Chapter One: The New Girl
Creak! The sudden sound of the classroom door opening during the test made all the pencil scratching come to a sudden halt.
I looked up, bewildered, and when my eyes settled on the figure in the door, my eyebrows went up.
"I don't recognize her," I thought to myself, "so it must be the new girl that everyone's been talking about." I put my pencil down as I saw the teacher, Mrs. Kales, jump up and scuttle over to the wide-eyed girl who looked scared to death.
The principle, Mr. Carls, stood behind the newbie, encouragingly urging her forward. There was furious whispering between the principle and the teacher, and I noticed a faint blush spread across the girl's cheeks. What in the world were they talking about?
While the two adults argued, the girl's eyes wandered around the room. But when she reached me, I noticed her do a double take, and a silent gasp escaped her mouth.
Ignoring the wierd action, I smiled slightly, and her eyes widened even more.
When she realized I wouldn't break my stare, she quickly looked away and pretended to be occupied looking at her shoes.
Shrugging, I looked down at my paper, trying to figure out the square root of 683. I shook my head. Mrs. Kales and her tests.
Speaking of Mrs. Kales, I heard an over exaggerated sigh which received a glare from Mr. Carls. She then roughly took the new girl's arm and marched to the front of the room.
"STUDENTS!!!" Mrs. Kales called loudly, startling half the class. "We have a new student. Her name is Andreanna Rangly. Andreanna, why don't you tell the students where you're from?" Mr. Carls jaw seemed to tighten a little, but I shrugged it off as nothing.
"I-I'm from...Wisconsin." Andreanna answered in a soft, strange accent that seemed to have a metallic ring to it.
Mrs. Kales nodded. "And why did you move here?" Mr. Carls cleared his throat loudly this time, seeming irritated. Andreanna seemed to be stumbling over her words.
"I...uh...I mean....my family moved here because my...dad...lost his job." Andreanna finished, and I noticed her glance at the principle, who gave her a slight nod.
"Is there some secret going on here?" I wondered to myself. Mrs. Kales nodded, seeming pleased, and went to sit at her desk. Andreanna stood there, taking in all the eyes on her.
I raised my hand. "Mrs. Kales?" I called, and Andreanna looked up.
Mrs. Kales peered at me through her glasses and sighed. "What is it Anna?" She asked impatiently.
I nodded towards Andreanna. " You never assigned her a seat, ma'am."
Andreanna stared at me incredulously. Mrs. Kales bit her lip and stood up.
"Do you intend to give her your seat, Miss Pecking?" Mr. Carls asked from the doorway, raising his eyebrows.
I shook my head. "No. But I will be her buddy and show her around for the day." I looked at Andreanna. "Is that okay with you?" She stared at me, confused, but nodded her head.
Mrs. Kales blew out a sigh, then pointed at me. "Go sit in the seat behind Anna, Andreanna." Mrs. Kales glared at me. "And you aren't showing her around just to get out of class, right Miss Pecking?"
I shook my head again. "I have no intentions of that. I'll show her around during lunch, okay?"
Mrs. Kales seemed to study my reaction, and, seeming to like what she saw, nodded. "Very well, Anna." She turned to walk to her seat, but stopped to look over her shoulder at Andreanna. "Well, now, don't just stand there looking stupid. Sit down."
Andreanna stumbled on the way to her seat, and the preps snickered. I glared at them and smiled encouragingly at her.
As she sat down, I turned around to whisper, "Don't worry about them. They're the preps here, and they can be real pains sometimes." I grinned and nudged her. "Don't let them get to you, Andreanna."
She looked at me startled, and I was taken aback. "How...how do you know my name?" She asked a little too loudly, and Mrs. Kales looked up from grading papers for a moment, glaring at us. I mouthed 'sorry' and waited until Mrs. Kale looked down before speaking again.
"Um, the teacher just said your name in front of the class." I answered, and two pink splotches appeared on her cheeks.
"Oh." She whispered. She looked down and played with her nail. There was an awkward silence until I lifted my hand up in front of her.
When she stared at it curiously, I sighed and said. "I'm Anna Pecking. And this is a handshake." She slowly put her hand in mine, and I shook it gently. "Don't you have handshakes in Wisconsin?" I joked, but Andreanna was silent.
My smile faltered. "I guess not." I mumbled, and turned back to my work. "Great. No sense of humor. Just what I need." I thought. Not even five minutes later, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Before I could turn around though, a neatly folded piece of paper flew over my shoulder and landed in front of me on my desk.
Curious, I picked the note up, opened it, and began to read.
Anna Pecking,
I am sorry if I seem to not like it here. It's just...different. I am happy that you volunteered to show me around. Where I was from, we do not have as many things there that you have here. I am glad that although the other students thought I was weird, you refused to believe the same thing, and reached out to me. You are a good person, and you only have good intentions. Believe me, I can tell. =)
Your new friend,
Andreanna Rangly
For some reason, the note confused me. She didn't write like a normal teenager would write, and it seemed she was trying to hide something. Shrugging, I shoved the note in my pocket and turned to smile and nod at her.
Little did I know, I would soon find out her secret, and it would change both of our lives forever.