Here's the new and improved chapter 2. I think both chapters (1 & 2) are quite a bit longer than the originals, which is good, no? And they aren't too long, which is also a lovely thing. I will probably start working on improving chapter 3 tomorrow in between cleaning and what not and it should be up quick. Then I will try to add more. Review, tell me if there's anything you like or don't like, and criticize all you like my dears.
Chapter 2: Old Friends
They arrived in their new town, or old town as it were. They had a new home that had been found by the man who had suggested the move. It was small and white with a broken down old porch. It had three bedrooms - very small bedrooms, one bathroom that was also very small, and a kitchen combined with the living room. The property's yard was very small as well. It was a total hick house.
By nine that night, all the furniture was moved into the new house and most of the boxes were unpacked. Ariella and Mr. Third went for a walk to check out their old town. Ingrid had a growing knot of nervousness in her stomach. The upcoming confrontation with her middle school friends was looming over her; she was dreading it. So instead of taking a walk with her sister and dad, she made her bed and went to sleep for the next morning when she'd start at her new high school.
In the morning Ingrid was awoken late by her father who then hurried her to the new school. She made her way to the office, ignoring any whispers or stares aimed towards her. Ingrid was about to enter the office but was stopped in her tracks by the sight of two of her old middle school classmates, Karen Tehama and Joseph Anza. Joseph was leaning against the locker next to Karen, talking to her and smiling. A bell then rang. Joseph and Karen kissed each other before they walked hand in hand down the hall in the opposite direction of Ingrid. It had always been obvious that Tehama and Anza would made a fantastic couple, but it was a sort of shock to see it in action.
Ingrid snapped out of her partial trance and continued to walk into the office. She talked with the secretary as little as possible and obtained the information necessary to begin school. With the help of a map, she found her locker and dropped off her bag. She then went on to find her class - room 241, Chemistry. She knocked firmly on the door causing the loud voice within to stop talking. A man, probably the teacher, opened the door; as soon as he saw Ingrid, a huge smile stretched across his face. "You must be-" he held up a paper in front of his face, looking for the name, "...Ingrid Third, correct?"
Ingrid nodded but remained quiet.
"Well come in then," he closed the door behind her and walked her in a way that a kindergarten teacher would with someone new to her seat and walked back to the front. "This is our new student, Ingrid Third, class." There were some whispers, probably from those who had known Ingrid or had heard of her in middle school. She recognized some of them but refused to make eye contact. "I hope you all treat Miss Third the way you would want to be treated. That's the golden rule, so live by it. Alright," he said, pushing a TV set into view. "We will start the video now and it will go through class. Anyone who decides to sleep and not take notes will cause the video to be turned off and a pop quiz to occur. Your choice of course." The class was silent except for the brief shuffle of papers. Ingrid remained still - notes would be a waste of paper. She'd remember it all anyway. Ingrid made sure to keep her attention focused on the screen though and made it look like her hand was doing something.
There was a fifteen minute break after Chemistry. Ingrid was unsure of what people normally did on their breaks so, because of the sunny and warm day, she went and sat in one of the courtyards on an old bench. Many students passed through the courtyard on their way to their next class. She was people-watching - there were a lot of strange people - when she saw Cornelius Fillmore walking alone down a sidewalk. Ingrid didn't realize what she was doing when she got up and started walking after him. She stopped in her tracks though when he was with Karen and Joseph. Ingrid just wanted to see him alone; she wanted to talk to him alone.
The three started walking away and Ingrid figured she should make her way to her next class before she was late. She dropped off her Chemistry text and made her way to gym. Everyone else was sitting on the gym's bleachers so Ingrid followed their example and made her way to the top of them. When she was half-way across the gym, she saw Anza and Fillmore and released a small groan. This would certainly mean a confrontation with her past.
The Phys. Ed. teacher exited his office across the gym and demanded silence before he began to call attendance. Ingrid heard both Anza and Fillmore's name in the mass of called names. When 'Third' was called, there was a short murmur; she saw Joseph and Cornelius look at each other and say something. They started to look around and immediately Ingrid found a chipped piece of paint on the wall behind her that she suddenly thought was very interesting. It must have been very obvious that she was avoiding their stares, but she didn't care, she refused to look. After what seemed like a very long time to stare at a wall, however, she looked back to Fillmore and Anza. They were still looking and Ingrid was forced to smile, albeit sheepishly. Cornelius just had a stunned look on his face but Joseph had a smile spread across his. They both stood up and began walking up the bleachers toward her. She braced herself for the dooming interaction that was surely to occur.
They sat down next to her, "hey Ingrid," Anza said happily.
"Hi Ingrid," Fillmore said, unsure.
"Hi you guys," Ingrid said with a small smile and a higher voice than usual.
"When did you- why are you here?" Fillmore asked, his voice tainted with a small bit of spite.
"We got here yesterday," she began. "We decided to move back here." Ingrid decided that details were best to leave out for the time being.
"This year is almost done. Why would you move?" Fillmore asked, obviously suspicious.
"Um, well-" Ingrid began.
"Do you mind sharing with the rest of class?" The voice of the gym teacher boomed.
"Sorry sir," Cornelius answered strongly.
"Come down and join the rest of the class now!"
The three moved closer to the bottom and listened while the teacher spoke about flag football rules. "And everyone will take part. I'm not for the half-ass excuse for a player. You will try or will have a fun time in Saturday morning detention. Got it?" The teacher, who Ingrid found out was named Mr. Dawes, said to finish up his rant on flag football. "Okay, team captains are..." he looked at his list of names, "Fillmore will own team yellow. And Jones will own team red."
Cornelius and a girl who Ingrid assumed was 'Jones' stepped up to the front of the class.
"Fillmore, you first," Mr. Dawes said.
"Ingrid," he shouted, causing the spotlight to fall on her, many people unaware of who she was.
Mr. Dawes looked down at his list to find 'Ingrid'. "Alright, Third! Newbie. Get down here and stand by your captain."
Ingrid didn't think that she was going to be a great fan of Mr. Dawes - he was loud and a little obnoxious, but she walked down the bleacher stairs quickly and stood behind Fillmore silently. The two teams were made, Anza also on Fillmore's team and the whole class made their way to the football field of which they would use only half.
Apparently detentions given lasted up to three hours long on Saturdays. That was definitely not something Ingrid wanted to take part in so she actually tried her best in football. Her best wasn't too great, but she wasn't among three of the students within the class to be eligible for detention. She felt a little proud of herself; it wasn't a very fulfilling kind of pride, but pride nonetheless.
After gym class it was lunch and Ingrid was invited, of course, to sit with the 'gang' consisting of those from middle school safety patrol who had managed to remain good friends: there was Joseph, Karen and Cornelius; Horatio Vallejo and Danny O'Farrell were there too. It was a major blast from the past. They caught up and reminisced but all questions and stories never inched towards the reason Ingrid left or the true reason she came back, which was something she was very happy about.
None of her friends were in either of her afternoon classes so she had to go in alone. Ingrid did recognize some faces, but she wasn't up to talking to any of them. She almost had enough for one day. It was a good day though.
Ingrid was happier than she had been in a very long time and without any help of stolen goods.
