The Ashes

Chapter 8

I have returned from being awol (my friend is watching me type this and just said hallelujah, you know who you are )
And yeah

~

"You're coming, right?"

"What are you on about?"

"Jacob's party." Harvey sighs impatiently.

"Well-"

"Great, see you at six."

Before I can even argue he closes his locker and leaves the corridor. Typical. I follow his example, standing up and walking to Maths. As I take my usual seat in the back of the classroom, I notice that Courtney Tylers, the girl who threatened me a while back on the stairs, and all her clones, are glaring at me.

"What?" I ask innocently.

"Stop being such a slut. Harvey doesn't actually want you, so back off.", one of her cronies spits.

A chorus of yeahs and oohs echo her words, followed by laughter. How pathetic. I roll my eyes and dump my bag under the desk, perfectly aware that Courtney is still shooting me death glares as the teacher walks in, a girl behind him. Her black hair shines with blue highlights, and a husky line of kohl eyeliner hugs her dark eyes. Her long legs are clad in ripped black skinny jeans and she's wearing a Pierce The Veil tank top and combat boots, her arms sheathed in a few rows of bracelets. She's beautiful.

"Everybody, this is Kat. She's moved here from Cornwall, and I fully expect you to be very friendly."

"That won't be a problem, sir.", a boy laughs, looking her up and down. The teacher doesn't catch onto his double meaning, telling Kat to sit down as he opens his briefcase and pulls out a pile of worksheets. The only available seat, of course, is next to me. She takes the seat, and surprises me by smiling in my direction.

"Hey, I'm Kat."

"I'm Thalia." I offer. Before I can continue the conversation, Courtney cuts in. That was quick, even for her.

"Hi Kat," she smiles falsely, "I'm Courtney. I love your hair! Okay, so here's the thing; I think you can do a lot better than Thalia Crowler in terms of friends, you know? So, like, I thought I'd offer for you to hang around with us."

I know the game she's playing. Every time there's a good looking new student she sucks them into her whirlpool of a social hierarchy. Kat smiles at her, and I fear the worst.

"Well, Courtney, I suggest you go get a haircut, because Lord knows you need to deal with your split ends, and yeah, as much as I'd totally love to hang with you guys and mindlessly talk about boys all day, you don't dictate who I talk to."

Well I wasn't expecting that. I snigger as she grins at me. Courtney throws her a look of disgust and turns back to her 'friends', muttering insults under her breath. I like this girl already.

~

The bell shrieks happily, announcing lunch to the masses of bored students. Kat slowly packs away her books, throwing her bag over her shoulder. She bites her lip, hovering at the door, unsure of where to go.

"Hey. Kat, over here." I say. She smiles gratefully. As we walk side by side down the corridor boys stare and girls glare at the pair of us, or more accurately Kat. When I take my normal seat next opposite Harvey I feel like everyone within a twelve seat radius is whispering about us.

"And you must be Kat." Harvey grins.

"How does everyone know who I am?" She asks, obviously mystified.