Chapter 9: High School
Rose's Point of View

It was my first day to ever go to the high school in Chippewa Falls. I had decided that I had to finish my education, no matter where I was. I didn't know what the building looked like, or even where it was. But Jack said he would show me. "It's a medium sized brick building with old plumbing and old furniture. Despite what it looks like inside, it was a very cool place to go to school. My Algebra teacher, Mr. Harvey is probably still there. I oughta go in and say hi. It would give him a heart attack." At least I would have something to do when Jack was at work at the hardware store/body shop across the other end of town, and grandma was busy with her friends or out doing yard work. It would occupy my time during the day, and I would still have the nights to spend with Jack. The one thing he was bothered about was the guys that were there to harass me and look at me. And there would be some I knew that. They were at my old school, and there were probably going to be some of the same characters at this school. It wasn't like I could do anything about it.

Pulling out of my thoughts, I looked in the closet and picked out a tight fitting white 'New York Times' shirt with cap sleeves, and jeans that had a hole in the right knee. Black flip-flops and a bracelet with my name etched into it finished off the outfit. I put my hair up in a ponytail and brushed my teeth. I usually didn't eat breakfast this early in the morning; it was only 7:00. Don't forget your purse I reminded myself, right before I started down the stairs. I ran back into my room and grabbed it off of the dresser. Spraying myself with Britney Spears' Curious, I then ran down the stairs.

I almost dashed out the door if it hadn't been for Jack grabbing me and spinning me around in circles. My laughter rang out and echoed off of the walls of the room.

"Where's my good morning kiss? I don't get one this morning?"

I looked him in the eyes; they were filled with laughter and excitement.

"And you do know that I'll be dropping you off and picking you up from school don't you?"

"No, I didn't know that. Good, I don't have to take the noisy bus."

"Nope, and I changed my work schedule so I could go in at 7:30 and come pick you up at 3:00."

"Awesome."

I looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it said 7:15. I slipped out of his arms "Time to go," I ran out the door.

"Rose," I heard him call in a mock warning tone. I knew I was being a brat. But he could have his kiss when he dropped me off. I laughed again as I saw him coming towards the car and running to get me. Dashing around the other side, I looked at him. His eyes were filled with a look of a teenager. He was 20, but didn't act like it. He was a kid at heart. Slowly moving and looking me in the eyes, he tried to move towards me and come around the other side of the car where I was.

I smiled, "I'm not stupid, Jack."

He laughed, "Is that what you call running away from your boyfriend and making him late for work?"

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Running as fast as I could ,and my heart beating a hundred miles an hour, I was able to get into the car and lock the doors so he couldn't get in.

I put my hand over my heart, as if trying to slow it down. He looked inside my window with a look of longsuffering.

"Open the door." Shaking my head, I got my finger nail file out of my purse and started filing my nails.

"Rose, open the door."

I shook my head again and smiled at him sweetly. He went over to the driver's side and leaned against it. He had already realized that I had gotten his keys from his pocket of his jacket and he had no way in. Slipping the keys quietly into the ignition, I started the car up. I watched as Jack jumped about a foot into air and spun around. His eyes dared me to get into the driver's side and drive away. They also said that he knew I wouldn't do it. They turned to resignation and he looked inside at me.

He knocked on the window after a few seconds. I ignored him. My watch said 7:20. I knew I had to let him in or else he would be late for work, and I late for school. I unlocked his door quietly. He turned around quickly and tried his door, not thinking of it earlier. He shot a surprised look at me when it opened, and I shrugged my shoulders.

"What was that for?" he growled and pulled me towards him.

A laugh bubbled up and spilled out as I kissed his cheek. He looked at me and shook his head.

"You're a brat."

His fingers ran through my hair and slipped down to my neck.

"Can I have my kiss now?"

I grinned. "When I get to school."

He sighed and laid his hands on the steering wheel.

"Now can I have my kiss?" he asked impatiently when we had gotten there.

"Yep, hold on."

I got out of the car and ignored his questioning look. When I got to the other side of the car, I opened his door and he got out.

"What are you doing?"

"This way everybody can see I have a boyfriend and don't care who is interested in me." He laughed and took me into his arms.

"You're one of a kind, Rose."

"Thank you." I smiled up at him as his lips lowered to mine. The kiss was one like we never shared before. My hands came up to grip his arms. His head tilted and deepened it. I slowly ended it and pulled away. He stared at me and I could see the look that he gave me.

"Don't kiss me like that before school, I won't be able to concentrate."

He gave a soft laugh and rubbed his fingers over the small of my back.

"The decision is mutual. My boss will fire me for forgetting how to put on brakes after I've been doing it for 2 years."

I grinned and laughed again. I was always laughing around him; it was so easy, and he was so good for me.

"I better get to class." I states as I took my arms from around him. He let me go.

"Go into the office and ask for someone to show you around today, they'll call someone in and they'll show you around school for a couple days since you're new. I'll come in when I come pick you up and I can see if Mr. Harvey is still working."

"Okay. Later, Jack."

"Later, I love you!" he called as I walked towards the door.

"Love you too!" I replied, walking forward toward my new school.

In School

As I walked in, I saw exactly what Jack had described. It was an old building, had probably been there since World War II. Some repairs and renovations had been made, but it was basically the same as he had described. A lot of the old furniture and things had been restored. A guy, who looked to be late for class, stopped and asked

"Are you new?" I nodded commenting, "I'm looking for the office. I already filled out all kinds of stuff about myself, but I need to talk to someone."

"Okay, I'll show you where it is." He was an Italian looking, 19 year old who didn't care about my looks but looked at me for who I was. He had short dark hair, and wore a tan t-shirt that said 'Vote me for President,' and black shorts with tan and black Chuck Taylor's.

"What grade are you in?" I asked him.

"12th, what about you?"

"Same. I just moved here a couple weeks ago and decided I needed to finish my education."

"Yeah, where did you live before?"

I could tell he was trying to be nice and find a conversation, not be nosy, I reminded myself.

"Lots of different places," I didn't answer him directly, "I've moved a couple times in my life."

"Really? I used to live in Italy. Until I was 14, then we moved here, to a tiny town somewhere in the United States I hadn't even heard of."

I laughed. "Yeah, neither had I until I went to the train station."

"Yeah. I was too old to start the grade here I had been in when I was in Italy, but they put me in it anyway. I'm 19."

We came to the office, and he smiled.

"Maybe, I'll catch you during lunch, no?" I smiled at his accent and wording

"Maybe. See ya."

"Yeah, I'm late to class, see ya later."

I opened the door and looked over the counter at an old woman.

"I'm Rose DeWitt-Bukater. I'm new here."

I heard her mutter something about 'teens nowadays don't even care about getting here before they need to be…"

"I need-"

"You need someone to show you around for a couple days, hon?"

"Yeah."

"What's your first class, Rose?"

"Uh," I looked at my paper, "English."

"Let me call Mrs. James."

I sat down on the chair and looked around the office. The lunches were typed up on a piece of yellow paper and tacked to a board with other stray papers all over it. All the teachers' names, the classes they taught, and when they were, were up on a white piece of paper. It caught my eye, and I got up to look at it. I saw Mr. Harvey's name by Algebra. So he was still here. Jack would be happy, whether Mr. Harvey was or not.

I turned around as the door opened and the Italian guy walked in.

"Fabrizio will show you around school for the next couple of days."

"Okay, thanks Mrs.-"

"Mrs. Brown, to you. Molly Brown. If you need any help around here, come to me."

"Okay, thanks again."

"Yeah, no problem."

I walked out with Fabrizio.

"Hey, does anyone call you Fabri?"

He smiled sadly. "My best friend used to, his name was Jack. Then they just disappeared. Their house was burnt down, but someone said they saw Jack after the fire. I've never heard from him since."

Jack. What if Fabri was talking about my Jack? It could be, since he had moved to another school by grandma's house, saying he couldn't take people asking him questions.

Fabri waved his hand in front of my eyes, and I realized I had stopped.

"You out there somewhere? Man, you were a hundred miles away."

"Sorry about that, I was just thinking."

"Nah, that's okay. We're here at Mrs. James' class."

"Okay, thanks for showing me here,"

"You don't think I'm going to leave you here where no one knows you?" He smiled and opened the door.

"You have all my classes, so I can show you around everywhere."

"Oh, okay."

Mrs. James looked up as Fabri and I entered the room. She smiled warmly at me, and said in a sweet tenor voice

"Good morning. Class, this is Rose DeWitt-Bukater. She's new this last year to the school."

I smiled and looked around the room. Seeing a seat in the back, I headed toward it. Fabri touched my arm and whispered,

"I sit right there, if you need anything pass a note."

He grinned and his white teeth contrasted against his caramel colored skin.

"Okay. Thanks."

I sat down.

"No problem."

At Lunch

"What did you get?" I heard Fabri ask and look at my plate as he walked to a table with an Irish looking guy sitting at it.

"A salad. I'm a sort of but not really picky eater, and didn't see anything else I liked there."

"Don't worry, school food's gross anyways."

He laughed and sat down. The Irish guy's mouth hung open and his eyebrows rose when he saw me. He then looked at Fabri.

"I'm showing her around school. She's new here."

He reassured him. I almost laughed as I sat down. He stuck out a big hand,

"I'm Tommy."

I shook it, "I'm Rose."

"Appropriate name," he nodded.

I poured French dressing on my limp looking salad and took a bite. Tommy didn't waste any time asking the question I'd been waiting for all day long.

"So, you gotta boyfriend?"

I smiled, "Sorry to disappoint you but, yeah, I've got a boyfriend."

"Aw, man. That's okay. So, where are you from?"

"My mother." I answered sassily.

He burst out laughing. "Now that's one I haven't heard in awhile. I think I like you already."

My eyebrow rose. He had given me the impression of a guy who lived on the edge. He had reddish hair and pretty eyes; he was in-between the height of Jack and Fabri. He wore a tight pink shirt that said 'Go ahead, make my day!' on it in black letters and wore out black jeans.

"I'm from Ireland if you couldn't already tell, and I moved here when I was 10."

"You still have your accent."

"Yeah, some people find it annoying, some people find it awesome."

"I think it's fascinating. Yours too Fabri." They nodded, "Good."

"What are wanting to do with your life?" Tommy asked.

"I'm not sure, I love acting and singing."

"Awesome. I want to be a professional skydiver." He laughed.

My eyes lit up, "I've always wanted to skydive! And surf!"

"Hey, we could go together."

"Yeah, I could take my boyfriend and Fabri can come too. We could make a weekend of it."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Yep."

"What's our next class Fabri?" I asked him, who was looking at his tray. He looked up,

"I'm not sure. Do you guys even know what this stuff is?"

"Probably something that Ms. Dixon got from her husband on mars."

We laughed and Tommy told me about Mr. Dixon.

"He's the weirdest looking guy you've ever seen in your life, believe me. Sometimes he comes to pick the old woman up, but most times she says he stays home trying to invent a way to go the speed of light in space."

He raised his eyebrow again. Stuffing the bite of something in his mouth, he grimaced.

"God, that stuff's gross today."

"I know," Fabri agreed.

I looked down at my salad, which was half finished, and took another bite.

"The salad's not too bad," I commented.

"That's health food." Tommy replied like it was some deathly poison.

I listened to the noise echoing off the walls off the cafeteria, and remembered what it was like to sit at my old school. I wouldn't have sat by 2 guys, that was for sure. Cal would've had their head. Or worse. Most of the time I would sit by myself watching everyone chat with their friends, having a good time while I was stuck alone at a table for half and hour. Then I would walk by myself to the class, sit by myself, and go home by myself. Unless Cal was in a good mood and decided to let me be privileged and ride in his "beauty."

"Hey, I hope I'm not the cause for that frown," Tommy pulled me out of my thoughts.

I shook my head, "No, sorry, I was just remembering something from my old school."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Maybe some other time-" I was cut off by the bell, "Aight, see you later. Hey, Fabri, we meeting at the same place?"

"Yeah. See ya there."

"Later."

Fabri looked over at me and explained,

"We usually go do something after school every day. We meet at the playground in the back to decide."

I nodded, while looking at my paper. Algebra.

I missed Jack. A lot. More than a lot. Walking in the door, I seen a man that was probably 55 that Jack must have talking about. He wore think brown-rimmed glasses, and was an old "geek" all around. Even the pocket calculator and slide rule was in his shirt pocket. I remembered what Jack had said that morning, "Every day when he would turn around to write some problem on the board, we'd make fun of him. Or we'd do something to make him jump and turn around, only to act like perfect angels." As I could see, nothing had changed and the tradition was still going strong. Everyone must have gotten together at the beginning of the year and decided to do the same thing. This was going to be a long class. I looked at my watch and groaned softly. It was only 12:45, another couple hours to seeing Jack. Well, at least this school had study hall as the last class where I could do the homework I had gotten and not worry about it being done tonight or tomorrow. I couldn't wait until 3:00.