Chapter 6 – No Rain
Nelly's late arrival inevitably interrupted the lesson and all eyes were on her as she took the only empty seat next to a thin goth kid dressed all in black. The boy was slight and pale, with dark hair hanging in a long curtain over his face, which had soft, almost feminine features. He introduced himself as Raven and made space for her on the desk. Nelly got a feeling that wasn't a name he was born with, but didn't question it. Still, he shared his textbook and seemed quite friendly.
Not wanting to be late again, Nelly asked him for directions to her next class, American History. It turned out that they shared it as well, and Raven offered to walk there together. Along the way Nelly noticed that the boy hardly talked to anyone in the hallways and was generally ignored, with exception of a few jocks, who pushed him into a wall of lockers.
Nelly pulled him up from the floor, the thoughtless cruelty making her blood boil. "What is wrong with these guys? Can't they pick on someone their own size?"
"That wouldn't be any fun," Raven shrugged, his voice bitter, "I'm an easy target."
"Isn't there anything you can do?"
"My mom wanted me to take karate lessons so I can defend myself, but come on, look at me." he spread out his hands, his slender frame on display, the top of his head barely reaching Nelly's chin, "Even with a black belt, do you think I'd make a dent? I'd rather spend my time on things that I actually find useful."
"Like?"
"What?" Raven asked absentmindedly.
"Like, what do you find useful?"
"Calculus and applied physics." He replied seriously.
"Are you some kind of a genius?"
"Don't know about that," he said indifferently, "but I was reading by the time I was two, doing simple arithmetic by five, and had build my first solar powered engine by my tenth birthday. I've skipped two grades and if we lived in a city, I'd be in college by now."
"So, you're fifteen and really smart." Nelly smiled at him.
"In a few more years I'll be working for NASA and building the next space shuttle," he said with conviction. Nelly liked him better with each passing minute. Raven seemed quiet and unassuming, but under all that goth exterior was passion and intelligence. He, most definitely, was unlike anyone she's ever met.
Because of the attack of the jocks, they got to class late and had to take a desk at the back of the classroom. But they weren't the last ones to arrive, as a few minute later, the two boys she met this morning walked into to the class and settled at a desk near theirs.
They were immediately singled out by their history teacher, "Winston and Teller, please make an effort to get here on time in the future."
"Yes, sir." Replied Jax with zero attitude, and then huddled over his textbook.
Nelly couldn't help sneaking sideways glances at the two boys. Jax soon caught her eye and gave her a little wave, while Harry averted his eyes as soon as they met Nelly's. The boys seemed uninterested in the lesson, looking very much like they didn't want to be there, but keep quiet and minded their business.
At lunch, Raven asked if Nelly wanted to hang out and she gladly agreed. They made an odd couple, a hippie girl and a goth kid sitting at a lunch room table out of the way, all by themselves.
"So Raven," Nelly felt compelled to investigate, "That's an interesting name."
The boy just nodded, absentminded again. She noticed that his eyes often traveled to the far wall behind her, so she turned and spotted Jax and Harry sitting on their own right were the boy kept glancing. Dressed like twins in ripped jeans, SAMCRO t-shirts and plaid shirts tied around their waists, they sat next to each other on a lunch table, feet on a bench in front of them, facing the room and overseeing it like two kings.
Nel's curiosity was stirred. "Do you know these two guys over there?"
"Who doesn't? You're new so you get a pass." The boy continued, unprompted, "They are biker gang royalty. Their dads started Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club here in Charming, like twenty ears ago. Have you heard of the Sons?"
"Enough." Replied Nelly shortly. The one Son she knew was a brutal ass-hole.
"At first everyone thought they were hippies on bikes, the local Robin Hoods, sticking it to the man, helping out the regular folks and local businesses," the story tumbled out of Raven, "But in the last few years the MC has been involved in a lot of fights, guns were pulled. They are constantly battling it out with one local gang or another. Now it seems they are here more to control than to protect and people are afraid of them."
"And these boys?" Nelly prompted him, gesturing discreetly with her head.
"Right, sorry," Raven flipped his long bangs with a practiced tilt of his head, and continued, "The blonde one is Jackson Teller, hottest guy in the school. All the girls drool over him."
"How about the other one?"
"That's Opie Winston. He's Jax's best friend. These guys are tight."
"Opie?" Nelly asked confused, "I thought his name was Harry."
"Yeah, that's what Jax calls him," Raven shrugged, and Nelly gave up trying to figure things out.
"Are Harry and Jax involved in the club?"
"They don't have a juvie record, if that's what you mean, and I haven't seen them wearing kuttes or patches, or anything."
"Patches?"
"You know, the club logo. A big ass grim reaper."
Nelly nodded knowingly. She had seen it many times. "You seem to know a lot about this."
"My dad is one of the deputies, so I hear things. And you know, I pay attention." The boy let his long black hair fall back on his face, which was turning a curious shade of pink.
"Are you guys friends?"
A sarcastic snort escaped his lips before Raven replied, "Not exactly friends, but they talk to me. Which is more than most people do." After another longing look in the boys' direction, he added. "They're all right."
Coming from a nerd and said about two jock biker kids, Nelly figured it was high praise.
Suddenly, Nelly heard a familiar voice calling her name. She turned to it and saw Tara, the girl she met at CPR certification during summer. Nelly felt an odd mixture of delight and uneasiness.
"Hi Cliff," Tara greeted the boy, confirming Nelly's suspicions, then beamed at her, "Nelly, I knew it was you! I'd recognize this head of hair anywhere."
"Tara, what are you doing here?"
"It's my school! What are you doing here?" Tara seemed genuinely happy to see her.
"We moved over the summer and I had to switch schools. It's my first day."
"Oh, Nel, I was waiting for your phone call," the dark-haired girl complained.
"I'm sorry, Tara, I lost your number," she wasn't lying, because she never looked for it.
"Well, fate brought us back together, so you can't get out of it now." Tara laughed, then took Nel by the hand, "Come on, I've got to introduce you to my boyfriend and his best bud."
Nelly was not looking forward to it at all, recalling Tara's promise at matchmaking in the past, but even more so, she did not want to ditch Raven, also known as Cliff. "I'd love to, Tara, but I'm having lunch with Raven, so maybe..."
"He won't mind, will you, Cliff?" Tara interjected.
"It's OK, Nelly," her new friend smiled at her tensely, as he gathered up his stuff. "I've got to get to Computer Club anyway." He left without waiting for her reply.
"Well, that's that," shrugged Tara, "Come on."
Nelly watched in dismay as Tara lead her her straight to Jax and Harry. Lunch time was almost over and the boys were already on their feet, ready to leave.
"You mean these two guys?" Nelly gestured discretely with her chin.
"Yeah. What?" Tara's eyebrows creased in a perplexed frown.
"I met them in the main office this morning and they're in my history class." Nelly could not believe the irony of life. The very people she was trying avoid were constantly thrown in her path. She could either turn around right now and just walk away, or stop resisting. Her aunt's warning rang in Nelly's head, but these two boys were nothing like what she expected.
Tara's eyes turned suspiciously on Nelly, but then she noticed her companion's eyes were directed up above Jax's head, at Opie. Baffled and relieved, Tara relaxed.