Wither

Chapter 6

I wake up in the morning with a horrible head ache and a coat of sweat. My sleep was riddled with night mares of the blue eyed boy and the mysterious note that had appeared on the back out my door.

My body begs to return to sleep, but my mind knows I need to get up. I'm terribly sore. Every muscle in my body aches from the long restless night. The shower doesn't help. It only succeeds in making me swollen.

I barely am able to swallow down an apple for breakfast. My stomach refuses to hold down anything else.

Despite my fragile state I decide to walk to school. I really don't want to bother Hazel. Plus the walk is only half a mile on flat land. I grab my satchel that's holding my school supplies and head out the door.

I almost step on the roses that lie at the foot of the door. They take me by surprise. I carefully pick them up to examine them. They are even lovelier then the ones Angalena gave me. They look like they have just been plucked from the garden. The light coat of dew suggest that they were. There isn't a single petal out of place or bruised.

The stems are tied together by a thin brown string, that also holds a scrap of paper. The paper reads:

Sorry for ruining them. You should be more careful next time.

It makes me blush. I can't believe Cole actually remembered. I place them in a tall cup, because of my lack of having a proper vase. I take a final glance at the luscious white roses before heading out the door.

A storm is coming. The dark clouds must have blown in last night. They are dark grey and their edges are tinged in black. They rise above the flat landscape like a cat about to pounce on it's prey. The storm quivers with the anticipation of creating havoc on the earth below. They bellow at the thought of destruction.

The wind sweeps my hair across my face and sneaks under my coat. The cold bites and rises the goosebumps on my arms.

The trees in the school yard shake their limbs freeing the leaves from their captor. The leaves are carried away. Off to a distant land. The wind brings a certain kind of terror with it. A terror of fore longing. It warns us to hide and cries for us to run. But there is no where to run and no where to hide. We are cursed to stay until the storm passes.

I find my way to the attendance office, so I can get my classroom. The office is on the far right side of the school campus. Its the smallest building I've seen. It consist of a single wooden desk and 4 ratty chairs.

The receptionist is young, not much older then me. She has neat brown hair that falls loose over her shoulders and her cheeks are bright red. She has a hard time finding my room number. She must be new at this. Eventually she calls in an older women, who curses her, and gives me my room number.

There are still a few kids scampering across campus, when I finally get out. I make my way down a stone path toward the very edge of the campus. The building I arrive at is large and separated from the rest . It's cold and dark. The hedges around it are all dead and dried up. I'm afraid to go in.

Taking a deep breath I straighten, my back and force myself in. The smell of lemon scented bleach and death hits me like a punch in the face. It's overwhelming. The room is spotless, there isn't a single smudge of dirt anywhere.

There are rows of desks most of them already filled. Polite chat fills the room, everyone seems to already be rather comfortable and friendly with each other. I must be the only new kid. I scan the room looking for an unoccupied chair, when I see him.

He sits sideways but has his face turned toward the door. He stares at me with his unnaturally blue eyes and has a sickening smile stretched across his face. He looks like he enjoys seeing me fight back fear. I want to scream and run out the door, but I'm glued to my spot. My legs tremble violently. It's him. It's really him. It's the blue eyed boy.