Kelly new form room was Room 9, only next door to Max's and the others. Kai's and Cassidy's was at the opposite side of the building, so they would only see each other in break and lunch, and maybe a few lessons. Because of her chat with Max, she was late for registration, but her teacher, Mr. Millard, who was a Maths teacher, let her off, as it was her first day at school. Kelly was introduced to a group of five girls, who sat in the corner.
"Right, Kelly. These are The Five. I think they're pretty much known all across the school. They'll show you around for the first few days." Mr. Millard said, before walking back to his desk.
Kelly felt awkward. "Erm, hi." Said Kelly, trying to put on her smile, as she felt like she was invading their personal space.
"Hi!" said a girl with shortish brown hair. She had a short white skirt on and a pink top. "I'm Hilary, nice to meet you!"
"Yeah, I'm Mariah." Said a girl with pink hair. She had a ribbon tied in it that looked like cat ears, and was wearing a pair of flared jeans and a white frilly gypsy top.
"I'm Salima, " smiled a girl with reddish hair, who was wearing tight black leather pants, and a strappy red top that reached just above her navel. She had a zipper style belly piercing in too.
"I'm Emily." Said a girl who was also wearing a white skirt, but it had a denim look, and an orange t-shirt. She had ginger hair and small round glasses.
"And I'm Mariam," grinned a girl with blue hair. She had a red hairband holding it up neatly, and was wearing a black hooded top with 'OFFSPRING' written on in jagged grey writing. She also had flared jeans on, but were baggier.
"Nice to meet you all. I'm Kelly, and before you ask," said Kelly, noticing them glancing at her eye. "I got two words for you. Troy Davin."
They all looked at each other, and then rolled their eyes. "He's a piece of trash. A complete waste of space." Said Mariah.
"Yeah, a total jerk." Agreed Hilary. "Here, sit down," And she pulled a chair out next to her.
"Thanks," said Kelly, taking her bag off and sitting down. "So, how long have you guys been here?"
"Since we were like, 11. So we've known each other for quite a while." Said Mariam, as she counted off the years on her fingers.
The bell rang for their first lesson of the day, which was P.E, so they all made their way to the Gym. It was huge considering how small the classrooms were, but that might have been because that Smithton High specialised in Sports, so they had a wide range of equipment, from benches and mats to trampolines and beams.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Kelly when she walked into the changing room. "What are we using today?"
"Nothing really. We're doing netball at the moment, but it's really cold in there. Don't forget a sweatshirt," advised Salima. She plonked her bag onto one of the benches, and started getting undressed, as did all the other girls.
The boys had their own separate changing room, across the hall from the girls', but not many of them used it. Most of them had their kit on underneath their clothes. This meant they only took a fraction of the time to get ready than the girls did.
The girls changing room door opened, and in walked Cassidy and Toni, and some other girls who were obviously in Toni's and Cassidy's forms.
"What are you guys doing here?" Asked Kelly.
"Well, we're supposed to be having Ms. Kirby for P.E, but I guess she couldn't handle us lot again today, so she skipped school. You watch, she'll be on Monday." Smiled Toni, and she squeezed into a seat next to Kelly.
"And my class is doing P.E too, but our teacher is holding an exam. I'm excused, naturally." Said Cassidy. "Tyson, Max, Ray, Kenny and Kai are doing P.E too. But look, they're already in there." And she pointed through a blackened window, so no one could see in but they could see out, into the Gym. True enough, there were the Bladebreakers.
"Erm, Toni, Cassidy, let me introduce you to a few friends of mine. This is Hilary, Mariah, Emily, Mariam and Salima." Pointing to each one in turn. They each smiled and nodded at Toni and Cassidy.
"The Five." Toni laughed. "I wish I was a member of a group like that."
"You are. Remember, the Bladebreaker VIPs?" Cassidy said, rolling her eyes.
Everyone started getting changed into a plain white t-shirt and either jogging bottoms or a navy blue skirt. Even though they didn't have uniform for around school, they had to wear P.E uniform. Kelly looked around, and then realised. She was the only person with a skirt.
They all got changed quite quickly and ran into the Gym, apart from Kelly and Toni. They had taken a bit longer to get changed, as Toni had come in late, and Kelly was just dawdling. They ran into the Gym at the last minute, as the teacher was taking another register. All the boys turned to look at Kelly and Toni as they came pounding in, their footsteps echoing through the Gym.
A few of the boys wolf-whistled as Kelly went past, as the skirts for P.E were extremely short. Kelly glared at them, and her hazel eyes seemed to redden. This was a bit scary for their liking, and shut up rather quickly. She noticed Max was looking at her as well, though.
"How nice of you two to join us." Said Ms. Murray, as she was Kelly's P.E teacher. Kelly and Toni went and sat down between the Bladebreakers and Kelly's newfound friends. "We were just discussing teams, and these area few of them I have so far. Will you please join up with your team when I call your names out? Team 1: Hilary, Salima, Kelly, Kenny, Max, Ray and Troy."
On hearing their names, they all got up and went and stood to the side. Troy smiled evilly at Kelly, then at Max. "Don't even think about it Davin." Warned Max. Troy just narrowed his eyes.
"Team 2: Kai, Tyson, Toni, Mariam, Emily, Mariah and Blake." Read out Ms. Murray.
They all stood up and looked over at the kid called Blake. He stood up from a huge group of popular kids, girls and boys. He had spiky steel blue hair and blue eyes. He was quite muscular and tall. Considering the P.E rule of no jewellery during lessons, Blake was wearing a thick gold sovereign on his middle finger on his right hand, and a loose gold chain. He walked over, hands in his pockets.
"We'd better win." He said, but not looking at any of them.
Toni mouthed something at him behind his back, and the other girls laughed. Toni grinned sheepishly, and then stuck her fingers up behind his back. Blake, having heard the girls laugh, turned around, and saw Toni's hand fly back to her side. He glanced at her sideways, but then returned his attention to Tessa Hopton. It was unmistakable that he had a huge crush on her.
Ms. Murray read out the rest of the names for the teams, and then said that Teams 1 and 2 were to sit on the one side of the Gym and Teams 3 and 4 were to sit on the opposite side, while Teams 5 and 6 played. She also said that they had to stick with their teams. So, staying in their teams, everyone went and sat down next on the sides.
At the end was Kenny, then Ray, then Salima, then Hilary, then Kelly and then Max. Troy sat next to Max, but not right next to him, he sat about a metre away from him. Kai sat on the other side of Troy with Toni next to him, then Tyson, then Mariah, Mariam and Emily after, and Blake at the end.
Ms. Murray blew the whistle, and Team 5 and 6 started playing. At the side, everyone was just chatting, and Troy kept pretending to stretch, and was hitting Max in the side of the head. Kai was watching out of the corner of his eye, and it was clear on Max's face that it was seriously annoying him more than anything. Troy smirked, and went to do it again, but Kai grabbed his wrist.
"What do you want now, Hiwatari?" spat Troy.
"World Peace, what do you think? (!)" Kai said sarcastically, but he didn't let go of Troy's wrist.
Troy snorted, and tried to pry his wrist out of Kai's grasp.
"I don't think so, Davin. You've caused enough trouble already."
Kelly could see Troy trying to get out of Kai's clutch, and instantly hit Troy in his ribs. She knew it was a bad idea, but she wanted revenge.
"What did you do that for, you little slut?!" snapped Troy, his hands flying to his ribs, and he broke Kai's grip.
"Don't call her a slut!" shouted Max, standing up.
"I'm telling the truth ain't I? Have you seen how short her skirt is? Anyway, do you wanna have another go Tate? Hit twice this time? Or is it so you can get the first strike? EH?!" barked Troy, standing up to face Max.
Ms. Murray hadn't noticed the fight that was about to break out, as she was too busy trying to explain that you couldn't bounce the ball.
Kelly stood up too, and pointed at her eye. "Is this what you wanna look like Max? If yes, then be my guest. If no, then don't be an idiot and fight him, walk away from it." She saw Max hesitate. "If you won't walk away from it for yourself, do it for me!" she pleaded.
She didn't want to see him get hurt. But what could she do? Stepping in to take the hit didn't stop them from fighting, so what would? Kelly racked her brains quickly, for a backup plan in case Max didn't drop out.
Max looked at Kelly's worried face, and then at his teammates, who had also stood up, waiting. He looked back at Kelly's face, and he saw it was full of fear. He didn't like to see her like that. He liked the cheery face he saw yesterday, the cheeky smile, her eyes lighten when she was happy. He thought it was amazing the way her eyes showed her emotions. The colour changed slightly when she felt happy, sad, anxious, angry, but it was noticeable. Max sighed, and sat back down.
"You backing away?!" said Troy, angrily. "What, are you scared you'll end up like her?" Pointing at Kelly.
"Nah, he's probably just scared that he'll crack your beautiful face (!)" Kelly said, smiling.
Troy walked off and sat down at the end of the netball court. At that moment, someone on Team 6 scored, and the ball fell through the net, and bounced off Troy's head. Troy shot up, and started walking towards Max and Kelly, who were laughing their heads off. He reached them and whispered, "See you after school." Then walked off.
They weren't worried. What could Troy do to them, now they had all of their friends behind them? The answer was nothing. Max and Kelly cried through laughter, and were leaning on each other's shoulders, not noticing. They had no time at all to play a match, because by the time Team 5 and 6 had played, and then Team 3 and 4, they had to go and get changed. They all arranged to meet under the Bladebreakers tree, including Mariam, Mariah, Emily, Hilary and Salima, then set off for their next lesson.
Kelly had to stay behind after P.E to talk to Ms. Murray. Ms. Murray said that she was worried about Kelly, asking whether she was being bullied or anything; because even the teachers knew that politeness led to a fight. The teachers knew she had come from Madame Luton's School for Gifted Children, and that she might get bullied.
"Yes miss, I'm fine. Can I go now? Thank you." Said Kelly, not waiting for an answer.
Kelly threw her bag onto her back, and walked to Room 19, which was a Science Lab. She knocked on the door and went through. She walked over to the teacher and explained why she was late, and that she was new.
"Well then. I'm Mr. Butler, your new Science teacher. Now, let's see. Ah yes. There's a note here, are you Kelly LaVelle?" He asked, looking through his enormous glasses. He looked quite old, so Kelly though that she would get away with loads of stuff. He'd be too blind to see anything, and too deaf to hear anything.
"Yeah." Replied Kelly.
"Well then, you can go and sit over there," he said pointing to a long desk with two other people sitting there. "That's Enrique, and that's Johnny. They may not make you feel welcome at first, but believe me; they're all right for lads."
Kelly rolled her eyes, and went and sat in the middle of the two lads. She brought out a biro, and started doodling on the desk. Johnny grinned at Enrique, who smirked in return.
When Mr. Butler started explaining something, Enrique grabbed Kelly's pen and held it above his head.
"Yeah, yeah, what a laugh." Said Kelly, but instead of fighting for her pen, she just got out another one.
Johnny gestured with his hands, that he would get that one. Johnny grabbed Kelly's second pen, and Kelly sighed and rolled her eyes again. "Come on, give it back. Do you think I'm made of pens?"
"I dunno, what do you think?" Johnny said.
"I dunno." Said Kelly, imitating Johnny. Enrique laughed, and Kelly turned and glared at him, and the change of colour in her eyes seemed to have hypnotized Enrique, so Kelly snatched her pen back.
"Thank you." And she continued drawing. She laughed to herself in her head, and started writing something.
The end of the lesson came quicker than she expected. She put her pen back in her bag, and her new Science book that Mr. Butler had given her. Mr. Butler walked past, and noticed graffiti on their table. The bell rang, and Johnny and Enrique went to leave.
"Excuse me you three. This wasn't here this morning, and I taught in a different room this morning. No one has been in here until this lesson. Now, own up. Who wrote this on the desk?" He said, with his hands on his hips. "None of you are leaving until I found out who did this."
"Kelly did it sir." Said Johnny, smirking.
Mr. Butler looked closer at the graffiti. "I guess that's why it has your initials on here Mr. McGregor. Graffiting is one thing, but trying to pin the blame on someone else is another. Kelly is new to this school, and I don't think she would do something like this at all, let alone on her first day. You can stay in during break and clean up the lab."
Johnny went to object, but realised that he wouldn't get out of it. Enrique left first, saying he'd meet him later. Kelly left last. Mr. Butler was writing some notes down at his desk, and as Kelly left the classroom, she winked at Johnny then stuck her tongue out. Johnny gave her a death glare, but when she had left, he laughed silently to himself. He'd have to try that on someone soon.
When Kelly left the room, she burst out laughing. Then, she ran all the way to the tree, and collapsed on the floor laughing.
Everyone else was already there, and they wondered what was so funny.
"Hey Kelly, what's up?" Asked Emily, giving her a funny look.
So Kelly explained to everyone the trick she had pulled on Johnny. They all laughed, and even Kai had trouble keeping a straight face.
Kelly went and sat down next to Max, and thanked him for not getting involved with Troy earlier. Max smiled, and offered her some crisps.
"Thanks, but you're okay." She said, turning down the offer. "Anyway, what have you got next?"
"Geography, with Ms. Dabner. God help me!" joked Max, putting his hands together and staring up at the sky.
"Hey, me too! What's she like? Is she strict?" Asked Kelly, as she had checked her timetable.
"No, she just doesn't know anything. She goes on and on, and you still don't know what she's on about!" Said Max, and he rolled his eyes.
"Oh well. I guess I'll have to live through it, otherwise it would be the last time I see you. Wouldn't be a very cool place to see someone for the last time is it?" And she winked at Max. She hoped that it was a big enough hint for him, she could never tell him out straight.
Meanwhile, Kai seemed extremely quiet, even for him. He had his left hand in his pocket, and seemed to be clutching something. Cassidy noticed this, and quietly asked him what was wrong.
"I know I've only known you for like a day, but I can tell when people are worried or stuff. Call it a gift." And she smiled.
"Follow me." Said Kai, and he walked off, a slight distance away from the tree and the others. Cassidy followed him, hopping along with the help of her crutches.
"Here," said Kai, giving Cassidy a photograph. But he would not look her in the eye. Cassidy gave him a confused look, then looked at the photo carefully.
It was a girl, no older than 20, holding a small child in her arms, smiling down at him. The child was a boy who looked about 2, and he had two-toned hair.
"That's you?" whispered Cassidy in shock. She had never expected Kai to have any photos of himself, let alone as a baby. "Is that . . ." But her voice disappeared, as her finger moved over the woman.
"Yes. That is my mother. Well, that was my mother, before she was murdered." Kai's voice was quiet yet clear, and his eyes seemed to be looking back, as though he was remembering something.
Cassidy gasped faintly, and saw Kai's expression on his face. "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Said Cassidy, giving him a heartening look, and tried to give him a smile. But she couldn't get one to appear on her face.
"No, I can't keep it bottled up forever." Sighed Kai. "Though I sometimes wish I could. My mother was murdered . . . by . . ." Kai seemed to be having trouble getting his words out. Cassidy couldn't blame him. Having his mother killed at such an early age, it couldn't be easy for him. "By Boris. You see, he loved my mother, but when she fell in love with my father and had me, Boris just . . . snapped. I was there when he killed her. His last words to her stay in my head, no matter what. He said 'If I can't have you, then no one will.' And he stabbed her in her chest with a dagger. I feel responsible." Said Kai, his head falling. "If it wasn't for me, my mother might still be here today. My father blamed me as well, and he never let me forget it. He would tell me five times a day, and he came close to committing suicide. But, the police caught up with him, and he was put in jail. Then, while he was having a shower, he hung himself. I was given to my Grandfather, where he abused me, but no one knew."
"How could you believe that you're responsible?" Cassidy asked gently, placing her one hand on his shoulder. "You're overreacting here. Can't you see, your father wanted to blame someone for Boris's mistake?"
Kai looked up. He had never thought about it that way. Maybe Cassidy was right, maybe he was just overreacting. But that image of his mother, he couldn't blank it out.
"No, No, NO!" shouted Kai, hands over his ears, as though he didn't want to hear what Cassidy had to say. "You're wrong, you're wrong." And he fell to his knees, his head resting on top of them.
"Kai, I just . . ." started Cassidy.
"No! Just leave me alone, Cass!" and he wouldn't budge. He wouldn't get up, and he wouldn't move in any way, even if he was uncomfortable. 'This is what my mother had to go through,' he thought. 'She had to live through pain, and it was all because of me.'
Cassidy didn't know what to do. She didn't like people to be upset, and certainly not Kai. Although Kai had an expressionless look on his face normally, he never looked unhappy or sad, not like he did now.
"Kai . . . I didn't mean to . . ." But she was interrupted again.
"No. No one ever means to do these things (!) 'It was an accident!'" said Kai, imitating the phrase that he had heard so often in his life. "Let me tell you this. Nothing is ever an accident."
Cassidy pouted. "Well, let me tell you this. Nothing is ever done on purpose either. It's fate!" And she turned around and left Kai to be on his own. She knew that he would come around sooner or later, but she hoped it would be sooner rather than later. When Kai was like this, he was off guard. Being a wanted man in Russia didn't help his situation, especially when he was one of the most wanted men.
The others all watched as Cassidy stormed past.
"Cass, what's up? What just happened?" Asked Kelly, about to follow her.
"Don't bother. It's nothing, really." And she carried on walking.
Kelly went to say something but stopped. Her friendship with Cassidy lasted for nearly 10 years, so it could most likely live through a little tiff. Kelly still felt uneasy though. Max noticed this, and whispered to her, "She'll come around." And smiled at her.
"Thanks, Max." And she smiled back.
While all this had been happening, Ray had been doing some catching up with Mariah, as he hadn't seen her for over a year. They'd tried sending letters, because they didn't have time to chat in school, but it didn't work.
The bell rang, and everyone split up into little groups, as they were put into sets, according to your intelligence, and they walked to Geography. Kai was still sitting on the floor when the bell rang, and Cassidy had already got to her lesson.
Kelly and Max walked up to Room 21, which happened to be Cassidy's and Kai's form room. Max walked to the back, and put his bag on the chair next to him. Kelly went to see the teacher, Ms. Dabner, Cassidy's and Kai's form teacher. She told her to grab a seat before everyone came flooding in and she wouldn't know which way is up.
Kelly sort of nodded slowly at her, and then took a few steps backwards. Then she turned around and went to go and sit next to Max.
"What's that face for?" asked Max, seeing her face.
"What a dumb arse! She said that when people start flooding in, I wouldn't know which way is up. I mean, how can you not tell which way is up? It's like . . ." and she stared at the ceiling. "Up."
Max laughed, and pulled out his pen and his Geography book. Kelly got out her pen too, and started writing on the back of her hand. Max looked over her shoulder, and saw a heart, with her initials in it, and was about to write someone else's. Max's face dropped. Kelly already had a boyfriend.
Kelly noticed Max looking over her shoulder when she was writing on her hand. She didn't let him know that she knew though. She drew a heart with an arrow through it, with K.L luvs M.T.
"Your boyfriend is very lucky," said Max. He decided to get it out in the open.
Kelly stopped and looked at him. "What?" she asked.
"You heard me. He's very lucky."
"Max, I haven't got a boyfriend." Kelly said, holding back a laugh.
Max's face brightened. "You haven't? Well, who's M.T?"
"Trust you!" Kelly laughed. "Max, think hard. Who's name begins with M? And who also has a last name beginning with T?"
Max thought, and didn't think for a minute that Kelly could like him. At first he thought Michael, but then realised his last name was Parker.
"Max, I like . . . you." The last part was a whisper. Almost as soon as Kelly had said that, she regretted it. 'Why don't I ever keep my big gob shut?' she thought.
Max's face brightened even more, and a huge smile appeared on his face. His bright blue eyes looked happy, and he sighed.
"I was just about to tell you exactly the same thing." Said Max, his smile still on his face.
"Really?" Asked Kelly, as she couldn't tell whether he was just saying that so as not to hurt her feelings.
"Really. That's why I asked you to have lunch with me today. You're really pretty, and I can't stop looking at you."
"Oh Max!" And Kelly gave him a huge hug. "You've really made my day!"
Then, Ms. Dabner interrupted.
"Ahem. This is a Geography lesson, and I intend to teach Geography, not sociability."
Kelly beamed, and unwrapped her arms from around his waist. Johnny wandered into the class, and sat down across the aisle from Kelly and Max. Kelly smiled, and walked over to him.
"What do you want, black eye?" Johnny said, looking up at her.
"My pen back." Said Kelly, her hands on her hips.
"Tough luck. You're not getting it." Johnny pulled out Kelly's pen, and started writing with it.
"Last chance," said Kelly.
"Or what?" snorted Johnny.
"Fine, we'll play it your way. Meet me after Geography, by the Bladebreakers tree. Make sure you bring my pen, and your blade. If you don't I'll just tell everyone that you're too scared to face a girl, and got caught out by a girl. Remember, Science?" And Kelly went back over and sat down with Max.
"What are you up to?" grinned Max, knowing she was up to something.
Kelly just tapped the side of her nose, her nose stud glinting in the light.
"Just call it a touch of blackmail."
"Miss. LaVelle! Please stop interrupting my lesson, or you will never learn about the Rock Cycle. Now class, as I was saying, there are three types of rock: Metamorphic; Igneous; and Sedimentary." Ms. Dabner explained to the class, writing each one on the blackboard.
"So what?" Kelly whispered to Max. "Wowee (!) It's a rock, who cares what type it is?"
Max laughed. Ever since they had come clean, they seemed to get on better. Kelly never noticed before, but Max looked so innocent and sweet when he laughed. 'Well,' she thought. 'He always looks cute and innocent, but even more so.'
Geography dragged on, and about three quarters of the way through, Johnny threw Kelly a note, saying that he'll bring his blade, as long as she tells him what for. Kelly turned over the note and wrote: 'You are so dense Johnny. So I can beat you and get my pen back.' And she flung it back. He opened it, and threw back his head in silent laughter. He gestured with his hands that she had a nil chance of winning. Kelly narrowed her eyes at him, and they turned red, just like they had in P.E.
Geography finally came to an end, and Ms. Dabner had given them a project to do with a partner on the Rock Cycle; they had to produce a poster for next week. Max and Kelly put their stuff away, and they ran to the lockers. Kelly pulled out a small, black and blue drawstring bag.
"What's that?" requested Max, giving her a sideways glance.
"You'll see soon enough."