Well, here's the second chapter. Thanks for anyone who reviewed! ENJOY!

Chapter 2

Cindy dreaded starting high school. Sure, she was ready to do everything that high school offered- better classes, after school clubs, and dances. She was exited about that aspect of high school. But, she was dreading the rest. She dreaded the ridicule, the teasing, and most of all, she dreaded facing Jimmy.

Cindy had no idea why she was so scared about the thought of talking to him. After all, he had saved her life. She knew that was one of the reasons, though. He had seen her vulnerable, and not many people had. She was also afraid of the last conversation that they'd had. Technically, it wasn't a conversation. She had been falling asleep when Jimmy had whispered those few words that she'd waited so long to hear. Cindy knew that she could have opened her eyes when he told her, but it would be much simpler to stay asleep.

Cindy thought about all of this while she was getting dressed. She checked her watch, after throwing her hair into a pony tail. Cindy had stayed the night with Libby, so they could get ready for their first day of high school together. Their had been complications with Cindy's ankle, so she was still in crutches. Cindy slowly made her way down the stairs.

"Come on, Cindy, the bus is coming." said Libby, clearly exited.

"I'm coming, Libs." she replied, taking the last few stairs.

"Bye girls" said Libby's mother, "Have a good first day."

Cindy and Libby stepped out into the sunlight, just as the bus was pulling up.

Cindy felt her stomach give a leap, as she thought of who would already be on board. They smiled at the bus driver, nervously, as they stepped onto the bus.

Cindy looked frantically around for an empty seat, and found that their was only one available. Libby slid inside, and Cindy sat on the outside, to have more room for her leg.

After a few minutes, Cindy realized that Libby was looking to the left of them, into the seat next to theirs.

"What is it, Libs?" she questioned, turning her head towards where Libby was looking.

There, Jimmy sat, talking with another girl.

"Who is that?' she whispered, turning back to Libby.

"I don't know, but her shoes are so cute!"

Cindy glared, and Libby decided better of her last statement.

"They sure look like their having a good time, though." said Libby.

Cindy rolled her eyes at her best friend, and was silent the whole ride to school.

Cindy managed to exit the bus and make it into Alcott High School without being noticed by Jimmy. Of course, she was unsure that he would have noticed her if she were standing right in front of him, because he was immensly engrossed in conversation.

Libby and Cindy had to go their seperate ways, because they had different classes. Libby went to Algebra, while Cindy walked towards the Honors classroom. At Alcott High, they had only one class for gifted students, which was Honors. They basically took I.Q. tests and competed in trivia competitions around the nation. Their were only three spots available for each grade.

Cindy pulled out her schedule, and made sure of the classroom number.

"132, 132" Cindy repeated, as she made her way down the halls. Finally, she reached the door to the classroom.

Cindy wasn't surprised to find everyone else was already seated. They were aranged by grade at tables. She spotted Jimmy, and made her way towards the ninth grade table. Cindy couldn't help but notice the stares she recieved as she slowly used her crutch to guide her across the room. Being held hostage had made Cindy a known to just about everyone in town. Finally, she reached the ninth grade table. She was surprised to find the girl from the bus seated across from Jimmy.

"Hi." she muttered, as she slowly eased into the chair next to Jimmy, and propped her crutch against the table.

"Oh, Cindy, hi!" he said. Jimmy had aparantly forgotten that Cindy was one of the ones chosen to take Honors.

For a moment, they all sat in silence, and then Jimmy realized that introductions needed to be made.

"This is Gabby Bennet, a new student from Arizona." said Jimmy, motioning to the girl.

"And this is Cindy Vortex" he said pointing to Cindy, "my friend." he added quickly.

Cindy and Gabby shook hands.

Bennet. . . now why does that sound so familliar? Cindy thought. Then, she remembered. The gunman's last name was Bennet. And he was from Arizona, also.

"It can't be. . . " she said accidentally aloud.

Jimmy gave her a questioning look, and then turned back to finish his conversation with Gabby.

The first day of high school was already over. Cindy was surprised at how fast it had went by. It wasn't as bad as she thought.

Cindy had a doctor's appointment at five, and then had to go to a psychiatrist at six. Her mother had thought it was a good idea to visit one, after the grueling experience of being held at gunpoint.

Because of her appointments, Cindy's mother was picking her up from school. This, Cindy was grateful for. She'd noticed that Jimmy had spent most of the day with Gabby, and she didn't feel that she could handle an encounter on the bus.

Cindy was seated in the back of her mother's car. She kept her leg propped up on the seat, as she thought.

Bennet is a common name. she thought, I mean, there's no way that she's related to that monster. . .

Cindy pushed that thougth from her mind. Gabby seemed pretty nice.

Jimmy had made a new friend. He and Gabby had so much in common. They had the same likes, dislikes, and most of all, Jimmy was surprised to find out that Gabby was a genius.

He now sat alone in his lab, not working on anything, just thinking. Jimmy had had many crushes when he was in elementary school, and even though he had only known her for a short while, he was already staring to like Gabby. This confused him, greatly.

Since neither of Gabby's parents were no longer around, she was staying with her Aunt Jade.

Gabby was in her room, sitting on her bed.

She was looking through a large, leather-bound photo album. There were so many pictures of her father and her together.

She felt her blood grow hot as she thought of how she would no longer be able to take any more pictures with her father. He was gone, and he wasn't coming back. Gabby threw the album across the room with a frustrated yell.

Jimmy was going to pay for what he'd done.

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