“Apology accepted. I get it though. Have you said anything to your dad?”
“No, today was the first time I’ve even said it out loud. I didn’t even mean to say it then but something about being around Ben had me acting not really like myself.”
“I noticed,” Shay snorted. “Your usual calm exterior was kind of absent. You like him, admit it.”
“Maybe, but I just met him. We’ll see how he acts once we’re at school. Speaking of school, did you pick out your outfit for tomorrow?
Alix knew this would work to change the subject. She didn’t want to talk about Ben right then and Shay considered herself a fashionista and could talk about clothes forever. There wasn’t much shopping in Sunset Creek, but they went to Bozeman whenever they got the chance. Alix liked shopping, but Shay LOVED it. Alix teased her that she should design her own line of clothes. She listened to Shay talk about what she wanted to wear the next day. Alix imagined that her room had clothes everywhere as she tried to decide. About ten minutes later, Shay finally had an outfit. Dark jeans, white cami, light blue V-neck t-shirt, black blazer, and her silver ballet flats. Alix knew there would be some shiny accessories to go with the outfit. Shay lived for accessories. She knew it drove Shay crazy that she never even wore a necklace or bracelet. Sometimes they were so different, but they’d always been best friends.
“I have to go finish my laundry or I won’t be able to wear those jeans you like on me.”
“Fashion first. Let me know if anything else goes on. My phone will be on ‘till 10:00.”
They said goodbye and Alix went to check on her laundry. Her parents were in the living room watching TV as if everything was okay. She really hoped it was.
She put her clothes in the dryer, went back to her room to grab her eReader, then joined her parents in the living room.
“All ready for school tomorrow?” her dad asked.
“Yep, just doing some laundry so I can wear my favorite jeans. Have to look good for the first day of senior year.”
“Senior year, it’s hard to believe,” her mom said. “Seems like just yesterday you were starting kindergarten. Are you excited?”
“I guess. Same kids, I’ve been going to school with forever. Except for Ben. Shay and I are walking him to school. I can’t imagine what it would be like to start your first day of school as a senior in a place where the kids have known each other their whole lives.”
At the mention of Ben, her parents looked at each other.
“What’s with you two? That’s twice I’ve mentioned the new people that moved here and each time you look at each other. Just because they haven’t lived here forever doesn’t mean that they aren’t good people.”
“You’re right honey,” her mom said. “We shouldn’t judge. I have a day off tomorrow, maybe I’ll stop by with a welcome gift.”
Alix picked up her phone and texted Shay.
Alix: They did it again. I mentioned Ben and they looked at each other. I’m starting to freak out a little.
Alix didn’t have to wait long for a reply.
Shay: Yeah strange. Keep your eyes and ears open.
Alix decided to ignore her parents and turned on her eReader. She was in the middle of a great book. It was the latest book in a series that she discovered that year about vampires and werewolves. She liked it all; magic, elves, vampires, shapeshifters, romance, and mystery. She loved to get lost in books, loved to be transported to other worlds and places that only existed in people’s imaginations.
She read until it was time to go to bed.
“I’m going to bed. Goodnight,” she said to her parents. They both said goodnight to her and she went to her room.
She put on her pajamas and crawled into bed. As she shut off her bedside light her thoughts went back to Ben and everything that happened since Shay called her earlier. What an unusual day; extremely interesting, but very unusual.
Chapter 3
Her alarm was blasting. 6:30 am. It can’t really be morning already can it? Alix thought as she turned it off. It’s not that she wasn’t a morning person, it’s that she hated getting out of bed. Once she was up she was good to go. It was always that first act of throwing the covers off and putting her feet on the floor that she dreaded.
She made her way to the bathroom, grateful that she had it all to herself in the morning. Getting ready didn’t take her that long. She brushed her teeth and hopped in the shower. She stood under the hot water letting it wake her up. Water always made her feel better. She washed her hair and finally got out, wrapping her hair in a towel. She put on her fluffy robe, went to the kitchen, and started the coffee. Her parents frowned on her drinking it, but it made her feel grown up. Alix went back to the bathroom to finish getting ready. She took the towel off, brushed out her long brown hair, put a little mousse in to keep the fly-aways to a minimum and her hair was done. She knew some girls that spend hours on their hair but that just wasn’t her. She went back to her room and got dressed. She slipped on her favorite jeans and a pink short sleeved sweater. She loved pink. She grabbed her black flats and headed back to the kitchen. The coffee was almost done. She popped some bread into the toaster and waited for it while she made her coffee. She grabbed her to-go mug and poured some coffee in, leaving plenty of room for the yummy hazelnut creamer that she liked. There was no way she could drink it black. Her coffee was ready to go, and her toast popped. She added peanut butter and sat down to eat. It was almost time to go so she ate her toast quickly and grabbed her bag. Put a little lip gloss on and got her to-go mug. It was chilly in Sunset Creek in the morning, even in early September so she slipped on a light jacket. She was just about out the door when she heard her mom call her name.
“Alix, hang on a second.”
“What’s up mom? I don’t want to be late.”
“Have to get your first day of school picture.”
Alix had to smile. Her mom had done this every year since her first day of school when she was five. “Okay, mom.” She went and stood by the door for the picture.
“Smile.”
Alix smiled for her mom. The smiled wasn’t forced either, she liked this tradition, and it made her mom happy. Her mom took a few pictures. Finally satisfied she gave Alix a hug.
“Have a good day honey. I’ll be here when you get home. I want to hear all about your first day as a senior.”
“Bye mom, see you after school.” As Alix walked out the door she thought she saw a tear in her mom’s eye.
Alix walked to Shay’s house, drinking her coffee and wondering how the day was going to go. She was glad to be a high school senior, it had a nice ring to it. She reluctantly admitted to herself that she was looking forward to seeing Ben again as well. There was just something about him that really interested her. She didn’t think it was just that he was new, he kind of had her attention from the first moment she looked at him.
Alix got to Shay’s place a little before 7:30. She sipped her coffee and took her eReader out of her bag and waited on the steps of Shay’s front porch for her to come outside. She knew the door was open, it always was in the morning before school. When the weather got colder she would go inside but she wanted to enjoy the nice mornings while she could.
She had only been reading for a few minutes when she knew Ben was close. She didn’t hear anything or see him, but she knew he was there. Alix looked up from her eReader and saw him walking toward Shay’s house. Her heart beat a little faster at the sight of him and she knew she was blushing. What is with me she thought, I never react this way. Embarrassed by her reaction she looked back down at her eReader, not even really seeing the words.
“Good morning Alix,” his warm voice said to her as he stepped in front of her.
“Morning,” she said, as she looked up at him, hoping that her cheeks no longer showed that she’d been blushing. “Nice to see you’re on time.”
“After Shay’s warning yesterday, I thought I’d better be. I wasn’t sure if you girls would wait for me
if I was late.”
“I’m sure we would have waited. Shay is more bark than bite.”
“Good to know,” he grinned.
That smile was going to be the death of her, but she couldn’t help but smile back. He just had that effect on her.
Shay chose that moment to join them. “Hurry let’s go before my mom wants pictures of you guys too,” Shay said, as she practically flew off the step.
“Good morning to you, too Shay,” Alix said, as they started walking. “What was that all about?”
“Don’t tell me that your mom didn’t take the customary first day of school pictures, I know better than that.”
“Of course, she did, but why did you run out of the house like it was on fire?”
“Mom was getting a little carried away. I think she took twenty pictures and then started to get all emotional about this being my senior year and talking about how she still remembers my first day of school. It was kind of mom overload.”
Alix laughed. She could picture the whole scene in her head. Shay’s mom could be over the top sometimes, but she still loved her. Alix thought of her as a second mom since Alix and Shay had practically grown up in each other’s houses.
“Excuse me, ladies, may I ask what you’re talking about?” Ben said to them.
Alix and Shay looked at each other and shared a laugh.
“It’s a silly tradition that our moms started when we first started school,” Shay told him. “On the first day of school of each new school year, our moms take a picture of us just before we head off to school. Alix’s mom usually just takes a couple of pictures, but my mom has a tendency to go overboard.”
“She really does,” Alix laughed. “On the first day of freshman year, I practically had to drag Shay out of the house.”
“It’s not funny,” Shay said, giving her a dirty look.
“Sure, it is, from my point of view,” Alix smiled.
Alix heard Ben try to stifle a laugh behind them. “I can tell you two have known each other for a long time, must be nice to have such a good friend. We’ve moved around too much over the years for any of my friends to have lasted. You have no idea how great it is to start the first day of school actually knowing someone already. I’m glad you two were nosy yesterday,” he said, as he bumped Alix’s shoulder with his arm.
“Hey!” Alix responded, “We were not being nosy, it’s called friendly. And about this being the first day of school, I hope you know you’re going to be stared at all day. You’re the first new person to join our class since we all started school together.”
“Are you serious? No one new has come here in like eleven years?”
“Yep, completely serious,” Alix replied. “You’re going to be a big deal around here. Promise me you won’t forget about us when the pretty girls start fawning all over you.” she said it as a joke but in her heart, she really meant it. She wasn’t at the top of the popularity charts and not the prettiest girl either. With her ordinary brown hair and only being 5’3”, she’d always described herself as average.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m sure you two are the prettiest girls in the entire school.” Then he flashed that signature smile at Alix.
“Flattery will get you everywhere,” Shay said with a smile and batted her eyelashes at Ben.
Alix didn’t know what to say so she just kept her mouth shut, not wanting to embarrass herself again. She seemed to do that a lot around him.
“You look very nice this morning Shay.” Alix told her.
“Thank you.” Shay said with a smile.
Alix really meant it. Shay had always been called cute and now was no exception. But today she was more than just cute, she was beautiful. Her short, blond hair was styled perfectly, and her makeup was flawless. She always managed to make her brown eyes pop. If she was taller she’d definitely be a model but at just an inch taller than Alix that wasn’t to be.
As they continued to walk to school Alix took a moment to really look at Ben. She’d been so flustered yesterday she hadn’t paid attention to everything. He was tall, like at least six or seven inches taller than her. He had brown hair, but it was a few shades lighter than hers and cut in a short style. He also had amazing blue eyes. She felt herself blushing again and decided that was enough of thinking about Ben, she didn’t want to trip over her own feet and embarrass herself again in front of him again.
A couple more blocks and they would be at the school. Alix was sure that once they arrived the other kids would steal Ben away. She kind of liked having him all to herself, well her and Shay, she had to remember that he wasn’t hers. She had mixed emotions as they walked around the corner and onto school property. Happy to be a senior and this being the last year of school, but apprehensive wondering how her classmates would respond to her and Shay arriving with Ben, she wasn’t used to being noticed.
“Here we go,” she muttered to herself.
Their arrival did not go unnoticed. People stared and whispered just like she knew they would. Ben didn’t even seem to notice.
“Sorry about them,” Shay told Ben, “You won’t be such a novelty after a week or so.”
“It’s no big deal, I’m used to it after all these years,” he said. “Like I said earlier, this is better than other years since I already know you guys. It’s nice not doing this alone.”
“We’d better get you to the office and get your schedule. We got ours last week,” Alix explained, as they walked into the school and toward the office.
The three of them entered the office and Alix stepped up to the secretary’s desk.
“Good morning Mrs. Parker.”
“Oh, good morning Alix, good morning Shay. Nice, to see you again. Seniors this year, you must be excited. How can I help you today?” she asked.
“This is Ben,” Alix started. “He just moved here yesterday so he doesn’t have a class schedule. Think you can help us out?”
“Of course, I can. His mom called yesterday and let us know he would be starting with us today. I have his schedule right here,” she handed Ben a piece of paper. “Before you head off to class Mrs. Martel wanted to meet you before classes started. Can you please have a seat and I’ll go get her.” Mrs. Parker got up and the three of them each grabbed a chair in the waiting area.
“Who’s Mrs. Martel,” Ben asked, looking at his schedule.
“She’s our principal,” Shay told him. “She’s pretty good for a principal. She probably just wants to introduce herself. We don’t get many new students here.”
As they waited they checked out Ben’s schedule and compared it to theirs. It wasn’t bad they thought. English first period with Alix, Shay had Business. He had Phys Ed second period, the girls had Spanish. He had Biology third period with Alix again, Shay had Social Studies. The fourth period they each had different classes, Math for him, Culinary Arts for Alix and Chemistry for Shay. As they discussed their classes Mrs. Parker came back to her desk followed by another woman.
“Hello, Ben. I’m Mrs. Martel, the school principal,” she said, by way of introduction. “I want to personally welcome you to Sunset Creek High School. I see you’ve met some of your fellow classmates.”
“Pleased to meet you,” he said, standing to shake her hand. “I actually met Alix and Shay yesterday. They came over to welcome us to Sunset Creek after we moved in.”
“How lovely,” she smiled. “Good job girls, thank you for setting such a great example and showing community spirit.”
Alix blushed a little. She wasn’t used to a lot of praise from people other than her parents, she liked to go through life mostly unnoticed.
“In continuation of setting a good example, Alix since you already know Ben and I see you have a couple of classes together, I would like you to be Ben’s mentor for the first little while until he gets his feet under him. Would that be alright with you?” Mrs. Martel asked her.
The request from Mrs. Martel was both good and bad. Good because she got to spend more
time with him, but bad because she seemed to embarrass herself in front of him a lot. Good because she would have more of his attention than the rest of the class, but bad because that meant more attention would be on her. She thought that the good points outweighed the bad, so she thought she would be ok.
“Sure Mrs. Martel, being Ben’s mentor will be ok with me.”
“Thank you so much, Alix. I know it always helps a new student to have a friendly face to turn to. I’ll need you to show Ben to all his classes for a few days until he learns where everything in the school is.” She handed Alix a slip of blue paper. “You might be late to some of your classes so just show this to the teachers and you’ll be ok. It will let them know that I’ve asked you to do this for me.”
Alix took the paper and put it in the front pocket of her bag, so she wouldn’t lose it. With that, the three of them left the office and headed down the hall. They still had some time until the first bell rang.
“Do you guys do homeroom here?” Ben asked.
“No,” Alix replied. “The day starts right away with class. In the morning there are two bells. First bell means that you have five minutes to get to your class. The second bell means you’d better be in class or you’re officially late. Let’s go find our lockers.”
“Okay, sounds good. I’ve never liked homeroom anyway. Always seemed like a waste of time to me.”
They walked down the hall, Alix and Shay pointing out different things to Ben as they walked to the senior section of lockers. They were in the best location in the school, the most central and closest to the cafeteria. Alix was trying to ignore the rest of the kids in the hallway. She was sure they were all staring at her. They probably weren’t even looking her way, but it sure felt like it. The lockers were done alphabetically, so that meant she and Shay never were close to each other. She was a D and Shay was an S. She realized that she still didn’t know Ben’s last name.
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