The Alexandra Chronicles ¤ Derek Hale

Chapter 2

Scott refused to skip the first day of school, saying that whatever I did last night helped and his wound was feeling better already. I decided not to argue with him about it, because I knew that if Stiles noticed something wrong he'd come straight to me and tell me about it like always. And plus, I knew Scott was really looking forward to lacrosse try-outs today. He was more determined than ever to make first line, and even though I had my doubts I would never speak them out loud. Scott might be a clumsy asthmatic, but he was also my brother- I would support him through anything, regardless.

As I walked toward the school the next morning, a familiar voice shouting my name caught my attention. "Alex!" My best friend Cassidy exclaimed with a grin as she hurried to catch up with me. She yanked me into a hug and said, "Oh, my God, I missed you this summer!"

Cassidy and her family traveled to Ireland to visit family this summer. I had the opportunity to go with them, seeing as how she threw a fit about 'leaving her best friend behind,' but I didn't want to leave Scott and my mom. "I missed you too, Cassie," I said with smile. "So, how was it?"

"Amazing!" She chirped. "There were so many cute guys, you have no idea! You should have came, Alex, you would have loved it." Cassie paused and looked me up and down. "And- by the way- I totally love that outfit."

"That's because you're the one that begged me to buy it," I said with a short laugh. She smiled widely at me, knowing it was true. Cassie and I have been official-unofficial shopping buddies since middle school; according to her, no one else in our grade had as good a fashion sense we do. Which worked just as well, I guess, since we've been best friends since elementary. Also, neither Cassidy nor I had any problems when it came to telling the other if something looked ugly. We were both brutally honest, which means we both respected and appreciated it.

"True," Cassie said. "Hey, let me see your schedule! We better have classes together." I handed it over to her as we approached my locker. Our lockers were never next to each other, seeing as her last name was Allen and mine was McCall, but we both always ended up using mine. "Yes! We have homeroom, English, and chemistry together!"

"Thank God," I said as I put some of my notebooks away. "I wouldn't be able to survive senior year without having classes with you."

Cassie scoffed. "I wouldn't be able to pass English without you," she told me. "God knows I don't understand a damned word Shakespeare wrote. I still don't know how you can."

"Me either." I shrugged as I closed the locker. When I turned to look at her, my eye caught onto the familiar sight of Ethan Whittemore. He was my boyfriend of almost three years, up until a month ago when I caught him locking lips with Kendra Gilligan at a party he said he wouldn't be at. Let's just say it was a pretty messy break-up and I still harbored ill feelings toward the guy.

Cassie frowned when she looked over her shoulder to see what I was looking at. "Alex, you don't still have feelings for him, do you?" She asked me with a sigh. "He cheated on you. He's a prick- him and his cousin. Ethan's not worth your time."

Right then, Ethan looked up and made eye contact with me. I immediately looked away and turned my attention back toward my best friend as I shook my head. "No- no, of course not," I insisted. "Let's get to class before the bell rings and Mr. A has an aneurysm."

Cassidy laughed and linked her arms with me as the two of us sauntered down the hallway. Many underclassmen stared at us as we passed- the girls with expressions of awe and jealousy, and the guys with expressions of lust. My best friend and I were easily the two most popular girls in the senior class, but that never really mattered to me. I was happy being me and never felt the need to prove myself to anyone- the fact that people looked up to me anyway was just a bonus, I guess.