Eliza's first thought when she wakes up in her empty bedroom is that she wishes she could go home. This, however, isn't an option. So, she gives in to her reality and gets ready for her first day at a new school. As she gets out of the shower she can hear her mom banging pots and pans around in the kitchen. She just sighs and turns her music up louder. as she picks out an outfit she looks out her window. The weather is unnecessarily dreary for a first day, she thinks to herself. You can't see the sky through the dark grey clouds. The smell of rain is so strong you would think it's already raining. The cold wind sends a chill down her spine, but she isn't complaining because cold air helps her wake up faster. This is why she opens her window every morning.
As she adds final touches to her outfit for the day, her attention is drawn to the window. Her music that is blasting becomes muffled. She starts to panic internally, thinking she may be going deaf. She immediately starts to think about all those times her mom talked about ear buds making you go deaf. Then she hears her name. Like if it were flowing in with the wind. She slowly approaches her window, thinking maybe someone is outside. It's not very likely, unless they found a way to get on the roof. Because that's what is outside her window.
As she gets closer she can hear someone say, 'be careful'. She gets closer. Suddenly with a bang the window slams shut. Causing her to jump back. The fear spikes and she slings her backpack over her shoulder running out of her room slamming the door behind her.
"Bye mom!" she shouts on her way out.
"But breakfast..." her mom calls out. She gets cut off by the slam of the front door. As she hustles down her front yard to the sidewalk she hears her name called out from across the street. She nearly jumps out of her skin. Luna runs up to her patting her shoulder.
"You okay Eli?" Luna says giggling. Eliza takes a deep breath nodding. "What happened? You look freaked." She asks as they start walking towards the park.
Eliza takes a moment before deciding she probably shouldn't tell her about the voice. She is definitely going to think she's psycho. "Nothing, just woke up thinking I was late and now I'm on edge I guess." She says letting out her best fake laugh. Luna laughs with her.
"Yea, I know that feeling. But, it's all good. We are right on time." She says attempting to help her friend relax. Luna rubs her friends back and suddenly every part of Eliza that was panicking is gone. She definitely took notice, but was appreciative rather than suspicious of it. "So, you excited?" she asks in her usual giddy voice.
"Less excited, more just prepared." Eliza giggles.
"Awe come on! It's the first day of school! A new school for you. Meeting new people, learning new things...what's not to love?" She says making Eliza laugh.
"Hey guys." Mary says as she walks up, clutching her side bag.
"Mary!" Luna says nearly tackling her with a hug.
"Honestly, who needs coffee when they have a Luna." Mary says.
"Seriously. How are you actually like this every morning Luna." Rowan says walking up behind the girls. Luna rushes her with a hug too before answering.
"Because mornings are the best! Waking up to a new day, new opportunities for adventure!" She says sounding like a bad quote from a movie. They all giggle at her enthusiasm for mornings. As the girls chat more, Eliza notices a person across the park. They are just watching. She feels a pull, like the person wants her to walk over. She feels a bit uneasy, and remembers earlier. It's the same feeling.
"Hey guys? Who is that?" They all look in the direction she nods too. the person doesn't even budge, not with all their eyes on them. That uneasy feeling begins to spread to everyone.
"I can't tell." Mary says.
"Why are they just staring?" Luna asks, crossing her arms in attempt to comfort herself.
"Maybe we should just head to school." Rowan says, ushering Luna in front of her. Guiding her in the direction of school. They all start walking towards the school. Eliza is glued to the ground though. She can't escape the staring contest. The urge to walk over is taking over.
"Eliza. Hey." Mary calls. Finally causing her to look away and meet Mary's eyes. "You okay?"
"Yea." She shakes her head, attempting to clear her mind. "Let's go." walking past her friends she looks back once more. The person is gone but the hairs on the back of her neck are still standing tall. Rowan, Luna and Mary all look to each other. On the outside Eliza looks like a normal city girl, but they are getting the vibe that she's much more.
They continue on their path to school silently, all of them in their own thoughts. Eliza is starting to think there is a reason this town is blocked off from the rest of the world.
When they all walk in to school together everyone is staring. Luna tries to keep Eliza calm, reminding her that this town doesn't usually get new people. 'They are just curious is all', she keeps repeating. They all agree to meet up later before splitting up. Eliza heads to the principal's office so she can get her schedule. On her way a girl walks up to her.
"Hi, you're new." She just nods, "What's your name?" She asks.
"Eliza." The girl just nods and walks away. So strange, but she brushes it off entering the office. The receptionist looks up and just points to a door. Entering the office an older woman in a suit directs to sit in the chair across from her. The woman looks nice enough, she had blonde hair clearly dyed and pinned up into a nice, messy bun.
"You must be Eliza Davis. I am Principal Harris. It's lovely to meet you child." She says, pushing her glasses up with her index finger. Eliza just smiles. "No need to be shy, here is your schedule." She says passing her a small paper, with a list of her classes, teachers, and times. "If you ever need anything, you can come to me. I'm a very involved principal. I like to help however I can." She smiles, standing and walking around her desk. She sticks her hand out for Eliza to shake. As their hands connect the principals smile fades. She quickly pulls her hand away and opens the door. "Just be careful out there okay." Eliza nods, feeling very confused. She walks past the principal and she shuts the door immediately. Eliza looks back for a moment before looking down at her paper to find her first class.
