Oopsy! Forgot the disclaimer in the last chapter, sorry.
DISCLAIMER: I'm fulfilling my strange and (cough cough) seemingly unnecessary duty by admitting that I don't own Charmed...yet.
"Hey Paige!"
I turn around. I just got out of the locker room, where, thank god, I found that the teacher had taken the liberty of getting me a gym uniform. It read "TACKATUM TIGERS" in bold, red letters with a yellow background. The shorts were dark, navy blue with a little Tackatum logo on them.
"Hi Martin," I call, waving from across the gym. I run over to him to catch up. Part of our warm-up here, I guess, is to walk around the gym in the beginning of class. Not too bad for our social lives!
"So, how're you liking the school so far? Any vicious beasts attack you yet? The front steps, maybe?"
I blush. "Nah, just two possessive ninth graders that wanted me to be one of their slaves or something." I laugh nervously. "Do you know Phoebe Halliwell? She's my mentor. She's has this, like, enemy that wants me in her posse." I wrinkle my nose as I try to pull my hair back into a ponytail. "It SCARES me!"
"Oh...was she blonde by any chance? Good teeth? Wearing pink?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, dang...that's my cousin, Laura. Ignore her, she is SO annoying. Sorry she got to you."
"Oh, no, that's fine!" I insist, red-hot in the cheeks. Now I'm embarrassed. She's his COUSIN? They couldn't be related, Martin's so laid back and nice. Weird...
"Okay, class—jogging!"
"Huh?"
Martin laughs again. "You know—jogging."
"I know what it means, but I thought we were supposed to walk—hey, wait up!" I call, grinning. He's sped up ahead of me as if challenging me to keep up. "Hey!" I follow him and before I know it, we're side by side. He looks shocked.
"How'd you do that? I'm the fastest runner in this class!"
I shrug, still running. "Not anymore, I guess!" I shout happily and speed up, leaving him gawking at my back. "What? You gonna stand there or run?"
"I'm gonna get you!" he screams, throwing his head back in his obvious enjoyment and new rivalry.
"Okay everyone, stop where you are! Roll call! Sara A.?"
"Here!"
"Martin?"
"Physically but not mentally," he mutters. Everybody laughs—he's obviously the class clown as well as the best athlete. And he's perfect, too...
"Oh, and we have a new student today!" the teacher exclaims with forced enthusiasm. "Her name is Paige Matthews, she's somewhere around here...ah, there you are. Alright everyone, say hello to your new classmate! I'm sure you'll all be seeing her in another one of your classes today, so show her around and help her if she needs it."
The class murmurs a few greeting and I swear a few of the boys in the back started whistling. I blush again—this whole day is embarrassing! This new school is like a foreign country.
"Sara N.?"
"Yup!"
A few more names are called. Finally, she comes to the end. "And, last but not least, Robert?"
"Yeah, whatever, I'm here."
"Alright-y then, class, do some random stretches then head on outside, we're doing football again. Normal team-up. Um, Paige, where do you...?"
"She's on my team," Martin announced quickly before she made the decision. "We've got it all figured out."
I sigh, grateful, and smile at him. He smiles back—it's like we've got this brilliant secret that no one else can ever know. He begins to stretch and I copy him, doing quads, triceps, biceps, neck, all that stuff.
"Why the hell did you put HER on our team? She's a GIRL! Look at her—nice nails, perfect hair—there's no way she's good at football! What were you thinking, we're so gonna lose against Sam's team!"
"Don't worry," Martin assures a bickering Robert, "she's totally a great runner. Did you see her in gym? She beat me running, she's tyte! She'll be great on the team, and she's cool, too. If you have a problem, you can go," he suggests with a slight joking air to his voice. Robert punches him playfully on the shoulder and Martin pretends to double over in pain. "You'll see," he says with warning.
I grin despite myself when something hits me in the back of my head just outside the door to the field. "Ow!" I squeal, hitting my hands to the pavement to break my fall. Luckily all I end up with is scratched up palms and a skinned knee.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" A girl's voice cries from behind me. She gives me her hand to help me up. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going—hey you're the new girl, aren't you?"
"Yeah." I wipe my hands on my shorts and smile weakly. "It's okay, I'm fine."
"Phew, that's good. So, you're on our team, right? With Robert and Martin? We were forced to do coed, really. It's not my fault that we're—"
Robert scoffs. "You know that you would still be on our team even if it wasn't coed, don't you? You are such a little tomboy." He ruffles her hair and she squeaks in protest. We all start laughing as she squirms.
"They're cousins, super close," Martin explains. I giggle.
"Alright, back to business," Robert interrupted when we stopped at our playing field. "Assuming you're as good as Martin says you are, you're playing on offense. I'll be quarterback, Sara, you serve. Martin, play offense with Paige—be ready to run down to our end of the field to catch, alright you two? Okay, um, break?" He shrugged. "Just remember—we're playing a good team today. Careful. We don't wanna screw this up."
All I remember walking to Phoebe's biology class was how I won the game by scoring our winning goal right as the last whistle blew for us to go inside. I'm all smiles by the time I see Phoebe, leaning against the door and watching her friends go by.
"Hey, Paige," she greets me. "Sorry for whatever happened earlier. Laura's a little...okay, a little 'something.' But that's alright. You're still coming over, right?"
"Yeah, of course," I respond, still smiling.
"Whoa, earth to Paige. Why are you so happy?"
"Nothing," I lie, shifting my books upright so I don't let them fall in my giddiness. "PE was fun, that's all."
"Right." She stares at me skeptically then chuckles. "Oh well—you've got a long day ahead of you."
She was right. Seven periods here—what the heck was going on? At my old school we had four, but they'd change every day. And they were longer—much longer. It was confusing by seventh period.
"Hey, can I use the phone?" I ask my science teacher at end of the period. She nods, not even bothering to look up from her desk. I honestly think that she doesn't even know that I'm new here. In fact, I don't think she knows anyone's name.
"Thanks."
I pick up the phone and dial our number.
"Hello?" says my mother's voice on the other end. I can tell by the clattering of her keys in the background and her hasty footsteps that she's ready to get into the car. I sigh in relief that I caught her just in time.
"Hey, mom, it's me, Paige. Is it okay if I go to Phoebe's house to do my homework? Her sister's gonna help me catch up with the work. Can I stay for dinner, too?"
"Oh of course, honey. I'm so glad you're making new friends. I'll pick you up around eight—I got a directory today, I'll find Halliwell under the listings to get their address. Have fun, sweetie!"
"Thanks mom."
I hang up the phone and practically jump at the sound of the bell ringing in my ears. My science teacher smirks—something tells me that she's more aware than she pretends to be. I grin once I turn around—when somebody grabs my shoulder outside the classroom.
"Hey Paige," Sara exclaims. "How's the first day?"
"Great. It's so confusing here, though...oh, well," I laugh. "I'll get used it eventually."
She giggles, then her face turns chalk white when she looks behind me. "Um—I gotta go now, my mom told me not to be late walking home...erm, good luck."
"With what?"
"Bye!" she yells over her shoulder, frantically rushing towards the nearest exit without even fully zipping up her backpack.
I shrug and look behind me. "Hi Phoebe," I greet her. I see that she has a scowl on her face. "What's wrong? Did Laura come again?"
"Nah," she laughs half-heartedly, shaking off the frown. "It's just...well, is that girl your friend?" I nod. Phoebe sighs. "She's one of the sevvies that's totally scared of me, like I have some punk disease. It's all Laura's fault. When all the sevvies got here this year, she spread the word that I was a bully that got people into trouble. Luckily she didn't get to you first," she adds, grinning. "So, did you call your mom?"
"Yeah, she said I could come. Where will Piper pick us up?"
Her grin widens—almost eerily.
"C'mon, I'll show you," she says excitedly, taking me by the hand.
"Where are we going?" I stutter as she drags me quickly through the crowd. "What—"
"We're going into the forest."
DISCLAIMER: I'm fulfilling my strange and (cough cough) seemingly unnecessary duty by admitting that I don't own Charmed...yet.
"Hey Paige!"
I turn around. I just got out of the locker room, where, thank god, I found that the teacher had taken the liberty of getting me a gym uniform. It read "TACKATUM TIGERS" in bold, red letters with a yellow background. The shorts were dark, navy blue with a little Tackatum logo on them.
"Hi Martin," I call, waving from across the gym. I run over to him to catch up. Part of our warm-up here, I guess, is to walk around the gym in the beginning of class. Not too bad for our social lives!
"So, how're you liking the school so far? Any vicious beasts attack you yet? The front steps, maybe?"
I blush. "Nah, just two possessive ninth graders that wanted me to be one of their slaves or something." I laugh nervously. "Do you know Phoebe Halliwell? She's my mentor. She's has this, like, enemy that wants me in her posse." I wrinkle my nose as I try to pull my hair back into a ponytail. "It SCARES me!"
"Oh...was she blonde by any chance? Good teeth? Wearing pink?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, dang...that's my cousin, Laura. Ignore her, she is SO annoying. Sorry she got to you."
"Oh, no, that's fine!" I insist, red-hot in the cheeks. Now I'm embarrassed. She's his COUSIN? They couldn't be related, Martin's so laid back and nice. Weird...
"Okay, class—jogging!"
"Huh?"
Martin laughs again. "You know—jogging."
"I know what it means, but I thought we were supposed to walk—hey, wait up!" I call, grinning. He's sped up ahead of me as if challenging me to keep up. "Hey!" I follow him and before I know it, we're side by side. He looks shocked.
"How'd you do that? I'm the fastest runner in this class!"
I shrug, still running. "Not anymore, I guess!" I shout happily and speed up, leaving him gawking at my back. "What? You gonna stand there or run?"
"I'm gonna get you!" he screams, throwing his head back in his obvious enjoyment and new rivalry.
"Okay everyone, stop where you are! Roll call! Sara A.?"
"Here!"
"Martin?"
"Physically but not mentally," he mutters. Everybody laughs—he's obviously the class clown as well as the best athlete. And he's perfect, too...
"Oh, and we have a new student today!" the teacher exclaims with forced enthusiasm. "Her name is Paige Matthews, she's somewhere around here...ah, there you are. Alright everyone, say hello to your new classmate! I'm sure you'll all be seeing her in another one of your classes today, so show her around and help her if she needs it."
The class murmurs a few greeting and I swear a few of the boys in the back started whistling. I blush again—this whole day is embarrassing! This new school is like a foreign country.
"Sara N.?"
"Yup!"
A few more names are called. Finally, she comes to the end. "And, last but not least, Robert?"
"Yeah, whatever, I'm here."
"Alright-y then, class, do some random stretches then head on outside, we're doing football again. Normal team-up. Um, Paige, where do you...?"
"She's on my team," Martin announced quickly before she made the decision. "We've got it all figured out."
I sigh, grateful, and smile at him. He smiles back—it's like we've got this brilliant secret that no one else can ever know. He begins to stretch and I copy him, doing quads, triceps, biceps, neck, all that stuff.
"Why the hell did you put HER on our team? She's a GIRL! Look at her—nice nails, perfect hair—there's no way she's good at football! What were you thinking, we're so gonna lose against Sam's team!"
"Don't worry," Martin assures a bickering Robert, "she's totally a great runner. Did you see her in gym? She beat me running, she's tyte! She'll be great on the team, and she's cool, too. If you have a problem, you can go," he suggests with a slight joking air to his voice. Robert punches him playfully on the shoulder and Martin pretends to double over in pain. "You'll see," he says with warning.
I grin despite myself when something hits me in the back of my head just outside the door to the field. "Ow!" I squeal, hitting my hands to the pavement to break my fall. Luckily all I end up with is scratched up palms and a skinned knee.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" A girl's voice cries from behind me. She gives me her hand to help me up. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going—hey you're the new girl, aren't you?"
"Yeah." I wipe my hands on my shorts and smile weakly. "It's okay, I'm fine."
"Phew, that's good. So, you're on our team, right? With Robert and Martin? We were forced to do coed, really. It's not my fault that we're—"
Robert scoffs. "You know that you would still be on our team even if it wasn't coed, don't you? You are such a little tomboy." He ruffles her hair and she squeaks in protest. We all start laughing as she squirms.
"They're cousins, super close," Martin explains. I giggle.
"Alright, back to business," Robert interrupted when we stopped at our playing field. "Assuming you're as good as Martin says you are, you're playing on offense. I'll be quarterback, Sara, you serve. Martin, play offense with Paige—be ready to run down to our end of the field to catch, alright you two? Okay, um, break?" He shrugged. "Just remember—we're playing a good team today. Careful. We don't wanna screw this up."
All I remember walking to Phoebe's biology class was how I won the game by scoring our winning goal right as the last whistle blew for us to go inside. I'm all smiles by the time I see Phoebe, leaning against the door and watching her friends go by.
"Hey, Paige," she greets me. "Sorry for whatever happened earlier. Laura's a little...okay, a little 'something.' But that's alright. You're still coming over, right?"
"Yeah, of course," I respond, still smiling.
"Whoa, earth to Paige. Why are you so happy?"
"Nothing," I lie, shifting my books upright so I don't let them fall in my giddiness. "PE was fun, that's all."
"Right." She stares at me skeptically then chuckles. "Oh well—you've got a long day ahead of you."
She was right. Seven periods here—what the heck was going on? At my old school we had four, but they'd change every day. And they were longer—much longer. It was confusing by seventh period.
"Hey, can I use the phone?" I ask my science teacher at end of the period. She nods, not even bothering to look up from her desk. I honestly think that she doesn't even know that I'm new here. In fact, I don't think she knows anyone's name.
"Thanks."
I pick up the phone and dial our number.
"Hello?" says my mother's voice on the other end. I can tell by the clattering of her keys in the background and her hasty footsteps that she's ready to get into the car. I sigh in relief that I caught her just in time.
"Hey, mom, it's me, Paige. Is it okay if I go to Phoebe's house to do my homework? Her sister's gonna help me catch up with the work. Can I stay for dinner, too?"
"Oh of course, honey. I'm so glad you're making new friends. I'll pick you up around eight—I got a directory today, I'll find Halliwell under the listings to get their address. Have fun, sweetie!"
"Thanks mom."
I hang up the phone and practically jump at the sound of the bell ringing in my ears. My science teacher smirks—something tells me that she's more aware than she pretends to be. I grin once I turn around—when somebody grabs my shoulder outside the classroom.
"Hey Paige," Sara exclaims. "How's the first day?"
"Great. It's so confusing here, though...oh, well," I laugh. "I'll get used it eventually."
She giggles, then her face turns chalk white when she looks behind me. "Um—I gotta go now, my mom told me not to be late walking home...erm, good luck."
"With what?"
"Bye!" she yells over her shoulder, frantically rushing towards the nearest exit without even fully zipping up her backpack.
I shrug and look behind me. "Hi Phoebe," I greet her. I see that she has a scowl on her face. "What's wrong? Did Laura come again?"
"Nah," she laughs half-heartedly, shaking off the frown. "It's just...well, is that girl your friend?" I nod. Phoebe sighs. "She's one of the sevvies that's totally scared of me, like I have some punk disease. It's all Laura's fault. When all the sevvies got here this year, she spread the word that I was a bully that got people into trouble. Luckily she didn't get to you first," she adds, grinning. "So, did you call your mom?"
"Yeah, she said I could come. Where will Piper pick us up?"
Her grin widens—almost eerily.
"C'mon, I'll show you," she says excitedly, taking me by the hand.
"Where are we going?" I stutter as she drags me quickly through the crowd. "What—"
"We're going into the forest."