Chapter 2

Clarice and I still had some time to kill before we needed to be in our first-period class, neither of us in the mood to sit around. Instead, we resorted to wandering up and down the same hallways until the bell rang. I underestimated Clarice's vast and broad network of connections in this school. She was a social butterfly, engaging anyone she knew it quick conversation as I awkwardly stood off to the side before moving on. Many of her friends and acquaintances congratulated her on the girl's win last night. A small minority of them even remembered that I was also on the team, applauding me as well. The lack of attention didn't bother me, nor did I mind. It surely saved me from any further unpleasant conversation with people I'd rather not associate with. The two of us carried on with our journey back to our classroom, observing numerous students rushing past us to get to first period. 

Just as we're about to enter the classroom, a rush of noise echoed through the vast expanse of the hallway, drawing the attention of anyone who heard it. Clarice and I paused in front of the door, trying to understand what was happening down the corridor. My face crinkled at the sounds of blended noises, I never understood why but trying to process this many voices was a difficulty. It even made hearing my own thoughts impossible. Unable to stand it any further, I hoped to retreat into the some-what peaceful confines of the classroom. Unfortunately, the other students inside blocked the way, also trying to see what was going on. 

Hoping to gain some answers from Clarice, I turned to her but paused before I opened my mouth. A foul disgruntled expression was present on her face, which immediately struck me as odd. In the amount of time I've known her, I didn't think she was capable of contorting her face in such a way. Crossing my arms, I nudged her and asked what everyone was so worked up about. 

"Great… he's back…" she grumbled.

My eyebrow raised skywards and I couldn't help but further question who she was talking about. 

The crowd migrating down the hall suddenly stopped in front of our classroom and I managed to catch a glance of the people literally at the center of it all. I recognized five of them instantly, however, the six person's identity was a complete mystery to me. It was known throughout the school that Travis, Felix, Tristan, Jacob, and his girlfriend, Sophie, were labeled as Whitewood's most popular. They were notorious for stirring up trouble, some of them don't intend to but it just follows them around. The group even had a track record of engaging students from Kingsman High in fist-fights. However, Sophie and Felix stayed out of any fights, making them the most reasonable people in that group.

"You thankfully haven't met him yet," Clarice said, then pointed a finger to the fifth male in the group. "But that's Caleb Melle, the worst of them all. You don't want to mess with him." 

The crowd suddenly parted like the Red Sea, as the most notorious appeared in front of us and I became much more aware of my surroundings. The tall figure of Caleb Melle himself towered over me, and I gulped at the intimidating vibe radiating from his built stature. He suddenly shoved past me, crudely using his shoulder to move me aside. He disappeared into the classroom, all without a single word or an apology. It was then where I couldn't help but question what the hell his problem was. Our silent, but brash first interaction left a bad taste in my mouth and I rolled my eyes. 

"Sorry about him Florence," a soft voice suddenly said. 

Felix- someone I actually considered a friend- offered me an apologetic smile for Caleb's actions. Sometimes, I couldn't understand how he could be so kind in situations like these. He didn't do anything, yet he felt inclined to apologize for his friend, even though it wasn't necessary. Felix was such a decent guy, and it felt good to have him as a friend. Although he was part of the notorious, he was the kindest of them all and I admire that about him. 

"It's not your fault, don't apologize," I reassured him while shaking my head. 

"Are you coming on Friday?" he asked playfully, changing the subject.

I nodded and watched his face light up. 

"Great, I'll see you there," Felix chuckled. 

Everything settled down once the bell rang; the crowd dispersed and the noise died down. Clarice and I filed into our classroom along with the other students and made our way to our desks. However, I stopped as I unintentionally made eye contact with Caleb, who was sitting in the desk behind me. His sharp blue eyes narrowed at me and without thinking, I reciprocated the action before sitting down and letting a smirk tug on my lips. For the rest of the class and even the morning, nothing else happened. 

When our break for lunch came, Clarice and I met back up to go to the cafeteria together. Despite having different classes, it was fairly easy to find each other in the hallway. In the midst of trying to get ready for school and getting Laurence to his campus on time, there was no room for making myself lunch. Luck was on my side however, I found some pocket change in my backpack to use for food. After securing a table with Clarice, I made my way to the lunch line in front of the canteen and waited for a good five minutes. 

"Oh! That looks good," Clarice commented, pointing to my plate of steak and pasta upon my return. 

Taking that first bite of the hot steak was like heaven, it was so delicious and just looking at it made my mouth water. I had to say, the food at this school was far better than what they served at my previous schools. Even though I had a large breakfast with my brother this morning, I was starving by the time noon came around. Just filling my stomach with this delicious food made me happy. 

"How does it taste?" a sweet voice suddenly asked. 

In the middle of chewing the steak, I looked up to see Sophie standing over us, a small smile on her face.

"It's amazing," I replied after swallowing my food. 

The girl giggled softly and gave me a side hug before making herself comfortable in the seat across from me. Sophie threw her arms around Clarice and rested her chin on her shoulder. I couldn't help but smile. During my time here, I could truly rely on the two girls in front of me, I trusted them as my friends and that in itself was a rare occurrence. Having them around me was endearing and reassuring, what I wouldn't do without them. 

"I heard that Caleb left the wrong impression this morning," she suddenly said. "I'm sorry about him." 

"Oh Sophie, don't apologize for him," I sighed, waving my hand back and forth. 

She shook her head in protest- "He's a good guy, it's just difficult for him to express it properly." 

I frowned and rested my head in my hand. Whether what she said was true or not, I needed to see it to believe it. 

"Talking about us babe?"

Sighing inwardly, I felt trapped as the remaining members of the notorious occupied the rest of the seats at our table. Looking up, I caught a glimpse of Sophie and Jacob sharing a quick peck before he wrapped his arms around her smaller body. However, the sweet moment was ruined as a body disgruntledly deposited themselves in the seat beside me. Without even looking, I knew it was Caleb who took the spot beside me and I knew he was glaring at me from the corner of his eye. 

"Congratulations on your win girls," Travis applauded, wiggling his blonde eyebrows. "Especially you, Clary~"

Clarice scoffed and crossed her arms. I immediately sensed some tension and watched a scornful expression appear on her face.

"Flattery will get you nowhere," she snapped back, disregarding his existence. "Go try it on someone else."

"I'm just trying to be nice," he said, putting his hands up in defense. "Right, Florence?"

I shot him a glare- "Don't involve me in this." 

"Jeez, tone down the sass." 

Brushing off Travis' comment, I rolled my eyes and carried on with my now cold lunch. Although the heat had long dissipated, I still managed to savour the flavour of the pasta before moving on to my last piece of steak. Just as I was about to stab the last juicy morsel with my fork, a large hand swept it up. My heart broke as the last piece fly into Caleb's mouth and disappear. I watched in horror as he chewed it up and swallowed it. 

"My steak!" I gasped as he looked at me with a sly smirk. "You-!" 

When I thought things couldn't get any worse, it did.

"Why is this trash sitting here?