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2

We pull up at Iviey High and Asher and i jump out the car. I wave to Trae and slip through the crowd of highschoolers.

'Hey! You!' A group of jocks shout across the corridors.

I keep filing my way through the crowd, making sure to keep my head low to avoid any eye contact.

'Stop!' A hand closes around my wrist and pulls me back into the crowd. A burst of laughter from the jocks bounces against the corridor walls. Everyone turns to face them, puzzled looks on their faces. The grip around my wrist loosens and I realize i am standing infront of the crowd, with the jocks.

'Would you go out with me?' One of the jocks teases in my direction.

'Oh shes so pretty this and shes so gorgeous that' another joined in with silly little hand gestures that made him look like a t-rex.

I turned to see the smallest jock of the group blushing.

'Aw, its blushing' one sneers. I turn to face the group of jocks.

'Leave him' I say, looking straight forward to avoid eye contact.

'Hey Charl, did you hear anything?' The one infront of me chuckles.

'Nope, nothing' he says and I can feel his eyes burning on me. When i somehow got enough guts to look at him, he faced me with an unfriendly grin. If I had the guts, I would slap that look right off of his face.

'Get your ears checked' shouts someone from the crowd. I take the opportunity to slip through the crowd again and I know I dont go unnoticed. The day drags on, all the lessons seeming too much longer than they should be. When the last bell rings, I only have one thing on my mind. Books. I head straight for the library and greet Ms. Sherman, the librarian.

'We got a new load of books today, I thought you might like this one. Keep it very safe, and dont give it to anyone else. It is your book to keep' she whispers while offering a book with no title, but a beautiful hardcover.

'Thank you' I whisper back and take the book. You could say that my best friend is the librarian, because she is my only friend.

I sit down and flip through the book, each page views a person with a name and description.

'Hey' I hear a hushed voice nearby and assume they are talking with someone else because nobody talks to me, especially in the library.

'Hey' I feel a light tap on my shoulder.

'Hey' I reply and focus on the patterns on the front of the book.

'Where did you find that book?' They question quizically.

'In the library' I respond, sort of irritated and not sure why.

'Okay' they say quietly and a few seconds of silence follow.

'Apparently that is the only like that in this library' they say.

I skip the index and open on the first page to examine it. A category called Time tells introduces a woman in a baby blue dress.

Queen Mon
Look carefully where you seek as you might find it difficult to uncover. When the time is ticking it is hard to remain meek, for you wont be in time to save your brother.

'So majestic' i hear a voice chime from behind me. I finially turn around and face them, trying my best to make the annoyance visible on my face.

'Im sorry' they apologize and slowly turn to walk away, probably waiting for me to change my mind and call them back. I turn back to my book and clear my throat.

'Shut up' i hear Charl shout.

'I didnt say anything' a hushed voice replied

'I dont care, shut up' i turn around to see Charl towering over the jock that had approached me a few minutes earlier. The one that blushed amongst the crowd of teasing jocks. A few shhhhh's erupt from around the library.

'Why are you here?' Charl questions, ignoring the rest of the library. He grabs the shirt of the jock and the material stretches around his fist. Charl catches me looking at him and he cringes so hard that his eyes become 2 small slits.

'Oh i see...' he says, disgusted.

'Mmm' the jock wiggles uncomforatbly under Charl's grip.

'Stop' Charl says through gritted teeth, his forehead creasing into a frown. And immediately as if he were controlling the jock, he stopped and stood still, avoiding eye contact. Charl stood there holding and shaming the jock for five minutes until i have heard enough.

'Hey, Charl,' i call.

'What?' he hisses in my direction.

'Pick on someone your own size' i say while nodding towards the small jock next to him. Charl grinned wider than i had ever seen him grin before. He dragged the jock along with him to look at a few books and eventually, after finding a thick book, he told the jock to climb onto it. I saw what he was doing. He was making the jock his height.

'I now continue... With someone my size' he says while turning to face me, trying to read my expression. I sit with a deadpanned face, just staring for what feels like forever as the insults get thrown at the jock.

'Charl, I think he has had enough insults for a lifetime. You can stop now' i say carefully. He slowly releases his grip on the jocks tshirt and hesitates before taking a tiny step back while grinning again. He takes the opportunity to grab the jocks tie and punch his stomach, then walk proudly out of the library.

This whole time the librarian didnt make an appearance like she usually would have if there was trouble, which i found strange.

I awkwardly jog over to the nerd lying on the floor and inspect him while he holds his stomach.

'Uhhhhh' he lets out a delayed sigh of pain.

'Shhh' i hush as my eyes flicker over him and my eyebrows crease together.

'Go, he is going to come back and he gets rid of anything in his way' the jock said, anxiously.

'I wont be in his way' i say.

'I'm Caden Hayes, new to Iviey High' he introduces, removing his hand from his stomach to shake his hand.

'Atarah' i reply, shaking his hand. His hand is unusually warm. My eyebrows raise in question and he immediately releases his hand from the handshake and proping himself up.

'What is Charl's deal anyways?' i question.

'Where is the sick room?' he avoids answers my question, instead giving a question of his own. He stands up and holds onto the booksheld next to him. He leans slightly forward. I guess Charl punched him harder than it seemed.

'This way' i say, putting my arm around him for support. He tries to wave me off, but i know that he is secretely grateful for the support.

'When did you enrol here?' he asks quizically.

'Last year' i reply focusing more on getting Caden to the sick room than on giving detailed answers. After a few minutes we approach the reception office.

'Caden Hayes' i say to the secretary.

'What seems to be the problem? Cant he talk for himself?' she says quite rudely.

'Can we have the first aid kit please?' i ask instead of asking for the keys to the sick room.

'Take a seat in the sick room, honey' she winks and walks out of her office. She supports Caden on the other side of his body. Caden leans more into me and shoots a "help me" look.

'I am sure we will be able to cope on our own with just a first aid kit' i say with a huge smile and polite tone. But she doesnt look like shes taking any of it and she pulls him to her side like we are playing tug-of-war with a rope. I release him, knowing that Caden has been thrown around enough today. Caden looks utterly disgusted and awkwardly leans away from the secretary. On the other hand the secretary looks delighted while dragging Caden to the sick room.

'Take care' i say while exiting the reception, giving a display of teeth and giggling silently.