A/N: I should mention that every other chapter will be in a different point of view. The odds will be Paige's and the evens will be Kalinda's. Also, the italics are the speaker's thoughts. Enjoy;)
Chapter Two
I am nervous. Today is my first day at my new high school. I hate not knowing anyone. I don't want to sit by myself and have no one to talk to. I don't want to be that awkward kid who eats all by herself either.
"You'll be fine," Paige tells me as she drops me off in front of the building.
"You're lucky you're old. You don't need friends," I tell her as I got out of the car.
"Hey!" she yells.
I laugh as I walk into the school. I head to the office. I have to get my schedule and hopefully a map.
"Can I help you?" the secretary asks as I enter the office.
"I'm Kalinda Emerose. I'm a new student," I say.
"Of course," she smiles kindly. "I'm Miss Howard. Your schedule is right here. I'll have a student show you around. Just take a seat."
Wow, I think, She is too chipper.
As I sit down, I glance over my schedule:
Emerose, Kalinda S.
(Senior/12)
Class
Teacher
Room
Ancient History
Saltzman, Mr. A.
108
English
Coral, Miss T.
102
Calculus
Benji, Mr. R.
204
Art
Calaway, Miss L.
103
Lunch
Café
Chemistry
Hathaway, Mrs. P.
201
Gym
Lupis, Mrs. C.
200
"Kalinda," the secretary speaks softly. "This is Caroline Forbes. She'll show you around." The secretary sits back down at her desk.
"Hi, as she said, I'm Caroline. Welcome to Mystic Falls. Why did you move here?" she is really happy, too. Is there something in the water?
"My parents died in a house fire. My older sister moved us up here," I explain quietly. It still hurt to talk about.
"I'm so sorry about your parents. My good friend Elena recently lost her parents," Caroline says.
"How?" I ask.
"Her and her parents were in a car accident. Their car went over the bridge. She was the only one who was rescued," Caroline explains. "Tragic."
I just nod. I don't know what to say.
"So, what's your first class?" Caroline breaks the awkward silence.
"Um, ancient history with Mr. Saltzman," I say, referring to my schedule.
She squeals happily. "That's my first class, too. You'll love it. Mr. Saltzman is an awesome teacher."
"Great," I smile.
Caroline walks me to the classroom. She's so happy; she's nearly skipping. I just follow at my leisurely pace.
"Hey, Mr. Saltzman," Caroline says walking up to his desk.
"Caroline, how can I help you?" he asks.
"This is Kalinda. She's new here," Caroline introduces me.
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Kalinda. Take a seat," Mr. Saltzman says kindly.
"You can sit by me. I'll introduce you to a few people," Caroline smiles.
"Okay," I nod. At least I'm making new friends.
As the class files in, two girls quickly make their way to where Caroline and I are sitting.
"Elena, Bonnie, I want you to meet the new student. Her name is Kalinda Emerose. She moved here with her older sister," Caroline says as soon as they are in hearing distance.
"I'm Elena Gilbert," Elena says. "Welcome to Mystic Falls."
"I'm Bonnie Bennett," Bonnie smiles, "Where did you move from?"
"Florida," I say. "We used to have a nice mansion on the beach."
"What made you want to move?" Elena asks.
"My house burnt down. My parents were inside. My sister and I just wanted to get away," I murmur.
"I am so sorry. My parents died as well. And them my aunt, who was my guardian also passed away," Elena says.
"Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry," I say. "That's horrible. Who is your guardian now?"
"I don't really have one. I'm 18," Elena explains.
"Oh. I'm 18, too. My sister doesn't want me to be on my own at the moment, though. I guess I understand," I shrug.
"Well, you're welcome at my place anytime," Elena says.
"Anyway," Caroline interrupts. "This weekend, are we still on?"
"Definitely," Elena nods. "Can I bring Matt? We are kind of dating again?"
"This is great," Bonnie grins. "I'm so happy for you. He really did miss you. He loves you."
"I know. My old feelings are returning, I think," Elena smiles. "Or maybe they're just new."
"Of course he can come," Caroline says. "This is exciting. But, I thought you were into Damon?"
"I'm glad you're over Damon," Bonnie tells Elena. "Some other unfortunate soul can have him."
Elena smiles, "I am happy."
"Well, that's all that matters," Caroline grins. Then she notices me. "We've been so rude. My apologies, Kalinda. So, how long have you been in town?"
"We only arrived yesterday," I say.
"You really are new," Bonnie laughs.
"You should come to the Grill with us on Friday," Caroline suggests.
"Really?" I ask. "That would be nice. I thought it would be really hard to make friends."
"Oh, this town is really close knit," Caroline says.
"Too close," Bonnie mutters.
I look at her funny. I don't understand what she means by that.
"Don't mind her," Elena laughs.
Just then Mr. Saltzman calls the class to attention.
After history, Caroline takes me to English. She isn't in this class, but Bonnie is.
Maybe Bonnie can explain what she meant earlier.
Miss Coral instructs us to read Hamlet. While she searches the room for a book for me, I turn to Bonnie.
"What did you mean by this town being too close?" I ask her.
"Oh, nothing. We're just too interested in our history," Bonnie tells me.
For some odd reason, even though I just met her, I didn't believe her.
By the time lunch rolled around, I was exhausted.
"Are you okay?" Elena asks me.
"Just tired," I smile. "I'm not used to going to school at 7. I went from 8:30 to 3:30 at my old school."
"You'll get used to it," Bonnie says softly.
"Hey, girls. Elena," a boy says sitting at our table. He kisses Elena's cheek.
I am assuming this is Matt.
"Kalinda, this is my boyfriend Matt," Elena introduces.
"Nice to meet you," I shake his hand.
"Ditto," he grins.
"Oh, Bonnie, my mom is going to be at work after school, so we can do our chemistry lab at my place," Caroline says randomly.
"Great. Is your mom ever not at work?" Bonnie asks.
"Not really," Caroline shrugs. "I prefer it that way."
"What does she do?" I ask.
"She's the sheriff," Caroline tells me.
"Is there a lot of crime around here?" I ask.
They all look at each other.
Well, that's reassuring.
"There isn't really," Caroline says. "She just works a lot to keep history from repeating itself."
History. I really did love history. And it seemed to be a reoccurring theme in this town. Maybe I would have to look into it.
"I think you're scaring her," Matt points out.
"Huh? Oh, sorry. I was just thinking," I say.
While the others continued talking, I take time to study them.
Elena is average height with straight, dark brown hair. Her eyes are a chocolate brown color.
Bonnie has black hair; it is curly. Her eyes were also brown. She was shorter than Elena.
Caroline was the tallest of the girls. She had straight blond hair and blue eyes.
Finally, there was Matt. He had dirty blond hair and blue eyes. He was about average height.
My last class of the day is gym. I don't really like gym. I'm not very athletic. I am more of the artsy type.
In gym we are playing volleyball. Mrs. Lupis, the gym teacher, puts me on a team, and explains to the class the exercise we're doing today.
We are simply practicing rotating.
None of my new friends are in this class. That is kind of disappointing, but I guess I could survive this period with no one to talk to.
"Hey, what's your name?" a guy on my team asks.
"Kalinda," I tell him.
"That's pretty. Just like you," he flirts. "I'm Tanner Long."
Tanner is average height, maybe 5'9". He has dark hair and baby blue eyes. He is very cute.
"Where you from?" he asks.
"Florida," I say.
"Ooh, the moonshine state, right?" he asks.
But he is very stupid.
"You idiot, it's the sunshine state," one of his friends says. "Moron."
"I was close," he shrugs.
I roll my eyes.
Finally, the day is over. Ew, I guess I have to ride the bus. I don't see my sister anywhere. I really hate riding the bus.
"Hey," Caroline says walking up to me.
"Hi," I smile back.
"Are you waiting for your sister?" she asks.
"Um, no, looks like I'm riding the bus," I shrug.
"I can give you a ride," Caroline smiles.
"Really?" I ask. "That would be great. Thank you."
I am just glad I don't have to ride the bus.