Thank you all for the reviews last chapter. Here's chapter 2! And there's more sassy Spencer to come.
The first day of school is always the scariest. Most kids dread going to school. Toby is one of those kids that don't really like to go to school, but he's well past the age of being scared to go. Toby turned nine-years-old over the summer and he's ready to go into the fifth grade. He's excited for that. Next year he'll be in sixth grade, which means two more years until he's a junior. The school he goes to now in Rosewood has k-6. Then Junior high is 7-8. Then high school is the last four years. Toby stood inside his room right in front of the mirror dressed in a blue polo shirt and khakis. His hair is wavy and kind of hangs over the right side of his forehead. When he was in the middle of combing his hair, his mother knocked on the door.
"Wow," she looked at him in amazement. "You look handsome young man."
He smiled back shyly, "thanks, mom."
She walked into the room and stood behind him. She watched him looking at his reflection in the mirror. It amazes her how fast her son is growing up. She knows he's only nine years old, but that's pretty big for a mother. Seems like just yesterday she was bringing him home from the hospital. Now, Toby's growing up to be a pretty cool wise kid.
"Are you excited for your first day of the fifth grade?"
He nodded, "yes and no."
"Why's that."
He sighed and turned to face his mother, "because mom. I'm in the fifth grade and I still don't have many friends."
"You have a few."
"Yeah Chester, but he moved schools. All I have now are all those nerds from the chest club that won't stop talking to me."
"Now, wait just a minute young man," she spoke in a stern voice. "It's not nice to call other people names."
"But they are nerds! Besides it's not a bad word. A nerd is someone who's smart and smarts not a bad word. Being smart is a good thing. Like me! You tell me I'm smart all the time."
"Yes, honey, I do. But sometimes when people call someone a nerd they don't mean it in a nice way. They're just trying to be mean and hurt someone else's feelings. There are nicer ways to tell someone their smart. Just don't call anyone a nerd anymore, okay? It's not nice. I want you to go to school and be nice to all the kids."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Alright." Marion patted him once on the butt. "Go down stairs your father is waiting for you."
"Okay. Bye, mom, I love you!"
Toby ran out of his bedroom and down the stairs so fast Marion feared he would fall and hurt himself. Lucky Toby made it down the stairs without hurting himself. Chris stood by the door drinking his coffee out of his thermos. He saw Toby coming and opened up the front door for him. If he didn't, Toby might've run right through the door. Marion chuckled from the top of the stairs and watched her two favorite men venture off into the world.
Down the street from Toby's house was the Hastings manor. It's rumored that a family of three lives there. They moved in a couple years ago. Toby's never met the people who live there, but his father has. He says they're nice people, but the father can get a little cranky sometimes. Upstairs in one of the bedrooms, lay a beautiful young girl named Spencer. Veronica Hastings, who is the child's mother, walked up to her daughter's room to see if she's ready for her very the first day of school. Yes, today is her very first day. She's never been to school before. Her mother used to teach her at home so she never went to preschool. The school said she's too smart for kindergarten, so they're moving her up to the first grade. Spencer stood in front of her mirror, wearing her denim blue dress with black buttons up the front. Her hair is pretty much straight, but a little wavy at the ends.
"You look beautiful, honey," Veronica said.
Spencer turned around and looked at her mother. She sighed and said, "do I really have to go to school today?"
She nodded, "yes, sweetie. I'm afraid you do."
"I'm scared. What if the other kids don't like me? What if I'm not as smart as people say I am? What if I fail and make daddy hate me even more?"
"Sweetie," Veronica tucked a strand of her hair behind her daughter's ear. "Daddy does not hate you."
"Then why is he always yelling at me?"
"Daddy's just frustrated a lot because of his job, but he doesn't hate you."
"Do you hate me mommy?"
"No, darling," she smoothed out her dress. "I could never hate you. Now," she kissed her forehead. "Let's get you to school."
Beep. Beep. Beep. This is National Radio with your news for today. Starting with your weather report. We can expect mostly sunny skies with clouds coming in from time to time. Later in the day we will see more cloud coverage and there's even slight chance of rain for tonight. We'll keep a close eye on the weather for you right here on National Radio.
Toby groaned and reached out to silence his alarm clock. Every morning he wakes up to same annoying Dj talking. After he shuts off his radio, he rolls over to lie on his back. Last night was one of the best nights he's had in a long time. He graduated from the police academy then spent the rest of the night celebrating with his friends. He even got to know a certain blonde girl he met at the bar last night. Her name was Karen and she's twenty-two. She's pretty cute, tall, and Caleb thinks she would be good for him. They almost hooked up last night then Toby realized he would have to get up really early the next day to get to work. He has to drive ten hours to get to the prison facility in Maine. For three weeks a month he will have to work there. Since he has to spend so much time in Maine, he rented a place close to where he has to work. Why doesn't he just move there? Well, he figured he'll just be working there until a better job offer comes along. Plus all of his friends live close to Rosewood, so he wants to be able to see them.
After his hot shower, Toby got out and dressed in a black t-shirt and jeans. He combed his hair and put gel in it. Since he's a cop, he had to get a buzz cut. Toby hasn't had short hair like this since high school. After he finished doing his hair, he picked up the suitcase he packed last night and walked it out to his truck. He drove to Maine last week to move some stuff into his apartment. Now, he's bringing along more clothes to wear and his spear uniform. He came back inside to grab his thermos filled with coffee and the bag of donuts off the counter that he bought last night. He grabbed his leather jacket and keys then set out for Maine.
He left home at 8 in the morning and got to his apartment in Maine around 6pm. His boss called him an hour ago telling him to report to the facility at 7am tomorrow morning. Tomorrow will be his first day on the job. He's excited and nervous. When he got himself settled in his apartment, he called his mother to let her know he got here safely. Marion has made it a rule that when one of them goes on a trip somewhere, the other has to check in with the other that they got there alright.
"Hey, mom."
"Toby! Did you make it all the way to Maine!?"
"Yes, I'm here safe and sound."
"Good! How are you liking the place?"
"It's good," he looked around the room he's in. "It's got a kitchen and a hallway that leads to my bedroom. It's not bigger than the loft back home, but it's cozy. I can live in it. That's good enough for me."
"No leaks or holes in the wall?"
"No, everything is in fine shape."
"Good, thanks for checking in, honey. Call me after work tomorrow. I want to know how your first day goes. Alright?"
"Okay, mom."
"Okay. Bye Toby, I love you."
"Love you too mom."
Toby hung up his phone and sighed. He turned his head and looked at the little, gray bucket catching the water dripping from the ceiling. The walls aren't even painted well. There a ugly white color with holes from old nails in the wall. The walls can't be any thicker than drywall. The floors are made with old, dusty wood that creaks when you walk on it. The kitchen is rather small. Barely big enough for two people to be in it at once. This place doesn't't even have a bedroom. It's just a pull out couch in the middle of the room. Sure his apartment Isn't great, but he could afford it. Like he told his mother, it's a place he can live in. The next call Toby had to make was Caleb. He too wanted to know when he got here.
"Hey."
"Hey, Toby. How's it going?"
"Okay. I made it to my apartment."
"Oh," Caleb nodded. "Is the place still crappy?"
"It's not crap."
"Yes, it is."
"Okay, the place is kind of crappy. What are you doing?"
"I am having a date night with Hanna, Aria, and Ezra."
"Wow. A double date. That sounds cool."
"Yeah, maybe when you get back will make it a triple. Me, Hanna, Aria, Ezra, you and that girl you met Karen."
"Uh, I don't know if I'll be seeing Karen again."
"Why not?"
"She wasn't too happy with me after I said she couldn't come home with me. She didn't seem to understand how early I had to get up in order to get here."
"Aw, I'm sorry it didn't work out for you, man, but hey, you'll find someone someday."
"Yeah, someday."
"How are you feeling about starting work tomorrow?"
"Okay. I'm a little nervous. God, I feel like it's the first day of school all over again."
Caleb chuckled, "story of my life, bro."
The first half of the school day wasn't too bad for Toby. He really likes his teacher and she seems to enjoy having him in class. The other kids seem to respect him a lot more than last year. Probably because they know his dad is a cop. At 11:30, all the kids were released to go outside for recess. The fifth graders go out for recess the same time the first graders do. Then the third and fourth graders go out at the same time later. During recess, Toby doesn't really play with anybody. He mostly just sits on the swings by himself, or kick a soccer ball around. Today while he was kicking the ball around, he noticed two boys walk up to some girl sitting alone on a bench. The girl had dark brown hair, light skin and was rather tiny. The two boys walked up to the girl and snatched the notebook she was holding right out of her hands. When the girl reached for her notebook, the other boy shoved her back. Toby stopped playing with the soccer ball and walked over to them.
Spencer's first day at school wasn't so great. At least the first half wasn't. During class she would raise her hand a lot to answer almost every question. The teacher loved how smart she was, but the other kids found it annoying. By the end of the first hour, the kids would make fun of her whenever she answered correctly. After awhile she stopped raising her hand. When recess came, she got wrote down in her diary about how her days going so far. She was in the middle of writing a sentence when someone came up and snatched her diary right out of her hands. She looked up and saw two big boys standing in front of her. One of them was kind of chubby with short blonde hair and the other was tall with red hair.
"Excuse me," she said. "I would like that back."
"What are you writing?" The chubby boy asked. "Is this your diary? Lame!"
"No lamer than you."
"Don't get sassy with us little girl," the tall boy said.
"Maybe we should show everyone was Nerd Hastings has written."
"Give it back!"
She screeched and stood up to grab it. When she did that, the tall boy shoved her back. The boys laughed at her sitting on the dirty ground. Her father will have her ass for getting her dress dirty. She was about to give up until a much older and taller kid came over. The kid came over and snatched the book right out of the guys chubby fingers.
"Hey!" He shouted.
"Hey what?" Toby said back. "This diary does not belong to you."
"It doesn't belong to you either," the tall one said.
The boys lunged for the book and Toby used it to hit the chubby one over the head. He stumbled back and bumped into his friend. The two boys stared at Toby in shock.
"Leave her alone! Do you understand? I don't ever want to see you two messing with her again. Got it?"
The two boys nodded.
"Good. Now, get moving before I tell your teacher!"
The two boys scrambled to get away. When they were out of site, Toby turned towards the girl. Spencer is already back on her feet brushing the dirt off her dress. He hands over her diary without peeking inside.
"Thank you," she took it from him.
He shrugged and said, "I had to do it."
"Why?"
"Well, my mommy told me it's not nice for people to call others a nerd and if somebody calls another person a nerd it means they're not very nice people."
"Thanks," she chuckled. "But I am a nerd."
"No, you're not. You're just smart and being smart is okay in my book."
She raised an eyebrow, "you have a book?"
He laughed, "no, silly. It's a figure of speech."
"Oh," she giggled. "Maybe I'm not so smart after all."
He smiled a friendly smile, "I'm Toby."
"Spencer."
He reached out for her hand and she shook it. The two spent the rest of recess sitting on that bench talking. Word got out about what Toby did to those two boys, so no one dared to mess with Spencer the rest of the day.
The prison van jolted as it came to a complete stop. Spencer banged her head back against the metal wall. She cursed to herself and rubbed the back of her head. Soon the doors opened up and she was greeted by the blinding sunlight. She put a hand up to shield her eyes from the light and cursed again. Two guards wearing white uniforms stood by the van waiting to escort her inside. She stepped down from the van and looked up at the tall, brick building surrounded by a barbed wire fence.
"Right this way," a tall guard with thick brown hair tugged her along.
Spencer grunted and walked along with them. They lead her through a larged automatic door that can only be opened by a guard swiping a card over a panel. It makes a loud buzzing sound then the door swings open. One of the security guards tugs her in and down the long, narrow hallway. They made a right down the hall and came up to another large metal door. Once again they had to scan a card to get through. The door clicked then opened. Behind this door were other security guards watching some inmates sitting on a white bench. Spencer could feel their stares burning through her skull. She didn't pay much attention to them. She just kept walking with her eyes forward. The guard that was holding her arm sat her down on one of the benches.
"Stay," he ordered.
He walked off and left the guy with short blonde hair to watch her. Spencer sighed and leaned her head back against the white wall. This is insane. Why does she need to be in this place? All she did was smoke a little weed? These people act like they never do anything bad. That guard came back with another officer wearing a blue uniform. They came up to Spencer and stopped.
"Who do we have here?" The man wearing the blue uniform said.
"Wilden this is Hastings Spencer. She's seven-teen and is in for six months for using weed on several occasions," the dark haired cop said.
"Oh, Yes," Wilden looked at her file. "Holbrook called me to warn me about you."
Spencer couldn't help the smirk spreading across her face, "how nice of him to mention me."
Wilden gave her a hard stare, "did I give you permission to speak?"
Her smirk only grew wider, "you didn't tell me to be quiet."
Wilden scuffled in disbelief. They got a real trouble maker here. Wilden turned to the guards and ordered them to get her in a cell immediately. They nodded and made her stand up. Spencer walked with them to wherever her cell is. Her cell is at the far end of this hall, to the right, then through some door. They entered a small hallway where four other doors are. The guard leads her to the first door on her left. He scans a card and a loud buzzer rings out. The doors opens and the guard shoves her in. Spencer turns around to face the guard.
"Didn't anyone ever teach you not to push a lady?"
"In here we treat all criminals the same," the dark haired one replied.
Spencer looked over his uniform and read his name tag G. Reynolds. That last name sounds familiar. Officer Reynolds explains the rules real quick then leaves. Spencer takes the time to look around her cell. It's got a bed with a mattress that looks like a yoga mat with a very thin sheet and a thin pillow. The bed is right up against the wall by the window. Then on the right side of the bed is a two drawer, wooden dresser. Across the room near the door is an old, wooden desk with a lamp and old can filled with pens and pencils. Spencer sighed and took a seat on the thick mattress. This place may seem bad, but she'll only be here for six months. Plus it will be the guards that go through hell now that she's here, not her. Spencer sat back and smiled about that. The police think they sent her to hell, but she maybe a lot safe in here than she ever was out there.
Hope you liked this chapter just as much as the first. Spencer and Toby will probably have their first interaction in present time next chapter. I'll update when I get let's say six reviews? If you guys can manage that, I'll update ASAP. Thanks again for reading.