Authors: Ellem May
“Just drop me off here,” I said when we were a few blocks away from the school.
I needed time to get my head straight. I also needed all the practice I could get in the ridiculous heels I was wearing. I have no idea what I was thinking.
“What
abou
–”
“Dad – I can handle it,” I said.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
Not in the slightest
would have been more accurate.
He pulled over, still looking dubious.
“I’ll be fine.” I leaned over, giving him a quick peck on the cheek, his beard tickling my chin.
He wasn’t used to public displays of affection. His face immediately went red. But I couldn’t help myself. He just looked so forlorn, so lost.
I knew it was the boredom. My father doesn’t wear boredom very well. He needs to be busy. It had been almost three weeks since we had left the city.
He cleared his throat. “As long as you’re sure.”
“I’m sure,” I said, taking a good look at him. “You need a shave. Seriously – it makes you look way too old. And while you’re at it, a haircut wouldn’t hurt.”
He just grunted – that seemed to be his answer to everything since the explosion.
The walk did do my head good, but I doubted I would ever get used to the heels.
I walked through the gates, thinking how different this school was to my old one in the city.
The metal fence at the front was low, barely reaching my hip, and on the grass behind it was a large white board announcing upcoming events.
The path led to an ugly two-story brick structure, and a short flight of stairs where the front office was.
The rest of the school was on the other side of the building, but I could hear the normal schoolyard noises drifting through the air toward me as I pushed the door open, quickly taking in my surroundings.
Dull vinyl chairs lined the wall on the right side, and there was a row of framed photographs above them.
Straight ahead was a glass door leading to the other side of the school.
On my left was a counter.
A woman with fuzzy gray hair, and narrow, pinched eyes, glanced up at me through her glasses.
I took a deep breath. I already knew what to do. My father and I had practiced. Way too many times.
“Name?” the woman snapped impatiently when I explained why I was there.
“Ellie. Ellie Fitzpatrick.” Lie one.
“You need a parent to–”
“Dad had to work.” The lie slipped easily from my mouth. It wasn’t so hard after all. In fact, it was way too easy.
I shoved the paperwork at her. “He’s already signed everything.”
“We’ll need the name of your last school so we can have your records transferred,” she huffed.
My dad was nothing if not organized. When they called through for the records they would learn there weren’t any. The school had burnt down the week before. Along with the records of a girl called Elizabeth Fitzpatrick who’d transferred out the same week.
That’s how I got my new name. I didn’t get to choose it.
Armed with my timetable and a locker key, I made my way out through the door on the other side with vague directions to follow the path.
My eyes darted about as I tried to take everything in at once, hoping I looked inconspicuous.
The area the school was built on was bigger than my old one in size, but there wasn’t much to it. Just the building I’d come from that extended on the left to make an L-shape, and another, more recent brick building on the other side, separated by a large grassed area.
Through the gap between the two buildings I caught a glimpse of the sports field.
Wooden picnic benches and tables were scattered about on either side of me, already filling up with my new peers.
Others sat in small groups, lazing casually in the early morning sun, or under large, stately old trees.
The hum of their voices was so normal and familiar I felt my shoulders relax a little.
Near the side entrance some of the junior girls primped and preened, giggling whenever a cute boy walked by.
As I walked along the path, scanning ahead, I was glad to find I didn’t stand out, apart from being the ‘new’ kid. But that didn’t stop me from being nervous.
A group of girls walked past, glancing curiously at me, some of them smiling. I hoped the shaky smile I returned wasn’t too fake. Smiling was the last thing I felt like doing.
I got my first taste of the notorious Madison Wright and the rest of
them
before I even reached the middle of the path. Of course I had no idea who they were at the time.
I couldn’t help but notice them. I would have noticed them even if they weren’t all staring at me.
Sucks to be the new girl.
There were five of them. Three boys and two girls, their perfect features showing no emotion as they studied me. Their skin was pale, flawless, except for one. A boy with rich chocolate skin who was watching them watch me.
At first I thought I knew who they were, or their type at least.
The popular clique. The ones who made everyone else’s life miserable just by existing. They just had that look about them.
I felt suddenly self-conscious as I approached them, all too aware of the tightness of my jeans. The loud click of my heels.
Madison broke away from the main group, heading toward me, scooping her long, golden hair over one shoulder.
The sort of girl that would intimidate even the most successful supermodel.
I watched with interest as a boy I later learned was Jonathon grabbed her arm, as though to stop her. Flicking dark, streaky brown hair out of his eyes, he glanced up at me through thick lashes, and I swear my heart actually fluttered.
Madison pushed past him, still moving my way, and he followed. The others watched, the lack of emotion on their faces chilling me.
“Hi Jenifer,” Madison smiled sweetly as she approached, her cold blue eyes sparkling with glee.
My whole world seemed to stop right then and there.
My mouth just sort of dropped open, and I can only imagine how I looked when Jonathon met my eye.
His head tilted to one side as he searched my face, his hair shifting with the movement.
I couldn’t look away, despite the shock of being addressed by my old name. He just had that effect on me.
I had no idea why I reacted so strongly to him back then, but now I do. And it still makes me angry whenever I think of it.
His eyes were blue – almost gray – and I felt like he was looking deep inside me.
A strange kind of falling feeling hit me in the pit of my belly.
It grew stronger the closer Jonathon got to me.
I should have known it wasn’t natural, this crazy insane attraction I instantly felt for him. But back then I didn’t know what they could do. The power they had.
I couldn’t stop staring at him, despite the fact my heart was hammering with fear.
Jonathon looked away, breaking the strange spell, a small smile curving the corner of his lip.
Suddenly wary, I remembered my father’s warning. There was something a bit
off
about them.
They were almost too perfect.
I opened my mouth, still not sure how to respond even as I wondered how she could know my old name. The whole experience was surreal and dreamlike.
“Uh – hi, Madison,” someone behind me spoke.
I cleared my throat, still confused, as Madison and Jonathon drew level with me.
“Oh look. A new girl – how fun,” Madison said, her cold blue eyes boring into mine.
“Cut it out,” Jonathon said.
Madison laughed. “I’ve been waiting a long time. Surely I’m allowed a little fun.”
And I could have sworn she winked at me as she continued toward the office, stopping long enough to say, “By the way, Jenifer, I love the – um – dress,” her sarcastic tone leaving little to the imagination.
“Did you hear that?” the girl with my old name gushed, staring after them. “She knows my name.”
I turned my attention to her, and despite the strangeness of what had just happened, I had to choke back a laugh.
Her dress looked like it had been salvaged from a table cloth.
“I’m Jenifer in case you didn’t hear.” Jenifer’s thin voice had a strange, high pitched squeak to it, and she actually snorted with delight.
She jabbed her black-framed glasses back into place as they slid down her nose, and without giving me a chance to answer, she slipped her arm through mine. “Come on. I’ll show you where the lockers are. I just know we’re going to be friends.”
“
Er
– thanks,” I said, “but I should be able to find them.”
“Really, I insist.” She was already pulling me forward, and I realized we were attracting attention.
So much for keeping a low profile.
I kept my head low as she prattled on without seeming to need to breathe, her skinny black ponytail slapping me in the face as she whipped her head about enthusiastically.
I gritted my teeth as we reached the place where the path forked, cutting between the buildings. By then her loud voice – which had everyone turning toward us – was starting to grate on my nerves. And if her ponytail slapped me one more time...
“Do you think you could lower it a few decibels? I muttered.
“Oh hey – my parents say that all the time,” she snort-chuckled, not appearing at all offended. Then she told me way more than I was comfortable knowing, including the fact her parents taught all things science. Which of course meant
chem
, physics, and bio, all of which featured on my timetable.
I had no idea how to get rid of her, and because of her parents I didn’t want to offend her. I also felt kind of sorry for her – just not
that
sorry for her.
I mean, it’s not like I’m a snob or anything like that, but even the biggest losers in the world know that you quickly become the people you associate with. And she definitely wasn’t doing herself any favors. Could she really be that clueless?
I kept my eyes firmly on the ground as we came to the back of the building, and up the short flight of stairs, not looking up until I heard the magic words.
“Here we are. Locker twenty-nine.” Jenifer grabbed the key out of my hand, and shoved it into the locker, giving it a good, hard bang as she pulled it open. “They get stuck,” she explained as she snatched my timetable out of my hand, still talking.
“Ellie – huh. I wouldn’t have picked you for an Ellie.” She held her glasses in place with one finger as she studied my timetable. “Look at that – we have some of the same classes. Third period we have
chemi
–”
“Yeah – look at that,” I said weakly, trying to cut in as I took my timetable back. It was time to nip this in the bud. Immediately.
She continued as though I hadn’t spoken.
“Just wait till you meet Donald,” she gushed. “Of course, he has no idea I even exist, but …”
I tuned out again, praying for the bell.
Both sides of the corridor were lined with lockers, and at the end three girls were huddled close together, whispering and throwing quick looks in my direction.
One of them – a curvy girl with thick brown hair and freckles – said something that set them all off into a fit of giggles.
But then she caught my eye, and stopped. She raised an eyebrow, grinning as she jerked her head at Jenifer, running a finger across her throat.
Her message was loud and clear.
Social suicide.
I shrugged helplessly.
Her grin grew even wider if that was possible.
I felt a tug at my shoulder as Jenifer – who was still talking – started to pull my bag off.