Chapter 2

The next morning Opal went to the school office to be assigned a new locker. Now she found herself in the deserted back hallway of the school in front of a dented locker that looked as if it hadn't been used in a decade. The door didn't even fit in the frame properly. If god damn Six Foot Everything hadn't demolished her lock she wouldn't even be in this situation. Maybe she would just take the lock off this one and reclaim her old one. She hummed for a moment as she contemplated it and decided the risk of getting caught was minimal. Mind made she began to load all her books into her messenger bag. As she was nudging the locker shut she was caught off guard by the creaking of a door. Looking down the hallway she saw the one in the polo, the preppy one walk out of the janitor's closet… surely not?

Opal squinted at the boy's back as he strolled off down the hall. It was obvious that he and the strawberry blonde were together, maybe they had used the closet's remote location for some alone time. She waited to see if the girl would leave, after five minutes she figured not. Weird. Maybe she had left the scene first and Opal only heard him leave. Curious she padded over to the door to investigate. Turning the doorknob she found it locked, but there was no place for a key. Upon closer inspection Opal noticed a panel above the doorknob. Carefully she ran her fingers over the strange depression. She drew her brows together and then just shook her head. She would go insane wondering about it, so she huffed and turned to walk to class.

Rounding the door into homeroom she was reminded of her impediment the last class. Six Foot Everything was staring out the window, chewing on the end of his pencil, slouched in his seat with his feet propped up on the desk chair in front of him. Slowly she walked over to her seat, hovered beside his desk for a moment, but he took no notice, completely lost in his own skull.

"Excuse me," She brushed her bangs from her face in a nervous swipe. He swiveled his head on his palm, lifting his pencil eraser from between his teeth.

"Oh, hey," his face lit up with a smile, clearly recognizing her.

"Would you mind switching seats with me?" She asked and then sheepishly added, "I can't, uh, see over you."

"No problem," he smiled again, collecting his books to shift back a desk. With a sigh of relief Opal dropped down into her new desk. After she arranged her books for class she set to watching the blackboard and the clock. Still seven minutes till class, more time for her real work. She pulled out a notebook and flipped it open to continue the piece she was composing. Feeling a poke on the back of her neck she reached a hand up to rub the spot briefly and then ran her fingers through her hair. No more than three seconds later it came again. With a small huff she turned around in her chair to look at Six Foot Everything with an expecting and irritated stare.

"I'm Herry, by the way," he said cheerily, holding out his hand to her.

"Opal," she replied shortly, placing her petite hand in his massive one briefly. Quickly she took it back and turned to her book again.

"So, haven't seen you around before," he stated. That's because you don't pay attention to anyone that's not in your little squad, she thought to herself

"Yeah, I don't get out that much," she shrugged turning only halfway around this time.

"Mmm," he nodded, "why not?"

She shrugged sharply, because she didn't want to, home was usually where she wanted to be.

"Never know what you're missing out on," what a persistently optimistic person, Opal thought with slight contempt, wishing he would just leave her to herself. She wasn't missing out on anything, there was always an instrument to play at home and if she wanted to go outside, the beach was just a climb down to the cove or a walk down the street to the fishing marina.

"There's plenty to do around home," she defended.

"Yeah?" he shifted forward to lean on his desk. Why was he so insistent on provoking a conversation with her? Couldn't he tell she was busy?

"Yeah, you know, the beach, or piano and fishing," she listed off.

"Cool me and my Granny fish all the time," he told her with a bright smile.

"You fish with your grandmother?" she found herself responding, "What about your dad? That's who I fish with."

"My Gran is really the only family I have close by," he shrugged.

"Oh," she muttered softly.

"You seemed pretty surprised for a girl who also fishes," he pointed out.

"I only do it for my dad," she said, "He loves it, but I think it's boring."

"What a model daughter," he joked and she found herself smiling when she turned back to her book as the bell rang.

Six Foot Everything almost caught her at lunch time. He waved, she was sure he was waving at her because right after she heard her name. So she darted for the nearest exit and sprinted for the sports field. The weather was nice, so there were a fair number of people having lunch outside, but Opal found a place alone under one of the oak trees near the back fence. She didn't mind eating alone, she preferred it actually. Unfortunately she couldn't avoid Herry all day, her careful stalking to ensure she always arrived at their neighboring lockers after he left was obliterated by one small miscalculation.

"Forgot my book," he smiled at her before he spun the combo into the padlock's dial.

"Umm," she nodded and dropped her head to let her curls shield her face.

"I called to you at lunch," he continued.

"I guess I didn't hear you," she shrugged. When he didn't answer she peeked over to find a smirk and a raised eyebrow cast in her direction. She felt her cheeks flush and quickly she turned her attention back to her bag. What was she doing? Ignoring a perfectly nice guy all for what? Because she preferred to be alone.

"Tomorrow," he tapped her shoulder with the spine of his book, she glanced over as he continued, "you owe me your company at lunch." With one last smile he turned and left her to her thoughts. She could be sick tomorrow. With a groan she tossed her bag over her shoulder and dragged her feet outside to catch the bus. The ride home was long. She lived just outside of town, close to the fishing harbor, where her father worked. It was even longer with Six Foot Everything floating around her mind. Why, why, why did he feel the need to make friends with her?

With her mind full Opal stumbled into the quaint house she shared with her parents and, just recently, her cousin that was starting the fall term at Olympus University the next week. She dropped her bag in the landing and made it two steps up the staircase before her mother called to her from the kitchen about leaving her bag on the floor. Back tracking she scooped it up and continued the rout to her room, but again she was interrupted.

"Chickadee, how was your day?" the older woman stepped back from the counter to look through the doorway at her daughter. It was obvious she got her appearance from her mom, frizzy uncontrollable hair, short and broad hips. She was also where she got her musical talents from. Between the two of them the house was always alive with melody from various instruments.

"Same old," Opal shrugged.

"Hey, there's my favourite cousin," Glen looked like her father, short and stocky with wispy dirty blonde hair, at the moment he was dressed in a diving suit. On his way down the stairs he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and guided her back outside, his Newfoundlander bounding along at his heals, barking happily, "I'm heading down to the beach want to join me?"

"Sure," she squirmed out of his grip to toss her bag back in the landing.

"Opal, what did I say about the bag?" her mother scolded.

"I'll get it when we come back," she waved as she walked off with her cousin and his dog.

"How's it feel to be back at school while I still have one week of summer vacation?" Glen elbowed her.

"Don't you have orientation to be to or something," she jibed.

"Meh," he shrugged and turned to address the Newfie, "It's not that hard to figure out your way around a school is it Rye? Plus, then we would be missing out on some killer waves." Rye barked loudly, jumping to catch her master's hand in her mouth. The beach was just a small climb down into a cove right behind the house. Rye bounded down the rocks and ran for the water while her humans caught up.

"So how does it feel to be back to school eh?" Glen asked genuinely as he climbed.

"I don't know," Opal replied, watching the ground as she followed his footsteps, "There's this guy in the locker beside me that won't leave me alone."

"Oh, a guy?" he exclaimed, stealing a glance over his shoulder, "is he hot?"

"Glen," she swatted at him.

"Is he?"

"I don't know," she shrugged sharply.

"That's a yes," he concluded smugly.

"It is not," she retorted, "He's too tall for me."

"That is not a valid excuse, you're a girl, only I can use she's too tall for me," he smirked as he jumped into the sand, "Or rather, I guess they say I'm too short for them, I have no problem with dating a girl taller than me."

"I can't believe I'm having this conversation with you, I don't want a boyfriend right now," she settled down onto a sun warmed rock.

"You not coming in?" he asked, deciding to ignore her last comment.

"Not today," she shook her head and leaned back on her hands. It was a perfect day to just sit in the sun and listen to the gentle waves lap up against the shore. As Glen and Rye bounded into the water she looked out over the ocean, watching the boats go by, wondering if one of them was her father's.

Out of nowhere she spotted what looked like a storm cloud forming, but it sprang up much too quickly. Concerned, she called for Glen and pointed. Her cousin had grown up on the east coast, Nova Scotia where her father was from. He had spent years volunteering on a search and rescue boat in the Atlantic. She trusted his opinion on the strange phenomenon happening over the water now. He lifted his hand to shield his eyes from the sun and followed her gaze.

"There's a boat in there," he turned back to call and then looked to his dog, "Rye, my surfboard." The Newfie paddled back to shore and ran over to a crevasse in the rocks. She pulled a surfboard free and dragged it back to Glen who was already swimming out to sea. The wait was excruciating, Glen and Rye became dots in the water and then invisible when they hit the white caps of the strange storm. Opal held her breath in the time she couldn't see them, then finally they reappeared. As they got closer she could see a body laying on the surfboard, dog and master working together to pull it. Getting closer still, Opal could make out the purple and yellow polo the body on Glen's board was wearing.