Malefica

Chapter Four-A New School, An Anxiety Attack, and a New Friend

Malefica High was a series of small buildings connected by sidewalks, put closely beside each other. The main building, the secretary had informed her the night before, was the large one in the center, made of gray stone. It contained the office, the English and History classrooms, and all of the lockers for grades nine through twelve.

Max stood anxiously by her car. There was a sign that said Malefica High school-Highway to Success, but someone had spray painted a line through Success and wrote Hell in its place. Malefica High school, Highway to Hell. She chuckled a little, and adjusted her shirt. Nirvana, it said in yellow letters across the black material.

She stared at the school for a few more moments. She wasn't even through the front doors, but she already felt suffocated. A group of teenagers stood in front of the front entrance of the main building, a few smoking cigarettes. They looked like the kids from the library, if not in appearance, than in essence. Loud. Young. Trouble.

Of course, considering that she was wearing gray skinny jeans and a t-shirt for a grunge band, she figured that that's exactly how she looked as well.

She finally found the guts to walk into the building. She walked, with fake confidence, past the group of kids. They didn't even look at her twice.

She sighed heavily as she walked into the office. It was a small room, inhabited by a large, empty desk, with doors leading off to multiple offices. She breathed in, as she made her way to the door labeled "Principal" in square black letters. She knocked, and heard a somber voice from behind the door.

"Come in," the voice said. She opened the door, and saw a woman in a white suit, her blond hair gathered in a bun atop her head. She had blue eyes that were strangely flat. She wore no makeup except for her lips, upon which she was wearing red lipstick. "Principal Hardwicke" the label on her desk said.

"Hello, Principal Hardwicke," Max said softly, suddenly feeling very nervous. Something about her was...wrong.

"Max James, sit down," she smiled. It was the suit, Max decided. It was so white, and so strangely clean. So white. "Our school is like a family, Ms. James," she smiled, "And we're glad to welcome you to it."

"Oh, um...thank you," Max smiled, smiling as nicely as she could manage.

"It's such a small town, everyone tends to get close...now, if you cause any trouble, I will hear about it right away," she said, leaning forward. "I always hear about the trouble people get themselves into, but you will find me to be very fair," she smiled. Max's eyebrows had begun to cinch together. Is she threatening me? She wondered. Surely not.

"Now, here is your schedule, and ...hey, Hannah! New student," she called as she slid the paper to Max. A girl stepped into the room from the main office. She appeared to be Hispanic, with caramel skin, and brown eyes surrounded by thick rings of eyeliner. She was wearing a beanie and tank top and a pair of black skinny jeans.

She smirked at Max. "C'mon, I'll give you a tour," she said, turning around before Max could respond.

"Let me see your schedule," Hannah said, and Max handed it to her. "English first period, History second..." she trailed off. "These two classes are in this building, English in that hall, history in that one. Your locker is in this hall," she said, gesturing widely to the hallway full of lockers and students. There seemed to be hardly any people there at all.

"Is this everyone?" Max asked her, staring around her. To her left, a small group of guys in lettermen jackets were talking very loudly about alcohol. Not to far from them were a group of what appeared to be ninth grade girls gathered around a girl in an older grade who was telling them a story.