A sharp pain raced through the side of my head as I sat up in my bed. My thoughts jumbled together, and I had a hard time trying to put together a sensible thought. All I could hear was a loud ringing in my ears, and when I tried to sit up, the ringing turned into a crescendo. I moaned, and laid my head back down on the soft pillow.
My head pounded as my mother burst into my room, a loud bang drowned all silence as she walked to my bedside. Her soft hand stroked the hair away from my face.
"Sweetheart, It's time for school." She whispered, and I closed my eyes again.
"Mom, do I have to? My head hurts." I whined. She laughed softly.
"Yes, you have to go." She replied, and left. I rolled off of the bed, grabbed a blanket, and went downstairs. The sweet scent of freshly made pancakes and coffee drifted all around the house. I tiptoed into the kitchen, where my mother stood at the stove, humming as she cooked.
"You want some?" She asked me kindly. I nodded slightly, trying to move as little as possible because my head still hurt. She made me a plate and gently placed it in front of me
"Are you feeling better?" She asked me as I took a bite of the delicious pancake.
"A little." I replied. "Well you better hurry up if you don't want to be late for your first day of school." I looked at the clock and started to eat faster. I walked back up to my room to get dressed. My eyes skimmed over my closet, trying to decide what to wear. I chose to wear a pair of ripped black jeans and a MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE band tee with long sleeves. I grabbed the hairbrush off of my vanity, and brushed my hair. People always told me it was pretty, but I never really believed them. I hardly think anything about me is pretty. I have long brown hair that curls a little at the end, baby blue eyes, clear, pale skin, with a few freckles scattered around my face. I think it would be pretty on someone else, but I can't even look in the mirror and think, "You look nice today." I have always had a low self confidence ever since I was bullied in grade school. I took one last look at myself, tugged on my shoes, and walked out of the room. As I passed my mother in the hall, she said
"You look beautiful. Have a good day at school, sweetheart."
"Yeah right" I thought. I walked down the stairs, passing the third, second, and first floor of the apartment building. I knew every part of it. Every crack and dirt smear. I reached the lobby and waved at the doorman, who smiled back, as usual.
"Hey!" A voice said. My best friend Lilli pulled up in her new Toyota, grinning at me like a maniac. In the back seat was my friend Christie, who was hugging her knees.
"You ready?" Lilli asked me. I nodded and jumped into the car with a little thud.
"Are you ready for your First Day of School?" Christie asked. I rolled my eyes. She knows I don't want to go.
"No. I wish I didn't have to go. I told you that." I sighed as we pulled out of the driveway. She put the top down and sped off. I could barely hear her over the sound of the roaring wind.
"Don't worry!" Lilli yelled. "You'll love it!"
"Yeah, that's probably what they tell everyone." I thought, and slumped down in my seat. We arrived at the High School seconds later.
"Luckily, I live close enough to walk home if things get too bad" I thought to myself I was greeted by my other friends Jordan and Tyairnin. They all gossiped for a while, but I tuned them out. I searched the faces of the students in the sea of people walking around us. I felt a shove at my back, and I fell to the floor.
"Ow!" I yelled. "What was that for?" I rolled over to see who pushed me. A tall, blonde boy laid next to me in a ball, gasping for breath. I realised he was pushed into me, not that he pushed me. I stood up, brushed myself off, and offered him a hand. He smiled gratefully and took my hand. He was a very handsome man with short blond hair and abs to DIE for.
"Hey. I'm Elijah." He said with a smile. I stood there just staring into his eyes.
"Hey, I'm Bella" I muttered and looked down. He had a smile that could light up a town, and when he looked at me it felt as if the whole world around us stopped. I shook my head. There was absolutely no way he'd look at me again after this. I started to walk away, hoping he would go away so I wouldn't embarrass myself by trying to be friends with him while he doesn't even look at me.
"Wait!" He shouted, and pushed through the crowd to get to me. I turned slowly.
"Thanks for helping me, by the way." He said. I tilted my head. I got tired of wondering.
"Why on Earth are you talking to me?" I asked tiredly. He looked hurt.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you." He apologized. I shook my head.
"No, no, I was just curious. People almost never talk to me so..." I said, and he chuckled.
"I guess I'm just a naturally nice person." He said cockily. I punched his arm lightly.
"Don't be like that." I whined.
"I'm always like that."
"Then we have a problem."
I tried to hold back a smile. He looked me in the eyes and said, "Don't hold back your smile. It's pretty." And left. I looked at the spot where he stood.
"He called me pretty." I thought. "He called me pretty." My friends ran over to me and squealed, but I wasn't listening. The late bell screamed in my ear, and I walked to class surrounded by my friends. When I came in, everyone was seated and looking at the teacher with smiles and folded hand. The teacher turned to me, beaming.
"Welcome! You must be Bella!" she said loudly. I nodded. She was starting to freak me out.
"Why don't you go sit in your seat?" She said, pointing to the corner. I walked over and dropped my stuff in the chair next to my right. I looked over to the other side, and a blonde head was bobbing up and down in time to the music blasting out of his headphones, so I couldn't see his face. The teacher looked at him and tapped her foot. Without looking, I ripped them out of his ears.
"Wait, what?" The boy said. My head shot upwards and turned to the voice. Eli was looking ahead, earphone dangling from one ear so he could still hear it. He looked at me and grinned, leaning back in his chair and stretching.
"Hello again Bella." He said. I smiled and tried to hold it back again. He gave me a "really?" face, so I rolled my eyes and stopped.
"What are you listening to?" I asked.
"Wrong. It's what was I listening to. The track ended. And I was listening to My Chemical Romance."
"I like your shirt, by the way." He said all of a sudden. I looked down at my My Chemical Romance shirt.
"Me too." I said.
"Well, obviously, you bought it."
"You don't know that. It could have been a gift." He smirked.
"I doubt it."
"Well, you're right."
He full out laughed at that. The teacher was glaring at us from across the room, so I elbowed him in the ribs. He stopped laughing immediately, and held his ribs. "Ow!" He yelled. "Why?" I motioned my head towards the teacher, and he wiggled his fingers at her in a hello. She put her hands on her hips, and raised an eyebrow. Eli sighed, and unplugged his earphones from his phone. He made a face as if to say, "Happy?" And she nodded in approval. Once her back was turned, he plugged them in and listened to music again. I rolled my eyes. He offered me an earphone so I could listen too, so I looked at his phone to see what song was playing. I couldn't see, so I put it in. "Look alive, Sunshine. 109 in the sky, but the pigs won't quit. You're here with me, Dr. Death Defy. I'll be your surgeon, your proctor, your helicopter, pumpin up the slaughtermatic sounds to keep you alive. A system failure for the masses, Anti-matter for the master plan. Louder than God's revolver and twice as shiny, this ones for all you rock and rollers, all you crash queens and motor babies. Listen up! The future is bulletproof! The aftermath is secondary. It's time to do it now, and do it loud. KILLJOYS, MAKE SOME NOISE!" My eyes widened and my mouth hung open when one of my favorite songs came on. Eli looked over at my incredulous face, and I looked back at him.
"I'm guessing you like this song." He guessed. I gave him an enormous hug. "This is my favorite song!" Realising what I'd done, I quickly let go and blushed, hanging my head. He chuckled.
"Don't be embarrassed." He said. I crossed my arms.
"What makes you think I'm embarrassed?" I asked defiantly. He tapped his chin, pretending to think.
"Well, the minute you touched me, you shrank away, you tried to walk away from me earlier, and you won't look me in the eye." He said blandly.
"First off, I stopped touching you because you made a face at me. Second, i walked away because I thought you were way too popular to be seen with me, and third, I don't look you in the eye because you'll look back." I humphed. Elijah cocked his head.
"I didn't make a face, I'm not popular, and yeah, I'm gonna look back." He said.
"Why? Why would you look back?" I asked tiredly. He seemed at a loss of words. "Bella. Would you please switch seats with Miss Kayla?" The teacher said. I stuck my tongue out at Eli, grabbed my stuff, and switched seats with a blond who looked like she met God when the teacher said she'd move next to Eli. I poured myself into the chair, because I didn't have the energy to look like I cared. I looked at Eli, and the girl had crushed herself against him, and leaned her head on his shoulder. Elijah looked like he was going to puke from just looking at her.
"Choose a partner to work with you on writing down the laws of Thermodynamics." She said. I looked at Eli, who was in a pretty uncomfortable situation.
"Help me!" He mouthed over to me. I nodded, stood up, and walked over to him.
"Hey Eli, wanna be my partner?" I asked. Kayla sneered at me.
"No, he's already my-" She started, but Eli interrupted her.
"Sure, Bella." He said, standing up. Kayla stuck out her bottom lip, hoping he would notice and bail on me, but when Eli saw, he said, "Bye Kayla." We headed over to my desk when I felt something run into me and i fell, slamming my head on the table. It felt like someone had smashed my head in with a hammer. Laughter surrounded me, so I turned to the ground so I wouldn't have to see their laughing faces. Someone tugged at my arm, and I turned around. Eli was pulling me up, forehead with crinkled with worry. Once up, I sat in a chair holding my head.
"Bella, you okay?" He asked. I gave him a fake smile, and nodded a little. He exhaled loudly in relief.
"That was only the second time today." I said, and he cracked up.
"This is going to be a long day."
The rest of my time in school whizzed by after that. I only had three classes with Eli, and the rest of the classes sucked. I was on my way to Lilli's car when I heard someone running behind me. I turned around to see who it was, and a blonde boy with earphones was coming straight for me.
"Hey Eli." I said. He stopped in front of me, and doubled over, heaving for breath. He held up a peace sign.
"Sup?" He asked. I shrugged. He held the back of his neck and slumped against the light pole.
"I-uh-I just wanted to say-" He started, then stopped.
"What?" I asked, wondering if he was going to say what I thought he was going to say.
"I had fun today." He finished. I looked down in disappointment.
"Yeah. Me too." I replied. He licked his lips. "Here's my number. I'll text you when I get home." He said. Eli handed me a slip of paper and kept walking. I looked down at the little piece of paper. Inside, in neat handwriting, was Eli's number and his name underneath. I practically skipped to the car. I opened the car door, and plopped myself inside. Lilli gave me a sideways glance.
"What happened?" She asked. She can always tell when I'm thinking of something.
"Nothing. What makes you think something happened?" I sang. She raised her eyebrows, and I handed her the slip of paper. She opened it, eyes wide. Christie threw herself forward, trying to snatch the piece of paper from her. Lilli held on to the piece of paper, then threatened to throw it out the window if Christie didn't sit back. Christie inched back slowly, then all at once. Lilli grinned, and started the car. When we got to Christie's house, I flopped onto the couch, and pulled my phone out of my pocket. I carefully unfolded the slip of paper he had given me, typed it into my contacts and labeled it Eli. I went on to the homepage and tapped on the messaging icon.
"Hey." I typed, and hit send. The reply was instantaneous. "Hi Bella." He said. I smiled at the screen, as his next message came in. "Miss me?"
"You wish." I typed.
"You hungry?" Christie's mom asked me from behind the couch. I looked up at her.
"No thanks Mrs.Oseguera." I loved being at their house. Christie's parents were always so nice to us, but her father was the nicest of all. He never said anything mean, and when he does, you know he's joking. He doesn't mind spending money, because he'd do anything for any one of us. I frowned. I wish my dad was like that. I shook my head. There was a little ping, and I looked at my phone.
"I gtg." Eli had said. I turned the phone off, and stuffed it in my pocket. I gazed up at the ceiling, counting all of the tiny crystals on the chandelier hanging above my head.
"Hey." Said Christie, jumping on the back of the couch to sit. "You still texting Eli?" She drawled. I smacked her lightly, and she slapped my arm in return.
"No, no I'm not texting Eli, he had to go." I said grandiosely. She crossed her arms and gave me an "I don't believe you" look. To prove my point, I showed her the text, and she shrugged. I went back to looking at the ceiling. A beautiful tune came from somewhere, so I craned my neck to get a look at who it was. There was a blond girl in the corner, melody escaping her lips. I don't know what it is about watching people when they're unaware, they just look so prepossessing. The girl's green eyes caught mine. They were pretty, but they ruined her looks. They were filled with hate and anger. I averted my eyes to avoid her watchful stare.
"Hey guys." Lilli said, coming down the stairs. She'd changed her top into a nice looking blouse. "Who's that?" I mouthed, motioning to the blond with my head.
"This is Abigail, my science partner." She said sourly, as if her name put a bad taste in her mouth. Abigail looked up from her phone, looking at all of us boredly. She blew the hair out of her eyes and looked at her phone again.
"Why don't you call your parents and ask if you can stay over?" Christie asked, expertly flipping channels on the television.
"I have to finish my project." Lilli said. "I'll call them after."
I whipped out my phone and texted my mom.
"Can I stay over at Christie's?" I asked. Almost three minutes passed before she answered.
"Sure. Don't stay up too late." I shut off my phone in time to see Meriam make a bad attempt at a cartwheel. I heard the door slam, and Abigail left. Lilli walked in the room looking tired. We all called our parents about the sleepover, and they all said it's okay, except for Meriam's parents. They said no because she had Volleyball practice tomorrow. Once she left, we sat in a circle on the floor, only half paying attention to what was on T.V.
"Truth or dare?" Ty asked me. I thought a moment.
"Dare." I replied. She smirked.
"I dare you to go to the graveyard down the road." She said smugly. My heart sank. Couldn't they do dares like eat a spoonful of peanut butter or something? I shrugged on a jacket and opened the door.
"Be right back." I said, and left. I slowly walked down the hill, cold wind biting my face. There was a path behind her house that led straight to the cemetery, so I took it and reached the graveyard in a matter of minutes, boots crunching the dead leaves scattered around. I walked around for a couple of minutes, trying in vain to warm my hands. I heard a sound coming from the east side of the graveyard. Cautiously, I moved to that area until I saw where the noises were coming from. Sitting on the ground in front of a grave was Eli, tears silently streaming down his face. He was emotionless, devoid of life. My heart went out to him immediately. I sat on the floor next to him, and he looked at me in shock, tears almost frozen to his face. He sobbed again, and I laced my fingers with his. I squeezed his hand lightly, just to let him know that I was there. He calmed down after a couple minutes, and wiped his face.
"I'm sorry." He said, and I shook my head vigorously.
"You have nothing to be sorry for." I said, and he gave me a little smile. We sat together, silence warping around us like a blanket.
"Is this someone you know?" I asked, looking at the grave. Eli nodded.
"My kid brother, Nate, died of cancer three years ago. He was only nine." Eli breathed. I bit my lip, and he rested his head on my shoulder.
"How did we come into a world like this? Where death comes and tappes you on the shoulder." He asks. I shake my head.
"Some people know they're going to die." I say. "Death doesn't tap you on the shoulder, it smiles at you, because you know you're going to die, and you can't do anything about it. Instead of fighting it, you should greet death like an old friend, which in many ways, it is." And we just sit there, hand in hand like children in a fairy tale.
"Bella, can I tell you something?" He asked me after about half an hour of deathly silence. I nod, and turn to him.
"You can. I won't tell." I reply. He bites his lip.
"I'll tell you some other time." He says nervously.
"Okay." I say, stand up, and offer him a hand, which he takes, pulling himself up. We walk home, talking the whole time. We reached Christies house a couple of minutes later. Eli let go of my hand, and rang the doorbell. Tyairnin opened the door, eyes wide when she saw Eli.
"CHRISTIE!" She screamed, and ran into the house, closing the door. Eli raised an eyebrow at the door just slammed in his face. I patted his shoulder like, "This is what I live with." Christie opened the door again, and smiled.
"Hey Eli." She said, smiling with her whole face. He gave her a little wave.
"Bye Bella." He said. "See ya." I muttered. He smirked, and wrapped his arms around me in a hug. I stiffened, unaccustomed to this feeling, but eventually hugged him back. He pulled away and smiled.
"Bye!" He said, and went down the stairs, jogging to his house.
"Will you be at school tomorrow?" I shouted. He turned around, jogging backwards now.
"If you will!" He yelled, and turned around again, disappearing into the shadows again. I took one last look at the woods, and went inside. Tyairnin, Christie, and Lilli crowded around me, begging for details. I just sat on the couch, trying to process all that happened earlier.
"So...What was he doing at the graveyard?" Christie asked me once they'd calmed down and placed themselves on the floor. I thought a moment.
"I don't think it's my place to tell you." I whispered. She looked down, and nodded understandingly. Sensing the tension, Christie turned on the television and flipped it to Backstrom. In this particular episode, there was a man who died and sent a message to Backstrom and his gang.
"Two worlds will collide." Said the dead guy's sister. Backstrom rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, the worlds of Mushu pork and my mouth." He said. I tuned out the laughing voices of my friends. Since we were sleeping in the living room, I walked to my makeshift bed on the couch. I turned to the back of the couch. In my mind, I couldn't stop thinking about Nate, Elijah's brother. I couldn't shake the feeling of absolute horror at what had happened. I never knew Nate, but I was so sad over him. This is what I was thinking before my eyelids closed, and I slept.
