A Forgotten Life
I'm posting the second chapter for more feedback. I'm still not sure if I want to continue this, but whatever.
All through math class I fidgeted. Curiosity was eating away at me like an animal that had not known food for many days. Math class seemed to take forever, the clock ticking slower every time. When it was finally over, I raced out. I was soon joined by Lily, Eleanor, and Alice. Like Eleanor, she had recently started hanging out with my group.
"Hey Drella," Alice said. I smiled back and gripped my drawing notebook.
"Hey."
"Did you see the new kid?" Eleanor asked, clearly excited.
"Hmm, no, why?" I asked, keeping the whole creepy-vision thing a secret.
"Really?" Lily asked. I nodded. "Well, he's in our class, and Hanna's gone absolutely crazy. You know how she likes Lukas?"
"Yeah," I answered, looking around frantically.
"Well, she's over him now and has devoted her life to try and impress Percy-"
"What?" I stopped. All three girls looked at me.
"Drella?" I couldn't spaz now. I gave a laugh, one of no meaning and totally fake.
"That's his name?" Eleanor and Alice giggled too, and I snorted to hide another laugh.
"Yeah, anyway, he's all she ever talks about now. Ugh," Lily rolled her eyes.
"She's being so annoying, today in homeroom, she came up to me and was freaking out and I couldn't understand what she was saying," Eleanor said. We rounded a corner in the hallway and got to the door where art class was. Mrs. Keegan stood there, in her little apron and smile.
"Wow," I agreed. All of a sudden we heard loud laughs and Lukas, Alex, Connell, and Percy rounded the corner.
"Boys, you're late," Mrs. Keegan said in an authoritative voice.
"Sorry, we had to show Percy the way here. He was lost," Lukas answered her. Mrs. Keegan's gaze fell on Percy and she smiled.
"Are you the new student?" she questioned him. He nodded.
"My name is Mrs. Keegan, I'm the art teacher. I'm sure one of the other students can catch you up on what we've been doing for the past few days." Mrs. Keegan then opened the doors and we walked in. Behind us, the boys were talking, just soft enough that we couldn't hear them. I strained my ears, trying to listen.
"What?" we heard Alex exclaim. Alex was Lily's boyfriend. He had brown hair, brown eyes, and his heritage was from Greece. Sometimes when he talked, you could tell. Connell had come from another school, some privet one, and had weird sandy brown hair that poofed up in a strange mushroom type afro. Alice giggled and nudged Lily who blushed.
We all sat down at one table, four kids to a table. I looked around and found that Ruthie was missing.
"Where's Ruthie?" I asked. "She was on the bus this morning." Lily shrugged, but Alice gave me an answer.
"She's in chorus for Bye Bye Birdie. Our performance is this Friday, and Mrs. Ross is working us harder than ever."
I nodded and took another glance at Percy. He had black, sort of shaggy hair and green eyes. He wore our style clothing, skinny jeans, Nikes, a sweatshirt, but he seemed different than us. Maybe he was just quieter. I didn't know.
"All right, take out you drawings," Mrs. Keegan called from her desk. We shuffled to the cabinet, crowding around it. People who got their stuff couldn't get out, and the people on the outside couldn't get their drawings. I happened to get my drawing and squirm out, along with Lily. We got back to our table. Alice joined us and we looked back to see where Eleanor was. Poor Eleanor couldn't get out and was trying at all odds to. She finally reached us and we had already started to draw.
"Guys, I feel really bad for Aspen," Eleanor said randomly. I glanced up and gave her a look.
"Was that random or what?"
"No, cuz, I was just thinking about it and it made me sad," Eleanor explained. Lukas had been dating Aspen for only a few days, and yesterday he broke up with her, and Aspen had been heart broken.
"Yeah, I feel bad too," I agreed. Lily nodded and Alice was too focused on her drawing to notice.
"Alice...Alice!" I said. I waved my hand in front of her face and she batted it down.
"Okay then..." I muttered. She looked up.
"Sorry, I had to get that one part done. What were you guys talking about?" she queried.
"Don't you feel bad for Aspen?" Lily asked. Alice nodded. Then it was silent at our table except for the small murmurings of pencils on paper. A few minutes later, I stopped, giving my hand a rest. I looked at my drawing, seeing what I wanted to do with it. A dragon was perched on the highest peak of a snowy covered mountain, roaring at the sky. Sunlight gleamed down at it and casted shadows on the surrounding mountains. I walked it over to Mrs. Keegan, wanting another person's input. But as I reached her desk, she was gone. I glanced around, hoping to see her bent over helping another kid, but she wasn't there. I shrugged, thinking nothing of it, and walked back to my seat. A few more minutes went by, I helped my friends get the shadings and glimmers just right, but still Mrs. Keegan did not come back in. By now I was frustrated. My eyes swept the room, and I noticed that Percy was gone too. Again, I thought nothing of it.
"Hey, where's Mrs. Keegan?" I asked Lily. She shrugged.
"I don't know. She was here before..."
"Yeah, so...where is she now?" I was searching for my answer.
"I don't know!" She sighed. "Drella, help me. I keep smudging it and its getting all messed up. Please." I went across the table to her side and was showing her the way to shade it on the particular spot when I heard the door open. I spun around and my hair whipped Lily in the shoulder. I turned back around, slower this time, and chirped,
"Sorry, Lily, hold up for a second," and raced off. Mrs. Keegan had come in the door along with Percy. Percy looked a little pale and Mrs. Keegan looked worried. I brought my picture up to her for inspection. She nodded and smiled like she always did, complimenting on certain little Drella qualities, but worry still clouded her eyes. I thanked her and put it back in my folder. I fumbled with it for awhile, but got it in. I sighed and went back to the table. What would make a cheery art teacher like Mrs. Keegan worried? And what did she want with Percy? He had hardly uttered a single word! I looked at Mrs. Keegan for awhile. She seemed her normal self, bustling along from table to table to help with pictures and projects, but I knew something was wrong. And that's when curiosity took over me. I was fixed on figuring out all of my questions.
After a few more classes, lunch came around. Kids flocked to the cafeteria, chatting and clogging up hallways. I needed to catch Percy before he went off to lunch, surrounded by a group of guys, or admiring girls. I spotted him, down the hall, trying to open his locker. Our school lockers were a pain to begin with, and the school didn't feel like changing them. I ducked, swerved, and squeezed myself through the throngs of people in the hallway. He stood with his back to me, still struggling with his locker.
"You sort of have to pull up and to the right. It's the only way," I said calmly. He turned around, hand holding a pen.
"Whoa, don't stab me through with a pen. Someone already sliced some guy's arm with a ruler last month," I said sarcastically. He blushed and put the pen away.
"I have to ask you something," I began, but before I could say another word, he cut me off.
"You're not here to ask me out, are you? Because some girl name Hanna just did three times."
"I'm-"
"I already have...a girlfriend, okay?" he turned back to his locker. I shifted my weight and crossed my arms.
"That is not what I was going to ask you. I want to know why you're here," I said. Percy paused, and then turned back around to face me.
"Why I'm here?" he asked, bewildered.
"Yep, that's all I want to know." For now, I added in my head.
"I'm here because I got kicked out of my other school."
"Oh, so you're a bad boy, sort of on the dangerous side? You have a motorcycle? Cuz Hanna will just eat that up, dude," I replied, sarcastically.
"No, a Prius-"
"A Prius? Even better. Hanna loves the environment." To my surprise, he laughed. He muttered something and turned back to his locker.
"What was that?" I asked. "I didn't quite catch that." Percy shut his locker and walked away, leaving me standing there, with no answers. I sighed and trudged off to lunch.
The end of the day came near, and I planned my interrogation carefully. When the busses came, I would ask him some more questions. Not much of a plan, but who cared? The bell rang and people filed out of history. I grabbed my bag and my sweatshirt and walked out, eager for a better explanation. I got to Percy's locker, but I found no Percy. I waited two seconds before my friend, Jared, walked by.
"What are you doing?" he asked me. I shrugged.
"Nothing, just waiting to interrogate someone. You?" I asked calmly.
"Nothing." Silence. "Are you waiting for the new kid?"
"No."
"Uh, then what are you doing?"
"I already told you." Jared sighed, exasperated. I suddenly had an idea.
"See ya later bro." I turned and walked down the hallway, towards the art room. If I couldn't find Percy, I would ask Mrs. Keegan.
I was outside the art room when I heard voices. I held my ear to the door, hoping to hear some of the conversation. But all I could hear were muffled voices. Mrs. Keegan's and Percy's.
Okay, not much of a cliff hanger, but I hope that chapter was okay. Review please!
