Crawford, Oregon

Chapter Two: The New Girl

The next morning, I left my house at my usual time and followed my usual route to work. Although, in a town as small as Crawford, it doesn't take very long to get where you're going. Nevertheless, my silver sedan and I rolled through the streets until we inevitably arrived at the parking lot for Crawford High School. I jerked the steering wheel and pulled into one of the vacant spaces reserved for faculty members. However, rather than flinging the car door open and hopping outside, there was something else that I had to do first. I reached into the backseat and grabbed the lone, black umbrella resting in the floorboard.

Ninety-nine percent of the time, the weather in Crawford is wet and gloomy. Unfortunately, today just happened to be one of those rare days when the sun shined brightly against a clear, blue sky. And, on those rare sunny days, a creature like me had to take precautions. Driving wasn't so bad thanks to the tinted windows of my car. But getting in and out of the school building was a different story.

I quickly opened the car door and stuck the umbrella outside. A few small rays of sun brushed against my hands, causing them to burn slightly under its fiery beams. But this burning didn't last for long. Moving as fast as I could, I opened the umbrella and hopped out of the car, only to stand underneath the umbrella's shady shroud as soon as my feet hit the pavement. With this umbrella shielding me from the sun's burning rays, I gathered my things, closed the car door, and began to walk across the parking lot.

As I grew closer to the school's main entrance, a familiar voice called, "Hey, Jim."

I turned, only to discover Mike Shepard, the school's one and only chemistry teacher, headed right towards me. I liked a lot of my co-workers, but Mike was definitely my favorite. He always went out of his way to be nice to people. But, for some reason, he went even further out of his way to be nice to me.

I didn't really understand why, especially since we didn't have much in common. He was a middle-aged man with two daughters, a wife, and a wiener dog, while I was an undead creature of the night with a nonexistent social life. And yet, despite these glaring differences, the two of us seemed to get along swimmingly. He raced up beside of me, his bald, ebony head glistening beneath the sun as we walked side by side.

"Hey, Mike," I greeted. "How's it going?"

"Oh, you know me. I can't complain." Mike pointed to my umbrella and asked, "What's the deal? You know it's not supposed to rain today, right?"

"That's what they want you to think. But you know how inaccurate those weather people are, and I'm not taking any chances," I replied.

Mike just rolled his eyes and the two of us continued to make our way across the parking lot. However, when we finally arrived at the school's main entrance, I stopped. I ducked beneath the overhead awning and closed my umbrella. Then, I tucked it under my arm, pushed through the glass doors, and stepped inside the school.

Crawford High was just like any other run-of-the-mill high school. The classrooms were functional, but nothing fancy. The cafeteria food was edible, but not exactly delectable. And the gymnasium always seemed to smell like sweat, no matter how many times they cleaned the floor. Add all of that to the scuffed tile floors, the flickering fluorescent lights, and the creaky lockers, and you have the making of yet another typical high school.

Mike and I continued to walk side by side as we weaved through the narrow hallways, which were overrun with students of all shapes and sizes. These teenagers moseyed from place to place, some of them lingering by their lockers, while others strolled through the halls and made their way toward their respective classes. All the while, they talked amongst themselves, filling every last square inch of the building with their indistinct chatter.