Broken Souls (Souls #1)

Chapter 4 - Destiny

My homeroom this semester is visual art. Luckily, I had Hayden at my side to walk me to class. He explained to me where my three other classes were but it all sounded like mumbo jumbo to me. I nodded my head anyways, like I understood everything he just said, thanked him and walked into my class. After I stepped foot inside of the room I realized that I should have gotten Hayden to tell me the directions to my class again, but when I turned to look back out of the class I couldn't see him anywhere. I guess I'll swing by the office and ask for directions to my next class. Or I could just ask another student. I look at the class and notice that everyone seems to be talking animatedly. The class was extremely loud and I twisted my nose up in disgust. I hated noisy classrooms. It was difficult for me to work in, and if I was in art class then I needed total and absolute concentration.

I introduce myself to my art teacher who is short and stout and has a pinched expression on her round face as if she just ate a sour lemon. She informs me that she is Mrs. Falkner and then points out an empty spot for me to sit in which is at the back of the class. The table is a large square and is built to seat four people. One lone red head girl sits there with her back turned to me. As soon as I deposit all of my books on in my assigned spot everyone turns to stare at me the whispering slightly dies down. Then I realize that all the chatter must have been about me. Hayden told me that I would be in the spotlight if I stick around him, but I didn't suspect to be the central topic in the gossip circles so soon. I slide into my seat and try to ignore all of the people staring at me like I'm the live display to be drawn, and everyone is trying to memorize me to the last hair on my head. Just one guy isn't staring at me. He's in his own little world with his headphones as he listens to music. I smile tentatively over at the girl who sits to the right of me and notice right away that she isn't imputing to the chatter which is filling the room, but rather staring off into the distance. She turns in my direction and but doesn't offer me a smile, instead she eyes me with curiosity.

"Are you the new girl?" She questions.

I shyly tuck a stray lock of hair behind my ear and nod my head. "Yep. I'm Destiny, by the way."

"Destiny. That's a nice name," she says and then smiles at me. "It's better than Blondie, that's for sure."

"Blondie?"

"That's what everyone around here is calling you now." The girl leans forward and twists a golden lock of my hair around her finger. "It's 'cause of your hair. I wouldn't be complaining though. That name is the best out of the three which they gave you."

"What are the other names?"

The girl shakes her head while saying, "You don't even want to know." She drops the strand of hair she wound around her finger and leans back into her seat. "I'm Amber," she says and then waves her hand around the room as if addressing it. "I'm not really into the gossip around here in this school. Ninety-nine percent of the time what flows out of these people's mouths are lies. So, I know that the rumor about you and Jennings is most likely not true, huh?"

"No, it's not true. I'm his new sister. But, you say that you are not into the gossip here? Then how do you know about the three names I apparently have and about that lie of Hayden and I?" I question with an upraised eyebrow. The action I do reminds me of what Hayden did. All I need is an eyebrow piercing to complete the whole look.

"Please," she begins and does an eye roll, "the gossip is so much around here it's like air. The students inside of this school live off of it like it's air. It's inevitable to be a student at this school and not hear the latest gossip. It's everywhere."

I can't help but let a laugh escape and Amber laughs right along with me. Her nose scrunches up in an adorable manner and I notice that she has a light sprinkling of freckles across the bridge of her nose and a few on her cheeks. Her pin straight hair is pulled back into a high tight ponytail and the tips of her ears are slightly pointy and they remind me of an elf. In fact, her overall appearance strikes me as elf-like. Her body structure looks delicate and she has high cheekbones with cupid's bow shaped lips. Her sea green eyes look a bit large on her face also - they have a round almond shape to them. She's even wearing a green top and it's as if she is one of Santa's little elves.

Amber nudges me with her shoulder playfully and grins. "I like you, Blondie."

"You're not half bad either, Red."