Goodbye to all my friends at home
Goodbye to people I've trusted
I've got to go out and make my way
I might get rich you know I might get busted
Chapter 2: Loners
"Pair up!" Mr. Lewis ordered. "And no talking."
Sherry glanced around the AP Chemistry class, sighing. She tightened her grip on her backpack strap and headed toward the lanky teacher.
"Hi. I'm new."
Mr. Lewis pushed his spectacles lower on his nose, peering over them to look at her. "Well, I'm afraid you're in the wrong classroom. This is AP Chem."
"I know." She handed him her schedule.
He raised a bushy eyebrow skeptically. "Aren't you a freshman?" His head shot up to glare at two boys talking in the back. "I said, don't talk! McCall, you're paired with Mr. Walden over there."
The boys began to complain. "That's completely unfair!" one of them blurted, waving his arms.
Mr. Lewis squinted at him. "One more word, Stilinski, and I'll send you to the office."
He groaned and scooted his chair away from his friend.
Returning to Sherry, Mr. Lewis sighed. "You'll need a lab partner. We're starting a titration lab." He bellowed to the silent classroom, "Which loner doesn't have a partner?!"
Stilinski, still whispering to his friend, sunk deeper into his desk and raised his hand meekly.
"Meet- uh," the teacher held Sherry's schedule up close to his spectacles. "Cherry Ming. Get acquainted." He pressed the schedule back into Sherry's hand. "Start!"
The class erupted into motion. She gulped and wove her way to the back of the classroom, where a sour-looking Stilinski was continuing his conversation with McCall.
"Hi," she started. He didn't notice her. "Hi! Um, Stilinski? Hello?"
McCall saw her first. He tapped his friend's shoulder and pointed. Stilinski jumped at the sight of her. "Who are you?"
"What?" she asked, confused. "Didn't you hear? Mr. Lewis said we're lab partners."
He blinked. "Who are you?"
At this point, Sherry was fairly annoyed. "My name is Sherry. I'm new. I'm your lab partner."
He still looked suspicious. "Okay. Anyway," he turned back to his friend, "About what happened-"
"Hey!" Sherry bit out. "I might be new, and look like a freshman, but I'd like to get a good grade in this class, thanks."
He sighed. "Fine. Alright. Let's start."
Smugly, Sherry pulled over the nearest empty desk and sat in it. "What's your name?"
"Stiles."
"Stiles?"
He bent over his backpack, searching for a pencil. "Don't question it."
"What are we supposed to be doing?"
Having found his pencil, Stiles began scribbling on a sheet of lined paper. "Um, design a lab." He shoved over a piece of paper. "These are the instructions."
She read them. She started writing down the materials and procedure on the paper in front of her, certain that Stiles was too oblivious to actually contribute. After five minutes or so, Stiles asked, "How old are you?"
"Why does it matter? I'm smarter than you."
He paused. "Okay, I'll pretend I'm not offended. But how old are you? You're not a junior, are you?"
"I'm fourteen. I'm a freshman," she relented. She scratched out a line. "One or two grams of sodium hydroxide?"
"Why are you here?"
"My old school went a lot faster," she answered.
"No, I mean, why did you move?"
She lifted her eyes from the paper and glared at him. "You know, usually I'm nice. But I don't particularly like people who pry into my personal life."
"You don't have to be so touchy about it," he whined.
The bell rang. Stiles shot up out of his seat, snatching his backpack and preparing to dash.
Mr. Lewis announced, "If you didn't finish the pre-lab, just know that you'll need it done by the time class starts tomorrow."
Sherry rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm not working on this by myself. We're meeting after school."
Stiles looked crestfallen.
"Hello!"
Stiles rocketed into the air. "What the- holy frick!" His group of friends stared at Sherry with curiosity. McCall from earlier was there, as well as three girls and a freshman boy.
"Ready for chemistry?"
Stiles looked shaken. "Did you hear our conversation?"
"No?" She noticed the brunette girl regarding her warily. "I just got here. Can we meet for the lab at your place?"
He scratched his neck uncertainly. "I guess."
She beamed. "Great! Let's go now!"
"N-now?"
"Is there a problem?"
Stiles looked back at his friends. McCall shrugged helplessly. He sighed. "Alright, let's go."
It took Stiles and Sherry five minutes to drive from school to his house in his rickety Jeep. Sherry spread their chemistry papers onto the kitchen table, making herself at home.
"My dad won't be home for a few hours," Stiles said.
Sherry didn't care. "Just write what I tell you to write, okay?"
He pressed his lips together. "Right."
The table, besides for the lab papers, was cluttered with all sorts of documents. Manila folders were open, stuffed with stacks of official forms. Stiles tried to brush them aside discretely, moving stray papers into folders and closing them. Sherry didn't say anything.
"Are you ever gonna tell me why you moved?"
"My dad was murdered," she said with a clipped tone. "And my mom is in prison."
"Oh," he said.
"Yeah."
"My mom died, too."
"Is your dad in jail?" she retorted.
"Not as far as I'm aware," he joked.
She growled and pressed the pencil into the paper until the lead snapped. "Let's just work, okay?"
After an hour or so, Stiles' phone rang. He answered it. "You think what? Okay, okay! I'll be right over there." Stuffing his phone back into his pocket, Stiles gave Sherry a barely apologetic look. "Gotta go." He grabbed his jacket and raced out of the house.
"Wait!" Sherry called. His Jeep backed out of the driveway. "You're my ride," she muttered. "Ugh."
Standing up, she stretched her legs and pushed away the mostly-done lab report. Stiles had barely done any of it, having spent most of the time checking his phone for updates. She scanned the room for anything interesting. If she had to spend who-knows-how-long waiting for either Stiles or his dad to come back, she might as well do some exploring.
Besides for the manila folders and documents, the kitchen was plain, albeit messy. She wandered up the stairs, hoping for something to distract her. The first room appeared to be Stiles' bedroom. It was neat and clean, with a steel gray comforter on the bed and a few band posters on the walls. But what caught Sherry's eye was not the poster of one of her favorite bands, but a sizable clear board suspended by a wooden stand. Similar to a portable whiteboard, the side opposite Sherry was plastered with newspaper clippings, photographs, and stripes of colored tape. As she got closer to examine it, she noticed that it looked almost like detective work. Similar articles and pictures were linked together with tape, all of it criss-crossing to appear like a web.
"Kate Argent Identified as Hale Arsonist" was stuck in the center. Rays of tape branched off from there, one link connecting to Kate Argent's obituary. Another article detailed a family totaled by an axe murderer, which led to a story about the sole survivor falling into a cannibalistic rage that ended in his own death.
She shivered, appalled by the strangeness of whatever Stiles was trying to solve. More and more clippings boasted grotesque incidents and events. Mugshot-like photos of scary people were tied to various events. In the blank spaces, Stiles had scribbled question marks and notes, like "Who is the Benefactor?"
A cluster in the corner caught Sherry's eye. In dry-erase marker, Stiles had labeled the section "The Calaveras". The photos taped to the board depicted haughty-looking people who appeared to be hunters. They had khaki vests and fancy weapons like guns and cattle prods strapped to their backs. One of them had startlingly familiar taut skin and poky cheekbones. His deep-set eyes made him seem almost pleased with himself.
Sherry backed away, her breath lodged in her throat. The face of the man who'd killed her father was one she'd never forget.
A/N: Thank you for the reads, follows, and comments so far! It really makes my day to see those :) What are your thoughts on Sherry so far? Yay, nay, or meh? Your comments help me improve my story and my characters 3
