Chapter 1
Blend in
I leave my house; flustered and displeased with the turn my life has taken. My mother is waiting impatiently in the car, but what could I do about that? I had just spent two hours trying to figure out how to make myself look somewhat decent for the first day.
I've lived in this town my whole life, but I've been homeschooled for 16 years. I looked back at the conversation that I had with my parents, arguing that I didn't need to go to public school.
I said that public school would have its terrible temptations, when they asked me to list them, well let's just say they were horrified. I told them that it would tempt sex, drugs, alcohol, cussing, bad grades, and no interest in college.
They didn't buy my claims, they told me that it would be a wonderful experience, for me to spend my last two years in high school with kids my age and becoming—what my mother called experienced—street smart. They went over the basics, learning about lying and truth, trust and dignity, the importance of friends. Truth of the matter is, I don't want any of that.
I want to be an artist, it's all I've ever wanted, and I believe it's all I'll ever want for the rest of my life. I don't remember not wanting it. I had my entire plan figured out.
I was going to get a scholar ship—something that my parents said I would be more eligible to now that I'm going to public school—for the Art Institute of Illinois. My parents have a different plan for that subject matter; I'm supposed to be a doctor.
My family and I took a vacation to Chicago when I was in the eighth grade and ever since then, I've been dreaming of that school. I've heard of their experienced professors, their unmatchable tools, and most of all, the experience. I knew that I could never get an experience like that here.
"Andrea, honey, it won't be a good impression to make on your teachers and peers if you are late on your first day." My mother warned as I slammed my car door shut.
She turned her head to look at what had taken me so long.
I knew that this school wasn't exactly a high-class school, but I needed to look decent. I chose my navy blue blouse that buttoned up the middle and hugged me in the waist. I also had a white belt that synched the waist.
As for pants, well I didn't have anything fancy so I just wore some dark wash jeans and black ballet flats.
My hair was a totally different nightmare. I had sandy blond hair that went down to my waist. It was unbelievably curly. Everyone said it was absolutely beautiful, but I couldn't stand it. I have straightened my hair every day since I discovered the wonders of flat irons. I first got one when I was twelve. It helps me blend in somewhat. Although blending in sounded great my first year in public school, I did plan on make a statement sometime during the year. But today, I decided blending in was my best bet, so I straightened it.
"You look pretty," she smiled. "You know what would have really topped your look?"
"What's that?" I asked, though I knew the answer already.
"Leaving your hair curly." Her voice was calm and sweet.
"I want to blend in today, mom." I argued.
"Why though? You're so talented, artists never blend in. They just can't."
She likes my hair curly, she always has. She's always told me that I should enjoy my curls because so many girls would give their eyeteeth for them.
I've always found that to be a load of—
"So are you excited?" she asked and I lost my train of thought.
"I guess…" I trailed off. "Where's Helen?"
Helen is my younger sister; she was a freshman in high school this year.
"She got a ride with some friends." My mother answered.
"And dad?"
"He's got a new job today. He's actually going to be substituting at your school until he can secure a regular job there as a computer teacher."
I gasped, trying to be as quiet as possible.
"Don't worry dear; he's going to be subbing for the freshmen and sophomores, not the juniors."
I nodded quickly. I ran my fingers through my hair and narrowed my eyes.
"You said that Helen got a ride with friends?"
"Yep, she met some girls at the freshmen orientation that live just a few blocks from us. They offered to give her a ride to school and show her around."
Amazing, my fourteen year old sister had friends to go to school with and I didn't. I scowled out the window.
My mother is a fresh lawyer out of law school, her college professors said that she had a great deal of promise and she left college with many job offers. She had started law school right out of high school. She met my father a few years later, got married, and had me. She put her career on hold to stay home and take care of me. She said she didn't regret anything, but I knew part of her wished she hadn't waited so long to get back into the business.
We pulled into the school parking lot, following the long flow of traffic. I was embarrassed to see that I wasn't going to have as easy of a time blending in as I had hoped.
All of these cars were older and beaten down. Mine was a newer Camaro that stood out like a sore thumb. I let out a nervous sigh as my mother circled the parking lot, searching for a spot.
"It'll be alright, hon." She said, trying to calm me. It didn't work.
She must have circled that parking lot half a dozen times. She finally found a spot that was close to the school, she started toward it. Just as we were getting ready to pull in, a brunette in a black convertible took the spot.
The brunette took off her sunglasses and gave me a glare, guess I wasn't the only one whose car was going to stand out.
"That was rude." I muttered to myself.
"What's that dear?" she asked.
"Nothing, it's nothing."
To our surprise, a spot freed up next to the black convertible. I let out a sigh as I eyed up the long legged brunette. I've only read about the girls and seen them in the movies, but this must be the girl that everyone feared; the "it girl".
The girl sat in the driver's seat, fixing her makeup. I rolled my eyes and looked ahead.
"Okay, now if you need to come home, if it gets to be too hard, just call me…" she trailed off as she grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down her cell phone number. "Here, call me at this number, don't be afraid."
She looked at me with a nervous look.
"Are you sure you're alright? I can take a sick day and we can go tomorrow." She asked.
"No, mom, I'm fine." I lied.
"You're sure?" she asked again, she was genuinely worried.
"Mhm." I muttered.
I got out of the car, slinging my book bag over my shoulder. The brunette had already begun walking into the school, I had a feeling that I didn't want to be around her.
There was another car that pulled into the spot that mother was in. There was a boy in the driver's seat. The windows were tinted to an extent that I was unable to see what he looked like, or if he was looking at me.
I turned around and walked toward the school. I hadn't even realized what the school looked like. It was overly large. It could almost pass for a college in a way. That didn't make me like public school any more.
I heard footsteps behind me; I looked out of the corner of my eye, but saw no one. I continued walking into the school, keeping my head down a bit.
The office was right next to the door and I decided that I needed a map of the school, so I walked in. There was a little woman, mid thirties, behind the counter. She looked at me and smiled.
"How can I help you, hon?" she asked in a cheerful tone.
"I'm Andrea Genea'…I'm new here." I said softly.
"Oh hello Andrea, can I get you a map of the school?"
"That'd be great."
She turned around and grabbed a folder and started sifting through it. She found what she was looking for and handed me some papers.
"This is the map of the school and your schedule."
"Okay thanks." I murmured, looking over the map.
"So, Andrea, where'd you move from?" she asked.
"Oh, I've lived here my entire life; I've just been homeschooled until now."
"Oh, how interesting!" she squeaked. "Well, I hope your experience at school is a wonderful one. High school can get rough though, so be careful."
"Thank you." I turned for the door and walked out.
Just as I was opening the door, the boy, the one from the parking lot I supposed, was walking by. He looked at me briefly at me and then looked the other way. He was certainly a handsome boy, tall, muscular. His face was longer and squared off. His hair was shaggy and a sandy brown color, with a tint of reddish gold in it.
I shook off his look and walked over to the freshman hallway. It was full of young teens, chatting and rushing about. Probably freaking out about being in high school for the first time.
Then I walked over to the sophomore hallway, it was connected to the freshman hallway by a corner. This one was less crazy, but still had some commotion about it. They were all getting used to the fact that they weren't at the bottom of to totem pole anymore, learning to be accepted.
Then there was my hallway, the junior hallway. This hallway was chill and mellow. The people in this hallway were made up of mature teenagers who were annoyed by the freshman.
I walked slowly to my locker, locker number 323. I looked at the combination on the piece of paper in my hand. I looked back up at my locker and started to try the code. When I was finished I tried opening it. That was a bust, it wouldn't open. I tried it again and again. Finally I gave up and looked sheepishly around the hallway, no one was looking luckily.
A girl walked up next to me, a bouncing red head. She was wearing a dark green knee length dress with gold sandals. I decided to watch her out of the corner of my eye to see if her locker worked well. She put in her combination with ease, then reached up to the top of her locker, elbowed it twice and then kicked the bottom twice. I thought it was silly and looked goofy, but her locker opened up right away.
I didn't want to copy her methods while she was standing next to me so I decided to wait until she left. I stood there, pretending to read my schedule until she left.
Five minutes must have past and she was unbelievably slow. She started giggling, I looked around, but no one was there making her laugh. Her giggles came harder after I looked around. She wasn't on the phone and no one was around.
I stood there feeling like an idiot, not knowing what she's laughing at. I looked down at my clothes to see if I was having a wardrobe malfunction, nothing.
"You need help opening your locker don't you?" she giggled.
I stood there like a deer caught in headlights.
"Here, let me help you." She giggled again.
What is up with this chick? She stepped in front of me and grabbed the paper from my hands and looked at the combination. She entered my combination with same ease she used when entering her own. She elbowed the top of my locker twice and kicked the bottom twice. Then she attempted to open it and succeeded.
She stepped aside, motioning to the locker like she was a sales person.
"Thank you…" I said in a confused tone.
"You're new here aren't you?" she asked.
"Uh yeah." I answered, I was feeling a bit embarrassed.
"I could tell; most people have the hang of these lockers by now."
"I see."
"I'm Anneliese Radferd by the way." She said, holding out her hand.
"Andrea Genea'." I said, shaking her hand.
"Nice to meet you. So where are you from?" she asked.
"Oh, I've lived here since I was born; I've just been homeschooled until now." I answered nodding.
"Ah, I see. Why'd you come to school now?" she asked, her eyebrows coming together.
"Uh, well it wasn't my choice."
"Who's was it?"
"Well, my parents said that it would be a good experience, better chances at college, blah, blah, blah."
"Oh, I see." She giggled. "So what's your first class?" I didn't even have to answer her; she was already taking my schedule out of my hand. She smiled to herself. Then she handed the paper back.
"You have first hour trig with Anderson, same as me."
"Oh." Was all I had to say.
"If you'd like I could walk you to class?" she offered, her voice kind.
Part of me wanted to decline, but then again, I had no idea where that was.
"That'd be great." I answered.
"Cool, well we still have a while till we need to be there, so we could just get to know each other?"
"Yeah, sure, can I ask you something?" I asked.
"Yep,"
"Who has a locker next to me?"
"Oh it's…" her voice trailed off, and she looked across the hall.
"It's who?"
I turned around to see who she was staring at. I got my answer immediately.
The boy who I saw in the parking lot and by the office was walking toward us. He stopped right next to me and turned to the locker. I turned back to Anneliese with wide eyes.
"Him?" I mouthed.
She nodded slowly, her eyes locked on him. He gave one brief look at me and walked past me. I exhaled as I watched him walk down the hall.
"Wow." I breathed.
"Wow is right." She turned back to her locker and started taking out a book. I watched him, as he was still walking down the hall.
"Who is he?" I asked.
"His name is Blaize Hastings and he's…different."
"By different you mean…?" I trailed off, watching him until he turned the corner and was out of my sight.
"He's pretty quiet, he spends most of his time in the art room, but other than that, he seems nice; never had a real conversation with him."
I looked back down at the ground. Something leaped in me when she said he spends his time in the art room.
The warning bell went off and the freshman began to scram to find their class.
"Oh, hey, let's go. I'll show you the way."
"Okay," I answered as we started walking down the hall.
"Okay, few things about Anderson you should know." She stated as we went up the stairs.
"Like what?"
"He spits, so avoid sitting in the front at all costs. He's got some kind of gland problem, he tells everyone on the first day of school every single year. I guarantee there isn't a student that leaves these halls without knowing every detail of that problem."
"Okay, thanks, anything else?"
"Oh yeah, he loves opinionated people and he's very…" she was searching for the right word. "Conservative, so I suggest you button up your shirt as far as it will go."
I didn't realize that she had a little sweater in her hand to wear when she got to the class.
"Alright, anything else?" I asked as I buttoned my shirt.
"He'll probably make you stand up in front of the class and tell who you are, where you're from, junk like that." We were coming up the stairs to the room.
"This is it." She stated and walked into the room.
The classroom was full of chattering teens. Boys were sitting on the desks that girls were sitting at. A few of kids, whom I assumed were classified as the "nerds", were reading books and collaborating with each other about today's lesson.
Anneliese went to her seat that was in the middle. When she sat down she raised her hand and waved for me to come over to her.
I walked over to her and sat in the seat next to her.
A tall, gangly boy walked over to Anneliese and sat on the table.
"Hey there." He said coolly.
He had blond hair that was spiked up.
"Hey, Kyle." She greeted. Kyle looked over to me and then back at Anneliese.
"Oh, sorry, Kyle, this is Andrea Genea', Andrea, this is Kyle Hanson. He's a friend of mine."
"Nice to meet you." He smiled, offering his hand for me to shake.
"Nice to meet you too." I smiled back, shaking his hand.
"So where are you from?" he asked.
"Here," I answered.
"Well…I haven't seen you around?"
"Oh, no I've been homeschooled."
"I see," he said, nodding his head.
"Well, hey, if you need any help finding classes or anything, just ask me or Anneliese."
"Thanks—"
"Okay everyone, settle down, settle down. Hanson! Back to your seat!"
Kyle hopped off the desk, gave me a smile, and then proceeded to his seat behind us.
Mr. Anderson rubbed his hands together and looked at all of his students. I put my head down a little bit, hoping he wouldn't call me to the front.
"Ah, Miss…" he looked down at his roster. "Miss Genea', would you please join me in the front of the class room?"
I slowly got up from my seat and made my way up to the front. He motioned with his arms for me to stand in the very front.
"Miss Genea', will you tell us a little bit about yourself, such as where you are from."
"I'm from here."
The class laughed a bit.
"No, really where are you from, where'd you move from?" he asked again.
"I've lived here since I was born and I've been homeschooled until now."
"Oh, I see. What made you come to school now?"
"My parents said it would be a better opportunity for scholarships."
"When you say scholarships, what do you want to major in?"
"Art,"
"Just art?" he asked; his voice skeptical.
"Yes, just art. I want to be an artist."
"Well, it's good to have a dream." He scoffed. "Go back to your seat now, please."
He didn't have to ask me twice. I hurried back to my seat and put my head in my hand.
Mr. Anderson droned on and on about his gland problem, just as Anneliese had predicted. I could occasionally see students flinching when he pronounced words with P's and T's. I was glad I had Anneliese to tell me what to expect and for letting me sit by her in the back.
I could feel people staring at me, so much for my blending in. Anneliese seemed even less interested in Mr. Anderson's story than I was; she'd probably heard it a thousand times before. After all, I've been here one day and I feel like I've heard it a thousand times before.
When his explanation came to a close, there was only 25 minutes left to the hour, had he really spent that long talking about spit glands?
"Okay, today we're going to talk about the basics of Trigonometry."
The class let out a disgusted groan. Mr. Anderson ignored the sighs and grunts that the class exuded. His speech was generic, talking about angles and circles. I mostly tuned it out because I had heard it all before. My tutor and I had covered almost the entire trigonometry that we would learn this year. But because it wasn't recorded properly, I have to take this class again, due to claims of the superintendant that I didn't learn properly.
I thought about Blaize, the boy who had the locker next to me. I knew I wouldn't waste my time attempting to get to know him. I could already tell that we had no future with each other. I just couldn't get his angelic face out of my mind. He was just so…intriguing. The way he moved so gracefully through the halls was enough to send a strange shiver up my back.
Lost in my own thoughts, I didn't notice that the bell had rung and Anneliese was snapping her fingers in front of my face.
"Hey, Andrea, snap out of it!" she shouted.
I fluttered my eyes and gasped.
"Wow, sorry 'bout that." I breathed as I came back from my thoughts.
"What were you day dreaming about?" she asked with a giggle.
"Uh, nothing, just zoning."
"Oh I see." She giggled. "Is that something all artists do?"
"Yeah, I guess so." I giggled too.
"Well, come on, let's get going, what class do you have second hour?"
"Uh…" I looked at my schedule. "World History with Mrs. Rochelle."
"Okay, I don't have that class, but Kyle does. Hey Kyle, could you show Andrea to Mrs. Rochelle's class?"
"Oh, yeah, absolutely." He agreed enthusiastically.
"Great, okay Andrea, I'll see you later!" Anneliese shouted as she ran out of the room.
I turned to Kyle and looked at him. He smiled widely at me and motioned for me to go out the door.
"Okay, Mrs. Rochelle's class is downstairs." He said pointing to the big stairway.
"Okay."
We walked in an awkward silence for a few moments, I wanted to start a conversation, but I had absolutely no idea what to talk about.
"So, if you don't mind me asking, why did you come to school now? I mean like a more in depth explanation." He asked nervously.
"Oh, uh, well my parents thought that school would be better for me. They thought that I would have better experiences and such."
He snorted a bit. "Like what?"
"I don't really know, I think they just want me to become more…street smart."
He nodded. "I see, you don't sound so pleased to be in school."
"You're right; I didn't want to come to school. I made up a whole list of things that would be the downside of school; obviously using the things that would be horrifying to a parent."
He laughed and looked at me. "What was the list?"
"Oh the basics, sex, drugs, alcohol, bad grades, no interest in college…"
"Sounds about right." He said with a laugh.
We were getting to the bottom of the stairs at this point and rounding the corner into the freshman hallway. The freshman students were rushing around the hallways; totally lost.
My eyes scanned through to see if my sister was anywhere, but I couldn't find her. Kyle was walking next to me still, looking straight ahead, but every once and a while I caught him looking at me from the corner of his eye.
He turned the next corner and then pointed to a class room at the far end of the hallway.
"That's the classroom down there."
I nodded and continued walking.
"Mrs. Rochelle is hard at hearing so you may need to speak up if she asks you a question. She really can't stand people with opinions about things…so…try not to get opinionated in there…"
"Okay, but what happens if I have an opinion about something?"
"She'll go on for the rest of the hour explaining why you're wrong and she's right, which on some days, that's not a bad thing."
"Alright, anything else I should know?"
He looked ahead for a moment, his face thoughtful.
"Oh, you can sit where ever you want; she never checks the seating chart like she warns. Last year I had her for American history and I sat in a different seat every day."
I giggled. "Every day?"
"Absolutely, every day."
We both laughed and I realized that part of me was flirting with Kyle. He was a cute guy after all. His blond hair really brought out the pretty ocean blue in his eyes.
I quickly looked away from him before he caught me staring.
"After you," he said motioning for me to go in first.
"Thanks," I walked in the door to find hardly any students in the class. "Where is everyone?" I whispered.
"Oh, that's the other thing, she never notices if you're tardy or not."
He walked up to Mrs. Rochelle.
"Uh, Mrs. Rochelle, this is Andrea Genea', she's new in school."
Mrs. Rochelle looked up at us. She had those bifocals that sat on the end of her nose with gray hair. She looked to be about late fifties to early sixties. A smile spread across her face when Kyle introduced me.
"Ah, Miss Genea', how are you dear?" she asked, holding out her hand for me to shake.
"I'm fine, thank you." I shook her hand.
"Where are you from?" she asked.
"Oh, I'm from here, I've been homeschooled."
"Oh, I see, well welcome to the school."
Kyle smiled at me and walked me over to the seat next to him.
"She didn't seem hard at hearing?" I whispered.
"Hm, usually she is, she may have her hearing aid turned up today."
I nodded and then looked ahead. Students were just beginning to flood the classroom, just second before the bell rang. Kyle smiled at me and then looked back ahead.
"Okay class, we have a new student today."
"Oh man." I muttered
"Oh don't worry, Andrea, I'm not going to make you come up and introduce yourself."
I looked over at Kyle with confused eyes. He shrugged and lifted his hands.
"So she has hearing like a hawk this year." He whispered.
"I heard that Mr. Hanson." Mrs. Rochelle warned, looking at the opposite side of the room.
"Sorry, Mrs. Rochelle." Kyle apologized.
Kyle looked over at me, he looked so embarrassed. I smiled at him and then looked at the chalk board. It had: NEW TEXTBOOKS WILL BE HANDED OUT TODAY! STUDENT WILL BE FINED IF THERE ARE ANY DAMAGES TO THE TEXT BOOK AT THE END OF THE YEAR, NO EXCEPTIONS!
Mrs. Rochelle handed each row five books and had us take one and pass the rest back. It appeared as though students couldn't do this in an organized matter what so ever.
Mrs. Rochelle had to explain several times to the row three away from me what take one and pass the rest back meant. Now I had never been in a school before, but I was pretty sure this would be the easiest request a teacher would make.
Teacher stood at her podium, walking us through the entire book. She discussed the plan for throughout the year and what we would be covering. She told us about the chapters we would skip or the ones that needed to get finished as soon as possible.
She then started going through the classroom rules and expectations. She said that we were permitted to choose our seats, but if we were constantly out of them and switching around; she would mark us up for Saturday school in an instant.
It was all basic stuff and even though I hadn't been to school, I knew that already. I glanced occasionally at Kyle, who was sitting with his head resting in his hand. I looked closer and he was totally asleep. I let out a little giggle, but decided I should probably wake him up. I leaned over and snapped my fingers quickly in front of him.
He gasped and jumped and then looked at me. He pointed to me and mouthed "was that you?" I nodded and then looked at the teacher. His eyes widened and then he thanked me silently.
It wasn't long though and he was back to sleep again. I decided to give up on that cause and just pretend to listen to Mrs. Rochelle, who was now going on and on, telling us about her life and family and why she got into teaching.
To my surprise, she had wasted the whole hour talking about that and the bell had rung.
I looked over to Kyle, still sleeping, and drooling on the sleeve of his sweatshirt. I leaned over and snapped my fingers again in front of his face. He didn't wake up as quickly as he had before. I shook his shoulder this time, causing him to start to fall off his chair.
He woke up again quickly this time and looked over at me.
"Time go, sleepy head." I giggled.
"Oh, man, sorry did I fall asleep again?"
"Yep," I started to stand up from my desk, taking the oversized book along with the trig book that we got last hour. I should have asked that we go to our lockers after first hour.
"Okay, Andrea, what's your next class?" Kyle asked, taking my schedule. He gave a slight frown and then handed the paper back. "You have that class with Anneliese; I'll walk you back to your locker."
I nodded and followed him out of the room.
"What's the lunch like here?" I questioned.
"It's great, they have these venders from different restaurants come in and set up stations. It's just like a regular food court at the mall. Unfortunately though, this usually ends about the third month of school due to kids refusing to pay the prices."
"Sounds nice, what kind of venders do they have?"
"McDonalds, Wendy's, A&W, Subway, I think even Crispy Creams comes once and a while." He paused. "Well hey, I'm sure Anneliese is going to offer, but you should sit with us. You know; if you want to."
"Yeah, I think I will. I don't want to intrude though."
"Oh, pft, you wouldn't intrude. We're always recruiting new members." He said in a creepy voice.
I must have looked at him in a strange way because his facial expression completely changed.
"I was just kidding!" he quickly corrected.
"No, I know, I was just kidding too!" I laughed.
"Oh thank god, you looked at me like I was some kind of psychotic cult freak."
We both let out a good laugh as we rounded the corner to the junior hall. Anneliese was waving to us excitedly as we were walking toward us.
"Hey, Andrea! How was second period?" she asked.
"It was boring, but…I expected that." I answered, walking over to my locker. "Okay, I'm not sure if I'll remember how to do this."
I entered my combination quickly and then looked at Anneliese. She motioned with her elbow to the top. I elbowed the top of the locker and then kicked the bottom twice. It opened right away and I smiled at Anneliese.
I threw the heavy books in the top shelf of the locker; not bothering with organization.
"What Class do you have next?" Anneliese asked eagerly. I looked down at my schedule to find what class it was.
"I have biology with Mr. Fitzgerald."
Anneliese squealed. "So do I! Let's go, I'll walk you there!"
She tugged on my arm, pulling me from my locker, leaving Kyle back there waving. I waved back and started walking with her.
"This teacher is really strict, like really strict. Don't get out of your seat unless it's an emergency or you are asked. If he catches you passing notes, he'll take it, bring it to the office, and read it over the intercom."
"Would he really do that?"
"Oh yes, happened to Abby Donaldson last year. It was the most embarrassing note too."
"What did it say?" I asked.
Before she could answer, some girl ran up to Anneliese with a hysterical look on her face.
"Anneliese, Some new teacher or something was so angry at one of the ancient computers in the computer lab that he threw it out the window!" the girl shouted, excited.
We laughed and the girl ran back down the hallway, telling the news to anyone who would listen to her.
Anneliese looked back at me and laughed.
"It was really embarrassing for her because it was a love note to Kyle." She laughed.
"What did the love note say?"
"I can't completely remember but it said something like your blue eyes open up the blue skies to my eyes. It was really lame, but hey, can't blame a girl for trying. I know I'd never have the guts to confront the guy I like."
"Is there anything else I should know?"
"Well, not really, if you keep those things in mind, you'll survive."
I nodded; I was lost in my own thoughts. She went up the stairs and into the biology room. It was probably the most bizarre thing I had ever seen in my life. The room was full of stuffed animals, real animals I might add. There was a shelf on the far wall that had at least sixty jars on it. I walked over to the jars to get a better look and what I saw horrified me. There were little animals, frogs, puppies, toads, pigs, all kinds of things you would see in a biology room I guess.
On the other wall there were several different posters explaining the phases of mitosis for different things.
Anneliese was across the room, waving me over to the open seat next to her, but just as I was walking over, a girl sat next to her. I looked around for another open seat. The only other seat that was open was next to a little brunette in the front. I took the seat next to her slowly, not sure if someone was assigned there. The girl turned and looked at me, a welcoming smile on her face.
"Hello, I'm Abby Donaldson." She greeted.
"Oh, hi, I'm—"
"Andrea Genea', I know, your father is the one downstairs in the computer lab that threw the computer out the window."
I stared at him with wide eyes, she had to be lying.
"There's got to be some mistake…" I started breathing faster. "Right?"
She giggled. "It's okay, this school may be big, but word travels really fast. I'm sure by the end of the day, the whole school will know." I gave her a look. "And that's not helping you much." She added.
"No, not exactly." I mumbled.
"Well, hey, if it makes you feel any better, last year I had a note read to the entire school over the intercom. It was really embarrassing, but within a few weeks, everyone had forgotten completely about it. I still get a little grief about it now and then at the lunch table…but other than that, there's nothing to worry about."
"Okay, good to know. Oh hey, you said at the lunch table, do you know Anneliese?"
"Yeah, she and I have been good friends since the sixth grade." She waved over to Anneliese and Anneliese waved back, a grin spread across her face.
"Oh, that's nice." I looked down at the desk, tracing circles in the desk. I was only hoping that she wouldn't ask me the same question everyone was asking today.
"So, where are you from?" she asked. My hopes were not met.
"I'm from here, I've been homeschooled. My parents thought it would be a better experience for me to be with kids my age."
"Oh, I see. What was it like being homeschooled?"
"The best, I had my own hours and learned a lot faster than I would have here."
I was waiting her many more questions, but the biology teacher walked in. Mr. Fitzgerald was a younger man, mid twenties to early thirties. He didn't look like a guy that would be overly strict, but then again, you never know.
He stood in front of the class, counting the heads and then got to me. He walked over to the desk I was at. He looked at me for a few moments and then put his hands on the desk.
"You must be the new student." He stated.
"Uh, yes I am." I stuttered.
"Yes that's what I figured, would you mind telling me your name?"
He seemed polite enough.
"I'm Andrea Genea'."
"Oh yes, now is that French?"
"Yes, sir, it is."
"I see; where are you from?"
"Here, I've been homeschooled."
"Oh, interesting. Well, I hope you enjoy public school."
He turned away from me and then went to the class.
"Now, we're going to get our books today. I expect to see book covers on all of your books by tomorrow morning, and no one better have those covers on their head."
I leaned over to Abby. "Do they really do that?" I whispered.
"You'd be surprised." She whispered back. I rolled my eyes and sat back in my seat.
Mr. Fitzgerald passed out our books and walked us through the fazes of mitosis and went through what was in the room. He gave an in-depth explanation as to what the jars were on the back shelf and why they were there. I had already learned about all the basics and I didn't feel the need to pay close attention. I mostly watched Anneliese; she kept making funny faces at me.
I looked back to my desk and traced circles on the surface. Mr. Fitzgerald discussed the book and what we would need to cover. Then he went over the fazes of mitosis for different things. After that, he talked about the back wall. He told us that each thing in the jars had a specific purpose. I tuned most of the discussion out, having learned most of it already.
My mind began to wonder to other topics. I couldn't believe that my mind wondered to Blaize Hastings. I wondered what he was doing, what class he was in. I knew that this was stupid, but there was this feeling I got in my stomach when I thought of his perfectly beautiful face. How it was shaped so perfectly and how he would stand out in a crowd of a million people.
The bell rang and caused me to jump. Anneliese was next to me in a matter of seconds, talking animatedly about a possible trip to the movies this weekend. I got up and followed them out of the room and down the stairs.
I couldn't help but notice the rude glares of students discussing my father's outburst in the computer room. I put my head down in attempt to hide from hit. I was unsuccessful, however, when I got to the bottom of the stairs. The students scrambled to the staircase, talking about me. Pointing at me, telling people that I was the daughter of the substitute that seemed to need anger management class.
I continued following Abby and Anneliese to our lockers, wanting the obnoxious stares to stop. I didn't think it was quite necessary to make it so obvious. The two girls stopped at our lockers, chatting while Anneliese opened her locker and put her books on the upper shelf. I was only vaguely aware that they were next to me; mostly I was looking around for Blaize, though I couldn't figure out why.
"So what do you think, Andrea?" Abby's voice was eager.
"About what?"
"The movie…" she paused, waiting for my answer, though I had no idea what she was even talking about. "Love me always?"
"Oh, what about it?"
"Do you want to come with us on Saturday?" Anneliese piped up.
"Yeah, sure, what time is it?"
"It starts at 8:15; we'll come pick you up. What's your address?"
"Oh, it's 621 West Pembrook Street."
"Okay, we'll come by your house about 7:45."
"Alright," I answered.
"Great, let's grab some lunch, I'm starving." Anneliese suggested.
I walked with them to the cafeteria, not trying real hard to be in their conversation. They talked about what models were wearing in the prom magazines, discussing what colors would match their skin tones.
I guess I never really thought about what I would want to wear to prom, being homeschooled you don't really have a chance to go to something like that. My mother always told me that I looked good in a blue color; that it really brought out my blue eyes.
"Are you going to go?" Anneliese's voice was chiming in my ear.
"I don't know, I guess I never really thought about going to a prom…or any other school dance for that matter."
"You mean you've never been to a dance?" Abby's voice was a bit shocked.
My eyes went back and forth from each of them. "Uh…No, should I have?"
"No, I didn't mean it like that, but…so you've never danced with a guy?"
"Well, not if you don't count dancing with your dad while standing on his feet." I giggled.
"Then this is reason enough to go to prom. This is definitely an experience you won't want to miss."
"I guess I never really thought of it."
We were rounding the corner to a large room with hundreds of students. I looked around at all the rushing teens and teachers. Kyle was right, there were several different venders located throughout the cafeteria, each one having at least a hundred kids in line.
"Well this is our lunch room." A voice said behind me.
I turned to see who was standing behind me. Kyle stood there, smiling from ear to ear. I smiled back at him.
"Lunch is on me today, what do you want?" he asked, his voice hopeful for me to accept.
"Oh, Kyle, you don't have to buy my—"
He put his hand up. "No, I insist! Now, please tell me what you'd like!"
"I'd like a cheeseburger."
"Done," he left toward the McDonalds stand to get me a cheeseburger. I went to the table that Abby and Anneliese were at. There were more people than those two at the table.
"Oh, hey, guys, this is Andrea Genea', she's new in school.
The bleach blond girl stood up and held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Lauren." She greeted.
I smiled and took her hand to shake. Another girl with brown hair down to her waist stood up and held her hand out. "Hey, I'm Felecia." I took her hand as well.
A boy with brown hair swiped to the side stood up too. "Hey, I'm Drake." He shook my hand also.
I noticed another girl sitting at the table as well, she, however, didn't get up to say hello. When I glanced at her again, I saw that it was the girl in the parking lot. Now it didn't bother me as much that she didn't get up.
Anneliese looked at the girl with a frown. The brunette rolled her eyes, shook her head, and put a magazine in front of her face. Anneliese, looking embarrassed, walked over to me.
"Sorry, her name is Taylor." She whispered to me.
Taylor slammed her magazine down on the table and got up. She bumped my shoulder as she walked past me.
"Did I say something?" I asked.
"No, she's just…"
"So I was thinking instead of the 8:15 show, we should go to the 10:30 because Malinda Adams is having this huge bonfire at her house around midnight."
Lauren interrupted, but Anneliese didn't seem the slightest bit fazed. In fact, she actually seemed relieved to have Lauren's interruption.
"That sounds like a great idea!" Abby squealed.
"Andrea, are you in?" Lauren asked.
"Uh, yeah, absolutely. Who's Malinda Adams though?"
"She's in my Spanish class." Abby piped up.
"She's really sweet," Anneliese answered.
"Her parents are out of town this weekend, they're going to Reo or something." Lauren chimed in.
"I heard her house is totally sick!" Drake piped up.
Kyle came back with my cheeseburger and a coke.
"Here you go." He said, handing me the cheeseburger.
"You're sure you won't let me pay?" I asked, feeling guilty.
"Nope, I told you it's my treat." He smiled.
"Thank you." I sat down at the table and began to eat. By that time everyone was happily eating their sandwiches, subs, and hot dogs.
I looked around the cafeteria, part of me was looking for Blaize and the other part was well, who was I kidding? Looking for Blaize. I craned my neck around the entire cafeteria, but he was nowhere to be found.
"What are you looking for?" Abby asked.
My head snapped around. "Oh, uh nothing…" I was caught off guard by her question. I was hoping the blush wasn't too obvious on my face. She seemed convinced, I just wish I was.
Kyle and Drake talked about the upcoming bonfire. Drake suggested they have a pool party before hand at his house, after all, he continued, it's still bikini season. Lauren smacked him on the shoulder and then called him a pig. We all gave out a laugh ask Drake argued that it wasn't necessary.
"What class do you have next?" Lauren asked me. I pulled out my schedule from my pocket and handed it to her.
She studied it for a few moments, and then handed it back to me.
"You have English with me next hour." She said with a smile.
"I have a question." I asked aloud. They all looked at me.
"If this is the beginning of the school year, how do you guys know so much about the teachers?"
"Oh, that's easy." Drake paused, taking a bit out of this cheeseburger. "This school may be huge, but everyone knows everything, all of the freshman will know all the sophomores, juniors, and seniors by the end of the school year. So everyone converses with each other, telling everyone about everything. So, I suggest you don't you know, do anything you wouldn't want the school to basically know."
"Wow," I had no other words about that.
The warning bell rang, meaning lunch was over and time to get to class.
"Hey, Andrea, if you want, I could show you were Mrs. Wallace's room is?" Lauren asked.
"That'd be great." I answered, getting up to go throw my wrapper away. Lauren was following close behind me. We through our stuff away and began to walk toward English.
"So, I mean, I'm sure you've gotten this question all day already, but—"
"My parents thought it would be a better experience for me." I answered quickly.
"Oh, I see." She stopped talking, I was thankful. I really didn't want to explain any further than that. She must have taken the hint, because she didn't ask any further questions.
We rounded the corner to Mrs. Wallace's room. She was a young woman, who looked fresh out of college.
I sat in a seat across the room from Lauren. Mrs. Wallace started the class, talking about the importance of English literature and how it can improve your life. She then walked around with a list of books that we would read, unfortunately, I read all of those. Each one at least three times. So, naturally, I didn't listen as closely as the other students, though it seemed as though none of them were listening at all.
Mrs. Wallace went over the classroom rules that all the other teachers had gone over. It was almost like these teachers compared notes, and copied their rules exactly just to torture us students. It was all the basic things, no talking, no chew gum, no getting out of your seat, so on and so forth. I looked over at Lauren, who was flirting happily with the boy next to her. I could easily tell that he was flirting back.
Relief surged through my body when the bell rang. I stood up happily as Lauren danced over to me.
"What class do you have next?" she asked.
"Uh," I paused to look at my schedule. "Gym."
"You'll have that with Drake." She answered.
I made my wait out of the room. I knew my way back to my locker by now, even if the school was huge. Anneliese was already at her locker, waiting for me patiently. She smiled at me and bounced a little, her curls doing little springs.
"I have gym next." I answered her question before she asked.
"Oh, well here comes Drake, he'll show you there."
The next couple hours passed with little interest for me. Gym class was horrible; I've always hated gym class. After that I had computer programming, I would like to know who signed me up for that. But his upcoming hour would be my hour. It was art class. This class, I knew I would enjoy. I knew I would pay attention, even if I've mastered a certain technique.
None of the group had art class, so I was on my own to find it. I found that it wasn't really that hard to find. It was down a long hallway that was dark, until you got to the larger hall. The larger hall was lit up with lights that you would typically find in art galleries that accentuates the piece. I smiled, knowing, hoping, I would get my fulfillment of an artist here.
The art room itself was much more impressive. It was a massive room, full of paintings, drawings, sketches, and sculptures. This room, this room would be where I would spend my free time. I walked in to find a room with few people in it. There was one woman across the room. She was dressed in a floral dress, bright and colorful. She had long blond hair that was pulled into a messy ponytail, she was absolutely gorgeous. Her eyes were light blue with an accent of gold in them.
"Hello, Andrea. She greeted.
"Uh, hi, my schedule didn't have your name on it."
"Oh, my name is Mrs. Pelletier." She answered, holding out her hand.
I shook her hand and smiled.
"So, you into art?" she asked.
"Into is an understatement. In love is better."
"Oh really? You know what?"
I shook my head.
"You seem like the artistic type."
"Really?" I laughed a little.
"So what kind of work do you do." She asked.
"Mostly sketching, I'm into photography as well."
"Interesting, do you like sketching people?"
"Very much so."
"Great, well you'll like today's exercise."
"What is it?"
"Can't tell you yet." She laughed as the bell rang.
I was so caught up in my conversation that I didn't even realize that the class had already filled up. I looked around for a seat and then saw him.
Blaize sat in the far back corner of the room, his hands folded elegantly on the desk. He didn't meet my stare, but I realized that this was the only seat available.
I slowly made my way to the back of the room. Blaize did not look at me as a sat down. I took a deep breath, not knowing what was going to happen. I felt my heart beating faster, and I was immediately angry that he had this effect. I looked at him briefly and then turned my attention to the front of the room.
"Alright young artists, today I have an exercise for you guys, just to get your artistic juices flowing."
She handed out sketch books to everyone. When I got mine, I looked at it carefully. It was a professional sketch book.
"Okay, your exercise is to draw your neighbor, and when I say that, I don't mean draw a stick figure. I mean draw, in full detail, the person sitting to your left."
I felt my body tense up.
"Well, it looks as though we are partners." A voice murmured. I looked to my left.
Blaize sat there, a small, friendly smile, at the corners of his mouth.
"Uh, yeah, I guess so." I stuttered.
"Would you like to go first, or shall I?" he asked.
"Y—you can." I said, stuttering again.
"Alright, sit in a comfortable position." He instructed as he opened the sketch book.
I sat up straight, trying to make my posture look sophisticated. He let out a low chuckle. I looked at him puzzled.
"You can't possibly be comfortable like that." He observed.
I didn't know what to say, I was taken off guard by his statement.
I pulled my knees up to my chest and hugged them, and then I decided that wasn't very comfortable. I leaned to my right side, leaving my legs bent to the left. My head was rested on the top of my hand, which was curled into a lose fist.
He chuckled again.
"Comfortable?" he asked.
"Y—yes." I answered, stuttering like an idiot again.
He smiled to himself as he began to draw. It was completely silent at our table for a few moments as he sketched. I kept my eyes on his face, his beautiful face. I noticed that his smile didn't fade as he drew. Every once and a while he'd look up at me to see something.
"So, you're new here." He said.
"Uh yeah." I answered nervously.
"How do you like public school compared to homeschooling?"
"It's great…wait, how did you know I was homeschooled?"
He looked up with a small smile. "You're not exactly unnoticeable to the students here."
"What do you mean?"
"You're the talk of the school."
"Oh," I answered, not having much else to say.
He went back to his drawing, his interest growing. I sighed nervously, not knowing if I should start more conversation or if I should shut up.
Mrs. Pelletier saved me from my awkward moment by walking over to us. She was smiling at me with warmth.
"How's it coming, Blaize?" she asked, peering over his sketch pad. "Oh, Blaize, that's beautiful." She gushed.
"I thought I should capture the subject as best as possible." He answered, too engrossed in the picture to look at her.
"Can I see?" I asked, attempting to look over.
"No, not yet." He answered quickly.
I sat back into my original position as Mrs. Pelletier walked away. I exhaled slowly as I waited for him to finish.
"I hope you won't be offended by the picture." He said.
"I'm sure I won't be."
"You're very difficult to capture."
I didn't know how to answer to that, I wasn't sure if he was insulting me or complimenting me.
He looked up at me with a wary expression.
"I didn't mean that as an insult." He corrected quickly. His expression became even more wary when I didn't answer. "You have a complex face, in a good way."
"Oh, thanks…I think?"
"It's a lovely type of face." He didn't look at me this time.
He finished a few moments later, closing the sketchbook before I could look.
"I wanted to see." I protested.
"Not yet." He answered. I stared at him with a confused look. "I want to see your impression of me first."
I opened the sketchbook and picked up a pencil. "Get comfortable." I instructed. He shifted a bit into a position. His left arm was rested on the table as he looked at me.
I started to draw, praying that I wouldn't mess up. I looked up at his face a few times as I sketched, making sure my angles and reference was on. I started with his perfectly sculpted jaw line first, this would set the picture. I moved up to his hair, a shaggy mess that was somehow appealing. I drew out the shaggy lines, trying to make it as exact as possible.
"Why did you come to public school?" he asked suddenly.
I looked up at him, looking into his beautiful eyes; they were a light brown with a gold tint to them.
"My parents thought it would be a good experience for me."
"You don't seem impressed."
"No, I'm not. I liked being homeschooled."
"Did you express your concerns to your parents?"
"Yes, they didn't believe me. They think they know what I want, even though they don't."
"And what is it you want, Andrea?"
I looked up at him again. "To be an artist. My parents have a different idea though."
"What's their idea?"
"They think I should be something boring…like a doctor or something."
He chuckled a beautiful sound. I continued drawing in complete silence.
"What do your parents think about your wanting to be an artist?" he asked.
"That I won't make it."
"Why do they think that?"
"They have this perception of artists."
"And what might that be?"
"They think that they go to somewhere like Chicago or New York and never make it. They think that they try, but only end up disappointed."
I didn't say anymore, I focused on the drawing. By this point I was drawing his eyes. I made their shape slowly, trying to them into the perfection his eyes are. I slowly filled in the irises and then the pupils, shading very carefully.
I finished after a few moments and closed the sketchbook.
"I wanted to see." He said in protest, a slight mocking tone.
"You didn't let me see." I argued.
"Fine, show me and I shall show you." He ordered.
I gave in, unable to resist is liquid honey stare. I opened my sketchbook to show him. He took it into his hands and studied it. It was just my luck that his sketch book was just far enough away that I could not reach it.
He stared at it for a few long moments before critiquing. "You have talent, Andrea Genea'."
"Thank you."
"I think your parents are wrong, you will be a great artist." He said, handing me my sketchbook.
"Can I see—"I was about to ask to see mine, but I was cut off by the bell. He got up quickly and walked out of the room.
I sat there in my seat, too shocked to even move. My mouth was hanging open with confusion. Mrs. Pelletier came over to me with a puzzled look.
"Did he offend you?" she asked, looking at Blaize.
"No, it's just that… he didn't show me his drawing of me."
"He'll show you when he wants. I've had him in my class before; he's a very, quiet artist. He'll show you on his own time."
I nodded and got up and quickly left the room. I hurried to my locker, hoping I'd catch him as quickly as possible. I really wanted to see that picture.
When I got to my locker he was already walking away. Anneliese waited eagerly to hear about my last hour, apparently she found out I had it with Blaize.
"So? Did he talk to you!" she asked, jumping up and down in excitement.
"Uh, yeah a little." I answered. I didn't feel it was her business to know what the whole conversation was. I began to open my locker, again, repeating the elbowing and the kicking.
"What did you guys do?" she asked.
"Uh, we just kind of sat there. We didn't talk much."
"Oh," I could hear disappointment in her voice.
I took out my bag and slung it over my shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow." I said.
"Okay, see you."
I walked out of the school quickly. I looked around the parking lot for my mother, but didn't see her. Then, a black convertible caught my eye. Blaize was getting into it as I looked. But when I looked closer, it was then that I realized he was with the brunette from this morning. When I looked closer, I realized it was the girl that was sitting with us today.
I felt a pain in my chest as I thought that that could be his girlfriend. I couldn't figure out why I felt jealous though. I shouldn't feel for him, I've only just met him.
My mother pulled up in the shiny yellow comaro. My father was in the car with her, my expression immediately turned to anger. I got into the car and slammed the door behind me.
"Bad day of school, hon?" my mother asked.
"Why don't you ask dad?" I snapped.
She looked over to my father, who was acting as innocent as possible.
"I may have had a little problem in the computer room." He confessed.
"A little problem? How is throwing a computer out the window little?"
"It wasn't that bad, besides, it was really old anyway." He argued.
"Dad, the whole school was pointing and talking about me."
"Oh, hush, they were not."
"Whatever, don't believe me, but can you please try and keep a low profile tomorrow? I really don't want to stick out at this school."
"Fine, I'll be good." He laughed.
I rolled my eyes and then looked next to me. Helen wasn't there. "Where's Helen?"
"She's getting a ride home with the same girls." My mother answered.
I nodded and looked out my window.
"Did you make any friends today?" She asked.
"Uh yeah, a few girls were nice to me."
"Who?" she urged.
"A girl named Anneliese Radferd, another girl named Abby Donaldson."
"Anyone else?"
"There was a girl named Lauren, another one named Taylor, and another one named Felecia. There was also a guy named Kyle Hanson and another one named Drake."
"Oh, how nice."
I didn't feel the need to go into detail about Blaize.
From that point on, the car ride was completely silent, all the way home.