IHasCupQuake Is A Vampire?

Chapter 11

Katherine

"Alright, here we are!" Tiffany says, and I get out of the car and see a large private school with two stories, a modern look, and lots of glass. Kids are sitting on the front steps, chatting in groups. I've heard you get a first impression of someone in five to thirty seconds, and that is true. I'm already classifying them. The group of emo girls sitting on the railing, the popular girls leaning against a wall, the nice and kind flower power girls sitting on the lawn, the energetic lacrosse boys running around trying to catch someone's pogo stick . . . wait, that's not a pogo stick, it's a lacrosse stick with no net and the rim partly broken off and bent and stained. Then there's also the regular kids scattered across the whole front of the school, making googly eyes at some of the lacrosse cuties and most in groups of two to seven. Most of the kids are wearing cool shoes, and I'm suddenly grateful me and Tiffany went shopping at the mall instead of keeping my donated or bought-from-thrift-store clothes from the orphanage.

"It's really . . . just wow." I gasp, grabbing my knapsack. I usually saw most teen models with knapsacks in cataloges, and well, I think I was right to buy it. I might just fit in, but my brain's reassurance doesn't help the knots twisting in my stomach.

"I know, pretty nice." Tiffany smiles. "Well, I'll see you for pick-up, bye!"

"Bye!" I grin, trying to hide my nervousness, and get out of the car. With the window rolled down, Tiffany drives away. I'm left alone on the sidewalk, standing right in front of the school with no idea which group I should approach first. My accessories and possibly looks fits the popular group, but does my personality? Maybe I should approach some regular girls, but maybe my shoes or something is too fancy, or anyone could be a bully! Maybe I should try to make friends with some guys, they don't care about looks, they just care about video games, and since my new Mom is a famous gamer, then it'd be easy to be friends with them. Though, what if I accidentally flirt with one of them? I only have a vague understanding of flirting.

What am I going to do?

"Hi!"

I spin around to the source of the noise, a girl my age with long hair pulled up in a ponytail wearing an uniform.

"You're new, right?" She asks, as I study her features. She has her dark brown hair pulled up in a high ponytail that trails halfway down her back, with average sized gray eyes. Her height is a little taller than average for eighth graders at the beginning of the year, and a narrow build and slightly skinny. Her skin is light brown.

"Oh, uh, yeah." I nod.

"Well, I'm Taylor." The girl smiles, holding out her hand. "What's your name?"

"Katherine." I answer, shaking her hand.

"Well, welcome to Sandy Beach, or SBPS.." Taylor cheerily says.

"Thanks." I smile and nod.

"So, ya wanna be my friend?" Taylor asks in a weird playful accent.

"Hmm, okay." I say, shrugging. I've been here for about a minute or two and I already have my first friend. "So, who do you hang out with?"

"The Richardson twins, Matt and Daniel. Since they're a year older than me, though, they're already in high school. The local high school doesn't have uniforms, so they like to tease me about that. They're my neighbors."

"Anyone else?"

"Well, there is Miriam, but she's gone missing." Taylor says, biting her lip. "Her family always takes unexpected trips and stuff, though."

"Okay. When should she be back?" I ask.

"You never know. She might be gone for a day or a whole month, you never know. She isn't behind in school, though, her foster parents tutor her while they're away. She's really smart, and in all of the advanced classes. Which classes do you have?"

"Let's see." I grab my knapsack off my back, and shuffle around in it until I find my schedule. "I think it looks like all my academic classes are advanced, even Japanese."

"Wait, they have Japanese?" Taylor gives me a confused look. "I guess it's new this year. Probably didn't pay attention to the new language options."

"Yeah, I really like Japan. I want to go there someday." I sigh dreamily. "So, do you know where locker 128 is?"

"Omg, that's a few lockers away from mine! Come on, I'll show you." Taylor smiles, and starts running into the school, bouncing with every step. I run behind her, and despite her fast pace and the fear of slipping, I catch up to her. "Here it is!"

I look at my gray locker, which looks different from regular lockers with a built-in lock and no little vents to let in air. I unlock the lock, then open the locker and start putting in my school supplies (not many, I only needed one bag).

"Okay, so what's your first period?" Taylor asks.

"Health with Mrs. Grandino." I say. I practically have already memorized the first five periods on my schedule.

"Oh, her. She's a pretty good teacher, but in sixth grade she got way into details in the puberty unit and trust me, having her after lunch is not good for your stomach. I'll lead the way!" As Taylor bounces down the hall, I start hearing the voices.

"You can trust her, but she and her friends are different." The voices singsong. I rub my ears, biting my lips, hoping that will soothe the pain although it really doesn't.

"Are you okay?" Taylor asks, seeing I've fallen behind.

"Yeah, I just had an ear infection and there's still some of it left." I say, trying to compose myself.

"It's okay, I know you're a hearer." Taylor smiles. "Although, you smell different than the rest of them."

"A hearer?" I ask.

"Let me tell you a little secret." Taylor whispers. "I may not be a hearer, but me and you aren't that different. You may not know why, but soon you will."

Hey everyone! I'm super sorry I didn't get this chapter out sooner, I had final exams and all that jazz. I will be trying to write more on this story and Mysticality, and I hope to finish at least one of them by the end of the summer. Also, I entered a story in the Wattys called Swimming With The Current, so check that out if you love mermaids, love triangles, and small town drama, and also vote for it. Thanks!

~Pix