Chapter 19: Damien Blackwell

Sam had to take a cab to get to school. He spent the whole time during the ride to figure out what to do. He realized that the books he had in his backpack were probably useless after all this time, not to mention the fact that he had no idea about the lesson schedule.

'I'll go to the director, and take an L. Who cares if he thinks I'm an idiot who can take care of basics like knowing the schedule or packing his backpack properly? I just need to make myself appear normal, to then start my investigation. Somebody had to, after all, enroll me in this high school. This is a lead I was hoping for,' he smiled.

At the same moment, the cab driver looked at his reflection in the rear window. He appeared to be slightly confused, as the teenager was smiling like an idiot, sitting in the cab parked on the street right in front of the entrance to the school. „We are here," he finally said.

The words jolted Sam back to reality. He looked around, spotting the school building. Quite an unimpressive structure. It looked as if somebody placed several rectangles made out of concrete. Some next to one another, the others placed on top. Then painted the whole thing beige with a few accents of bronze.

As his eyes returned to the driver, he pulled out the debit card from his wallet, paid, and rushed out of the car, to run into the school.

In front of the building was a parking lot, separated by the entrance which led right in the middle of the two sections filled with cars. There were a few decorative patches of green, with a couple of trees squeezed in, but it still looked very much like a concrete jungle.

Ignoring the view, he rushed inside, then spent a moment to find the director's office.

He followed the plan, receiving the schedule from mister Wood, then rushed to his class. The only thing he had to do was lie that his cold had gotten better and that he lost the piece of paper with the schedule.

First class B, was where he ended, and they were now on the second floor, having a biology lesson. He knocked on the door and then went in, surprising both the teacher and the class.

„I'm S-sam. Sam Shepherd. Good morning," he threw.

A plain-looking brunette in thick glasses and a lab coat thrown over her grey sweater looked at him for a second longer than she needed, before gesturing for him to sit. „You are late, mister Shepherd," she said with a commanding voice.

He ignored her, rushing to the first empty desk, but he paused midway, as he spotted Rose. She had her mouth open and was glaring at him in complete surprise.

He had to force himself to move, to not raise any questions from his fellow students. Finally reaching an empty desk, he sat down, pulled one of his notebooks, and began making notes of the lecture. At first, he avoided even thinking about the textbook, but soon he discovered something very surprising. The one used in biology class looked awfully familiar to what he bought over twenty years ago. He verified it by pulling the biology book from his backpack. He also discovered two very interesting things.

The first one was that the class was using a new edition of the same book he did twenty years ago. That's why the cover was so similar. The second thing was that he actually had this new edition as if somebody made sure he was prepared to go on with his normal life by subtly changing some things in the surrounding environment.

The lesson soon ended, and the students left the classroom, heading for the next lesson. Few were glancing over their shoulders at Sam and Rose, whispering something with nasty smirks on their faces. The reactions during their unexpected meeting didn't go unnoticed by the teenagers.

He didn't even notice, just like she, as they both were too busy waiting for one another to have a more private conversation.

„What are you doing here?" Rose whispered when they together left the classroom, heading through the corridor.

„Going to school?" He asked. „I didn't know you would be here, just like you didn't know I would."

„R-right. For A moment I thought… Never mind. S-so..."

„What did you think?"

„That maybe… I know it's silly," she smiled, dropping her gaze to the floor. „I thought that maybe the church wanted to spy on me."

„So you don't trust them… I'm the same. I just want to figure out what the hell is going on."

„Y-yeah," she stuttered after a moment of hesitation.

This taught Sam that her reason for being involved with the church of Mutation could be different than his. Unfortunately, he couldn't ask, because they arrived at the correct classroom.

„Hey," she whispered to him, before going in. „We shouldn't talk in the corridors, but… The rooftop should be safe. Let's go there after class, ok?"

He nodded before going into the class. As soon as the lesson finished, he and Rose left for the rooftop. As they reached their destination, the cold wind hit them. From the vantage point, they could see the school court below, where some teenagers were currently preparing for PE.

They both ignored it finding a good spot that would shelter them from the gusts.

„So… Have you chosen your title yet?" She asked.

„No… I'm having trouble with deciding. How about you?"

„I have a good idea, but I didn't do it yet. I think I'll do it after school, today," she smiled.

„I see… About yesterday..."

„I don't want to talk about it," she turned her back to him.

To Sam, it was crystal clear that she was scared of what happened with the detective, so her behavior meant that for whatever reason she had to stay with the church, it was quite important.

'Can I trust her then? It's better to stay reserved for now. See how things turn out,' he concluded. „I understand. I just wanted to know if you were worried like I am, and I think I got my confirmation."

„I am worried, but I just don't want to think about it," she said, slowly turning her face back to him. „Let's talk about something else… What do you think about others? About Adrian and Isabella?" she tried to force herself to smile again, but couldn't.

„Adrian seems like a cool guy," Sam shrugged. „Isabella… She is..."

A chuckle left Rose's mouth, she covered her lips with her hand, hidden in the sleeve of her oversized hoodie. „She is a bit stiff, isn't she? Sometimes she might be hard to talk with, but I think she is a good person."

„Well… She seems rich but good. I hope."

„We should go now. The break is about to end. Let's talk later, ok?" she proposed, passing by him.

„Yes," Sam confirmed before following her.

The conversation was not as fruitful as he hoped for, but at least he learned something.

Their escapades to the rooftop continued until the lunch break, which was the longest. He learned a few things about the girl, for example, that she had a tag called 'Tactus Sanationis.' To her conviction, it was the reason that all titles she got were of supporting kind.

After talking with her, Sam only assured himself that the best choice would be to learn what titles others were going with before he made his decision. He also hoped to consult the director to find out more about the options he had, as the names didn't tell him much.

They talked a little bit about spells, as each title should give them access to one. That was not the only option to acquire them, as he found out. Mysterious scrolls could be obtained from the church or found out there, in the world

Rose was able to also touch on a different topic. Something called 'Turf wars,' but as she was about to tell him more, during the lunch break, the two of them found out that the rooftop was occupied.

Three other students were smoking up there when the two of them came. They hid themselves behind the entrance protruding above the roof, so Sam originally didn't spot them. It was Rose, who turned around to say something, but didn't as the words got stuck in her throat when she spotted other teenagers.

The biggest one of them was very tall and had a solid frame. His lean body suggested an athlete. He wore a white shirt with a tie, similar to his smaller palls. The flat-top haircut, combined with the black color of his hair reminded Sam of actors in the old action movies.

„Who do we have here?" he said getting up, as he was crouching down with the cigarette in his mouth.

The rest cuckled, following their leader. Rose tried to bolt to the exit, but she only managed to take three steps, passing by Sam, before she was intercepted by the thug, who caught her. They wrestled for about three seconds, before she was captured by him, and turned over.

„Two lovebirds chirping on the rooftop?" he laughed with the cigarette in his mouth.

„We were just talking," Sam's eyebrow frowned. He was unsure how to deal with the situation.

The tag, increasing his strength, meant he probably had a good chance to take all three on, but this wouldn't go unnoticed in school. Gaining attention was something he wished to avoid, as his only goal to attend the school was to find out who enrolled him. There was also the small, but significant detail in their hands – Rose.

She wiggled, trying to free herself. She even swung her fist, trying to smack the bully in the head, but he caught it and pulled down her hand. This made the sleeve of her hoodie peel slightly off her forearm, exposing part of it.

Sam spotted black marks on her skin. 'Tattoo? No, it was too irregular. Then what? Birthmarks? But this dark?' He mused.

„What is going on here?!" a growl reached to them from the stairs, followed by loud footsteps.

The bully immediately released Rose and took out the cigarette from his mouth, throwing it away. The two others followed. A moment later an angry teacher appeared. Sam didn't know him, but still was very thankful, even if the man was about to scold them all.

„The rooftop is off-limits! Go! Go now!" he shouted.

Rose bolted. She didn't need more encouragement. Sam followed right after, not looking over his shoulder at all. Moments later they were back on the ground floor.

„L-let's eat lunch," she stuttered, catching her breath.

In such a way they found themselves in the cafeteria with most of the students. This meant they couldn't talk. While Rose sat by one of the tables, pulled out the sandwiches from her backpack, and dug in, Sam had to buy some food from the school shop, as he didn't pack anything.

With two cinnamon buns and a box of juice, he found himself a spot to consume the lunch. After finishing he went to class.

Rose wasn't keen to return to the rooftop during the breaks, because of the incident, so they didn't speak much more that day until the lessons finished. Fortunately, another opportunity appeared, after the school ended. They found themselves going to the same bus stop. With chatty students surrounding them, they didn't have to worry too much about being overheard, especially if they were to whisper.

„Who was that? The guy at the rooftop?" he asked, to start the conversation.

„Damien Blackwell, he is the biggest bully in school. I thought that their spot was behind the gym... You should stay away from him. The school barely started, and he already almost got detention," she informed, only to go silent for a few seconds.

Noticing an opportunity to change the topic, Sam opened his mouth to attempt, but she was faster.

„I don't feel comfortable talking here… Let's talk later, ok?" she gave him a nice, warm smile.

„S-sure," he muttered, unhappy.

In such a way their conversation died prematurely. They still walked together in a crowd of others.

Beyond the school grounds, the students began to split into smaller groups. Some went home on foot, others had somebody picking them up, and the rest had no other choice but to go to the bus stop.