Chapter Three

-Allie's POV-

I was sitting in my English class with a teacher I couldn't remember her name…Ms. Kensington, I think it was. I thought in my head. Oh, who cares? My English teacher was talking about our fiction story assignment that I had been told earlier about. I had written stories before so I didn't mind an assignment I liked.

There was a knock at the door and my teacher's lecture stopped then she looked at the source of the knock along with the rest of us. In the doorway was a man with brown hair and a brown beard and mustache. He was wearing a pale yellow, ¾ sleeve, shirt with a pale dark green vest on, and blue jeans.

"Mr. Simone; how can I help you?" my teacher asked; a small smile on her face to appear polite.

"Yes, Ms. Kensington," Mr. Simone started. So it is Ms. Kensington; sweet! "I'd like to talk to Miss. Harbor, please." My face instantly paled at his request.

"Sure; Alison; you may take your stuff with you." Ms. Kensington informed me.

I nodded, not really thinking, and grabbed my bag. Kids were staring at me and making side comments like, 'is there something wrong with her' or 'what does the counselor want with her', as I passed by them. Odd and his friends also looked at me with genuine curiosity as I passed by them. Although we hadn't known each other for long, I was starting to wonder if they cared for me more that an acquaintance with in one meeting.

"Hello Alison; I'm Mr. Simone, your counselor." Mr. Simone introduced once we were out of the classroom; I just nodded. "I suspect you know why I want to meet you?"

I just nodded again. "I-I understand why, s-sir." I said.

We stopped at a door and he pulled out his key from his pocket, unlocking his door and leaving it open. "I understand completely that this is going to be a tough road for you, but if you talk it out, it'll help." He said as we sat down. He pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. "Now; we won't got through the detail portion today, but I want a basic summary."

I took a shaky breath. "D-Don't you h-have it in your c-computer?" I asked; studying my hands.

"Alison; I know what you're trying to do. I've seen it with many students over the years. I need to hear your side of the story. Only when you're ready you will tell it in detail. All I am asking is a basic summary of the event." Mr. Simone said sternly yet sympathetically.

By the time we finished; he'd finally gotten me to say what had happened to me before I moved here, the bell was only 2 minutes from ringing. I, on the other hand, had tears constantly running down my cheeks and my knees pulled to my chest, in an attempt to make me feel more secure.

"I have everything written down and it matches what I have in the computer." Mr. Simone said; he looked to the clock in his room. "And in good timing too."

Suddenly we both heard a knocking at the door; Mr. Simone looked up. "Miss. Stones; how can I help you?" Mr. Simone asked nicely. "It's nice to see you again Mr. Belpois."

"You too, Mr. Simone." A male voice said, in a tense tone.

"Mr. Simone; we were curious if Allie was done. She's my roommate; so I was going to show her to the lunch room and have her meet my friends." A female voice asked politely as she stepped into the small room with three other pairs of footsteps and unfortunately, another sob erupted from my chest. "Is she okay?"

"She will be. Miss. Harbor had to talk about some, you could say, difficult things." Mr. Simone explained; I scowled inwardly at his wording.

Difficult? Difficult? That's what you classify my brother's and mother's death as? Difficult? I screeched in my head; wanting so bad to yell it to him.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked up through my hair. "We'll take care of her. Come on Allie; let's get you something to eat. That'll make you feel better." The feminine voice said in a soft voice.

"It always makes me feel better." Odd's familiar and comforting voice said from behind me.

"We all know you're a walking stomach Odd." Ulrich's voice grumbled; I chuckled at his comment.

"Allie?" the feminine voice questioned.

I whipped the tears from my eyes and nodded. "I'm coming." I said with a cracked voice; standing up.

I walked out with them, trailing behind them and ignoring Mr. Simone saying 'have a nice day' as we walked out of the small room. While I walked behind them, I crossed my arms and slowed down without realizing it.

"Allie; are you sure you're okay?" Odd asked.

"Yeah; what did Mr. Simone have you talk about?" a blond kid with glasses.

"Let's just say that the 'difficult' thing I had to talk about; was far from difficult." I snarled.

Before any more questions could be asked; a girl with pink hair stepped in front of me. "By the way; I'm Aelita Stones, you're roommate." She said with a smile; I gave a weak smile back. "This," she points to the kids with glasses, "is Jeremie Belpois. He's seen Mr. Simone as well."

I turned to Jeremie. "Really?" I asked; he nodded. "Is there something I should know about him? Personally I don't like how he treats the students."

Jeremie nodded. "He tried to get me to take this test to get into a brainiac school." He explained as we continued.

"And?" I asked; walking next to him with Aelita on his other side.

"He flunked it." Odd said with a smile. His expression changed to a mock impression of a parent proud of their child. "I was so proud."

"What?" I asked confused. "You seem like a smart guy."

Jeremie chuckled. "They don't call me Einstein for nothing." He said as we exited the building; I looked at him like he was crazy. "I flunked it on purpose because I didn't want to leave my friends…I had no other choice."

I nodded. "That makes sense." I said.

"You didn't answer our question; what did Mr. Simone talk to you about?" Ulrich asked; Odd hit him in the arm.

Tears started falling down my cheeks again. An arm wrapped around my shoulders in an attempt to comfort me. "Shh, calm down. Ulrich didn't mean anything by it." Odd's voice said.

"Well, well, well; look at the crybaby now." An annoying high pitched voice said.

"Cut it out Sissi. There's more to what's going on to what you perceive." Odd defended.

"Oh, really? And she actually told you the only reason she's here? Now I am surprised Miss. Harbor." Sissi said.

I ripped myself from Odd's grasp and marched up to her. "You have no idea what I've been through!" I shouted. "If you would have seen your mother and brother die before your eyes, you'd understand that you never mess with me."

People were silent as I was ready to punch her, but before I did, I ran out of there, towards the forest, ignoring snide comments from others I passed. Reaching the farthest tree before I collapsed, I sat at the base, crying into my knees as flashbacks repeatedly hit me into reality.