Tash:
As I ambled my way up the sidewalk to school, it begins to down pour. Inside of my trench coat and out I am drenched. My hair too. What a great first impression I will make at my new school. Thanks again, Mom and Dad.
I take a deep breath. Here goes nothing, a brand new place where no one knows me, my family, or my story.
Between the front entrance and the first hallway I get lost trying to locate the administrative office. Some kid who vaguely resembles Jace helped point me in the right direction. It made me weepy and homesick until I turned around to thank him and he was checking out my ass. Gross, dude.
Aspen:
I woke up fifteen minutes late when my alarm clock failed to go off. Being on a schedule for me, especially on a weekday morning, is very important.
It seems that every possible thing which could go wrong, chooses to wrong when you're in a hurry. I dumped my makeup bag all over the floor. Spilled coffee all over the kitchen counter and caused my mother to yell at me - she does not have time for mistakes in her day. To make everything worse, I could not place my car keys. If it were not for Becca, I had been walking the six blocks to school in the pouring rain.
To be honest, be driven by Becca anywhere is only a slight upgrade from walking. I do not dislike Becca, it is not anything like that. Our group has been as tight as a virgin since early elementary school. The thing is, Becca drives so carefully it is like being driven to school by my great aunt Mildred. It is infuriating and my coffee withdrawal is hitting me like a 18 wheeler.
Tash:
I get my schedule from the overly polite secretary and then get sent on my way to find the locker that is now mine. The Junior hallway is on the third floor but after ten minutes of frantically searching, it is clear that my locker is not. Eventually, with much frustration and a few tears, I do seek it out: in the Senior hall. Bizarre.
As I put my belongings away and recover from the whole ordeal, I overhear a conversation from a couple to my left.
"It doesn't matter, Kyle! If you say you're going to call me back, you are obligated to actually call me back!" The bubbly blonde exclaimed.
Okay, I admit it was more of an argument than a conversation, one sided. The girl had not let her boyfriend get a word in edge wise. He appeared seconds away from combustion.
"Paige-"
The girl, Paige, shakes her head. "Don't 'Paige' me, Kyle Alex Jakeway."
Yikes, full name. Things are getting serious.
"I am so angry at you. I could scream!"
"You ARE screaming." He replied. "Everyone can hear you and they probably think you're a lunatic."
Paige glances at Kyle before the plot thickens and she turns her undivided attention to me.
"Hi, I'm Paige Hunt." She sticks out a hand for me to shake. "And your name is?"
I am startled by her abruptness or maybe by the single fact that she picked me out of the crowd. This school is huge, makes Brixon, my old school, look pathetic in comparison.
"I'm um, Natasha Gregory. But call me just Tash."
Paige nods. "Okay, Just Tash." She grinned a bit at her own attempt at humor. "What's your take on all this?"
Kyle flashes me a look of desperate urgency when I say, "I shouldn't get involved."
I want nothing more than to back away from the drama of this.
