“Got any suggestions?” I asked hoping to ease the tension in the room. She tilted her head, her eyes narrowed. She seemed to be thinking.
“I’d try by the tennis courts on Douglas. They’re probably your best chance.” With that Tara picked up her bag and headed out the door. I sighed. I don’t think Tara liked me. Oh well. I pulled on my jacket and bag. Then I was out the door and headed across town. I took a deep tired breath. It was the first day at a new school, again. I wasn’t too worried about other people. I usually ended up in the library looking for a good book. However, this year I would be here all year. I could actually make a friend, maybe actually keep one. That would be new. I hadn’t been able to keep a friend since I was twelve years old and Mom lost the house. It didn’t take me long to reach the school. I shut off the navigation on my phone and found Douglas Street. Tara was right I was able to park right next to the tennis courts, only half a block from what looked like the library. I parked, grabbed my stuff, pulled out my map and started walking. Yeah, it was the library. Finding the mark for my locker I started walking. The hallways were already full of people some started staring. I chalked it up to the red hair; it always drew attention. I found my locker right next to a tall boy digging through his own locker. I ignored him and dropped my bag to the cement. I felt eyes on me as I spun the dial. I knew he was staring. The twisted side of me was tempted to turn and stare right back but I held back the impulse.
“You’re new.” He stated cheerfully, his voice rich and smooth to my ears, like honey. After I got the locker open, I turned and had to look up. He was a head taller than me, my head just reached his shoulders. He was wearing a pair of old jeans, a blue shirt and neon green hoodie. When I met his eyes, chocolate was smiling down at me. Something about his smile was infectious; I had to stop myself from smiling back. I vaguely registered his square jaw, wide full lips and a straight nose. His hair was buzzed down on the sides, but left long on top of his head. It wasn’t too long, but long enough I could tell he didn’t bother combing it this morning. But what struck me was the color. It was blue, a deep bright blue. It surprised me enough that it took me a second to answer.
“Yeah.” I turned back to putting my gym clothes and sneakers into the locker planning to come back before gym.
“Is that your real hair color?” I sighed. I hated that question but at least he wasn’t asking if the carpet matched the drapes. I closed my locker before turning back to him as I pulled out my schedule and map. He stuffed a book into his backpack before leaning over towards me and stage whispered to me. “Cause mines not.” This time I did smile.
“Yeah, it’s my natural hair color.” I answered running my eyes over his hair. “I kind of like yours though.” He waved his hand as he closed his locker.
“It’s not done yet, I’m adding in some darker blue streaks.” He shrugged on his book bag, a lazy smile still on his face. “I’m going for a cookie monster thing.”
“I’m going to call you Cookie Monster from now on, you realize that right?” I gave him my smart ass smile. Impish, my Dad had once called it. His face lit up with a big smile.
“Hey, I like that.” He snapped his fingers and pointed at me. “But I get to call you Red. Deal?”
“Deal.” I waited a beat before adding. “That’s way better than Pippi Longstocking.” His eyes went wide as he opened his mouth. “Too late, you only get one.” I chuckled, as his face fell with disappointment.
“Ugh... fine.” A loud bell ran through the halls. “That’s the first bell.” He announced walking backward down the hallway. “I’ll see ya later Red.” He turned and hurried down the hall before I could say anything. He didn’t seem so bad. Maybe it wouldn’t be that hard making friends. I looked at my schedule on my map and started moving. Thankfully, the hallways were wide so there wasn’t a crush as everyone hurried to class. AP World Civilizations was in the 300 building, which luckily wasn’t far. Finding the room, I walked into the filling classroom and found a desk in the middle against the right wall. It was warm in here so I took off the jacket and hung it on the back of my chair. People were whispering and staring again. Oh, the joys of being the new girl. I pulled out a notebook and pen and just started doodling. It wasn’t long before the teacher came in. Mr. Matthews was in his fifties, tall, thin and with a head of white hair. He put down his bag at his desk and moved to the podium, his eyes searching the class. He smiled when he spotted me.
“We have a new student today, Alexis Delaney.” He announced with a booming voice. Everyone in class looked at me. I gave a small smile and a short wave. Mr. Matthews pulled a textbook off his desk and passed it to the girl at the top of the row. Everyone in the row passed it back down to me. “There is a quiz every Friday on the chapter I expect you to catch up.” Then class began. I mostly ended up taking notes off the power point projection. All in all Mr. Matthews seemed rather nice. Class went quickly and soon I was on my way to English. I walked into another classroom, this time a small woman was at a desk in the back of the classroom. A woman waved me over as I walked in. She was as tall as I was, with a very pregnant belly.
“You must be Alexis.” Her voice was soft, her face sweet. “I’m Mrs. Hayes. Welcome to my class, we’re reading Romeo and Juliet right now.” I resisted the urge to groan as she pulled a book off her desk and handed it to me. “Here’s your copy. I hope you’ll enjoy this class.” I thanked her and headed to find an empty desk. The whispering and staring started again. I was already tired of it. Annoyed, I pulled out my notebook again and started doodling. The rest of my classes went on exactly the same way. Nothing interesting happened the rest of the morning. Until my AP Chemistry class. The Chemistry classroom was really the lab. It had tall counters sticking out from the edge of the walls instead of desks, with tall metal stools to sit on. Mr. Turner was a tall man, probably nearer forty than thirty. His blond hair resembled straw, he had a pleasant face but his large nose took center stage.
“Alexis I imagine.” Mr. Turner said, not even looking up from his papers. He picked up a textbook and handed it to me. “We move fast in this class so you better catch up.” Then he looked up at the other kids who were all settling down, looking for something.
“Hey Red!” I turned my head immediately to find Cookie Monster waving his hand from the second table against the left wall. “Mr. Turner, we’ll take her.” I watched the other boys at the table look up surprised.
“It seems Isaac is willing to accept you into their group.” Mr. Turner gestured for me to move along. As I walked over, I thought I was seeing double for a minute. The boy sitting next Cookie Monster had the same face; only his hair was black, straight and reached his jaw line. He was just as tall as Cookie Monster; his long sleeved black shirt was tight against the muscles in his arms and chest. He was leaning against the table on his elbows, a silver pendent in the shape of a dragon dangled from around his neck. Cookie Monster and his twin were damn good looking.
“Hey, Cookie Monster.” I smiled as I put my bag on the floor. The twin brother laughed, turning to his brother.
“Cookie Monster, I like it.” He teased his brother, enjoying himself. His voice was smooth and yet smoky. The mix was surprising and attention getting all at once. The twin looked over to me still smiling. “I’m Ethan and thank you. You’ve just made my day.”
“No problem.” I smirked back at him.
“Like you needed something else to torture Isaac with.” The boy to my left said, his voice a quiet timber. He had been hunched over the table his nose in his textbook when I walked up, so I hadn’t gotten a good look at him. He was cute, high cheekbones an angled jaw. His chestnut hair was short but had a wave to it that looked completely natural. He had emerald eyes behind his black rimmed glasses. He was leaner than the other boys, but his shoulders were still broad with some muscle to it. His baggy shirt spelled the word nerdy out with elements from the periodic table. I instantly loved it. He turned those green eyes on me. “I’m Miles.” His fingers began tapping o
n the table in quick staccato rhythm. He seemed tense introducing himself.
“I’m Alexis.” I gave him a friendly smile before reaching down into my bag and pulling out my notebook.
“You’re the new girl; I wouldn’t have expected you to take a hard class like this.” Miles said his voice flat. I went still, my pen still in my hand. Isaac rolled his eyes; Ethan shook his head laughing softly.
“Ah man, Miles. You need to work on talking to girls.” Ethan chided.
“And people in general.” Isaac added, sighing in frustration. Miles looked over at the twins.
“What?” He asked, his brow drawn down his eyes confused. Did he really not realize he had just insulted me? I ran my eyes over him again. Judging by the confused look on his face, he didn’t.
“I was in AP Chemistry at my old school. I can keep up.” I told him, grinning to let the others know I wasn’t insulted. Mr. Turner called for everyone's attention. I turned on the stool toward the front of the class. I was taking notes when I heard Miles whisper behind me.
“What did I say?” I held back my smile and kept writing. Miles really didn’t seem to understand.
“You basically implied you think she’s stupid.” Isaac whispered back. This didn’t sound like the first time the others had to explain something like this to Miles. There was a long silence; I could practically hear the gears turning in Miles’ head.
“That’s not what I meant.” Miles’ voice was even quieter this time. I ignored them as I listened to the instructions for the lab half of the class. Apparently, we were separating hydrogen and oxygen from water with electrolysis. I remembered this experiment from my last school. Mr. Turner set us loose. The boys began setting up the experiment when I had a thought.
“Hold on, are we using distilled water or do we need to add sodium hydroxide?” I asked wondering if I missed something. Miles' brows went up for a second then he gave me a small smile.
“Distilled water.” He answered. Ethan and Isaac burst out laughing.
“And you were worried she couldn’t keep up.” Isaac taunted Miles. Miles’ ears grew red, his cheeks pink.
“Actually, I did this lab three weeks ago at my old school.” I said smiling. “So, technically you guys are behind me.” The twins laughed. They kept teasing Miles through the rest of the class.
I had just thrown my jacket back on and picked up my bag when Ethan stepped in close to me. He wrapped his arm around my back, his hand on my shoulder.
“You have so made my week today, beautiful.” He told me emphatically. I raised an eyebrow at his choice of words. Was he calling me beautiful or saying showing up Miles was beautiful? While I was wondering he continued. “You need to sit with us at lunch.” His voice had gone soft and smoky; it was toe curling. Suddenly Ethan stumbled forward. He went a couple steps and turned glaring at Isaac who now stood by me. His arm hanging around my neck.
“No flirting with Red.” He declared firmly, pointing at his brother. He leaned in close and whispered loudly. “Ethan is a huge flirt; don’t fall for his evil ways.” Ethan smiled and spread his arms out to his sides palms up.
“I can’t help that I’m the better looking one, brother.” He taunted, walking backwards towards the door.
“And he’s so humble too.” I said with fake awe. The guys burst out laughing; even Miles was grinning.
“Yeah, you’re coming to lunch with us.” Isaac announced using his arm to pull me out the door and into the hallway. Ethan dropped back to walk next to me. Between them both I was feeling short. Miles brought up the back staying close enough to hear. “Where did you move from, anyway?”
“California. I got here yesterday.” I told them trying not to wince. Isaac's arm had moved from around my neck to the back of my shoulders right over a bunch of bruises. I was about to take his arm off me when Miles spoke up behind me.
“Isaac, she just met you. Stop hanging on her or you are going to make her uncomfortable.” Miles warned, he sounded distracted. Isaac winced and pulled his arm from around me.
“Sorry Red.” He whispered.
“No worries.” I smiled up at him. Isaac was fun; there was no other way to describe him. He was just fun.
“You don’t want to be under there anyways, he has PE before Chemistry.” Miles called from behind us. I burst out laughing as Isaac turned to punch Miles in the shoulder. Miles took it looking unrepentant.
“Hey! I’m not that smelly.” Isaac insisted with pride.
“You’re at the center of all the hot gossip running around the school right now.” Ethan chimed in, changing the subject as he winked at a cute blonde girl as we walked past. “The rumor mill is going crazy.” We turned down another hall and past a courtyard between four of the buildings.
“Oh yeah? What have they come up with?” I asked actually curious. He tucked his hair behind both of his ears as we walked, showing five silver hoops running up his right earlobe.
“The usual, you were in juvenile hall, you were expelled, drugs.” Ethan shrugged. “Nothing original.” He raised an eyebrow at me before adding.
“There is contemplation floating around about whether your hair color is real or not. And whether or not you have a soul.” I groaned and rolled my eyes.
“Those aren’t new.” I told them as we went down a few cement steps. We’d reached the area outside the cafeteria. It was set up like the other courtyard, metal tables everywhere. Everyone seemed to stay outside even with the overcast sky. “I hate those questions.” The guys stopped at an empty four sided metal picnic table. The boys sat down, Isaac and Ethan sharing a bench, Miles on the bench to the left of them. I sat down on my own bench next to Isaac then opened my bag to pull out my lunch.
“I can understand why.” Miles' voice was polite while he narrowed his eyes at Ethan. Ethan held his hands in front of him palms out.
“Hey, just repeating what I heard.” He turned toward me as he opened his book bag. “So how do you usually handle those?” I was still digging in my bag when I answered.
“I usually say yes the color is real.” I pulled my lunch bag out and looked at the boys. “For the other one, I smile sweetly, look innocent and say ‘No I don’t have a soul, can I have yours?’” They burst out laughing. “That usually shuts them up.”
“Yeah, that’ll do it.” Ethan was the first to stop laughing. The guys started opening their lunch bags. Miles stopped and looked at me quizzically.
“Why would you answer them at all?” I gave a half shrug as I opened my lunch bag.
“Most people aren’t expecting me to answer, or just asking to mess with me. So, when I say that they look scared and walk away.” I pulled out my water bottle and pointed with it. “They tend not to ask again after that.” The guys chuckled. Isaac leaned into Ethan.
“Can we keep her?” Isaac asked, smiling over at me. I winked at him while opening my bottle of water.
“Sounds good to me.” Ethan replied, frowning at the bag of chips in his hand.
“What sounds good?” A rich baritone voice came from behind Miles. I looked up. A rather tall boy was standing there a backpack over his shoulder. He looked like your boy next door, but with model good looks. His high cheekbones and sharp chin belonged in a magazine. His sandy blonde hair was close to his head. His buttoned long sleeved shirt was blue untucked over gray pants. His clothes didn’t hide his muscles, the guy must have to workout pretty seriously for that body. I suddenly felt the need to work my ass off in Gym later. Those blue eyes went to me, his face puzzled as he reached the table.
“Keeping Beautiful here.” Ethan explained looking at his sandwich. Ethan put his lunch back in his bag and put it down in front of Isaac then took Isaac's lunch bag. “Mom gave me your tuna again.”
“Yay, tuna.” Isaac opened his bag happily making me smile. The blonde boy sat on the bench next to Miles; he reached over the table and held out his hand.
“I’m Asher.” I shook his hand.
“Alexis.”
�
�Nice to meet you.” He seemed to just accept that I was here and staying. I liked that about him instantly. “So, you’re up for adoption, huh?” I held my hands out palms up.
“I guess so.” He gave me a warm smile as he pulled out his lunch bag. It was a good smile; it belonged in toothpaste ad. I had to stop myself from giggling at the thought.
“Don’t let the mannerless twins scare you off.” Asher pulled a sandwich out of the bag. “We’re not too bad.”
“Something tells me, she doesn’t scare easy.” Miles said, a small smile on his face before taking another bite of his sandwich. Ethan and Isaac shared mischievous grins. I swallowed a bite before asking.
“How long have you guys known each other?” Asher tilted his head his eyes unfocused.
“Since forever, we all grew up on the same block.” He answered, gesturing at the guys. “It’s always been the twins, Miles, me and Zeke. Well, then Zeke and Miles moved.”
“Where is Zeke by the way?” Miles asked, pushing his glasses up again. Everyone shrugged.
“I was stuck fixing a carburetor someone else fucked up.” A deep gravelly voice came from behind me making me jump. I turned on the bench and looked up and up. He was giant, and not just his height. A black motorcycle jacket encased his broad shoulders. I could see a black thermal underneath that was tight against the muscles on his chest. When I finally saw his face, I had to stop my mouth from dropping. Oh, shit. He had a striking face only much rougher, and way scarier. His black hair wasn’t very long, but it was rumpled. Like he ran his hands through it often. His wide cheekbones, wide strong jaw made his face attractive, but a much rougher and scarier kind of attractive. I was vaguely aware that black scruff covered the lower half of his face. Hell, he looked like someone you wouldn’t want to run into in a dark alley. His sharp blue eyes were running over me, his expression confused. He stepped around my side of the table and loomed over the empty bench. I noticed the metal wallet chain going from his hip to his back pocket out of the corner of my eye. He was frowning down at me, looking intimidating as hell. “Who the hell are you?” He demanded, his voice hard. I was about to snap back at him when I noticed the bags under his eyes.
Trying To Live With The Dead Page 3