The winter air cooled my face as I stepped out into the winding chalk colored sidewalk. My hands shivered under the protection of the gray and black striped gloves I received reluctantly on Christmas morning. My black messenger bag pounced back and forth as my feet made their way down the familiar pathway to the entrance of the school. "Lina!" a jittery voice calls from behind. I turn around only to be hugged in a form of a tackle. "Holy snickets Jen" I said catching my breathe as she releases her breathtaking hug "you nearly killed me." She rubbed her pink nose with a naked hand and pulled the sleeves of her jacket over her nimble fingers. "How was your Christmas?" she said pulling her brightened tote bag up to her arm "mine was fantastically horrid" the sides of her red lips pulled into a sort of tortured smile at the word horrid. I let out a laugh at the thought of her oh so horrible vacation in Colorado, skiing everyday must have been the worst possible thing she could have ever endured. "You already know how mine was, you practically ran me out of inbox room with all the texts you sent me." I patted my jacket pocket on the spot where the slight impression of a rectangular phone could be spotted. She rolled her crystal blue eyes but the red smile still lay on her face as we enter the school building. Ready, set, go, high school 2.0.
Chapter 1.
The green lockers lined the long hallway as teenage bodies filled the entrance hall, awaiting the opening of classroom doors. My salad green locker stared back at me as I put my frayed messenger bag onto the top shelving and grabbed the awaiting brown history book. People passed by not stopping to say a word as the first bell rang and the monotone doors were opened by non-reluctant teachers. Five minutes til tardy time, I needn't rush on the account my homeroom was only 3 lockers down but I shut the green compartment and walked towards the bland classroom. Inside awaiting my arrival, in the back corner an empty seat. Jen was in Mr.Shells home room, so for thirty minutes every few days I sit and doodle with no mode of entertainment other than watching the other freshman blab about someones new haircut. I set my book on the wooden desk and take my seat in the blue plastic chair. My binder, only a centimeter in diameter, acts as a pillow as I lay my head down on the my arms watching the familiar pictures in the white wall dance before me. The seat, only inches away sits on the white tile unoccupied, ever since the year began, no one had dare sit in it. I stretched out my arms and my back cringed as my spine shivered and I looked up to see an unfamiliar figure standing in the doorway. His jet black hair cut into a shaggy version of a pre-Beatles John Lennon, slightly covering the the very top of his bright green eyes. I nestled back into my arms and looked above my elbow to take in his appearance. Everything about him looked so simple, wrangler blue jeans only with a tint of black in the seams and overused vans, which means he was a skater and a heavy one at that. A simple black shirt lye hiding under his matching jacket, definitely something that's not normal at this school. He was new, that was a fact, and he walked to the back of the room and sat down in the unoccupied chair. I moved my eyes to a spot less obvious, he smelled like peppermint and lemon tarts, my eyes watched blatantly as he settled into the plastic. He was tall, but not of the extreme. His pale skin made me hold back a shiver it looked like something from a Greek museum only with a slight tinge of peach. His green eyes moved around the room, as though analyzing everything there was in sight. Dancing from one person to another, I could hear their whispers about his unwelcoming appearance from the surrounding students, but to me he looked quite pleasant. His eyes moved to the person in front of me, and almost hesitantly looked down to me. I didn't bother with looking away, instead he stared straight at me, knowing I was staring straight at him. A slight crack of a smile appeared on his face, though he kept his lips pursed together. I nestled my head back into my arms and took a breathe, rising from my protection, I began to twiddle the ends of my black hair. The bell rang and Ms.Bellevue, my homeroom teacher, motioned me to the front. "Lina dear, can you show our new student around the school please?" she handed me a piece of paper, a pass to wonder the halls "It would be great if you would." I looked at her as though she were crazy, dead crazy. Before I could refuse she called out his name and he made his way to the empty spot next to me. "Damian, this is Lina she's going to show you where all your classes are" Ms.Bellevues voice was just a little to candy coated for comfort as she opened the door and rushed us out of the room. We stood in the hall for a minute or so in dead silence. I suppose he couldn't stand it anymore and in a soft almost musical voice he said the word "hello." My feet shifter from under me and I looked up at his face the green eyes drawing me into his facial structure. "Hi" I said trying to sound enthusiastic "I'm sorry you have the most amazing eyes." That's it, barely the second sentence I said me me seem almost as foolish as I looked. Strangely he let out a small chuckle and responded with a "thanks, I get that a lot." I let out a confused smile and looked down at the white piece of paper, inscribed with names of teachers and room numbers. "Well, we've got time to kill, might as well start now" I started walking down to the end of the hall, my hands intertwined with one another. "So, your name is Damian?" I said keeping my eyes to the floor. "Yes, and your Lina? Correct?" his voice was no where as deep as it should be in a body of his size but it left a feel of comfort after each sentence. I looked down to the paper "yes, yes it is" my feet shifted and we turned down another hallway. "I like that name, its" his voice hesitated for a moment as though he couldn't find the correct word "different" he finally managed to sputter. "Thanks" I said uneasily "this is the history room" I said pointing to a closed blue door, still walking "and this is the math room." My fingers pointed in all directions and my feet wondered the halls, not knowing if he quite followed I came to a stop and looked back to find him standing only inches away. "Is that it?" he asked peering over my shoulder glancing at the little sheet of paper. I looked down "um, yes thats it" I handed him the little paper and watched as his long fingers retrieved it from my hands. Just as I let go, the bell rang and the hallway filled with students "well thats the bell" I said, his eyes not moving from mine. "I guess I'll see you later" I fixed the black bag on my shoulder and watched as he gave me a slight smile and made his way to his first class. Walking down the hall, something made me look back and through the endless flood of teenagers, he was walking down the hall and stopped. What was he doing? He just stopped in the middle of the hallway, but then his head turned swiftly and his eyes met mine. My head shifted and I began to walk away. A slight feeling of embarrassment swept over me, as the the bell rang and I slipped into first period.
Chapter 2
The last bell rang and I bounced back into reality. The black ends of my sweat shirt were covered in a clear liquid drool which I quickly wiped off with my spare hand. "Wake up sleepy head" I felt a soft flick in the back of my hand and I swatted away the culprit as I spun around in my seat. "Christian!" I said in a stern but playful voice. Standing in a blueberry colored rain proof jacket, a lean gangly boy reached down to pick up my binder. "Hey there" he said helping me out of my seat "how was the snooze this time?" His spectacular array of freckles danced as as he smiled his cheery smile. "It was great" I said in between a yawn as I sent my arms into the air in an over-exagerrated form of stretching. "You really need to stop falling asleep" he said stepping out into the winter air "you already got Ms.Gomez mad twice." I shivered as the cold air blew across my face "hey at least I'm passing, unlike some people" I said crossing my arms. "True, so true" he said with another smile "but I'm almost there." I let out a soft chuckle, he always found some way to make me laugh. I opened the metal door into the almost empty hallway as he attempted to balance both his and my binder on his head. "You goof" I said retrieving my binder from the very top and watching his tumble to the floor. "That was so not cool lina!" he said in between a laugh as he attempted to pick up his belongings. I beant down and helped gather his array of paper figures and stuff them back into his to small three ring binder. As we stood up from the white tiled floor, I slipped on an unnoticed paper and fell back down. "Smooth" said Christian leaning down to help me up "see this is why I carry your stuff, because if you do, you just end up hurting yourself with it." I stood up and looked at him as he smiled a cheery smile and we both burst into laughter "sad but true" I said, this time watching where I walked as we made our way down the hall. "You know, you're going to miss your bus" I said glancing down to the little blue watched wrapped around my wrist. "Dang!" he said bursting out into a run "bye Lina! See you tomorrow!" he yelled running down the empty hallway, leaving me standing in complete silence. "Bye..." I said silently as he turned the corner and ran down the other hall. I walked to my locker and turned the little black dial "13 24 12" I whispered as my fingers turned. "Come on, open" I said as I shook the dial and the door swung open with a bang slamming into the locker parralel to mine. I reached into the holding cell and picked out what I would need for homework, book one, book two, and book three. I shoved each book into my fraying messenger back and slammed the door shut once more. I walked down the long hallway, the only noise was my hushed breathing and the soft slap my shoes made against the tile. Until another pair of soft patter came from behind and I came to a stop and turned around. Walking close behind, his body seemed to tower over me as it did this morning. "Hey" I said as he walked up next to me. He looked up under his straight hair and smiled "Hey Lina" his voice was just as melodic as it had been in the morning, and his eyes just as serene. "How'd your first day go" I said, though his legs were longer than mine, he slowed to match stride as we walked up the staircase. "It went" he let out an exagerrated breathe "well it was different thats for sure." I smiled "well it's not the best school, but it's what I'm used to" I said with a shrug. "Yeah, I like it, it was just different" he said "I was trying to find you earlier though, I have something of yours." We stopped at the top of the staircase and I watched as he rummaged through his jacket pocket. "Here we go" he said pulling out a blue mechanical pencil "it fell out of your binder this morning." I took the pencil from his hand and gave off a little laugh "thanks" I said. "No problem" he said "but I think I got to go, I'm going to miss my bus." "Right" I said "well, hope to see you tomorrow." He moved only about a foot away and turned back to face me "Bye Lina" he said with a wave. "Bye" I said walking the other direction. Halfway down the hall I looked back to see him turning the corner. "See ya" I said softly. I looked down at my watch and realized I was going to miss my bus too, so I broke out into a sprint and ran out the entry doors and made my way to the busses. All aboard, lets go home.
