Slipknot's Daughter

Chapter 3

*A week later*
I was awakened by Corey gently shaking my shoulder. "Colleen... Colleen, wake up... It's time for school."
I groan and slowly push off my covers. "Already? It's, like, six-thirty!..." I roll over and sit up.
Corey kneels in front of me to take my hands. "Hey, just enough time for you to have a good breakfast before your first day of high school." He gives me an encouraging smile. Then he stands up and walks out of my room, leaving me to change.
I yawn, then stand and go over to my desk, where I had laid out my outfit: a dark blue tank top, a black leather skirt, ripped leggings and a black flower headband. I quickly dress, then slip on my new black flats.
I pause for a second to admire myself in the mirror. Then I continue into the bathroom, where I apply my makeup and carefully style my hair into a side braid. Finished, I head downstairs and into the kitchen, where I smelled bacon.
Pushing the kitchen door open, I find Chris and Shawn in the middle of cooking bacon and waffles.
"Good morning, Miss High Schooler! Ready for breakfast?" Shawn greets me, presenting a plate full of food and waving it in front of me.
"Well, duh. I'm going to hell, I might as well have a little something to make it through," I say sarcastically. With that, I grab the plate and push through the door into the dining room.
"Oh, don't be such a Debby Downer! High school can be fun!" Chris yells after me.
"Yeah, right," I mutter to myself, grabbing my fork and knife and cutting off a piece of waffle.
Mick comes down the stairs then, fully dressed and twirling a set of keys around his finger. "G'mornin', hotshot. Do you have all your stuff together?" he asks, sitting next to me.
"Yeah, it's in my room. I'll grab it after I finish eating." I reply, then bite off a piece of bacon.
A few minutes later, I finish my breakfast and head up to my room to grab my school stuff. I tromp back downstairs after brushing my teeth, meet Mick in the hallway, and head out the door to high school.

*15 MINUTES LATER*
Mick pulls up in front of La Salle High School. I see kids wandering around, meeting and chatting with each other. I look at Mick and pull a face.
"Hey," he says, "Maybe it won't be so bad. High school is very diverse."
"Ain't that the truth," I agree, then push the car door open. I step out, slamming it shut. Waving goodbye, Mick drives away, leaving me on the sidewalk. I glance behind me and groan inwardly. Already, a couple people were starting to look at me funny. I adjust my backpack straps and start walking toward the doors.
All of a sudden, I hear a loud scream from my right. "Colleen!"
I look around, and I couldn't believe my eyes. Running over to me was Alena!!! My jaw drops, and I stand there in shock. Alena tackles me with a flying hug, all the while squealing her head off.
Finally coming to my senses, I throw my arms around her and holler, "Holy shit! Alena! How the hell did you get here!?" She pulls back and replies, "I got adopted! You'll never believe by who!" "Who? Who? Whoooooooooo??? Tell meeeeee!!!" I exclaim.
"By Ashely Purdy!" she says excitedly. "No way. You're screwing with me." I say, smirking.
"Nuh-uh!! Im totally serious." Alena protests.
Before I could say more, a bell rings from inside the school. People start flooding inside, and we got carried along in the wave of people.
"Do you have your schedule?" Alena asks, pulling hers out of her pocket. I present mine from my bag with a little flourish. We then compare classes. Alena and I were together first, third and sixth period; just me in second and fifth, and just Alena in seventh and eighth.
I groan, "Eight classes! I'm gonna dieeeeee!" I pretend to faint.
Alena tries to catch me. "Same here, girl," she agrees, pushing me up. We walk along for a while before stopping at our first class.
I look at the sign on the door and groan again. "Physics?" I whine. "I know exactly jack shit about physics! This is ridiculous!"
"Hey, physics isnt that bad," Alena says. "I used to read physics journals when we were back at the orphanage. I could help you if you need it."
I grin and hold my hands out to her. "I guess high school won't be that bad," I say. Alena hooks her arm through mine and pulls me into the room.
We were greeted by a half-full classroom of teenagers. Already, I could tell which cliques were which: the preps all sit in the middle of the room, desks pushed together, passing around Starbucks coffee cups and showing off their new manicures to each other. The nerds sit in a row with their piles of binders and pencils, quietly discussing equations and other nerdy stuff. The jocks sit in the back, throwing stuff at each other and joking around. Scattered around the room was the overspill, most wearing earbuds and ignoring the world.
Alena and I look around for a place to sit. There were two open desks by the window. Making our way over, we sit just as the teacher entered. He had brown hair, a full beard, glasses, and an arm full of papers. He strides to the desk in the front of the classroom and sets everything down, then turns to the class with a smile on his face. I liked him immediately.
The bell suddenly rings, and everyone quiets down. "All right, ladies and gents, let's stand for prayer, please!" the teacher calls out. Standing, the other students begin the prayer.
"Let us remember," the teacher says. "That we are in the holy presence of God," the students (including Alena) reply.
"Lord, let us all have a wonderful day as we begin with the beauty that is physics, and that our new student-" here he pauses and smiles at me- "-will adjust positively and learn everything we cover with success."
I blush and look at the floor.
"St. John Baptist de La Salle."
"Pray for us."
"Live, Jesus, in our hearts."
"Forever."
With that, we all sit. The teacher (whose name was Mr. Voge, according to the placard on his desk) stayed standing and gestures to me. "Perhaps our new classmate would like to introduce herself?" he questions, giving me another smile.
I shrug, then stand and walk to the front, next to his desk. "Um, my name's Colleen Taylor... I just transferred here... Um..." I blush and look hopelessly at Mr. Voge.
He nods, then asks the class, "How about we greet Colleen, hmm?"
"Hi, Colleen," everyone says in a monotone, except Alena, who just waves. I roll my eyes at her, then turn back to Mr. Voge, who gestures for me to sit.
I quickly walk back to my desk and sit, whispering to Alena, "How do you already know the prayer??"
"I shadowed before I actually transferred," she whispers. "They say it, like, every single class. You get it after a while."
I nod, then pull out a notebook and quickly title it "Physics".
Mr. Voge begins talking about electrons and protons. Normally, I would zone out and start drawing. However, I really want to have good grades this year, since 1: it was high school, 2: I want to impress Corey and show him that I was indeed responsible, and 3: this stuff was actually (sort of) interesting.
I start taking notes. Fifteen minutes into it, I develop the feeling that someone was staring at me. I take a quick peek around and see a tall, lanky boy (probably sixteen) slumping in his chair with a pencil between his lips. He gazes at me with startlingly sharp green eyes. He had black, slightly wavy hair that covered his eyebrows, pale skin, and wore a Disturbed t-shirt. Under that, he wore black skinny jeans and black high-tops, and a couple rubber bracelets adorned his right wrist.
When he sees me looking at him, he smirks and mouths, 'Pay attention.'
I give him a weird look, but face forward, blushing a little.
A couple minutes later, the feeling returns, and I turn back around.
He was staring at me again.
It wasn't creepy staring; it was like he was looking at something that sparked his interest.
I blush a little more, and he notices. He grins at me, and I notice that his teeth were perfectly white and straight, save for a little chip in one of his front teeth. To be honest, he was very cute.
'Check that,', I think to myself as we continue to look at each other, 'He's freaking gorgeous.'
Suddenly, he stands up with the pencil in hand and starts walking over to me. I quickly turn back to my notebook, but watch him out of the corner of my eye. He strolls past my desk, making his way to a pencil sharpener. As he passes me, he slides a little square of folded-up paper under my elbow. I slowly retrieve it and open it under my desk.
'I'm Rick. Meet me in the courtyard outside the lunchroom at lunch. Plz reply' was written in the middle of the paper in small, loopy handwriting.
I smile and write, 'Im Colleen :) okie i will.' Folding it back up, I scoot it to the far corner of my desk. I wait for him to pass by again,. When he did, he quickly grabs the paper and holds it as he goes back to his seat.
I turn back to my notebook and continue writing, smiling giddily all the while.