Chapter 5

The piercing scream of someone in pain tore through my dream followed by the dead sound of a thousand bells ringing in my ears.

I bolted up from the bed, losing my footing in the process and falling onto the floor, dragging my blanket with me.

What the hell was that? I rubbed my eyes trying to remove the sleep that still plagued them. I looked out the window to see that the sky was bright which meant it was already morning. how did I even sleep that long?

I grabbed my toiletries and tied my towel and left the room. There was no doubt the bathrooms would be crowded by this time, I’ll have to work on waking up early in order to beat the rush.

Following the numerous female voices in the air I managed to find the bathroom which was just as full. All the girls were paired off in groups and talking to each other as I stood alone in the corner.

If they noticed me they made no mention of it, it was like I was invincible because they didn’t acknowledge my presence there with as much as a glance my way and I wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

I had to wait until a stall was empty and I entered inside. Almost slipping on the tiled floor which came as a surprise as all the other floors I’ve seen so far were not tiled but instead smoothed over with gravel just like they did in the old times.

By the time I was done I was the only one left in the bathroom. I rushed back to my room and got dressed, twisting my hair into a single braid down my back I rushed out of the room and followed the others where they were headed.

With no map of the school whatsoever to help me reach my classes I just followed the surge of students walking in one direction.

It would have been nice if Annabel came to get me this morning, that way I would have at least one familiar face in all this crowd.

I held  my bag tighter to my side, I just had to do like always, blend into the crowd and become nobody, that way no one would notice me enough to bully me.

As if my desperate mind had somehow conjured her, I saw her black hair first before her tanned skin came into view.

“Annabel!” I called, pushing my way towards her, she definitely was god sent. Everyone within a close range turned to look at me as I walked towards her, sighing in relief when my hand brushed her arm and she turned.

Her expression was murderous as she looked at me “What do you want?” her voice was anything but warm making me clutch my bag.

“I wanted to walk with you, I’m still unfamiliar with the school” I said, aware now that people were watching us.

She folded her arms across her chest “And what makes you think that I’ll want to walk with you?” she rolled her eyes.

“No, I was just wondering…” I stuttered, cussing myself for even approaching her in the first place.

“Stop wondering and get lost” she sneered before she turned and walked away. 

I just stood there as everyone else resumed walking, bold of me to think that moving miles away would stop people from treating me the same.

Even in a strange school that I had the chance to relate better with people I still managed to become an outcast, that was truly how I felt.

I turned to go back to my room when someone caught my eyes, they widened when I realized it was the blonde guy from the office.

He stood there watching me with hooded eyes and like before I couldn’t tell his expression. My cheeks reddened when I realized that he had seen my exchange with Annabel which was just as embarrassing.

In a blink of an eye he disappeared and this had me wondering if he was there in the first place. The plan was to go back to my room and hide but knowing that I would get a chance to see him I turned back and entered the school building.

There were barely students lingering in the hallway so I couldn’t ask anyone where my class was. If I were to rate this school, they would get less than a star for their shitty service.

I walked aimlessly looking for my math class, after entering a couple classes that wasn’t mine I was exhausted. I climbed the stairs to the next floor and continued my search.

“Hey!” someone shouted and I stood there, frozen in my tracks. I turned slowly to see Mrs. Adams but her glasses weren’t present this time.

“What are you doing roaming my hallway?” she asked, walking closer to me which made me take a step back.

“Uhm, I’m looking for my math class” I answered, managing not to stutter.

“And?” she tilted her head, waiting for more explanation. Unfortunately I didn’t have any so I just shrugged.

“Just like your mother” she muttered under her breath but I could’ve also heard wrong. “Follow me” she said, walking further down the hallway I just came from.

Her black stiletto heels clicked on the floor as she walked, her hips swaying in the pantsuit that she wore. If it wasn’t for her shitty attitude I would definitely agree that she really was a beautiful woman.

Black curly hair pulled into a bun and small black eyes that were framed by an oval face and straight nose.

She stopped in front of a red door and motioned for me to get in. I looked at her unsure and entered when she glared at me.

I felt like a deer caught in the headlights when the entire class turned to look at me as I entered. I gulped and tried not to meet the eyes of anyone.

“You’re the new student?” the man in front of the class asked and I nodded “Introduce yourself and get a seat we don’t have all day” he said, a bit impatient.

“Hello everyone, my name is Elizabeth and I just transferred here” I said, keeping my eyes glued to the floor.

Someone snickered and all the others laughed, that was my cue to sit down. I opted for the last seat at the back and sat down, bringing out my books to see if I could salvage what was left of this class.

The teacher droned on about matrix but that wasn’t what I was focused on. He was fair skinned just like the nurse that had checked me and he had red lines rimming his eyes. That was an unusual eye color.

Movement from the corner of my eyes made me turn, it was the same guy. I didn’t even realize he was in the same class with me, I looked around and saw Annabel too. I would have to talk to her after class, find out what her problem was.

“Hand in your assignment after the class and Annabel, go through what I taught today” the teacher said catching my attention.

I watched Annabel adjust her skirt as she stood up. Well, good for her, she probably wasn’t even listening and was about to embarrass herself just like she did me this morning.

That was not the case. She said everything from the top of head and I found it weird that she was staring at our teacher with so much longing in her eyes that it wasn’t hard to detect from miles away.

My gaze shifted at the same time hers did. I almost cussed out loud when I realized the gooey eyes were not for our teacher but for—my guy. the blonde one that she denied seeing in the office.

My blood ran cold. She liked him, that much was obvious to me but I liked him too and that was going to be a problem. I looked at him to see if he noticed her but he didn’t to my delight because he was looking straight at me.

There was no way! He was looking at me and didn’t even pay Annabel any mind. On a normal day I would’ve found it weird that he was always looking at me but for the most part –I liked it.

I wanted to scream and tell Annabel that her man was looking at me but I didn’t, he could just be staring at me because I was the new kid. I buffed out my lower lip, I think I like the idea of him actually liking me better,

By the time the class came to an end I made up my mind to talk to Annabel and know what her problem was.

I dashed out of my seat the moment everyone began to leave and ran after her. I pushed through the stream of students trying to get out all at the same time and grabbed her elbow, pulling her to the side.

“Are you crazy?” she shrieked, her eyes flashing with anger.

I gulped before speaking “I just want to know if I did something wrong to you” I said in a rush.

Her face went from angry to amused and angry again “Don’t talk to me again, I ‘m not your friend. The fact I was the first person you met does not make it necessary for us to be friends or share some type of relationship”

I should have expected this.

“So don’t go pulling my hand again or asking me meaningless questions okay? Stay away from me!” she glared at me before leaving.

Okay, that didn’t go well. It reminded me of my previous school and when I first enrolled there. Being the only child at home then was lonely so I was excited to be with other kids and play with them.

But it went just like this one, everyone pushed me around and asked me to stay away from them. I took  deep breath and followed her anyway, there was no way I was going to be late for my next class which was literature.

The class was barely full when I strolled in so I sat by the window this time, hoping to enjoy the view that it provided during class.

Our teacher this time was much younger, he was handsome too with hair that was dyed purple which had a great contrast to his already pale face. if I didn’t already like the blonde guy then this fine specimen was the next.

His topic was on William Shakespeare who he talked about like they had known each other for centuries or were neighbors.

I let my gaze wander out the window, the trees in the middle of the courtyard dancing so casually to the wind before something caught my attention.

It was the same glowing eyes and blazing head, and it was looking at me. Calling me. I squinted to get a better look and I could’ve sworn the figure smiled at me before it disappeared between the trees.

“Miss Elizabeth” someone called and I turned away from the window to see the teacher right in front of me.

“Sir” I said, staring at anywhere but him.

“Looks like you know too much about literature to not pay attention in my class” he said, his voice low and mixed with a little anger “Care to teach the rest of the class?”

My head snapped to him “I’m sorry sir” I said immediately, “I’ll pay attention” I stuttered knowing that everyone was definitely looking at me.

His eyes searched my face, burning so intently into me then he bent down, his lips next to my ear “You better…” he paused “Because next time I won’t let you off easy”.

He straightened up and returned to the front of the class without a care in the world of what he just did to my nerves. I felt my hands tremble slightly, his words ringing in my ear and it sounded more like a warning than my teacher scolding me.