one last glance, to engrave his figure into my mind. I nod good bye, grin, and then set off towards my car. I had totally forgotten that I had gotten a new car from Tom. I mentally added a 'thank you' to Tom.