Chased by Shadows

Chapter 2

Walking out of the store bags in hand, Ryan and Nova made their way back 'home'. Rounding the street corner, they saw their dad talking with a man in front of a big moving van that had men carrying boxes of our stuff going in and out of the back. As the siblings neared, they could hear the conversation consisting of payments and other boring stuff.

"Hey dad, you made it." Ry smiled.

Their father glanced over at Ryan and Nova and gave a quick smile before turning back to the moving guy who nodded a greeting to the two and gestured back to the clipboard he was holding to continue the conversation.

Nova turned away and started up the driveway dodging the people going in and out with boxes of their stuff. Making her way to the kitchen, she set the groceries on the counter and watched as Ryan came in mumbling something about how, ironically, one of the movers didn't understand what 'please move' meant.

"Oh good you're back! And here I thought I was going to have to resort to eating one of the movers to stay alive." Mom laughed at our disgusted faces as one of the men in the hall started walking away slightly faster. "I was kidding, don't look at me like that." Ryan rolled his eyes and turned to leave when dad came into the kitchen rubbing his head.

"You wouldn't believe how annoying those men could be while on the road. They had absolutely no manners, and they were trying to charge me over the previously agreed amount for the amount of boxes we had." He huffed and plopped down into a chair by the island, rubbing a palm against his forehead.

Mom turned to where Ryan then Nova were leaning against a counter, "So what did you see on the way to get food?" Nova shrugged and looked out the window.

"There's a park here that Nova can go to and a gym not too far away from there where I can go work out" Ryan said when he realized she wasn't going to speak up.

"Oh Nov dear that's awesome, you have a new location to take some pictures and your high school will surely have some clubs or something you can sign up for." Her dad offered a smile  from where he sat. She grunted and helped her mom with the groceries sitting on the counter, eager to eat anything at this point.

...

After a sandwich dinner, Ryan and Nova headed back upstairs to get settled in. Considering that it was Sunday, their mom and dad had agreed that the sooner that the two get involved with school, the quicker they will get used to living in the new place. So there would be no putting off going to school the next day. Nova groaned at the thought of getting up tomorrow after two days of traveling on the road.

There wasn't any time tonight to set up the frames for the beds so the two dragged their mattresses up the stairs together and just laid them out in the respective bedrooms. After searching through all the boxes, Nova finally found hers that had been labeled "Clothes" and carried it back up to her room. Anything else she would need could wait until tomorrow.
 

Nova was sitting on her knees sorting through the stuff in the box when knock came from the open doorframe and Ryan poked his head in, "We have to get up 'round five tomorrow so we get to school early to fill out all the forms and stuff, so go to bed so you can get up."  Nova groaned at the thought of getting up so early but nodded as he left.  She stood up and walked over to her backpack to grab her toiletry bag before making her way to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

...

All too soon, a knock came from the door and Ryan opened the door and shuffled into the doorway rubbing his face, "Hey No, it's your turn in the bathroom. Mom wants to leave in the next forty five minutes so hurry, I know how long you take."

"I don't take that long getting ready jerk." Nova groaned and tossed the sheet off, slowly rolling over and put her feet on the ground. She sat up and let her head hang down trying to get her eyes to stay open. Ryan shook his head and left the room motioning for her to get a move on.

After a hurried shower and a makeshift sandwich breakfast, everyone was out the door and in the car. "So are you guys sure you can fill out all the forms on your own? I have a folder with both of your previous school records and other official documents you might need here just in case" mom glanced over at Ryan in the passenger seat then at Nova in the rearview mirror.

 Nova nodded, "We'll be fine mom, not happy, but fine. And if we forget anything then you can just come in after school and fix it."

Their mom pulled up in front of the student drop-off, it was still considerably early so unsurprisingly, there was no traffic. The two stepped out onto the curb, slinging backpacks over their shoulders. After saying goodbyes, the car pulled away and a sigh sounded from her left and Nova looked over to see Ryan staring at the gloomy looking building sitting silently in front of us. Crap, it's going to be a long day.

Wandering in through the front glass doors of the school and eventually finding the counselor's office, they were able to fill out all the paperwork and get own schedules. The only thing left for their mom to do was come in and sign some of the school's papers since they were both still under eighteen, Ryan just barely.

They walked out of the office and split up to find their lockers. Nova's was in the center of the school, easy to get to before and after classes so that was good. She set her near empty backpack on the floor and got work on figuring out the combination.

"Hi you must be new." A cheery voice piped up from behind just as she shut her locker and picked her bag back off the ground. Nova turned to come face to face with a small girl nearly drowning in her powder pink sweater. 

"How did you-" Nova started.

The girl stuck out her hand, "Hi! I'm Lizzy, nice to meet ya!"

Nova gave Lizzy a look before tentatively reaching out to shake the girl's hand.

"Hey.. uh I'm Nova. How did you know-".

"That you're new? Well cause the whole school knows!" Lizzy grinned gesturing at the halls around them slowly becoming more crowded for emphasis, some students passing by staring at them. "Well you and your brother, not just you," she shook her head, dark fluffy curls bouncing with the motion. "I'm getting off track! I came to offer help finding your classes."

Nova looked down at the paper she was holding in her left hand and decided that it wouldn't help sulking the rest of the day. She looked back at Lizzy and held out her schedule with a smile, "Sure, that would help out a lot, thanks."