I awake to an alarm clock screaming at me, an alarm clock louder than the one at home, that would rarely have a successful day and actually wake me up. I jolt up, thinking that it might be the fire alarm, until Cecily informs me that this noise was just the alarm clock.
I change into my school uniform and brush out my hair. I stare at my reflection, hoping that it's enough to get me through the day, though I doubted it.
I walk out to where Cecily was waiting for me.
"Ready?" I ask.
"You have got to be careful, Will just doesn't forget things like what you did, and he tells his friends and then, it's almost always game over," she informs me.
"I'll deal with it, I have some experience dealing with people like this, just not without…" I let myself trail off.
"I know, Clary, Jace, Simon, Isabelle, Alec, and Magnus."
"How do you know-"
"I was listening, remember, I saw how easy it was for you guys to laugh and tease each other, how you were holding off crying, I saw it," she reminds me, and I become silent.
We walk down to the room where we'd be eating, hand in hand. When we walked in, everyone became silent. Some whispers scattered all around the room, making me feel uncomfortable. 'She's Will's sister, though, she's nothing like him, she's nothing'. 'The one on the left, she's the one who said those horrible things to Will, she'll pay'. 'They are both worse than criminals, they completely don't care about how sacred the Shadowhunters are'. Basically people whispering things about us all around. I pull Cecily's arm to keep us moving. Sitting at a table that a lot of people were sending glances to, was none other than William Herondale, sitting with Jem, and two other boys I didn't recognize.
Three girls took their seats at the table, one sitting by Will, and the other two sitting by the boys I haven't met yet. I wondered if perhaps Jem's girl was sick. Cecily and I got in line and eventually we both picked chocolate chip pancakes without any syrup, but filled with whipped cream. We both giggled at the similarities. We sat at the very right side of the lunch room, alone completely. No one sat by us, but every so often I would catch people glaring at us, especially the people sitting with the infamous Will and his crew. The very people I said must be put into a mental hospital.
Oops.
Was I sorry?
Not at all.
We ate and talked and laughed and didn't care about what anyone thought of us, just like we should. When we finished eating, we walked to dump our trays and put them away. On our way back, we happened to be stopped by Will, Jem, the two boys from earlier and the three girls from earlier as well.
The seemingly Shadowhunter crew that I had told to go to a mental hospital.
Fun.
"Well well, if it isn't Theresa Gray," taunted Will.
"It's Tessa to you," I retort. The girls look about ready to murder me. Let them try, let them try, and if they lay a finger on me, I'll get the gang here and we'll teach them a lesson of manners.
"Well aren't you just one lovely flower," Will murmurs loudly. It seemed he didn't want me to hear, though I know all too well that he did. Everyone standing by him stifles their laughs, except Jem, who doesn't laugh at all.
"That's me," I say in reply earning a laugh from Cecily and Jem.
Will's midnight blue eyes hit my gray eyes before switching over to glare at Jem. "What was that?" he asked carefully, like he might explode.
"She's funny, so brave," Jem replied and I feel again that today I am brave, but this will get me in trouble some day.
Will's fists became clenched. "No she isn't, she's just an imposter, making everyone think that she's one thing when really, she's the complete opposite," Will said to everyone, making the Shadowhunters laugh, including Jem, and Cecily clench her fists instead.
"You wish," I mutter. But, he heard me.
"What did you say?"
"I said 'you wish', what did I say to you about not liking to repeat myself?" I ask him angrily. He sucks in a breath right as the bell rings to signal classes were to start in a half an hour. I start to walk away, but not before Cecily comes and walks next to me away from Will and his Shadowhunters.
By the Angel, I hate those people already! They are going to give me troubles. So much trouble. Cecily and I stop by our dorm to pick up our books for classes, my first class being Advanced English Lit.
Unfortunately, at this time Cecily had gym, so we say our goodbyes and I head off to study the Classics, my favorite books. I take a seat in the front, awaiting the teacher's arrival. I was first, even before the teacher, so when he staggered in five minutes from being late, I gave him a fright.
"Woah!" he exclaims, startled. "What are you doing here already?"
"I'm here for class, my name is Tessa Gray, I'm new here," I introduce. He comes and holds out his hand.
"I'm Mr. Branwell, Headmaster Branwell's husband," he told me with a smile.
"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Branwell," I greeted as I shook his hand.
"I see you've met Theresa," a voice from the doorway interrupts, a voice I know all too well. I peer up at him and see the same blonde girl standing next to him from earlier.
I know that must be his girl, the ones that aren't necessarily their girlfriends.
"William, Jessamine, you're early," Mr. Branwell tells them.
"Yes, well, we had no other place to be rather than here, apparently," Jessamine replies with a smirk my way.
I shift uncomfortably in my seat.
"Do you know these people, Tessa?" Mr. Branwell asks me.
"Yes, Cecily Herondale is my roommate, so, unfortunately, I have gotten to know at least one of them fairly well enough to know the basic outline of their character. And the other, probably not that much different, though I'm wondering how these two got into Advanced English Lit." I reply cautiously.
"Oh, we aren't the only ones," Jessamine says, and in walks Jem, the two boys from earlier, and the other two girls from earlier, the whole Shadowhunter group.
"By the Angel," I mutter under my breath, thankful no one seems to hear me.