Wolfbound

Chapter 2: Tia

Chapter 2

Tia stared back at herself in the mirror, heart pounding heavily in her chest. She tried on a smile but it didn’t work. It just mangled its way into a frown. And then the tears started flowing. They trickled down her cheek like little salt water rivers.

Staying positive about the move had been hard enough but starting a new school was just too much. Tia didn’t know how to smile anymore.

She looked down at the Oakridge High uniform. What had they been thinking? It was a gross, sickly kind of green and not one part of it was flattering. The colour closely resembled spew, Tia thought.

If the school’s uniform was anything to go by, it was going to be hell on earth for Tia.

Tia turned and grabbed her bag then headed down the stairs, weaving through a fort of still-packed boxes. Each reluctant step she took slowly led her into the lounge. If Tia had her say, she would be up in her room still sleeping and she would be home schooled instead of going through all this hassle. She wiped the tears away, on her sleeve and rounded the corner.

In the dining room, Dan, the cook, brought out Tia’s favourite.

“Scrambled eggs,” Tia beamed, “You legend!”

Dan smiled and returned to the kitchen. As Tia tucked into her breakfast, the twins came running into the room.

They sat at the table, pounding their fists against it, demanding their breakfast. “I want Cocoa Pops,” they both whined.

Tia rolled her eyes and shushed them. “Good morning rascals.”

“Morning, Tia,” Jake smiled. Jared didn’t say much, he just smiled too.

The twins had always been this way; Jake, the confident, and Jared, the shy. They were complete opposites but that never stopped them from being friends. Jared always seemed to be the one who came up with the trouble-making plan and Jake would be the one to actually do it. They were the perfect team really.

Tia finished up her eggs and glanced over her shoulder at the time. Tia didn’t really care if people thought she was a nerd for turning up early or not, she just had to get out of the house. She grabbed her bag, kissed the reluctantly, squirming twins on the forehead and headed for the door, giggling at their protest.

But not before she accidentally caught a glimpse of Grandpa’s chair. It was out of place in the newly furnished lounge. When Tia visited him last year he had been cheerful and happy, although he’d been pretty fragile which, considering his age, was normal. Now he was nowhere to be seen. The only trace of him was in the sweet scent of lollies that clung to the fabric of the chair. He had been young at heart, munching away on his sweets there in that very chair. It was a good thing he had false teeth otherwise they would have been rotten to the core. He didn’t care if they were bad for him – or Tia for that matter – he liked them, and the way he saw it ‘Life is too short to eat vegetables’.

Jake and Jared called their Goodbyes from the dining table. They were, by the look of them – bright eyed and bushy tailed – over their tiredness from moving. ‘Why are we moving to Grandpa’s?’ they had asked over and over until she hit them both around the head with a book and explained that Grandpa had left his mansion and all his money to our family when he passed away. Tia had had to fight back tears but it had been worth it to shut them up.

Tia slid her backpack onto her shoulder and stepped out into the rain and wind. She couldn’t remember which box her umbrella or raincoat was packed in, but for now she didn’t care. Trudging down her new driveway toward the flashy, big gates, tears started streaming down her face again. This time she didn’t bother to wipe them away.

The wind wiped through her hair like she was facing a gigantic, high-powered fan. Nothing about Oakridge’s weather ever surprised Tia anymore. She’d spent many Christmas holidays here in the haunting winter and she’d experienced her fair amount of gale force winds and heavy downpours, even a few white Christmases. The air was chillingly cold and the sky was filled with dark and gloomy clouds.

Below Tia’s feet the pavement started to slant down the hill. The mansion was on the board of the massive forest Oakridge was so famous for. Her road led past the beginning of the most popular trail.

Tia walked through the streets until she came to the sign that proudly stated she was at Oakridge High, Home of the Phoenix.

With a deep breath, Tia walked in the school gates not quite drenched. Somehow the rain had eased up on her way until it was just slightly spitting and she had escaped reasonably dry. She weaved through the cars in the car park up until she found the front office plain in front of her eyes. Pulling open the door, a warm wall of air hit her.

“Hi there,” the lady behind the office desk said, peering over her reading glasses. The lady was around her mid forties with hair straight out of an 80s music video, the kind with the fluro tights and awful moves. She smiled, exposing yellowed teeth, but her smile was warm and inviting just the same.

“I’m Tia-Maree Marshells.”

“Oh, the new girl,” the lady realised, ruffling through papers on her desk and handing Tia a few sheets of information. They looked to be a map of the school, the rules and her schedule. Tia was sure that the map and rules would end up in the next rubbish bin she saw. Still, it was a nice gesture.

“Um, thanks,” Tia tried to smile at her but it mangled into something horror on her lips. Not only could she not escape from her terror, but she couldn’t seem to hide it either.

“You’ll be fine,” the lady reassured her, sensing her discomfort.

Walking outside again, the cold bit through Tia like a piranha, nipping at her skin. There’s nothing worse than a cold Oakridge day.

The school grounds were starting to fill up and students walked about in busy chatter. Not many people noticed Tia standing outside the office, looking lost. Those who did gave her a weird oh-look-its-another-new-kid look and went back to their conversations.

Tia stood, leaning against the wall, watching people pass by until her fingers went numb and finally she was relived by the sound of the bell. Looking down at her schedule, Tia figured out that homeroom was first period everyday. Quietly cursing at her idea to dump her map in the bin, Tia wondered around the school looking out for building three.

A few minutes after she spied it across the quad, Tia stumbled in the door to her homeroom class. A grouchy, old lady was growling at a guy who looked bored out of his mind.

“Excuse me, Mrs Sal-a-zar,” Tia squeaked from the doorway. The lady swung around on her heels. “Sorry to interrupt.”

“And you are?” she almost hissed.

“I’m Tia-Maree Marshells. I’m new,” Tia answered, wishing she could shrink back into the dark hallway.

The guy she had been telling off glanced up at the sound of her name.

Tia’s breathe of air scraped up her throat. She was frozen in shock. The boy’s eyes were a vibrant green that sent shivers through her body. She couldn’t help but stare back at him. Never before had Tia seen such beautiful eyes.

The boy offered a half hearted smile.

Tia didn’t know how to respond. She was rooted to the spot, frozen. But remembering the rest of her surroundings, Tia looked up at the old hag before her.

“Take a seat,” Mrs Salazar said, looking back at Tia with squinted eyes.

Her legs protested, but she forced them to move. Tia stumbled down the aisle to the only open seat in the room. It was the seat in front of the green eyed guy. He smiled as Tia got closer. She stumbled over someone’s bag that was sticking out into the aisle and the girl at that desk giggled. The people around her all seemed to be staring and sniggering. Tia could feel her insides twisting uncomfortably. She was already being mocked in first period.

Shrinking down in her seat, Tia could feel eyes burning into her. She felt like an animal at the zoo, trapped, with all eyes on her. Behind her, she could sense the closeness of the boy and the thought was always there in her mind the entire class.