Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Monday comes quickly, indicating my first day at Franklin regional senior high school. I make sure to wake up before mom comes knocking on my door as if she wants to yank it off.

Taking a quick shower and other morning hygiene routine in the same hurrying mode, I start to dress up in a simple plain blue shirt; black rough jeans, coupled with a light makeup.I stare at my reflection in the mirror.

I look appropriately to my age of seventeen, having silver grey eyes — rare in my family since dad has brown hazel eyes, while mom has amber — that looks a bit too big to fit inside my small socket; beige warm undertone skin, rhyming with my darker shade of blonde hair and light blonde eyebrows and lids.

The mirror easily captures my figure of five feet, four inches.

I turn to the bed, checking the time from the alarm clock next to the lamp, who's figure is resting atop the cabinet. It's seven-thirty and school will be starting in about an hour. I stock a cap into my bag, a sweater and few usable books.

"Rayne." Seven-fourty on dot, mom calls me from downstairs.

"I'm coming, almost ready."

I pick my bag from the bed and check myself once again in the mirror. I look better and great for school. Getting downstairs, mom's preparing pancakes — her fast food during late hours— laid on the dining table.

"Be fast with your food. We are late already."

I look over to mom. She's picking a bottle of cold water from the fridge and after she's done, she walks over to the table, pick a pancake and start to eat opposite from me.

"Dad isn't around?" I have already figured that out myself, but decided to ask anyways. He must have gone to work early; a conference meeting, maybe.

"Yeah. He has an early meeting. I'll be visiting the town's hospital, my new place of work today. You will have to take the bus in the afternoon, I'll drop you off this morning." Mom explains as she eats, hurriedly.

"Okay."

"Rayne?"

"What?"

She sighs. "Nothing. We love you more than anything in the world. Our work has nothing to do with lessening our love for you."

"I know. Be fast with your food, we don't want to get late." I mirror her words and stride to the car, waiting.

Minutes later, mom drives me to school, and while the drive last, we had a minor chats about the issues of first day at school and random lessons from her about studying and not to make bad friends.

I groan inwardly each time she repeats the lesson again and again and again— like a torture.

"Be good, darling. Don't forget, try to make good friends." She says as she pull over. I alight, rolling my eyes.

Mom gives me a peck on my forehead when I lower and peak at her through the car window, who's window is rolled down. She's repeated those words more than thrice now.

"Yes, mom." I turn my back, ready to face Franklin high school when mom calls again.

"Rayne?" Her eyes glint with seriousness.

"Mh-hm."

"Your dad and I love you."

I give Mom a ghost of a smile as a response. In return, she smiles at me a motherly smile and roars off the parking lot. I walk past the walkway with field grasses beneath, watching my environment. I manage to wiggle my way out, amidst the crowds of students to the entrance

Amongst them, are those flaunting with their new, fancy cars. Show offs! Says my inner goddess from the inside. I smile.

The interior part of the room is conductive, the floors presentably neat. The lockers are in intact as the work of the glaziers are maintained, giving some hopes that the school has disciplined student. Never judge a book by its cover. Oh, here she comes again. She just never knows when to tactiturn her disembodied voice.

With the help of my wandering eyes, a girl's figure caught my eyes as she's talking to another girl, perhaps a friend of hers. I clear my throat to aid in gaining her attention.

"Hi, my name's Rayne. If you don't mind, can you direct me to the principal's office?" I ask with a smile.

"Down the hall, take a left, you'd see the admin's tag on the door." She tells in a carl tone.

I try to maintain a neutral comportment. "Thanks."

Walking past the hallway, I find the door with the said tag on it, and enter. Another tag that says, "Principal's office," shows on a wooden door, and I gait to it when a feminine voice of an officially dressed woman, whose blonde hair's styled into a bun with clips holding it firmly by the sides calls, and then, rushes from behind the counter to meet me.

"Rayne, right?"

She's standing in front of me, a file on her hand. She looks elegant even in her work outfit and her smile clarifies a friendly tone in her voice.

"Yes?"

Her sharp strides takes her behind the counter as she checks a record book or so, I think.

"I'm Talia." She glances at me for a brief second and look down at the file again.

"Um, I need to ask. How did you know my name?" Curiosity got the better-most of me. But still, it's necessary of me to know. It's not like I tape a placard on my head with my name scripted on it.

"Your dad's informed the principal, who then informed me. He's a good man to our school; supports a lot." Her smile widens. I didn't know dad knows here before, no wonder he wants me to study here.

As she continues to do her thing while I'm standing in front of the counter, I hear an argument going on inside the principal's office and I try not to eavesdrop. It seems like a student is in trouble.

Talia's eyes stir up and she outstretch a paper to me.

"That's your syllabus." Then, she bends under the counter for a minutes before saying. "Your locker's number is..."

The sound of the office door, creaking open, stops Talia mid-sentence.

A feminine frame walks out to reveal the girl who waved at me from the house opposite us the other day — Saturday to be specific.

Her mood instantly lights up from the fury expression it wore and she walks towards me with a smile broadening her face.

"Hey." She greets me. "Mrs. Talia." Her eyes dart to Talia or rather, Mrs. Talia who cock a smile at her.

"Hi." I scratch the back of my neck. I'm bad at reciprocating speeches. One of the characters being alone has implanted into me.

"You guys know each other?" Mrs. Talia ask and we both nod almost in sync.

She ask, giving me my locker number. "If so, Shade will you be kind enough to walk Rayne to her locker?" Almost instantly, the girl whom I just know to be Shade nods.

Yeah, sure. What's the number?"

"Um." I check the slip but Shade's sharp gaze caught the description faster than mine.

"Row eleven, thirteen A. It's three lockers away from mine. Seems like everything wants us to become friends then." she smiles a crook smile at me and I manage to return one back. She's carefree unlike me.

I don't think she would want to be a friend of mine but remembering mom's words, I decide to give in. Shade looks like the good type though.

"I guess so."

"Come on, let's show you the hallway."

Pulling my hands after entwining it with hers, Shade drags me after her long gait.

In the hallway, many students fills the room as Shade and I pass by them. Silence embeds us, choking me but I know not what to say.

"So, you're Rayne?" Ask Shade from beside me as she leads me to my locker.

"So, you're Shade?" I rather tease almost as she finishes asking me.

"Yup and no. It's Sha-de, not Shade. I'm not an English Shade." She laughs, and me, thinking perhaps she's offended, she adds. "You know, I never knew we'd be attending the same school. I only waved at you as a good neighbour would do." She laughs yet again.

"That's nice of you," she glances at me, "I guess?" I question instead and she stop walking, halting me in the process.

Her eyes are laid with curiosity. "Where are you from? The BC centuries?"

I shrug and start to walk again to stop this questions she's interrogating me with.

"This is your locker." She points to the locker beside me and I nod, pressing my lips into a thin line. "You don't talk much, do you?"

Yeah, she doesn't. I wouldn't agree with my subconscious, because I do talk when needed. Especially when bullies think they can bully me because of my silence.

"You think so?" I ask and lean on my locker.

"Surely not. I think there's a feisty girl behind all this acting."

Acting? I almost laugh out loud.

She's my kind of person. "I don't know if that's a compliment but I'll say thank you nevertheless." I smirk.

Shade barks a laugh and help me to open the locker when I couldn't seem to get it unlocked. "You can set your own private code."

"I will take to your advice."

As I finish saying, a girl stumble down the stairs, rolling continuously with a yelp leaving her mouth before she cries out in pain when she finally gets down.

All undivided attentions of the students shifted to the girl immediately and from the looks of things, it seems natural to them. Or perhaps a common event.

Shade rushes over to the girl and help pick her up when I hear a feminine voice arising as the owner comes from the obscurity that the staircase is making.

"You don't need to help her, Shade. I'm sure you have lots on your table right now." A dark blonde girl dressed in a fancy posey gown whose sleeves reaches her ankles while the length stops just above her knees says. She adds a black Chelsea boot to her mode of outfit and a silver wristwatch. She's grand; a flaunting type, I assume.

She looks like the bullying kind and with the way Shade is looking at her sure confirms my guess.

"Yep. I have a lot on my table and part of it includes beating the hell out of your feeble brain that knows nothing but bullying new students." Shade says, furiously and for a second, the dark blonde girl seems startled or rather afraid but she manages to regain her earlier composure.

Wow. I didn't know Shade can get this angry. It's unlikely of her. Unlikely of her? I don't even know much about her yet.

"Stop bluffing and making empty threat. You don't want my dad to destroy you." She winks and raise an eyebrow then she blows her hair with her hands. What's happening? Who's her dad?

"Let's see if he'll destroy me after I've destroyed this little, precious, spoilt daddy's girl." Shade leaves the girl who's still groaning on the ground with care and stand, striding towards the dark blonde girl with an angry face. This will surely end badly.

"Shade." I call to avoid any fight, my hands stretch before me in a calming gesture. I don't want to know what she has in mind but I think I need to stop her. She might truly end up in trouble, that is, getting destroyed by whoever her father is.

Shade's eyes bore into mine and she soften her demeanor before she goes back to the girl and help her stand on her feet.

"Leave!" Shade yells to the students who's watching them like a TV, shooing them away. "Go, the show's over."

The dark blonde girl walks down the stairs to me and introduce. "I'm Lydia."

"Rayne." I say and hesitantly shook her hand. She looks at me confused for a bit and I think I understand what's baffling her.

"It's R. A. Y. N..."

"I know. I'm not an illiterate." She daunts, cutting me off.

"I never called you one." I say back at her. She looks like a bad girl to me already. No wonder Shade hates her. I think I might hate her too if she continues to act this way." From behind her, Shade smirks at me, while still helping the girl up.

"Whatever. I'm gonna let you go this time. You're a newcomer in this school and I'll urge you to roam with the right people; people who can get you fame and respect; people like me. I'll let you think about it."

Her hands almost touch my cheek...to pat it? But I pull my face away. I would have swatted her hands but I don't want to show any behaviour as of yet.

"And don't forget, never come close to my boyfriend, or else, you're going to learn the hard way. Shade can enlighten you on that." She glances at Shade, who gives her a low scowl.

Just as she's finished, the bell rings and she and Shade exchanges dead stares before she gaits away.

"She's the real definition of a bitch." Shade says when she's gone. It's just me, Shade and the stumbled girl together.

"You hate each other that much?" I ask, curiously.

"You don't wanna know how much. But, we will talk during break. We need to get to class right now." Shade's eyes access the girl and I. "Let's meet during lunch." She adds.

"Um...I can't." The girl tells Shade. She looks at her with confusion, lacing her small features.

"I can't dine with courageous people like you guys when I'm the school loser. If Lydia sees me with you guys she'll punish me again." The girl adds.

"And that's why you must stick with us. We will help."

"I'm sorry, I can't."

I almost felt pity for her and that's when I take in her sharp features. She has a grey blonde hair, reaching her waist; a brilliant silver blue eyes, sandy skin, and a few, rarely noticeable freckles on her nose. Her dressing is a cerulean polo shirt, tucked into her jean of red, belts holding it firmly together, making her look smart. A white sneakers and watch. She has a good sense of dressing in my opinion.

With every word Shade says, she takes a step towards the girl, "You'll meet us during lunch and you'll dine with us."

Shade's not asking. I wanted to tell the girl but keep quiet.

The girl nods and we all go to our classes. I learnt that Shade and I will be having the same class in first period, so we both walk off, leaving the girl behind. You haven't even asked of her name. Says my-never-will-stop-to-disturb-me subconscious.

During lunch, I will.