The Fate Of The Marked

Chapter Eighteen

Somehow, I still made it to school thirty minutes before the first bell. I had left the house a few minutes after Jane, declining a ride, too nervous to sit down. The walk did nothing to calm me. By the time I entered the front office, my hands were shaking again.

I handed the secretary the ID card Jane had given me, and she scanned it, before typing something into her computer. She smiled at me and printed out my schedule, before wishing me luck.

I looked it over briefly, before setting out. English, Art, History and Math. It didn't sound too bad. People had began to enter the school. I searched the tiles on the wall beside the doors before finding Mr. Gracy's class.

The door was open, but the room was empty. I took a seat at the very back and considered reading more of the thick manuscript I had taken from the library. The thought only lasted a second. I stared at the desktop and waited for the bell to ring. There was a sick feeling in my stomach, and it had nothing to do with who was around.

People filed in and soon the room was filled. The teacher, Mr. Gracy, came in last. He was tall and younger than I expected, with brown hair and warm eyes. He smiled at me, but made no move to introduce himself. He went to the front of the class with clipboard and took role.

I didn't hear any of the names called but my own. He didn't call out Steele, as I expected to hear, but Donovan. I could feel people turning around to look at me, whispering behind their hands to one another and remembered that Derek's father's name was well known. I slumped lower in my seat and traced the mark on my left palm.

Mr. Gracy cleared his throat. The talking died down at once.

"This is our new student, Elliot." He said. "I'm sure you all will do your best to make him feel welcome. Emma, he can join you and Jax if we get to the group work today. We'll see how that works."

He clapped his hands once and turned to the board, ending the discussion. A girl and a boy, I assumed Emma and Jax, turned and looked at me. The boy smiled and gave me a small wave. The girl, with her wild curls bouncing, glared at me and turned back around. Mr. Gracy wrote page numbers and everyone pulled out their textbooks. I clicked my pen a few times and pulled out a notebook. No one turned to look at me again. Mr. Gracy came back to give me a book and shake my hand. He smiled at me again.

"Have you read The Outsiders by S.E Hinton before?" He asked, handing me a worn, paperback copy.

I shook my head and flipped through a few pages.

"We're only on the second chapter. You don't have to do the work on the board. Just get caught up with the book. I won't mark the other assignments against you."

I nodded again as he walked away and flipped the book open. I liked the plot instantly. The rest of the class worked on. I was finished with the fourth chapter by the time the bell rang. I stood with everyone else, slung my bag over my shoulder, and set out to find the art room. It wasn't hard. As soon as I turned on to the hall, I could smell paint and ink. It was the last door on the right.

Mrs. Hardgrove's classroom was set up with long tables with chairs scattered everywhere. The were only a few people sitting around, pulling out sketch books or getting supplies together. I took a seat at the back, again. An older woman stepped out of a supply closet and smiled at us as the bell rang. There were only ten or so other kids.

"Start back on your abstract painting." She said, so softly I nearly didn't hear.

Everyone else did. They jumped up and got to work. Mrs. Hardgrove came over briefly and explained the assignment. I had to create something from different textures, whatever I wanted. She mumbled the whole time and I missed a lot of what she said. She wandered away after a few minutes, leaving me on my own. I went to where the others had gotten their things from and grabbed a piece of blank canvas, some paint, yarn and beads. I figured this would be the easiest class of the day.