"So, where to first?" Dani questioned eagerly as we turned the corner in to the main hallway. She had her timetable and map in her hands but by the way she was holding them both upside down showed that she was relying on me to give her the grand tour.
"Well, there is only a few minutes left of class now, so maybe I'll show you the basics and then I'll take you to.." I quickly glanced at her timetable, "Ancient History."
She nodded and added a bit of a skip to her step. Her big brown eyes were bright and excited as she took in everything around her.Besides a few stray students that were running to and from the bathrooms we had the whole place to ourselves.
"Let's go outside. I want to see what you guys are working with for sports and athletics" she skipped along ahead of me. Geez, how does anyone have this much energy right now?
"Um, sure? I mean, its just a big oval with some markings and goal posts, nothing too special. What did they have at your old school?" I almost yelled out to her. She was almost at the exit doors and my little legs were struggling to keep up. She pushed the doors open and I could see her take a deep breathe as she stepped out in to the sun.
"We were home-schooled. Dad always liked us to learn outside but we never had time for the traditional sports that you guys have" she called back over her shoulder as she bounced down the steps. Her long, silky hair bounced with her but not a single hair flew astray.
Home schooling? I never would've picked that. This girl had so much energy and confidence you would've thought she was Miss Thing in some wealthier class high school somewhere. Her brother on the other hand, Ben, definitely looked like he spent a lot of time on his own. Not because he had to, but because he liked it that way.
Ben
My heart raced at the thought of him. Whether it was because he was gorgeous or because he was dangerous, I couldn't say, but there was definitely something about him.
"...and I guess we're done here then" Dani concluded as she walked back towards me. I didn't even notice she had walked off. Where did she go? Where did I go? My legs just carried me as my mind drifted off somewhere. The bell rang, again I presume, and I spun back around to head in to the main building.
"So why did your parents now decide to put you in to mainstream schooling?" I asked Dani as we walked side by side. I looked down at my feet as we walked while her head was still fluttering around trying to take in every detail of her new school.
"Dad had to travel for work, he's always moving around the place but this time he will be gone for much longer and Ben and I wanted to keep studying. If we like it when Dad keeps back, then we'll stick to it." She shrugged. I already knew what her answer would be. It was her first day of school, she hadn't even had one class and she was already in love with the place.
We continued our conversation comfortably as I walked Dani to her first class. As we came closer to the classroom a group of boys that were lingering in the hallways began wolf-whistling and calling out things to us, well, to Dani.
"Well, Claire, are you going to introduce us to your new friend? She is beautiful"
"Yeah, I wanna be her friend too!"
"Claire, you didn't have to bring your friend over here, how sweet of you. A gift for me?"
The boys didn't stop even as we walked closer to them. Dani acknowledged them politely but never let the attention get to her. I like this girl. Tahlia would LOVE this girl.
The boys were a harmless group from my grade. Not jocks, but not the outcasts. They settled in nicely somewhere in between but were known for being the class clowns of the grade. Isaac, the tallest of the 6 boys, was relentless in his comments towards Dani and I.
"Hey Claire, if you're up for it, maybe we can share her? You look like you need a good fu-" Isaac was cut off as he was slammed forward by the shoulder by someone walking past. His step faltered but he regained composure quickly and turned to see who had barged in to him.
"Buddy, there was plenty of room to go around me, what's your fucking problem?" Isaac yelled throwing his hands in the air.
Ben didn't even look at Isaac as he walked straight past him towards Dani and I, his eyes locked on mine. He looked me up and down quickly before looking at his sister. Dani had a smug look on her face as her and her brother both turned to Isaac.
"I've got not problem unless you want to continue talking about my sister and Claire like that." Ben's shoulders were squared and his hands were in his pockets, no doubt in tight fists.
Isaac gave a crooked smile and looked at his friends and then back to Ben.
"Well I've got a lot more to say about those two if you're willing to listen. With Claire's great rack and your sister's fine ass, I'm sure I could tell you about a few things." Isaac's friends chuckled behind him, very proud of their dim-witted companion. Ben glared at them, and I could see him clenching and un-clenching his hands in his pockets.
Dani reached forward and put a hand on Ben's arm. He stilled momentarily before he closed his eyes and exhaled, loudly.
"If I could make one suggestion fellas? Turn around, head back to whatever fucking circle jerk you crawled out of and leave my sister and Claire alone. This is a warning."
Without anything further, Ben shot his eyes open quickly, spun on his heel and walked off quickly grabbing his sister and I by our elbows and pulling us along with him. The boys behind us muttered a faint suggestions on how we could all get our heads out of our own asses, but none of us turned back as we left school. Again.
Crap.
