3 Chapter THREE

A new day had commenced after the students had arrived on the island. The sun had risen, bringing light to the area and the vegetation all around it.

Amelia used her fingers to comb through her long, straightened black hair to ensure she looked decent. Slight nerves wracked her form as she approached the giant building designated to be the school.

'School', she thought, a shiver running down her spine. She wanted to gag at the name. Her memories related to such buildings were negative, and she had a feeling that more would be made there.

With a sigh, she walked up the steps. The yellow double swing doors were open, and Amelia could spot students all around the hallway. She took a moment to survey her surroundings, checking for oddities that could be present like in her past school.

'It is truly a school', she mused. Tall, freshly-designed lockers decorated the place on both sides of the hallway. The marble floors slightly glistened in the morning light, having been recently mopped as the students moved around in activity. They were either standing next to each other in the hallway or perched against the lockers as they talked amongst each other, waiting for classes to start. Chattering and laughter echoed along the space, and Amelia hoped no one had noticed her yet.

She had stopped walking to take everything in ever since she had moved past the doors. A person then bumped into her back, making her almost topple to the floor.

"Watch it!" a boy yelled at her as he moved away.

A bout of anger rose inside Amelia, but she swallowed it down. She did not want to start something, and on the first day at that.

"Sorry," she forced out, but the guy was a good distance away to hear her. He had met with some of his buddies, smiling and chuckling as they talked around a locker. It looked like he had already forgotten about what had happened.

"Ugh," she did not bother to hide her displeased grunt. It was not even an hour, and she felt ready to bolt out of the building.

"Oh, hey!" a smiling voice greeted behind her. Amelia turned, coming face to face with the girl she had seen on the previous day. At the moment, the girl's eyelids were decorated with eyeliner, and it seemed to make her eyes bigger. Amelia then noticed the blue-grey irises on her eyes. She had worn a beige top and a fitting pair of faded blue jeans that hugged her legs.

"Hi," Amelia greeted back, feeling a sudden uncomfortable feeling overcome her. She was not used to people coming forward and greeting her, and she had suddenly forgotten how to talk to people.

"Are you new?" Charlotte asked, leading the conversation.

"You could say that, yeah," Amelia smiled, hoping it looked inviting and not threatening. "I used to be in another school for my first two years of high school though."

"Oh, me too, because this isn't the usual school grounds," Charlotte smiled in reply. "Can't believe we are here. I kind of miss my family. You know, being miles and miles away from each other. You understand what I'm saying, right?"

Amelia smiled as she said, "I do."

"So, are you a junior?"

"Sophomore," Amelia replied, earning a confused stare in reply. "I had to repeat a year."

Charlotte grimaced.

"I won't ask why if you don't want me to; it's none of my business. Anyway, it's good to know we'll be together for the class."

Amelia's brown eyes briefly widened at the statement. She had not thought through sharing her classes with the vampire girl, but she thought it would be better that way. That would help make them friends faster.

"At least now I'll have someone to accompany me to class," Charlotte added, confirming Amelia's thoughts. Amelia did not know what to do but smile at that.

"Okay. Let's go."

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Amelia accompanied Charlotte to the classes for the day. Charlotte had a likeable character Amelia had not expected, and she smiled when the girl later complained about the unwanted exercises they were getting from walking the stairs to their classrooms.

"And to top it all of, we have P.E later. Who does that on the first day?" she sighed to show her annoyance.

The two had arrived for their last class before lunch, which was Physics. They had situated themselves in the middle of the class on desks next to each other as other students continued pouring into the room.

"…and that is how I got my head shaved," Charlotte had finished telling a story that had Amelia staring at her in shock. Apparently, when she and her brother were young, they had gone to play in a clearing outside their house and had gotten attacked by insects. Their parents weren't sure that they had gotten rid of all the bugs after all the washing and spraying they had done on their children, and so they got rid of their hair to be certain.

Amelia thought it was some sort of punishment dished on Charlotte and her brother, and she exploded in laughter. She could just picture it in her head, imagining a little Charlotte with no inch of hair on her head.

"That was so mean of them," she commented, still laughing.

"That's what I thought!" Charlotte agreed. "I mean, they were bugs, not lice!"

"Hey, sis," Emmett said as he entered the designated class room. Amelia, who had been sliding off her seat, sat right back up and cut her laughter short. For the most part of the day, it was only Charlotte and her. Sure, some people came to greet them, but they didn't stay for long with them. She was concerned about Emmett, especially since he was Charlotte's sibling.

"Oh! It's you," he exclaimed, staring at Amelia. She stared at Charlotte with an uneasy smile, signalling for help.

"He means he spotted you yesterday," Charlotte explained. Amelia remained unfazed.

"What happened to your purple hair?" the guy asked, and Amelia chose to give him a weird look.

"What are you talking about?" she pronounced the words, looking suspicious at him.

"So it wasn't you," the guy shrugged. "Hey, I'm Emmett," he greeted with a smile, extending his hand. Amelia moved to grab his hand as she stared at his features. He had strong cheekbones, blue eyes just like his sister, and dimples when he smiled with a bit of freckles dispersed on his cheeks. The open, brown leather jacket he had worn on top of his blue shirt did nothing to hide the brawny physique he possessed, and it had Amelia guessing if he played sports.

"Amelia," she smiled. "I'm new."

"I could tell," Emmett smiled, still staring at her. The stare continued for a couple of more seconds, making Amelia shift on her seat. Charlotte coughed, interrupting them, much to Amelia's relief.

"Alright, you've seen her. Now go," Charlotte said, ushering her brother away from them in a shoo-ing motion.

"Fine. See you later, girls," he said with a grin, his stare not leaving Amelia.

"What was that?" Amelia asked Charlotte as soon as Emmett was out of ear shot.

"That was my brother," she sighed. "Please be careful around him. He may look like an angel, but he can be a player."

'Ain't that something?' Amelia mused. Sure, the guy was attractive, but Amelia was not concerned about boyfriends at the moment.

"Oh, and that is Ryker," Charlotte said, pointing at a guy with scraggly brunette hair that had entered the class without paying either of them any attention. He had moved to the back of the room and positioned himself in a sleeping posture.

"He might not talk a lot, but he is friends with my brother. We all weirdly get along," Charlotte stated.

Amelia stared at Ryker for a moment before focusing her attention on Emmett's sister.

"Does he sleep a lot?" she asked.

"You have no idea."

"How is he still in school?" Amelia asked with a serious expression, making Charlotte laugh.

"You're a doll, Amelia," she said once she had calmed down.

"First time I'm hearing that," the girl shrugged.

"There's something about you that makes you likable," Charlotte continued.

Amelia remained silent for a few seconds, blinking her eyes before saying "What?"

"Yeah," Charlotte confirmed. "You can say that it's a power that I have. I can take one look at a person and determine the kind of character they possess. And with you… I don't know. Something tells me I can trust you."

"Really?" Amelia asked, raising an eyebrow, and Charlotte nodded. Amelia found it hard to believe.

"Are you sure?" she asked, and Charlotte nodded again.

"Okay." The girl decided to let it go at that. A pang of guilt sort of filled her heart, but she discarded it immediately, not wanting to dwell on it.

The college student tasked with teaching the Physics class finally entered. Everyone then turned their attention to her as the class began.