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Chapter 2: New Teacher

The weekend flew by and now it's Monday, October 16th. My aunt and uncle left Saturday afternoon, and I did my webcast on Sunday, so there wasn't really anything different about my weekend, except that I spent most of my time at my pond.

When I arrive at school, I wait by the flagpole, listening to the song that I am going to perform during fifth period: Music Composition and Performance with Mr. Williams. A hand on my shoulder startles me. The owner of the hand is a fairly tall boy with black hair and light brown eyes. His skin is pale, but slightly tinged with pink, and he has a light dusting of freckles across his cheeks. He offers a smile before pulling my earphone out of my ear.

"Hey, Cupid," a voice like chocolate murmurs.

I smile at him. "You must be J. P. Matthews. The follower on my blog."

He runs his hand through his hair. I swear I can see a slight blush on his cheeks. "Yeah. That's me." He looks around. "The name is Joseph, by the way. Joseph Philip Matthews. But you can just call me JP if you want."

"Val." I look at him for a while before speaking again. "Aren't you the kid that everyone around school says is emo, or gay, or something like that?"

He looks down, mumbling. "Yeah."

I frown. "They have no right saying those things about you. But tell me, Joseph Philip Matthews." He looks up, and I smirk. "How long have you been my follower?"

A huge grin spreads across his face. "Since I first found out that it was you after bumping into you at lunch that one day in sophomore year."

"The day that we had spaghetti for lunch and I was wearing a white shirt? And I ran out crying because I was so embarrassed?"

"That's the day." He chuckles. "I'm still really sorry about that."

"It's no problem." I grin at him. "I still can't believe that was you. You hair looks so different now." I reach up and touch a piece of his hair. "It was brown back then."

"It was actually dyed brown. Black is its normal color." He grins shyly. "Will you sit with me at breakfast?"

I nod my head, still smiling. "Of course. Let's head there now."

JP hesitates before he takes my hand in his, blushing. I lightly punch his arm. "So what do you want for breakfast? I'm buying." I'm about to protest, but he says, "Please. I insist."

I smile. "I'll take a Belgian waffle with whipped cream and an iced mocha."

He nods, a small smile on his lips, as we enter the cafeteria and wait in line. "Two Belgian waffles with extra whipped cream and two iced mochas," he told the cashier, who gave him his ticket and tells us that it will be five minutes.

We sit down at one of the tables. We idly chitchat until our food is ready, which JP goes to get. I hear the cafeteria door open, and I turn a little, trying to see who it is. It's two guys that came in. One is wearing a white dress shirt, black slacks, and black shoes; he has dark brown hair and glasses. The other one is wearing a blue hoodie, brown pants, and no shoes, surprisingly; his hood is pulled up, so I can't really see his hair color, but it looks either white or platinum blonde. It almost looks like the two are father and son, but something seems off. The pair stops and looks at me. I look away after locking eyes with the guy in the blue hoodie. Thankfully, JP comes back with the food and saves me from humiliating myself in front of complete strangers.

"Hey," I murmur. "Do you know who those people behind us are? One of them is wearing a white shirt and black pants."

JP hesitates. "I think he's either a parent or a college rep. I don't know why he would stop here for food, though." He sets the plates down and begins eating in silence.

I reluctantly follow suit, occasionally glancing back at the pair. I wonder why JP didn't mention the guy in the blue hoodie, I think to myself. No matter. After eating, I take both my and JP's plates, dumping them in the nearest trash can. Returning to the table, I grab JP by the arm, pulling him with me towards the exit, right past the blue-hoodied boy. I look eyes with him for a second, a chill running down my spine as he smirks at me. It feels like I should know him from somewhere.

I keep walking to the front of the school, dragging JP behind me, until he finally stops me. "You want to tell me what the HELL that was?!" he exclaims. "Why are you acting like you've seen a ghost?"

I take a deep breath. "Are you telling me you didn't see the guy that was wearing the blue-hoodie, brown pants, and no shoes? Please tell me that you saw him."

He looks at me with a confused expression. "I didn't see anything like that at all. Are you okay? Do you need to go to the nurse?"

I shake my head. "No. I guess I just saw someone that reminded me of a person that saved my life from a snowstorm when I was ten. I was never able to find the person, so I've gone a little crazy trying to find him so I can thank him."

He nods. "I understand. Life or death situations can really change a person." He pulls me toward him in what turns into an awkward hug. JP clears his throat. "We better head to first block, before we're late."

"Yeah." I'm still convinced that the blue-hoodied guy wasn't just my imagination. But if he was the guy that saved my life before, then he hasn't aged a day since then. I need to know who he is.

I'm sure JP senses my uncertainty, because he says, "If it will offer you any closure, I'll help you find whoever saved your life when you were little."

I smile sadly up at him. "Thanks. So I guess I'll see you later, then."

"Yeah." He strokes my hair before walking to class, leaving me by myself. A cool breeze blows past, carrying a few stray leaves that settled by my feet. A couple of snowflakes land on my cheeks and nose, creating a light dusting of snow in my hair.

I slowly walk into the main building, where my English class is held. I'm just barely able to make it into the door of Mrs. Duffy's classroom before the bell rings. I sit in my seat near the front of the room. We've been working on analyzing different poems in this class so far; it's not something that I'm not used to.

Today, though, I can't focus. My mind keeps wandering back to Friday night and this morning. I still can't get over the fact that Kristi betrayed my trust when she knew that I had a crush on Ian since forever. And then there's the mystery guy with the blue hoodie. The feeling of his presence seems so familiar, but it's impossible that I actually know him from anywhere because there is no way that I would forget a face like his. Heat rises to my face as I remember the way he smirked at me.

"Val? Do you need to go to the nurse?" Mrs. Duffy calls out from her desk.

"Ma'am?" I murmur, snapping back to reality.

"You look like you're about to faint. Do you need to go to the nurse to lay down for a bit?" she asks again.

"Oh, no ma'am. It's just a little hot in here. I'll be fine." My blush intensifies with embarrassment. I look down at my paper, finding that the poem is almost completely analyzed already.

The bell rings, and everyone stampedes for the door. I follow the crowd out the door before heading to my calculus class with Dr. Webster. I'm about to sit down in my normal seat at the front of the room before JP walks in and pulls me to the back of the class to sit by him. Glancing toward the doorway, I notice Ian and Kristi walking in together. I hold my breath.

"Just look at me," JP whispers next to me.

I turn around, facing him. He's staring into my eyes. I slowly let out the breath I'm holding, a feeling of calm washing over me. I half-smile, nodding. "Thanks," I whisper back.

"Anytime." JP glances toward the front of the room. "It's safe now."

I nod, turning back around. Calculus passes without much drama, apart from one of the popular girls passing out near the end of class when she heard that there was a 50 question test tomorrow. Other than that, it was a pretty fun class period, with JP passing me notes. He's actually really good at writing poetry, I found out.

I link arms with him as we walk to our history class with Mr. Conan, who ended up having a substitute today so the class just watched a movie and talked. As JP and I are leaving the classroom, I spot the man with brown hair from this morning. He's heading toward the counselor's office. I don't see the boy with the blue hoodie anywhere near him; it must have been my imagination after all.

JP drops me off at my biology class before he heads off to his English class. I walk in, and Dr. Thompson hands me a sheet of paper with the lab and the name of my partner on it. I sit at my designated lab table and begin reading the handout: we're doing a dissection today. Great. Just great.

"You're in my spot," someone hisses at me.

"We're doing a lab today. This is my table. I'm sitting here. Find your own table," I mutter, still reading the procedure.

"This is my table too. And that is MY spot. I always sit on that side of the table," the boy growls.

I glance up at him, raising my eyebrow. His blue eyes are narrowed to slits in his tan face. His hair is a mousy blonde color. This means that my science partner is none other than Devin McGee, the star high school football player with an infamously bad temper and habit of being a womanizer. "Then I suggest that you get comfortable being on the other side. Just because you're a jock doesn't mean you can always get your way. That's not the way that life is. And this is the 21st century if you haven't noticed, not the civil rights era. I shouldn't have to move just because I'm a girl and you have a superiority complex." I narrow my eyes.

Devin's eyes widen with shock, his mouth dropping. He gulps and takes the seat next to me. "Sorry," he mumbles.

I lightly touch the top of his hand. "It's okay. But seriously, if you're a lot nicer to people, then you'll actually make some true friends, instead of those jerks that you put a show on for whenever you act all tough and badass. And maybe you'd get a girlfriend that cares about you for who you are as a person and not as a football star."

"What business is it of yours to be nosing about in my relationship?" Devin glares at me.

I roll my eyes. "Obviously you aren't a follower of my blog." I sigh. "I give people relationship advice, and your girlfriend was one of the people that asked me a question, and it basically enforced the fact that the only thing she cares about is your popularity… and that she's cheating on you with your best friend."

"You mean," he says as his eyes widen, "you're Cupid?"

I hang my head. "I thought it would be more obvious. My name's Val, by the way. And we're doing a dissection in class," I add.

His face pales a little. "Okay." Devin shudders. "Um, Val?" he asks. "If I do the writing, will you do the actual dissecting?"

I blink a couple of times. "You're squeamish?"

Devin nods imperceptibly. "I can't stand being around dead animals. So will you?"

I smile. "Sure. And see? Something like that makes you more relatable. I'd bet that a lot of people, girls in particular, would find it awesome that you have a soft spot for animals."

"Really?"

The bell rings. "Yeah. I'll go get the…cat." I gulp, feeling slightly light-headed. I stand up and get our tray that has the…dead…cat already placed on it, bringing it to our table. The dissection goes fairly well, except that I almost fainted from the smell of it. As we were almost out the door after the bell rang, Devin stops me with a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey. Thanks for what you did today."

I grin. "It's no problem. I'm always willing to help anyone who needs it. Sometimes all a person needs is a little love for them to blossom into their true self. It takes time to adjust, but everything usually works out in the end."

Devin chuckles. "Let me repay you. Dinner, tomorrow, my place."

"You'll have to talk to my mom about that. She's the counselor, just to let you know. And I might already have plans depending on whether or not JP wants me to go over to his house. But thank you, for the offer."

"May I at least walk you to lunch?" he pleads.

I sigh. "Of course you may."

We head out the door, and half way to the cafeteria, we meet up with JP. "Hey," I say as I hug him. "JP, this is Devin, my lab partner. Devin, this is JP, the guy I might be going to the Halloween dance with."

They shake hands and stare each other down. "How would you like to join us for lunch?" Devin and JP ask at the same time. They burst out laughing, slapping each other on the back. "Thanks," they say simultaneously.

I walk in between them on our way to the cafeteria. After ordering the food, we find a table outside near the front wall. When JP leaves to get our lunch, Devin asks, "So why haven't you been hanging with your best friends?"

The question makes me freeze. Was I ready to tell somebody? "I…they…we…" I hesitate, clearing my throat. JP returns with our food, Devin taking his cheeseburger and stuffing half of it into his mouth.

"So?" he mumbles around his food.

I sigh. "Ian. I had a crush on him for about as long as I've known him. Kristi knew that. Friday, Kristi needed help with her homework, so they went to her house. I went to mine. After I heard about Mr. Grayson's death and was on my blog, I went over to talk to them, but when I got there, they were on Kristi's bed, kissing." I pause, my hands trembling as I take a drink of my iced mocha.

Both JP and Devin put their hands on my arms. "Sounds like you need some help with your love life." Devin smirks.

"Oh, yeah. Cupid needing help with her love life. So ironic." JP rolls his eyes.

"At any rate, I just feel betrayed. I trusted Kristi, and she broke my trust." I twirl a piece of my hair between my fingers. "Mainly, I just don't want to run into either of them."

"You don't need them, you know," Devin begins with a grin. "You've got us now. As weird as it is to say it, we three go together pretty well."

My smile begins to grow, as JP continues. "Once time has healed your wounds, you can choose to either forgive them or forget them. Either way, you'll be able to move on with your life."

I take a deep breath, pulling the guys into a hug. "Thanks, you guys. I really appreciate you doing this for me," I murmur with a smile on my face.

"What are friends for?" Devin punches JP's shoulder. I laugh a little.

"They're getting along like two brothers might," I think, my smile growing as the two basically wrestle each other and give friendly punches.

My smile fades as I see Kristi and Ian walking towards us. Tears begin welling in my eyes as I remember the painful events of last night. I mutter to JP, "I need to go."

He nods, seeing the problem. "See you in class, Cupid."

Devin nods. "Later, Cupid."

"See ya, JP, Devin," I whisper as I rush off inside the school. As I turn to go down the hallway that leads to my mom's office, I collide with someone carrying a large stack of books and papers, causing the person (and the papers) to crash to the floor. I go over to the young man and help him up from the floor. "I'm so, so sorry. I should have been watching where I was going. I'll help you clean up." I notice that it's the man that was in the cafeteria this morning.

"It's okay." He laughs, his brown eyes sparkling. "I should have gotten here sooner so I could fill out all the paperwork."

I look at him more closely. His brown hair is slightly messy and long, but not to the point that it's unattractive. He has some freckles, but not too much that it would be deemed child-like. His glasses make him look older. Overall, his appearance is mature, but there is still a bit of an inner-child inside of him.

He extends his hand toward me. "The name's Jamie Bennett. I'm a new teacher here."

"I'm Val." I clasp his hand. "I'm the counselor's daughter."

Jamie nods his head. "I saw the pictures in her office."

I blush a little, retracting my hand and starting to pick up the papers. "Again, I'm really sorry about running into you like that. I was trying to, er, get away from someone."

He chuckles, helping with the papers. "It wasn't the Boogeyman, was it?"

I frown and shake my head. "It's not something I feel comfortable talking about." My hand freezes as I stare at a paper with the heading "Jack Frost." I look up at Mr. Bennett. "Are you…? You aren't the new Mythology teacher, are you?"

"Actually, I am. I heard about what happened to Mr. Grayson. It's a real shame that he's gone. He taught me when I was your age." He frowns, as if he is remembering something from a long time ago. "Anyways, you can't change the past; you can only look forward into the future." The bell rings, bringing him out of his reverie.

I hand him the stack of papers I had picked up. "I need to get on to class. It was good meeting you, though, Mr. Bennett."

He smiles. "I'll see you in class. And you better not be late."

I laugh a little. "I won't be." Especially when there is much more to this man than meets the eye.