No One Like Violet

Chapter 3

"I have a task for you," Mrs. Heiner begins as soon as I am within a three foot radius of her. "As long as you're willing to do it."

I nod once to show I'm listening and a smile creeps upon her lips. An unsettling feeling in my gut causes me to feel slightly uncomfortable for a few seconds, but I ignore it. Whatever she's about to say can't be that bad, but was it so important she had to call me over right now? I try to avoid looking at everyone staring at us as they pass, but it is still a major distraction.

She licks her lips once before speaking. "Violet seemed very.. acquainted with you," she remarks cooly, her eyes fixated on me. I slam my teeth down on my inner cheek to calm myself. So this is about Violet? "Well... I guess so, ma'am," I stammer, taking a cautious half-step back so our closeness isn't so awkward. She seems to notice and steps back as well, clearing her throat.

"She's quite the interesting young lady," she continues, and my hands play with my sleeves in slight annoyance. Can she just spit it out already? If I'm here any longer, I'll have to walk home.

"Yeah, okay," I reply, trying to get her to the good stuff that I came over here for. She opens her mouth to say something, closes it, purses her lips, and then speaks.

"That being said: Mr. Walker, would you do me -- and the rest of the staff, I'm sure -- the favor of showing Miss Greene around for this week?" she asks, picking at her freakishly long teacher nails, which have to be fake. I freeze, unsure if this is a blessing or a curse. What should I even say? You can't just turn down a teacher.

"You know, making sure she gets to her classes on time, show her the ropes!" she exclaims, failing miserably to put some humor into her obvious jab at Violet's late appearance in class today. I slowly curl my fingers into fists, my anger building up quickly. Mrs. Heiner was never my favorite teacher. She was pretty conceited, and never sugar coated anything. So when it came to embarrassing students, she jumped right in on the opportunity. I could tell Violet would be a new popular victim of hers -- she already was, apparently, and they only knew each other for, like, twenty minutes.

"Sure," I say through my teeth, and she smiles, showing her own pearly whites. I am instantly reminded of Violet's blinding smile, and realize that her's is so much more genuine than Mrs. Heiner's, who's looks, somehow, fake and unsettling. Violet's smile, on the other hand, has an unexplainable glow to it, a warmth, almost. It pulls you in. Mrs. Heiner's makes you want to back away slowly until you reach the nearest exit; and then run for your life once you're out the door.

"Amazing. Thank you, Eli. I am forever in your debt."

Right. I'm out of here.

"No problem.. Um, can I go now?" I say quickly, and she waves at me, signaling that I'm supposed to leave. I reposition my bag on my shoulder and speed walk down the seemingly endless hallway, Violet on my mind. I really need to stop thinking about her all the time. It's kind of creepy.

The buses are all starting to leave when I throw myself out into the parking lot, my breath racing along with me. The journey to bus 7 seems like an eternity. My Converse sneakers pound rhythmically on the concrete parking lot, moving by themselves. Come on, move faster!

The surprised look on the bus driver's face tells me that she saw me, and I calm down. She'll wait for me. She can't just leave me here. The bus behind our's is honking, annoyed students waving their fists out the window. I grimace and as soon as I reach the door to the big yellow vehicle, I am on.

"Finally," the bus driver mutters under her breath as I climb the steps. I would call her by her name but nobody knows her name. I guess she just hates kids that much.

I drag myself towards my usual seat next to Brenda, who is staring at me with a smirk plastered on her face. I roll my eyes as I plop down next to her.

"Where were you?" she asks. Her smirk is replaced by a look of curiosity as she asks the question.

Should I tell her I'm going to be Violet Greene's personal tour guide for the next week?

"Mrs. Heiner told me I needed to show Violet Greene around for the next week," I say, a smile appearing on my lips at the thought of the gorgeous girl. Brenda gasps in delight and places a hand on my shoulder. "Eli, oh my gosh, that's amazing! I can't believe it. Violet Greene is so lovely, and creative, and her smile..."

"ELIJAH JAMES WALKER!" Brenda yells, waving a hand in front of my face. I jump at the sudden exclamation, blinking.

Great. That wasn't actually real.

"Sorry," I mumble, squeezing my eyes shut. Of course, my imagination always plays out the best scenarios. I know what's going to happen in real life.

"Mrs. Heiner--" I start after taking a deep breath.

"Mrs. Heiner? Yuck."

I look at Brenda, raising an eyebrow at her. We stare at each other quizzically for a few seconds before she gives up. "Ugh. Okay, sorry. Go on."

"Thank you. So, Mrs. Heiner... She, um... Gave me an assignment," I summarize. Brenda rolls her eyes. "What kind of assignment?"

Here we go.

"I have to get Violet to her classes on time every day for a week," I spit out, really fast. She places a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter and I punch myself mentally.

"Violet... Greene? You mean that freak new girl who said hello to everyone in the school today?" she mocks, her laughter echoing through my brain.

"She's not that bad, okay?" I defend. She really isn't. She's strange, that's for sure.. But is she really a freak?

"Oh, okay. So you're sticking up for her now? Do you have a little crush on Violet?" she jokes, throwing her head back in continuous, and may I add -- annoying -- laughter. My hands twitch as I answer, my cheeks beet red.

"I-I do not!" I retort, elbowing my friend. Hard. She shrieks in pain and places a hand on her side.

"Okay, okay! Sorry. It's just, why would you even want to be associated with her? That's going to give you such a bad rep-"

"Like I don't already have one," I cut in. I can't believe Brenda is even saying these things about Violet. She doesn't even know her.

I don't either, really... But I know that she never did anything to anyone. So what's with all the rumors and jokes about her? It doesn't make sense.

"You know what I mean," Brenda snaps. Her head turns towards the window. "Stay away from her, Eli."

"No."

"Yes."

"Why?"

Brenda faces me again, her lips curled downwards. She grabs my sleeve and pulls me closer. "You weren't there. Trust me on this. I'm your best friend. Why would I lie to you?"

I nod my head, gulping instantly. What is she talking about? My curiosity is rekindled from earlier and I scoot a bit away from Brenda.

I hate mysteries.