We got to my house ten minutes later, Daren gave me a hug and said good bye, then he left. I wondered if I was ever going to see him again. I closed my eyes, trying to hold it all in, every emotion every memory. I wanted to sort through them to keep the good and forget the bad.
My thoughts were interrupted by a honk. They were in their car waiting for me, Frank and Jennifer Brenton, my foster parents. They had known my parents a long time ago, apparently before they had gone crazy. They had been friends with my mother. They told me that my mothers death must have sent my dad to crazy town. They also told me that I looked exactly like my mother did when she was my age.
"The moving trucks left a little bit ago, since we are flying, we will still get there before them, but theres no need to wait around here." Jennifer explained. She looked anxious and a little frightened. Right when I shut the door, Frank took off...I guess they really wanted to get out of this town. In the seat next to me sat Jamie, there daughter, she was pail and had pitch black hair just like her parents it was long like her mothers and she had her fathers bright green eyes. She was only ten and I knew she was going to be beautiful when she grew up. I couldn't help but be jealous, when I was ten, I was being lied to and abused by my family. What I would give to be normal.
I had been living with them since I had been 12. I lived in foster care for a little over a year. They didn't let me talk to the other kids, I would tell them the lies of my family. Then one day they showed up, said they had just heard what happened and wanted to adopt me. I refused to go with them, I knew my dad and brothers would come for me. When I had turned 12 I stared to realize the truth and decided to go stay with them. They were nice people, and they were very patient, but they weren't my family.
Now I'm 15 and I guess I love them, I mean they did take me in., but I still wasn't too sure about anything. Jamie was the sweetest little girl, Frank was deep, I learned a lot from him, and Jennifer was always there when I didn't want her there, when I felt like I was breaking. My past was behind me now, and I'm determined to leave it there. Once we are in that new town, I will never think of my past again.
ONE WEEK LATER
New town, new school, I could be a new person, isn't that what they say? But if I didn't even know who the real me was, how could I be the complete opposite of it?
I took a deep breath, I used to jump around from place to place when I was younger, but so much has changed since then. I know that people move all the time, and have to fit in with new people, and I'm sure that a lot of people have secrets, but I could hardly believe anyone else had the same experience as me.
"Come on cheer up, it's your first day of school, your a pretty girl, you'll make lots of friends." Jennifer said to me while we were parked outside of my new school.
"Sure." I said sarcastically, I knew that was a lie, people were going to think I was a freak, I have never had a good socializing experience.
"You really should work on your self confidence, people are going to walk all over you if you don't." I looked down, gathering my stuff, which included a pencil, a note book, and my favorite book. Jennifer grabbed my chin gently, and turned my head so I had to look at her. I still tried to look away. "Look at me." she demanded, so I did. "You look just lie your mother, honestly, it's like looking at those old pictures."
I blushed, I remember looking at pictures, my mom was beautiful, I'd like to think I looked like her, but it was almost like a slap in the face, since I was the reason she was dead.
"I know what your thinking, and you need to stop. You can't blame yourself for everything that happens, focus on this, right now. You can do this." she said with a reassuring smile.
I closed my eyes, and took a deep breath, then let it go.
"There you go." she smiled. "School starts at eight, you wouldn't want to be late on your first day."
"Wouldn't want that." I said sarcastically. I took another deep breath, then stepped out of the car and shut the door.
"Have a good day." she smiled through the window, and waved.
"Sure, I'll try." I whispered to myself and waved as she left. I took another deep breath, and another, then took a few steps. The students were outside, or at least most of them were, this was a small school, hopefully that was a good thing. One particular group caught my eye, they were all tall, and they looked...dangerous. One of them looked to old for high school, and another one was staring at me strangely. Sure I was new, that caused people to stare, but that stare was weird like he finally realized something. Why would he be looking at me? I turned away when his look caused the others around him to look over too. I ducked my face then walked for the building as fast as I could, without running. I had to go check it out, maybe I had something in my teeth. I walked in, there were some other students waiting inside too, luckily there was a restroom right when I walked in the door.
In the mirror, I saw my long blond hair, it was mostly strait with a few waves, like it always was did. My face looked like it always did, blue eyes, fair skin, and a natural red in my cheeks, that was always there. I was wearing nice cloths that Jennifer got me for the first day. It all matched, I thought it looked fine when I put it on. I did look exactly like my mother. I thought to myself. I smiled, there was nothing wrong with my teeth. I did a full body check, thankfully no one walked in, because it probably looked a little weird.
Maybe I was just imagining it, or he was looking behind me, but I couldn't worry about it now, I had to go get my schedule, and start my first day of school, great, just great.
Since it was the middle of the year, I was just thrown into classes that had enough room. I wasn't going to complain, until I saw that I had shop as an elective, I tried to get her to change it, I told her that I had a thing about power tools. Then she said, in a snotty voice, might I add: "That is the only opening, but if you really want to start a fuss, then someone would have to be taken out of a different class, and put in shop, and they would complain."
Make sure they carve that on my tombstone, after I fall into an electric saw. I wanted to 'start a fuss', but that wouldn't look to good on the first day. There was no way I was touching any power tools, and if they had a problem, then I was going to 'start a fuss.'
It wasn't like I couldn't handle power tools. I spent my whole life fixing broken doors, not to mention broken brothers and a father. I had to pull out glass and sometimes bullets, and bandage them up. Most of the time they could fix each other up, but sometimes they were all messed up pretty bad. Now that I think about it, I don't know where they got those injures at. Since it really wasn't demons, or vampires or what ever else they said it was.
I didn't like power tools, because they reminded me too much of my past.
My first class was art, an elective that I wasn't very fond of. I worked next to a girl, she was shy, but I could tell she was nice, and I was going to be fine sharing a table with her.
"Hey, I'm Kim, and I'm guessing that you are the new girl."
"Hi. Yea. I'm Mary."
"Oh." she said.
"I know, it's a boring name, but I was named after my mom."
"It's, not completely, I don't think we have anyone named Mary in our school." she smiled
"Thanks, I think." I smiled.
"So where did you move from, I've heard California all the way to Canada." she wrinkled her nose.
I laughed, "I've moved around a lot, but my last place was Nevada."
"Oh I was close, that must have been interesting, so...What brought you here?" she asked right when the teacher told us to get back to work. I breathed out, and rolled my eyes, but I was glad she interrupted, I didn't really want to mention my past at all, even if I was just making something up.
"What class do you have next?" Kim asked when the bell rang.
"I have Speech."
"Oh, so your a sophomore?"
"Yea."
"Well, I'm a junior, but I have a class right next to that, I can take you, so you don't get lost." She offered. I accepted to be polite, and even though this was a small school, I probably would get lost, the school had a weird make up.
I saw one of the guys, from the group I saw this morning, he was waiting for Kim. I said a quick later, then went in the class room. I saw another one too, he was staring at me from the seat next to where the teacher told me to sit. I walked by him looking at my feet, then sat down putting all my attention on the 'hi' carved on my desk.
I could feel him staring at me though. I thought about ignoring him, but I had to know why he kept staring at me. I couldn't help feeling very self conscious.
I looked over, and smiled, "Did you need something?"
"Wha...No." he said embarrassed. He didn't say anything else, so I looked up at the teacher, waiting, but she had to go make copies of something, so she left, and we were supposed to sit in silence. "So...Ah..Did you just move here?"
"Yea, I've got the boxes piled up to prove it." I said, thinking back to the mess of a house I was going to have to help clean when I got home. I had so much to unpack. I breathed out "Ugh." and put my head in my hands.
"Are you okay?" he asked a little too concerned.
I looked over my hands, and smiled "I'm fine, just feeling exhausted." I breathed out again. "We moved into our house about a week ago, and I've been up late trying to unpack for these past days, and we aren't even done yet."
"Oh, was it a long trip?" he asked.
"I've had longer." I said, thinking back, to the memories of that old impala. I pressed my palms into my temples, and closed my eyes. I wasn't supposed to think about that anymore, those things were supposed to be put in the past. "And we flew so..." I stopped, he wouldn't care about any of this.
"Listen, ah...I'm Seth." he strangled up his words.
"Mary." I breathed, still trying to push away the memories.
He didn't say anything, because the teacher came in.
The rest of the classes before lunch I had with different people, they all seemed normal, asking my simple questions that I could answer with out lying very much.
"Why did you move her?" one girl asked, I think her name was Alanah.
"My foster parents wanted their daughter to grow up in a smaller town." That was mostly a lie.
"Oh..." The girl said "Um...what happened to your parents?" she got nudged by the girl next to her. "Oh.. sorry.."
'It's fine, my mother died, and my father..." I thought about making up something closer to the truth, but it hurt to bad to say he left, and I didn't even want to mention my brothers "...died too." I said lamely. There was a long pause, a few people said sorry, but then no one asked me anymore questions about my past or my new family. They stuck to simpler things like.
"How do you like Washington?" and "Do I like surfing." Washington was okay, and I have never been surfing in my life.
Then there was lunch, I thought I was going to end up sitting by myself, but when I walked in the room, I saw Kim waving at me, she was sitting next to...Seth, I think thats what he said, and all the other guys, except for the one that I thought looked to old for high school, I guess it turns out he was. I looked away, acting like I didn't see, then looked around to find another way out, and luckily some other kids from my class, gestured for me to sit down. Right before I did, I looked over to make it look like I had just saw her, then shrugged, with a face that said sorry.
So the whole lunch period, I sat with people that Alanah girl, and other people, whose names I did not remember, and listened to them talk about nothing. I was invited to hang out with them at the beach, there would be a bonfire, and some people from a close town would probably be here, so I could meet more people. I told them I'd have to ask my parents. When the word parents came up, it got quiet, then this girl named...Brooke, I think, started talking about a new outfit she had bought when her dad had taken her to Seattle, and I was free to space out.
SETHS POV
I've never felt this way, and honestly didn't ever think it would happen, It was supposed to be rare, I've already looked like a jerk, and an idiot in front of her, and at this rate, the person, who was supposed to be my 'soul mate', hated me. By now, everyone knew about what was going on, and everyone, who knew how I was feeling, felt bad for me, because everything was going so bad, and others, weren't so sympathetic. Jake was annoyed, I tried not to say anything about it around him, because of well everything.
"So your imprint is pretty hot." Paul said egging me on.
"Your imprints name is Mary." Kim added, she never liked it when we referred to her as an imprint.
"Whatever, Mary, is hot." Paul said.
"Don't even think about it." I growled at him, I saw how the guys looked at her, I didn't need any other competition.
"Just go over to her and talk." Paul said annoyed, "It's not that hard." we were at lunch, I hadn't seen her come in yet.
"Last time I tried to talk to her, it looked like I gave her a head ache, and I couldn't even make a sentence."
"Smooth." Jared said jokingly.
"That's funny, you never seem to shut up around us." Jake added, I didn't say anything to him, he was always so...sensitive, about anything to do with imprinting, and if I said that, he would kick my ass, you see what I mean.
"Sounds like she's a stuck up princes, it looks like it too." Paul said, and I couldn't help but be pissed at him, a growl came out.
"I had her in art." Kim said helpfully. "She seemed really nice, I think she's just stressed, with a new school and everything. Here just talk to her, I'll get her over here." before I could stop her, she was waving over at Mary, who had just walked in the door.
I looked over, she looked over, then quickly looked away, and sat down by some people in our class, then she looked over at Kim, acting like she hadn't seen her before, and shrugged apologizing.
"Oh I guess she made some other friends." Kim said.
"She would of come over, if I wasn't here." before I would get the glares, and the sympathy, I changed the subject. "Even if I get her, to not hate me, what about the big...problem. Kim, how did you stop thinking of Jared as a freak?"
"Oh I still see him as a freak." she joked.
"Really?" Jared lifted an eyebrow smiling. Then they went into their usual, playful screams and laughs, that used to make me want to throw up, but now made me a little jealous. Why couldn't it be that easy?
"Thanks that really helped out." I said sarcastically, I don't even think Jared heard me, they were to lost in each other.
"Just stop being a little wuss, and actually talk to her." Paul said braking it down into syllables, like I was a four year old. I let another growl out.
"Calm down." Embry said, "You guys don't want to fight in the middle of the lunch room."
"Later then." I said standing up.
"I'll kick your ass pup." Paul said.
I wanted to hit him right there, but I'd save that all for later. I was thinking about skipping next period, It was Algebra II and I was in it, with all the guys, and Kim, and I didn't really want to sit through this again. But I didn't have anything else to do, so I just sat, and listened into Mary's conversation. I was Just listening into the end of it. Apparently, she was going to the bonfire next weekend. Then the bell rang.
"What class are you in next?" one of the guys asked her, I growled, causing people near me to look over. He was Wade Christenson, he was in my class.
"Um. Algebra II."
"Jeez you must be smart, math is too confusing." what a loser.
"Not really, It's just numbers."
"Oh well, my class isn't close to that, but I could walk you there anyway."
"Oh, I can find my way."
"Okay...maybe another time." over my dead body.
"Maybe." I could tell she was just being polite.
I was definitely going to class now.
Mary's POV
One of the guys at lunch was particularly interested in me, his name was Wade, he asked to walk me to class. I told him that I could find it by myself, then he said next time, I just said maybe, he was cute, but he was shorter than me, I couldn't help but think that Seth was definitely taller than me.
I walked to class by myself, of course, a certain someone just happened to be in the next class, with a bunch of other certain someones, the same certain someones, that I had to sit by in the back of the class. Yea I'm just that lucky.
They were staring at me, and I'm not going to lie, they kind of scared me. I found one smile from Kim, I smiled back, then ducked my head, and sat in the chair. When Alanah had noticed Kim waving at me, she gave me the explanation of them. Apparently, all of them had missed like two weeks of school, at different times, then came back and were suddenly huge. None of them used to be friends, but then they just started hanging out together with some Sam guy who was like there leader or something. Kim started dating Jared a while ago, but other wise, they sort of just forgot about all their other friends at the school. I think the one on my left was Jake, and the one on my right was Paul, Seth sat in front of me, and Kim sat beside him and Jared sat in front of her. Embry and Quil sat in front of Jake and Seth, Thankfully no one sat behind me, I could lean on the wall. Seth was a sophomore like me, Jake Quil and Embry were juniors, and Jared and Paul were seniors.
"Okay class lets get started. We have a knew student today, I hope you all have welcomed her, and I hope if she should have trouble with any classes that you would help her out, especially this class, if she's missed anything, today's lesson might be confusing." The teacher said, making me sink into my desk even further, I doubted that I would need help, I was about three chapters ahead, in every other class. They had a test today, one that was similar to one that I had already taken. The teacher had me take the test any way, so I wouldn't have to sit and do nothing, and to see if I had covered this stuff already.
I finished before everybody, then sat there, we couldn't talk, because people were working on the test until the bell rang. Paul, I think it was, started to talk to me.
"Hey." he whispered.
"Hi." I whispered back wearily, in front of me, Seth started to shake a little.
"So how's your first day of school going?" he had an amused look on his face, and was looking at Seth.
I looked at him too, then rolled my eyes and said angrily, "You can probably guess." Thank God, the bell rang. I got out as fast as I could.
"Hey Mary wait up." I heard from behind me, it was Seth.
"Yea?" I asked, deciding to be patient.
"I'm sorry about Paul, he's a ah...jerk." I could tell he had some more imaginative words to call Paul, but didn't know how I'd take them.
"Oh it's fine." I laughed. "and ah, sorry about this morning, I'm not really a morning person."
"Oh.." he looked embarrassed. "No, I was..." he started, but then changed the subject, "So what class do you have next?"
"Um..." I checked my schedule, "I have shop." I said making a funny face.
"Your in shop?" he asked impressed.
"Don't get too impressed, I'm only in it because there isn't any other classes I can take. Which sucks, because there is no way that I am touching power tools, without killing myself."
"Oh, well just your luck, I'm in shop, and I can handle power tools."
"No offense, I'm sure you can." I looked him over, and it was great, I didn't have to look down at him. Stop staring, I had to remind myself, snapping my eyes back to his smiling face, I really hope he didn't notice that. "...but I don't think they are going to let you do my projects for me."
He winked. "What they don't know won't hurt them."
I laughed "Okay, so where is shop anyway?".
Luckily I didn't have to work with anything today, I just had to watch. I was the only girl, in shop this period, and I couldn't help but notice the stares. I could tell I was going to hate shop, even with Seth's help. The teacher said that I had to wear closed toed shoes, and have my hair up every day. Also, just sitting there, I got covered in saw dust, they had a blower thing, that you could use to blow it off, but it didn't work very well. I was hogging it, but only a few of the guys used it.
"Hey." Someone said, at the end of class, it was Wade.
"Oh, hey, I didn't know that you were in this class."
"Oh yea, I didn't expect to see you in here either." I don't think he meant that to sound offending, but it did to me. Did I look like some girl, who was afraid of breaking a nail? Because that was not what I was like...It was probably the stupid outfit, tomorrow I was back to jeans and a T shirt.
"Well I don't want to be in this class, but all the other electives, were filled." I said annoyed.
"Oh well, I could always help you out."
"Thanks, but I think I'll be fine." after all, I already had another offer.
"Oh okay." he said a little disappointed. "So do you think your going to the bonfire?"
"I don't know, I have to ask my parents." I already told him that.
I gathered my things, then waited for the bell. Before it rang, Seth ran over to me.
"Hey, so that wasn't that bad, was it?"
"I guess not. So what are you making?"
"Just a shelf."
"I want to see."
"Okay, I was just putting it away, it's back here." he took me to the back.
"Wow." I said when I looked at it, it was really nice, he started to paint it, it was a light blue. "I like the color." I joked, "I just hope that it's not going in your room." I really did like the color, but, I was a girl.
"It's for my mom," he said defensively.
"Oh is it her Birthday or something?"
"No."
"Oh thats really nice of you, to just do it because you want to."
"Not really...I kind of owe her one." he said with an awkward smile.
"What happened to the old one?"
"I accidentally broke it."
"How do you accidentally break a shelf?"
"I don't know, it just happened." he started to shake a little.
"Okay." I said, right when the bell rang. Only one more hour, this was the longest day ever.
SETHS POV
We had a test in Algebra II, only one person finished before me, Mary.
"You know Seth, if your not going to go for it, then maybe I should." Paul said, so low that only our ears could hear. He was only joking, but I still got pissed when he started to talk to her.
"Hey." he whispered, loudly for us, but just right for normal hearing.
"Hi." she said unsure.
"So how's your first day of school going?" he asked amused.
"You can probably guess." she said angrily. Paul was being a jerk, and she could tell.
I caught up with her after words, and actually didn't sound like a complete idiot, until the end of shop. I showed her my moms shelf, that I accidentally broke, when Leah pissed me off one time. I think she thought that I did it on purpose, because honestly, if I was normal, then it would probably be hard to brake a shelf on accident.
I know that she saw the way I shook, and I know it freaked her out. I just want to tell her, and I could, because of the imprinting thing, but how was I supposed to do that, without sending her running. It couldn't be that hard, Jared did it, Sam did it, Quil did it, well I guess his is different. Maybe it was just me.
Mary's POV
Finally it was homeroom, I walked in the door, happy, only to discover that I had it with Seth, Kim and all the others that they hung around. Kim smiled at me, I did back, then sat down in an open desk. I read most of the time. I think that Seth was getting up to go talk to me, but the bell rang, and I stood up slowly gathering my stuff, I hoped if I took long enough, he'd leave. But he walked up to me.
"Hey." he said.
Before I looked up, I was deciding what to do: A. I could act like I didn't hear him and walk off, B. I could look up annoyed, and breath Hi, and then there was C. look up, say hi and smile, acting like the way he stared at me, and the way he reacted to everything I said, didn't bother me one bit. I chose C, because he was here talking to me, that had to count for something.
"So do you live in town?" he asked, not exactly what I was expecting, but, whatever.
"I live right outside of town."
He nodded, "Do you drive?"
"No," I said frustrated. Three months until I turn 16, I didn't even know how to drive. "I have to catch rides with people everywhere, it's so annoying." I breathed..
"Well, I could give you a ride."
"Oh, that be great, but Frank is picking me up already, and I do live out of the way."
"Oh, okay...So whose Frank?" he asked as we left the room, I could tell he didn't know what else to say.
"He's my foster dad."
"Oh." he said, "So...what are you doing this weekend?" oh great.
"Um, I don't know." I said wary.
"Oh well, there is this thing going on, there's a bonfire, swimming..."
"Isn't it a little cold for swimming?" I interrupted.
"Oh right." he said like he just now noticed it was almost winter. "Well there will be other things, like hiking, and the bonfire." I don't think he realized he said bonfire twice.
"I don't know." I said.
We were outside, and I heard a honk and looked up to see Frank's pick up and Jamie jumping in the back seat. "Well I guess I'll see you tomorrow." he said.
