Beautiful Lives

Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – In the Water (Anadel)

Monday morning brought with it a storm of epic proportions.

"I'm surprised they didn't cancel school today," my mom noted, leaning against the kitchen counter as Ryder and I ate breakfast. "I don't think Pennsylvania's had a storm this bad in years,"

"I don't think too many people will actually be there," I explained, scrolling through my phone to check for new messages. Maya had already texted me to say that her parents weren't letting anybody leave the house until the storm warnings had been lifted. I had no idea whether Nate or Sebastian would be there, but I didn't have either of their phone numbers, so I wouldn't know until I got to school.

"Well, if the doors are open, you two are going, so go get ready," my mom announced, earning her a groan from Ryder.

"Mom, nobody's even going to be there..." he started to complain, but she cut him off.

"Zip it Ryder Williams, you're going to school," she said firmly. "I'll drive you, I don't want either of you on the road with the weather like this,"

It took us almost half an hour to reach the school, even though it was only a ten-minute drive. The second I stepped out of the car, I thought I was going to get blown away, so I grabbed onto Ryder's backpack to steady myself. He looked down at me, and burst out laughing.

"Come on, ya shrimp," he said putting his arm around my shoulders. "Let's go see who else's parents are evil,"

We entered the building just as the first bell rang, and I broke away from my brother, making a mad dash to reach my stats class. I burst through the doorway, and almost instantly started smiling when I saw Nate sitting in the back of the classroom, hunched over his notebook. I grabbed my seat behind him, and leaned forwards, brushing my hair out of my face. He seemed to sense my presence, and turned around quickly.
"Hey, you made it in!" he sounded genuinely happy to see me, and I smiled goofily.

"Yeah, my mom thinks that our education is more important than our safety or something," I said, rolling my eyes. Nate laughed.

"Hey, you're going to be glad you came. We're probably going to end up in the storm shelter later today, and trust me, you'll be glad you didn't miss it."

"Yeah, well we'll see about that," I retorted, still smiling uncontrollably. He smirked, and turned back around as the teacher began attempting to teach a lesson.

The academic atmosphere only lasted until noon, when the teachers decided that we were no longer safe in our classrooms, and bustled us down to the storm shelter. We were led through a maze of passageways in the school's basement, until we finally reached a wide, cavernous space with an overpowering stench of mildew.

People started milling around, and although the teachers initially tried to get us to stay seated against the wall, they eventually gave up altogether. I wandered through the giant room, trying to find someone that I knew. I was about to give up and go sit in a corner by myself, when I heard a familiar voice.

"Lexi!" I spun around to see Sebastian and Nate approaching me, with a couple of guys I recognized from the party in tow. Sebastian gave me a high-five – it seemed to be his standard greeting, and Nate ran his hands through his shaggy hair, smiling at me like we were old friends.

"Have you met these two?" Seb asked, gesturing to the other guys standing beside him. I shook my head in response.

"Toby," Sebastian pointed at the taller of the two – a skinny guy with jet-black hair, and a deadly serious expression on his face, "And Adam," the other guy was shorter and a little bit chubby, with a huge smile lighting up his face. I introduced myself to both of them, before turning my attention to Nate.