✞ cяσss мy нεαят ✞

Chapter Two :: The Challenge

✝ Reagan Dellamor ✝

"Hi." 

My voice held an air of curiosity as I watched the people in front of me. To my surprise, two of the girls had very.. colorful hair, and the third one seemed to have a stick figure drawn on her tongue. The only normal ones were the brown haired boy I was staring at, and another boy with pitch black hair.

"Hi-llo! Are you new? I'm Amie," a girl to my right spoke, twisting in her seat to look at me. I could see a flash of black on her tongue when she was talking, confirming that it was a stick figure.

Smiling, I was about to tell her that yes, I was new, when the red - or was it pink? - haired girl spoke first, saying, "Of course she's new, Aim'z. Say, what grade are you in, stranger?"

"Twelfth," I answered, my gaze sliding back to the boy. He wasn't watching me anymore, but staring at his friends with an odd expression. I wondered why that was.

A girl to my left with blue streaks turned and stared at me curiously. Or at least I thought she was looking at me, but then I realized she was eyeing my hair. I was about to reach up and smooth it down self consciously, when she turned to Amie and said, "I think purple would look good."

"Or a navy blue color," the pink haired girl nodded approvingly. All three girls were now studying my hair, and I was about to ask what the heck they were talking about, when both boys stood up. 

I took a step back, since the black-haired boy had been sitting right in front of me. They stepped over their seats and grabbed their bags, while the girls started to protest. 

"Oh no, there is no way I am staying around for another hair talk. C'mon Fo- Devyn," he said, grabbing the boy I'd been watching's arm. Then he dragged Devyn away, who shot a last glance at us before they disappeared into the mob of people.

"Hmph. Stupid Trevor," Amie grumbled before turning back to me. She was about to say something, when realization dawned in her expression. "Oh! I forgot, those two party poopers were Trevor and Devyn. The crazy pink chick across from us is Blaire, and this is Dakota."

She motioned to each girl as she named them, pointing to the blonde girl beside her when she said Dakota. Blaire grinned at me, and I noticed that her eyes were red from contacts - kind of unnerving, but the color looked good on her. 

"Hi, I'm Reagan," I said, realizing that I hadn't even introduced myself yet. They were an odd bunch but seemed friendly enough, even if Dakota looked distracted. I got the feeling that she was the least.. wild of the girls, and for a second I wondered if she already didn't like me.

But then she spoke up, nodding her head as she said, "Purple is definitely the right color. Maybe with tinges of dark blue."

"And a white bow," Amie added, a grin spreading across her face. Blaire looked thoughtful, as if picturing what the other two had said. Then they were all nodding and smiling, turning their attention to me.

"Um, what?" I asked, hopelessly confused. They hardly said anything, and yet they all seemed to understand what each other meant. I wondered if I'd ever be close enough to someone to be able to do that, but then I quickly banished the thought.

Mom had warned me about getting too comfortable, since she wasn't sure if we'd stay or not. I'd only been at my last school for a month, and then I'd been forced to switch again. Who knows how long I'd get to stay here, but I could already tell that I would miss these crazy girls, and Devyn. 

Devyn. I didn't really know anything about him, only his name and what he looked like. But he already seemed interesting to me, and I wanted to know everything about him. His family, his past, his friends. Why Trevor had started to say "Fo". 

"Hey, wanna come over tonight?" Amie interrupted my thoughts, turning her piercing brown gaze to me. She still had that excited grin on her face, which prompted me to smile back, ready to agree.

Wait, what? She wanted me to come over? Already? Geez, that was different. I thought briefly about it, trying to remember if I had anything on my schedule. But so far I didn't have homework in any class, and soccer practice was tomorrow. Which left me with nothing to do.

"Oh! Um, sure," I mumbled, blinking at the girls. They looked absolutely delighted with my answer, but I couldn't begin to figure out why. 

The bell rang just then, and all three stood up to dispose of their trash. Then Amie hooked one arm through mine, and the other through Blaire's. Blaire followed suit and snagged Dakota's arm, and soon they were dragging us both along through the hall. 

I was trying hard to keep up, but was mostly just being pulled. I glanced sideways and saw that Dakota was doing the same. Meeting my gaze, she shot me a grin, calling over the noise, "You'll get used to it."

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✝ Fool "Devyn" Anderson ✝

I was just dropping into my seat when the late bell rang. My science teacher, Mr. Jones, was a stickler for the rules, and was closing the door when a girl arrived, looking confused. It took me a second to recognize her, but then I realized it was the girl from lunch.

"Mr. Jones? Science?" she asked, staring up at our teacher in curiosity. I could tell that he was tempted to slam the door in her face and lock her out for being tardy, but he resisted considering she was new. 

"Yes, yes; that's me," Mr. Jones murmured impatiently, reaching out to snatch the paper the girl was carrying. She looked startled, and we were all pitying her at the moment. We watched as she squirmed for a bit, when suddenly our science teacher did something that no one has seen for years.

He smiled. Full on, mouth turned up and teeth showing. Like, what the hell? One glance at a piece of paper and he was grinning like a fool! Just what was on that thing, any way?

We all stared in awed as Mr. Jones started chatting quietly with the new girl, motioning towards the paper or places around the classroom. She nodded her head and smiled politely while he spoke, absorbing everything he said.

When we were all about to die of curiosity, our teacher finally returned his attention to us again. He was smiling, but we all knew it was for the new girl, and not us. "Class, this is Reagan Dellamor. She's just moved here from New York, and I expect you all to welcome her warmly. Reagan, why don't you take the seat between Devyn and Lilitha."

It took me a moment to realize that he meant me. You see, even though my name was legally Fool, all my teachers knew to call me by Devyn. Even cranky Mr. Jones. Yet sometimes it still took me a second to register the fact that they meant me. And this was definitely one of those times.

I turned towards my left, glancing down at the empty seat that rested between me and Lilitha Grace. Lil was one of the clumsiest girls I knew, but she was pretty nice. Quiet, yes, but I enjoyed the few conversations we shared. Before, a big burly guy with spikey hair had sat between us, but he was expelled from school two months ago.

Which left an empty seat. And Reagan was currently making her way towards it, that captivating blue gaze fixed on me. I watched a sluggish smile sprawl across her face, and I blinked. No, I wasn't imagining it.. There was keen interest written all over her expression, and something told me that she would be working hard to crack my puzzle.

Ha. No one figured me out, not even my closest friends... All my most private and inner most secrets were held within, and there was no way this new girl was going to learn them. She must have seen something in my expression, because she just shot me a secret little smile before turning to talk to Lil.

I got the message loud and clear...

This was war.