The Marvelously Disastrous Misadventures of Jack Scarlett

Chapter 2: Topsy-Turvy

SCHEDULE FOR: Jack Scarlett GRADE: 10 I'D: ######

1°~8:00-8:55~Art 1 w/ Ms. December
2°~9:00-9:50~CP English 10 w/ Mr. Cloud
Break~9:50-10:05
3°~10:10-11:00~Chemistry w/ Mr. Flynn
4°~11:05-12:00~Spanish 1 w/ Mrs. Haas
5°~12:05-1:00 ~U.S. History w/ Ms. Mason
Lunch~1:00-1:30
6°~1:35-2:20~Math Analysis w/ Ms. Hence
7°~2:25-3:10~AVID w/ Mr. Gold

The day started out just like any other day. In fact, it was just like every other day in my life. I woke up to the Matron, got dressed in my normal school uniform (a crimson dress shirt and a pair of black slacks), went to the kitchen for food (it was generally just fruit and cereals), and otherwise did nothing. When it was time to leave, all I had to do was grab my bag and leave. I had a tight schedule and cramped quarters, what else could be done? So, I had sat there and waited, not even talking to anyone else because they all felt extremely uncomfortable when they were in close proximity of me. There was nothing I could do about that, and I didn't really care anymore. Little did I know, my antisocial and hermit-like tendencies were all about to be completely thrown out the window.

Finally, the time to leave had arrived. I got up, brushed off the little bit of dust and dirt that had collected on my uniform, and grabbed my bag. As I was on my way to leave the room, I heard some kids talking about a possible new student at my school. I remember being vaguely interested in the idea of a new student, but, seeing as I had no further information, I quickly lost interest. Perhaps, if I had paid a little more attention to the conversation, I would have been able to prepare myself for what had happened next. But, sadly, I did not so therefore, I could not. Anyways, I had walked out of the Orphanage just like usual, completely disinterested in the world.

When I had arrived, there was already a small buzz of excitement in the air. I had, and have, extremely sharp ears, so I can hear quite a lot. But, I had "turned off" my hearing and walked about to the library, where I spent most of my mornings, and afternoons. I strode over to "my" seat and proceeded to throw my stuff down as I went to get a book, but stopped when I realized that there was a human in my way. To be more specific, a girl. I smiled politely at her, saying, "Oh, excuse me. I am very sorry, but I wasn't paying attention and very nearly ran into you. You see, I generally sit where you are now, and almost threw my bag on top of you." At this, she looked up, as if she had only then seen me.

I had un slung my bag off from my shoulder and set it gently down by the table. Then, I looked at her for the first time. She was sort of pretty, I mean, she was to me at least. Her hair was a dark black and hung slightly in her face. Her bangs were brushed to the side and the rest of her hair was just hanging in no particular style down her back. She must have not had her uniform yet, because she was wearing black jeans and a plain black shirt instead of the standard red blouse and black skirt. Her skin was a soft tan with freckles adorning her cheeks and arms. Her lips were colorless and her nose was small yet not at the same time. She had square framed glasses magnifying her crystal blue eyes. She didn't have on any makeup except for a small amount hiding bags under her eyes. I had felt indifference for quite a long time leading up to that moment, so I had no idea what to think of the odd sensation that was rising up in my chest.

And I could only imagine how I appeared to her. A tall, gangly teenage boy slightly hovering over her small form. My hair was a brighter shade of red back then and my eyes were the same. I must have been scary to people who didn't know me. And yet, she was completely unperturbed. Acted as if my hair colour was normal, as if the eyes that scared me were fine, as if I were nothing special. The only way I even realized that she noticed that I was different in any way was that she had a small sign of amusement, amusement, in her eyes. That sorta threw me off.

Then she spoke, her voice sounding soft, as if she didn't use it often, and said, "Hi, I'm the new student in school. My name is Lilith, but you can call me Lily," and at that she raised up a frail hand for a handshake. I gingerly grasped her fingers and shook softly while muttering, "I'm Jack," in response. I then quickly let go of her hand and grabbed a nearby chair to sit. I then said, louder and with more confidence than I had earlier, "If you don't mind, I like sitting at this spot so I am just going to sit here. I do hope that this does not bother you."  With that, I went to the horror section of our library and grabbed one of the books that I have been working on, I would have checked it out if it weren't for the Matron's strict code on what we can and cannot read.

As I return to the table, I see Lilith's head lift up as she heard me coming. At the time I could have sworn that a black mist swished about her for a second. But, I blinked and "realized" that was impossible. Or was it? I brushed the thought out of my mind as I sat down and flipped to the page that I was on last time. I read for a while, we only had about five minutes before the bell, and every once in a while I would see out of the corner of my eye wisps of black mist. I ignored them for the time being, and it didn't quite matter because I wouldn't find any relevancy in it for quite a while.

The bell rang and I grabbed my bag, returned the book, and went to my first period class, Art. It was considerably the best class of the day, and it was nice that it was in the morning so I could get used to school without bugging anyone. I sat down at my usual spot and commenced my usual morning routine when all of a sudden, Ms. December announced, "Listen up class! We have a new student today. Say your name dear." And there was a soft voice that said, "My name is Lilith, but you can call me Lily."