Chapter 6

           "Hunter?"

There was a long-running joke about my name. Since dad was in the business of buying and selling companies, ripping them off their money, some of the people in San Frease liked to call us Hunters scavengers. 

I looked up and there was a tall, slightly pudgy lady with wavy blonde hair. She was pretty and she had a nice smile but tired brown eyes. 

           "Mrs. Storm will see you now," she said.

I smiled in return and followed her down a well-lit narrow hall with 2 well-polished doors and windows on one side, probably offices with educational administrators inside. She led me down the end of the hall to a short flight of stairs that lead to a double door of mahogany with paneled glass at the top. She knocked lightly on the door and gestured for me to go in with a nod. The interior of the office was dimly lit with the shades drawn tight. Somewhere a radiator hummed lightly. I didn't know what to expect but the Principal's office I had in mind was the stereotypical one of drape and dull furniture, not this well-furnished room. And the Principal wasn't exactly what I had in mind too.

The figure sitting behind the huge mahogany table wasn't any overweight Mr. Anthony of the school I had previously attended at San Frease. She was elegant, her long neck graceful, her back straight up on the plush seat of her chair. She looked like she belonged in some medieval time castle with a crown on her head while she looked down her straight nose at her poor subject with her cold eyes. But her eyes were far from cold. She had hazel-colored eyes that reflected the smile on her lips, making her look so young I thought I walked into the wrong room.

"Transfer student Jackson Hunter?" she asked in a voice that was as light as feather, pushing a strand of glossy black hair back into the tight bun on top of her head.

Her mistake jeered me out of my admiration for her as I gritted my teeth.

"It's Shawn Hunter, ma'am," I corrected politely.

"Pardon me."

She reached out a hand and with graceful, beautiful fingers gestured for me to sit and took my letter. She opened it and read through it slowly. I could see her pupils move slowly from one word to another and in the time she took to read through the letter mom had gotten for me four days ago I looked around at my surroundings.

The nameplate on her table read: Mrs. Storm. Mr. Storm is one hell of a lucky man to have a wife so beautiful.

Aside from the lights overhead, there was no other light source in the room. The walls were painted a dark beige color and most of the furniture was either dark polished mahogany or more shades of beige.

Mrs. Storm looked up from the letter and smiled again, "Your scores are good enough. We hold very high expectations for our students and I hope you'll keep your good grades up."

"I'll do my best"

"Your dad, that's Jackson Hunter, right? He made a very huge contribution to our management. A very generous man".

I resisted the urge to scoff. Trust dad to make some 'small' effort to make rejecting me impossible.

"You can have your schedule, map, and guide from Linda out there. I don't suppose you want to start classes today." I started to interrupt her but she held up her fingers. "So you can spend the time looking around, get used to East WhiSare school. Although, if you insist you can join your classmates in class."

"Okay, ma'am." I could help the thought that I was getting some special treatments because of dad's generosity. The old man always found ways to meddle.

Mrs. Storm went back to work and I left her office and went to the secretary's office to get my schedule. She had a harried expression on her face when she looked up from her computer. Her brown eyes were struggling to focus.

"The internet connection is a little slow," she said and waved her hand absentmindedly. "All that snow from these past few days is really slowing down my work". She smiled as she keyed in some commands into the computer. "Here we go. Shawn Hunter?", she raised a brow to accompany the surprise in her voice. "I've heard about you before. Goodness, what are you doing here all the way from paradise?"

I winced. The last thing I wanted was to be stuck with a chatty gossipy secretary who seemed very interested in telling me facts I already knew about dad and rumours I didn't care about. It was almost like she was reading the hot news off the screen of her computer instead of filing my information and printing out my schedule. She was also way too invested in knowing why I left San Frease.

Finally, the printer groaned and she pulled out some sheets and passed them to me.

"Have a nice day, Shawn. And I hope you like it here."

I nodded and with a smile of my own collected my papers and went out into the cold air.

     The cold breeze was relentless as it beat upon my face and jacket as I rushed towards the school's main building to escape the harshness of the weather. The interior was warm as the administrative building had been and there were symbols of academic achievements all over the place; on the walls and there was even a secured glass shelf at the very far end where many trophies and medals were displayed from academics, athletics and maybe even musical achievements.

Navigating the maze of corridors was frustrating. Since the hallways were empty there weren't many people I could ask for help. Rounding another corner, I ran head first into a slender figure. A girl so tall, easily the tallest girl I ever saw in my life and I am 6 ft 1.  More shocking than her height was her appearance. From information contained in the flyers given to me by the secretary, certain dresses were prohibited from school grounds. But this girl was scantily dressed. Her tight leather shorts were accompanied by fishnet stockings and high black leather boots. Her light sweater hung loose on her shoulders and was raised at her torso to reveal a pierced navel and the end of a tattoo that looked like a curved tail. Straight black hair cut razor-sharp short at her chin framed the most perfect face, one without a hint of imperfection. Her nose, lips, and three parts of each of her ears were pierced with studs and hoops hanging from them. She frowned, staring me in the eye. Then with a cocked smile shouldered past me and walked away, leaving me there, standing and staring like a fool.

Well, what was that all about?

When I finally regained my senses I looked back but she already disappeared behind one of the many corners East WhiSare high possessed. Confused and feeling like a drunk sailor I walked on.

Mr.s Storm was right though I could have waited before deciding to start classes since classes were already in session and only a handful of students who probably had nothing to do or were either skipping classes were in the main hall. I followed my vague map through the corridor to a small sitting area where I sat down to browse through the schedule and the three-page activity pamphlet Ms. Linda had given me. It contained a list of sports and other extracurricular activities I could join to increase my chances of going to the community college and even the university in the next state. A few students were seated there too. I recognized one or two faces from the bonfire.

After sitting down and doing nothing for probably 2 hours or more, the bell rang and students poured out of classes. Somehow I was able to recognize Cara as she came out of a room and started walking towards the sitting area. She waved and came over.

"I knew I just might find you here. Every new student ends up here because it's the only place they can feel safe in a new environment,"  she said. Her shyness seemed to have taken a trip.

Her beaming smile and the twinkle in her eyes were contagious. I stood and held up the maps. "I think these would be useless without someone to tail after."

She started to stutter but held herself and shrugged. "I will be happy to be of help to you. I have one more class before lunch you can either join me or use the library. I can get you when I am done with class." she said.

"Anything but the library."

The class wasn't as boring as I had expected. The only thing expected though was the curious glances I got.  

Before long the lunch bell rang and everyone packed their stuff together and started walking towards what I assumed was the cafeteria. I joined the group of students in the very hot cafeteria as it was packed full of sweater-clad bodies.

Cara picked trays for both of us and passed one to me. She dropped a box of juice on my tray and picked another one for herself. There were hamburgers, chili, and some other things but with the steadily rising temperature of the cafeteria, I couldn't take more than a hamburger and the juice.

We joined the table with a group of students, Cara's friends, and she seemed to be very comfortable with them that she didn't stutter much. She introduced me to them. There was Nora with the brown hair and eyes, Jeff with the brown hair with highlights of gold and light brown eyes, and some others whose names got lost in the jumble as students shouted conversations over each other's heads. 

"So the rumours are true. Famous DeShawn Hunter what brings you here?" Jeff asked.

Before I could answer a sudden hush fell over the cafeteria like a heavy blanket and my ears nearly rang from the silence. Most of the students were staring at the door and I looked too. 

The first to come in was a guy in a loose gray sweater and black pants and boots. The second was a redhead almost as tall as the guy. She was leaning towards him to speak but smiled at a few people and in passing glanced at our table, looked right at me and a strange feeling ran through me from the crown of my head to the tip of my toes. Before I could register anything the last one walked in. It was the girl I met in the corridor. Easily taller than everyone else, she walked with a gait of a predator. Each one of them perfect than the other. They moved towards the only unoccupied seat in the cafeteria. 

"Who are they?" I asked Cara. 

Without taking her eyes off them she answered.  "The Storms. Mrs. Storm's children."

My head snapped around "Children? Mrs. Storm as in the principal? " at Cara's nod I looked back at them again. The redhead was nodding and smiling at one of the students at another table. The boy had gone to get a tray and joined the queue at the front of the cafeteria.

"They must be really popular around here", I said.

 "Because they are the Principal's children. Also, they've been away for a while."

I snorted. I know the type, snobby kids, children to the school head. No wonder they made quite the entrance.

People went back to eating and talking. I couldn't keep myself from looking. The dark-haired girl whispered something to the red-haired who shook her head and barely moving her lips replied to the dark-haired.

Jeff parted my shoulder. "We all have the same reaction towards them, man," he laughed.

Everyone else at our table laughed and I joined them reluctantly. But I couldn't help the feeling creeping in my veins. It wasn't just their physical appearance and perfection that drew me to them. There was something.

Shrugging it off I turned back to my tray, picking at the sesame seeds on my burger when I felt a tinging sensation, the kind you get when you're being watched.

The hairs at the back of my head rose urging me to glance back at the Storms' table. Yielding to that urge I found the redhead staring right at me.