Saving Scout O'Brian

2- Is This Real?

•Sugar Cane By Missy Higgins•

|Olivia Wilde as Ms. Thornton|

Two

Thankfully it didn't take me all day to find Lincoln City High School. Classes were just getting out for the day and Charlotte immediately gravitated towards me as some kids her age walked by.

I wrapped my arm loosely around her shoulders. "Relax Char, new school, new place, new start. Just be yourself."

She let out a small sigh and nodded, her previous expression of fear melting into child-like determination. I smiled down at her before turning my attention towards the office that sat off to the right of the "commons" area. A few students gave me weird looks but I just ignored them.

The receptionist gave us both wide smiles, revealing a slight gap in between her front teeth, as we walked up. "Hey. I'm Scout O'Brian and this is my little sister Charlotte. We just moved here and would like to enroll."

The lady nodded and typed away at a few things on her computer before she handed me the paper work. "The principal will need to see you before you leave, but just you." I frowned but didn't protest. The paperwork was relatively easy, just some information and I finished early and let Charlotte play some games on my beat-up phone as we waited for the principle to be ready for me.

"Come in!" A firm and highly accented voice called at me from inside her office. I flashed Char a smile and let her keep my phone before I headed into the office. The little plaque on the front read Ms. Thornton, and the name alone seemed to send a shiver down my spine.

I pushed the door in slowly, taking in the medium sized office that actually looked rather homey compared to what I'd expected of a high school, though this one was pretty high class I suppose. Miss Thornton was at her desk, but all I could really see of her was the tumbles of dark chocolate hair and slender but muscled arms.

"Have a seat." She said without looking up, her hands worked smoothly as she filed through paperwork.

I sat down in one of the chairs in front of her desk and waited for her to be finished. I was eager to get out of here and spend my first day of freedom doing whatever I wanted with Char.

She didn't look up for the longest time and eventually I started to get agitated. Seriously lady? I have time to waste here. My mouth opened to ask her when she was planning on speaking to me when she suddenly looked up, and the words immediately died in my throat.

My first official thought was that there was absolutely no way in hell she could be over twenty-five.

I had to fight to hold my jaw together as I took her in. Her eyes were liquid silver as they peered at me from under her long dark lashes. Her plump red lips were opened just the slightest. Her face was strong-boned and flawless, the contours of it highlighting her creamy skin. From what you could see, her outfit said she was dressed in a button up royal blue tee and grey slacks.

Ms. Thornton set down her pen and leaned on her elbows over the desk, her fingers were interlocked and her chin was propped up on them. "So, you're Scout O'Brian."

I wasn't sure how to reply to that statement so I just nodded and watched her warily, furiously trying to figure out where she was from. The accent I am hearing is nothing like I've heard ever before.