It was about mid day when I decided to head back. Not school, but 'home'. God only knows how far it was, but I think it's, mostly, a straight shot as long as I follow this road. I don't remember Dean taking any twist's or turn's, just a bunch of stops and honks. I stood up, brushed the dirt and leaves off my pants, and started heading back the way Dean drove. I pulled out my IPOD, put the ear buds in my ears, flipped my hood over my head and began my walk home. Maybe this will give me a chance to reflect.
So many questions were buzzing in my head.
I wanted to know more about this angel. I wish Dean and Sam would stop lying to me. Why would they need to anyway? And whose this 'Belle', and why did she care about me so much? Why would Dean and Sam tell me to stay away from her? Would Bobby know? If he does, would he tell me? Ok, hold on, before I even think about bombarding Bobby with questions about deceptions and unknown and possible heavily disliked person's such as Belle. I have to know more about myself.
"How the hell do I do that?"
"Do what?"
"GAH!"
I swung around, ready to use my back pack, oh for hell's sake, as a weapon.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up on you."
Oh this can't be good. I expected some kind of authority figure to appear out of nowhere, and force me to go to 'school'. Or maybe some random stranger, or Crowley, or God knows who else.
Instead, coming down the hill was a tall, lanky girl not much older than me; she was dressed in denim jeans and a bright pink shirt with white dots like the designer took a white maker, and randomly put white dots all over the shirt. Her long, curly black hair bounced with each step, framing her dark brown eyes. A pang of familiarity hit me when I saw her, but at the same time, I wasn't so sure. Her voice is a bit deeper, and boy I wish I caught a glimpse of my Kmart hero. A dark blue, worn out duffle bag hung from her broad shoulder. She didn't look to be a teacher, but she did seem to be a little older than me. But could that be because she was a head taller than me?
She stopped in front of me, dropping the bag at her feet.
"Whoo." She sighed, stretching her long arm. "Heavy bag, full of books and all that other 'back to school' crap. If you ask me, everything can be solved if teacher's kept the books in their classroom's. Less stress, less tardies, ya know."
Here we go again, head spinning in rapid circles with questions appearing like clouds in the empty space. Well, what have I go to lose?
"How did you know I was here?" I asked the obvious question first, glancing behind her to see if she was followed. Pretty sure when I took off, no one saw me unless they were pulling up in the parking lot.
Her smile was friendly, and her dark brown eyes were warm and welcoming. "I saw you talking to the assistant principal, then I saw you dash off like a deer in the field just a while ago."
...well damn...
Seeing the worried look on my face made her chuckle softly.
"Don't worry, I won't tell a soul. Scout's honor." She swore, putting up two fingers and her other hand over her heart. Faded and new scar's showed up and down her hands and fingers. "What's your name?"
"Uh...Cas, Cas Winchester."
Don't be creepy, don't be creepy!
"Mary Samuels." The friendly smile remained on her face. "So, in all honesty, do you plan on heading back to school?"
Granted I already made my decision, I suddenly wanted to change it. I could hear Sam's voice in the back of my mind; 'Watch out for those kid's like Dean. Kid's who wanna skip all the classes, wanna run away and smoke or whatever they're into these days'. Well, I already ran away even before class started. So, sorry Sam. Not going today.
"No, I was just gonna head home."
"Do you wanna hang out with me and a few others? We can help make the school year easier for you." Her words sounded promising, but my mind was just shut off from free thinking. Anything to distract me from these other annoying questions in my head, I'll do it. Without waiting for me to respond, she swung her bag over her shoulder, grabbed my hand and pulled me down a trail. I looked behind us, watching the bridge becoming smaller and smaller the further we walked. Ahead of us was an endless trail of tree's and water. Perfect serenity, peaceful. The tree's seemed to suck away the negativity, all my fear, all my anxieties. And Mary and I walked in silence, making it seem more perfect. We still didn't speak as we passed a stadium, a fenced in area, then the school seemed to be far away when we came to a stop. She brought me behind a boulder where three other student's sat in a circle surrounded by bag's, book's and closed laptop's.
Then that feeling of familiarity hit me again.
Mary dropped my hand and went to the group. "DareAnne, Hannah, Reno, this is Cas, the new kid."
Hearing that word seemed to have more meaning to it than a simple school nick name. What else was I the 'new kid' at?
Hearing those words did rouse the one male student who was laying lazily against the boulder, one girl was preoccupied with her music player to even notice a tornado near her. The third student, a skinny girl with thick black hair, looked up at me.
"Hey." She greeted nonchalantly, turning her attention back to her book.
There it was. A strange sensation on the skin of my abdomen, but it wasn't hurting me. Instead, it was more warm and comforting, like a fire in the black of night. And this time it wasn't on my stomach, or my gut like the last time with Crowley, it was higher. I felt a sudden wave of confidence, tranquility, light. My mind thought about Crowley, where I last saw this girl, but it was quickly replaced with my voice singing in the shower days ago, and poems about the tree trunk nearby.
Weird beyond weird.
"Another kid ditchin' class? Kick ass." Reno smirked, closing his eyes and wrapped his bony fingers behind his head. His shaggy black hair stuck out everywhere like a porcupine, tattoo's and piercings decorated his arms and face, his full black attire had strands of grass clinging to it. His skin looked like it was a white crayon, if that were even possible.
But, no offense to the guy, I didn't care about him. It was the dark haired, skinny girl in slacks and a tan blouse that peaked my interest.
"I've seen you before." I said, walking up to the girl who was clearly distracted with her calculus book to even bother to acknowledge me. I walked up to her, hoping she'll just look up at me and recognize me. Maybe, then, I'll get my answers. But for the moment, she's clearly preoccupied. "Hey." I nudged her slightly, and she shoved my foot away.
"Hannah Roberts!" Mary shouted, causing both Hannah and I to jump. Talk about having a big booming voice. I hope no one at the school heard her, God only knows just how awkward that would be if a teacher were to find us four back here. I wasn't told about what could and will happen if I disobeyed any rules at school, and I am in no mood to learn about those consequences today.
"Wha-what did I do now? Is it time to go back in?" She asked, looking around frantically, preparing to put her book away.
"No, Hannah, you're just spacing off again." Reno answered, glancing at the watch at his wrist. "School hasn't even started yet, still got another half hour, if we decide to go to first period. Speaking of which, Cas, where's your schedule?" Reno asked, glancing up at me with peppermint gum blue eyes.
"Um." I dug into my hoodie and pulled out the sheet, and Mary swiped it away, reading off the sheet to herself. "Ah damn, he's got all the intro stuff first. Remember who you had for Intro. to English Reno?"
"That's shit, man. Not a bad teacher, just a bit oblivious and more focused on the legitimate trouble makers." Reno commented in a very lazy tone. "Hang out here with us, newbie, we'll get you through the first semester a hell of a lot better and faster than any of these teachers."
Is it a good idea? Probably not. Do I sincerley care at the moment? No.
Oh wait a minute.
"Will anyone tell Bobby about this? Uh, he's my...dad." Damn this is hard.
"Nah, we don't say shit to any of the parents." Reno explained. "I give the teacher's a viable excuse, but I mark you down as being here in the attendance sheet after class has finished. No one say's a damn thing because it all looks the way it should be. I take the liberty of printing off everything and anything you'll ever need homework wise. No test, out of the question."
"But you will need to attend the class, like physically be there, for testing. We'll let you know when we get together, fortunately, today is one of them." Mary explained with an excited grin, then she glanced over my sheet again. "I see you have Choir during 4th, Reno does, too. So you'll just follow him until the period ends."
"Sure is a hell of a lot better than carrying all those God forsaken books." Reno glanced over at Hannah. "Unless you're Hannah, then you're just a know it all."
"At least I'm still learning during our 'breaks', Reno Matsi." Hannah shot, pulling her black hair into a ponytail. "While you just nap away."
"Hey, I am learning! How else was I able to skip the 8th grade?" Reno stated, adjusting himself to where he was sitting in a lazy position with his knee up, and his arm over his knee. He turned his attention to me. "To put things bluntly for ya, Cas was it? I'm a fuckin' genius just like these two, we're starting our own school system out here. DareAnne, here," Reno leaned over and smacked the last girl behind her head, waking her out of her day dreams. "Was out first student, and she's practically aceing all of her classes thanks to us. No cheats, no secrets, just real life things you'll need to know eventually."
Sorry, pal, great spiel and all, but I don't care at the moment. In fact, did we all forget I was gonna tell Hannah something?
"I saw you at Kmart." I stated before anyone else could jump in again, but I recieved a questionable look from her blue eyes. Not as blue as Reno's, more life like and a bit like the darkest part of the ocean. Atlantic, Pacific, Black, don't matter which. "I was getting school supplies, and I saw you with another guy. The two of you told that creepy sale's guy to buzz off."
Hannah glanced over at Mary, uncertain of what to say. It wasn't hard to say she was struggling to lie, but I hope to God she'll just give it to me straight. I don't care if she's an alien or if she's some stalker, at least I'll get one straight answer for once.
"Well, answer him."
"Oooo, I think Hannah's in love." DareAnne, teased. Her red bangs fell over her emerald green eyes. "If you need a fresher course on sex-ed-"
"Oh shut up, DareAnne." Hannah shot, her face turning slightly red. I'm a dunce fuck, so I'm just gonna ignore that. Hannah's eyes met mine again, I was stunned to see her eyes empty and emotionless. "Sorry, but I don't recall ever seeing you before."
"Whoa, hold on." I blinked and shook my head. I've been listening to her voice everytime she spoke, I know it's the girl from the store. Why is she denying it? "I saw you save my ass. You don't remember?"
"Bud you must be on something strong, 'cause Hannah's not much for fighting." Reno said with a snide remark, nudging her playfully. "She's got a brother who does fight, but she hates it."
"Speaking of family, Reno," DareAnne jumped in, putting the earbud's back in place, revealing a large hoop earing in her ear. "Will you be grounded again if your foster dad finds out?"
"Hell no!" Reno exclaimed, a proud smile crossing his thin lips. He grabbed a laptop, flipped it open and began typing. "Roman and none of the other kids will find out I ditched because, technically, I'm already in my Geometry class."
Reno winked and began typing rapidly. I glanced back at Hannah, who had decided to ignore me and tend to her book. Mary patted the spot of grass next to her. Sighing in defeat, I sat down and opened my book bag. Mary dug through the duffle bag and brought out an English Lit. book and opened the front cover.