•3• New Faces Same Places

"Raine, you're going to be late for breakfast" My grandmother called from downstairs. I was almost ready for my second day in school. I can say that yesterday was kind of a success; I might have even made a friend. You guessed it, Alexis. She is sweet and once you get used to her hyper active mood she will grow on you, at least that was how it went with me. I ran down the stairs, went to my grandma, I call her nana by the way, and gave her a kiss on the cheek while she was busy cooking her amazing scrambled eggs.

"Good morning Nana" I said cheerfully. I noticed how her silver hair shone in the sun of the light coming from the kitchen window. The smell of coffee and eggs was overwhelming and I felt my stomach growl.

"Good morning sweetheart. Are you ready for your second day?" She asked all excitedly, she never made me feel like she is over eighty, she is a youthful soul. I honestly still find it strange how she is my mother's mother. They are just totally different, kind of on the opposite sides f the pole.

"I am. Yesterday was actually not bad and I think I made a friend" I told her because we didn't get to have dinner nor catch up yesterday. When I came home, she was not here. She left me a note that she will be late in the store because the girl in the evening shift couldn't come. My grandmother owns a small bookshop in town, it is working well and she likes it.

"Oh really" She exclaimed with a happy smile. "tell me more" She placed two plates of eggs on the small round table in the kitchen, and I helped grabbing coffee for me and orange juice for her.

We sat down on the table and I took a bite of my food at first before I went on my tale. "Her name is Alexis Dale, she is a cheerleader, but she's got the brains too, and she is nice"

"Uh. The Dales are such a nice family. Her father Jackson, is one mean lawyer, really good at his job. Her mother Jane used to be a school teacher, but she gave up her job for the sake of taking her of her daughter. They are sort of from the elite families in town" Nana took a bite from her eggs after she had explained the Dales to me.

I nodded, "Wow, you know a lot about them" I took a sip from my coffee and leaned back on the white chair.

"It's a small town Raine everybody knows everybody around here and one sigle word can spread like wildfire. I don't know a lot but I know enough" she put her fork down with a soft clink then turned to look me in the eyes, "Although Secret Valley is known for how nice and friendly the people are, and how peaceful everything is, this town is full of secrets. Just like its name. Whenever you see perfection you should know it's a curtain and it veils the dirtiest of secrets" she then turned away, gave a small chuckle, and with a playful tone she said, "But what do I know?"

Breakfast was over and it was time to go to school. I like to be early, something about arriving early to anything and everything made me feel rather in control. I parked my car in the parking lot, grabbed my things and went straight to my locker. It was locker number 419. The hallways were still rather empty, something that I expected after I had seen the empty parking lot. I placed some of the books I carried inside, took my everything-notebook, and started to head for English AP.

When I entered the class, I remembered Sebastian, his face just jumped to my mind and I felt the slight flatter in my heart. I breathed in trying to brush away the memory, but his smiling face jumped right before me. How his eyes narrowed ever so slightly wrinkling at the sides, his pearl-white teeth when he smiles, and the sound of his chuckle rang through my ears, a memory of when I bumped into him for the second time yesterday.

Is it possible that I have a crush on him?

I have always made fun of those who like people when they don't even know them. I could never really wrap my head around it, why would you like someone that you don't even know? What is there to like if you don't know them? Is it possible that I am turning shallow?

The class was filling up with more students by the minute, but I stuck to my place by the window at the end of the class. Mr. Maguire entered the class and was about to close the door, but before he could I saw Sebastian's head peeking through it, "I'm sorry, do I still get to come in?"

"Just this time, but remember the rules. You cannot enter the class after I come in"

Mr. Darrell Maguire was a strict teacher, but a very good one and I found his class one of the few I enjoyed. I wouldn't really call myself a top student, but I know how to get good grades, to get myself o a decent college. Honestly that is all I am looking to do right now.

Sebastian walked straight to his seat, exchanging few words with the girl next to him. I know she is friends with Alexis, because she sat with us yesterday at lunch. I just don't remember her name and we never really got to talk. But the rest of the class went on well, uneventful is good, which was how the rest of the day went until lunch. I had chemistry with Alexis, who jumped up with a clap the second she saw me enter the class. Thankfully, she was not much of a talker during class but the second the bell rang she wouldn't shut up. I listened as she rambled on and on about the great places, which she wants take me to in town, and the upcoming party that was apparently some local celebration everybody went to. I made a note to myself to ask nana about it.

"You wouldn't believe it but Sebastian talked to me today" the girl who was in English with me exclaimed excitedly as soon as she arrived at our table in the cafeteria. The scene was pretty similar to yesterday; there were around a dozen of people around the round table, some were sitting while others had to stand. The girl 's hair was back, very similar to mine, except it was blue dipped it was a shade very similar to her eyes.

"Here we go again" Jared said in a bored tone and a roll of his eyes, earning a glare from the girl whose name I cannot recall.

"You're just jealous Jared" She retorted.

"And you're just hopeless Jessica" He snarked then turned away from her, delving into a conversation that hadn't stopped with Jessica's announcement.

"So, spill it. What happened?" one cheerleader asked with a squeal.

I turned to Alexis and noticed how she looked at the whole thing boredly, "What is the deal with Sebastian? Why are they all interested?"

Alexis sighed while filing her nails, "honestly, the fuss is too much around that guy" she put the nail file down and turned to me, "Sebastian Addington was the previous new-comer. he came back to town last year with his father, and since he arrived, he hasn't given a glance to any of the girls around school. He's hot, his family are a big deal around here, and he is single. So, this is mainly why it is a big deal"

I nodded, taking a bite of my apple and watched while Jessica was telling them how she had said good morning and he actually replied. Suddenly, everyone became quiet around the table, and I turned to see the reason behind it only to find Sebastian walking to our table. Jessica looked like she was about to pass out from how freaked out she looked, the guys seemed to anticipate the reason of why he was coming our way, and the girls just swooned.

I shook my head and turned to look in front of me when I heard his voice, "Hey Lorraine" I turned my head when he called.

"Yeah?" I replied tentatively.

"I was wondering if I can borrow your notes for biology AP? I saw you taking them and they looked thorough" He asked rubbing the back of his neck as he asked. His bicep flexing as he did so, and I can say he is sinfully hot.

"What happened to yours?" I asked not because I want to be mean, but because I saw him taking more thorough notes than mine.

"I left the notebook at home and I need to check few things before class starts"

I got my notebook out and handed it to him, "you can give it to me in class"

He said a quick thank you and then left, and with that it felt like everyone unfroze and they started to fire questions my way. 'When did you guys talk?', 'Are you friends?', 'What is going on here?', and so on and so forth. "I cannot believe he asked for your notes!" exclaimed Jessica in a complaining tone.

I decided to ignore the uproar and simply said that we have two classes together and that was it. They seemed satisfied with the answer after a while and the conversation drifted into much lighter topics, such as: the upcoming awesome party. However, in the middle of everything I couldn't help but notice someone missing from this group of people. Sally. I turned to Alexis and asked, "Hey, do you know where sally is?"

She looked up and scanned the people around the table like she just noticed that someone is not around. "Now that you mention it, I haven't seen her all day"

"Do you think she is sick or something?" I asked.

"who are you talking about?" Jessica asked curiously moving a bit closer to us.

"Sally" Alexis replied in a clipped tone.

"Actually, I was just talking to her this morning right before school. She told me she's coming but I haven't seen her all day"

I don't know why, but I felt my stomach drop. It could be anything, maybe she is with a friend, family, or even a boyfriend. However, I couldn't shake the feeling that something wrong was going on.