Chapter 3

Rocky's POV

I shook my head, trying hard to clear my now foggy mind. I turned my body and made my way down the hall I was currently in and began to search for the main office. It took me a few minutes to find it, but I finally did. Who in the world makes a main office to a school so hidden? I mean, who could even find this place within their first try?

I opened the door and was greeted by the smell of freshly printed paper and coffee of different sorts. A woman sat at the front desk with thin glasses on top of her plump nose. She had reddish brown hair and dark brown eyes. She wore a simple pink suit with a white blouse underneath. The second I walked in, her eyes met mine and a warm smile spread across her thin lips.

"Well hello, dear. Are you new here?"

I nodded as I smiled weakly at her. I hated being the new kid.

"Well, tell me your name, sweetheart. I'll get you your papers right away so you can get to homeroom on time."

"Rochelle James, ma'am."

With a nod of her head, she turned to the computer on her right and typed in my name quickly with her slender fingers. She nodded again and clicked on the mouse, the sound of something printing following after.

She stood up and walked towards the printer, grabbing a sheet of paper before making her way back to her desk. "Here you go sweetheart. Your locker and combination is written on the bottom. It's not that hard to find your way around the school since we only have one floor. Have a wonderful first day!"

I had to admit, her cheery mood wasn't really helping the fretfulness that was creeping up inside of me as I stood there. I gave her a weak smile and grabbed the paper, skimming through my classes. I wasn't surprised to see that most, actually all, of my classes were AP (Advanced Placement if anyone didn't know). I know, typical nerd.

I only had six periods, which really wasn't bad seeing as my last school had eight classes. Trust me, it was not that pleasant.

Apparently, I would start off the day with AP English (senior level), followed by AP Calculus, then AP American History, AP Chemistry, AP English (junior level), and last but not least, AP Government. With a shrug of my shoulders, I made my way out of the office and towards my first class. The bell was going to ring in any minute and I had no time to stop by my locker to drop off anything.

With my nose glued onto my schedule, I didn't dare make any eye contact with the students around me. I knew they were staring at me as if I was an idiot due to the fact that I never once looked up from the paper in front of me. To be honest, I was just trying my hardest to memorize the class numbers so I wouldn't have to be looking like this every single time the bell rang cuing everyone to go to their next class. I know I looked pretty stupid, but I was saving myself from any further embarrassment later on in the day.

Once I found my class, I was relieved to see that I had stepped in right when the bell rang. As I looked around the room, I was disappointed to find that all the back seats were taken and the only one that was available was the one closest to the door in the front row. With a low groan so nobody could hear me, I slowly made my way to the desk, feeling a set of eyes on me the entire time.

Before I sat down, I looked up and immediately met familiar dark ones sitting near the back of the class. He was surrounded by teenagers that were giving me quick glances and were obviously talking about me by the way they continuously whispered to one another so I wouldn't hear what they were saying. How nice.

Ignoring the quiet murmuring around him, he gave me that breathtaking smile he had given me earlier, making me catch my breath instantly. Feeling the slow blush creeping up my cheeks, I quickly turned away and took my seat, burying my face in my hands as I heard the door of the classroom open and footsteps soon followed after.

I looked up to find a decent sized man with short dark hair and blue eyes standing in front of the class. He wore a long sleeved gray shirt with a red vest on top as well as khaki pants and brown shoes. Odd combination if you asked me.

"Good morning class."

Everyone around him either smiled or nodded in response. As I looked at him, I couldn't help but notice how the teacher bowed his head slightly as he stared at one student. Following his line of sight, my eyes settled on my mysterious savior who had a nonchalant expression on his face. I could see his jaw tense slightly as he noticed me staring at him, but never once did he ever meet my eyes.

Well that's just....strange.

Ignoring the gesture the teacher gave him, I spun back around and turned my attention back to the front of the classroom where the professor began his lesson for the day.

~~~~~~

Finally, it was lunch time, and my stomach was practically growling in anticipation as I caught the scent of today's meal. It was typical school food, but I couldn't care less. I was that hungry.

I had settled with macaroni and cheese with spinach and a chocolate milk. Not the ideal meal that a teenager would want to have on a Monday morning, but it was better than the mystery meat that they were serving. Blah! Not to mention I am a vegetarian so that wouldn't suit well with me.

As I paid for my lunch food, I turned around and searched the cafeteria for an empty table. I hated the fact that I needed to sit alone, but I didn't want to eat standing up or sitting down in a filthy corner of the lunchroom. To my disappointment, there was not a single empty table in sight. There were a few empty chairs here and there, but I knew that I would not be welcomed if I were to randomly sit in one of them.

With a soft sigh, I made my way towards the entrance of the cafeteria, feeling heavy stares on me once more as I exited.

The second I heard the door shut behind me, I stopped and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath as the stress of the day began to settle on me. Get a grip Rochelle, the day's almost over. Only two more classes to go and you get to go home.

After a few seconds of standing there trying to calm down my racing heart and mind, I began to wander the halls in search of the only place I have ever felt comfortable in. Thankfully, I had discovered over the years that it was the one place where students rarely went to, thanks to technology. And yes people, I am talking about none other than.....the library.

As I turned the corner, I was relieved to be greeted by two large double doors with a sign reading 'Library' above them. I grabbed the handle and pulled the door open, trying hard to balance out the tray I still had in my hand. With a lot of difficulty, I successfully made my way inside and was greeted by curious eyes behind a large desk. Giving the librarian a small smile, I made my way over to one of the large book shelves farthest away from the main entrance. Seeing as the librarian made no effort to tell me anything about bringing food to the library, I didn't bother to sit at one of the nearby wooden tables.

I turned to my left and descended down the narrow aisle behind the last book shelf. To my right was just a plain wall and to my left were large book shelves that contained who knows how many books. I smiled to myself. I knew exactly what I'll be doing during my lunch hour if I were to ever lose my appetite from the meal they were serving.

I dropped my bag towards the end and slid my body down the wall adjacent to the book shelves. Crossing my legs beneath me, I balanced the tray and began to devour my lunch. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and I was left with a satisfied tummy.

Placing the tray to my side, I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back, letting out a long, heavy sigh. I seemed to have been doing that a lot today. But it wasn't my fault if you asked me. This school seemed to put me on edge and I couldn't help but notice the small voice in the back of my mind that kept telling me that something was up in this school. Something was, not necessarily wrong, but rather something was being hidden. Although I felt like there was a mystery behind this school and the students and faculty that occupied it, I couldn't help but feel that the truth was right under my nose.

I shook my head and shut my eyes tightly. This place was starting to get to me and my thoughts were starting to be wilder than before. I really needed to get a grip before I completely lost it. But what I didn't know was that this was simply the beginning of a whole new chapter in my life. No pun intended.