The faded yellow school bus rumbled up the road. I saw faces peering out the windows at me. A lot of people stared wide-eyed at me or my house. I gave a grimace as it squealed to a halt in front of the driveway. Boarding the creaky bus, the kids went silent and hushed their voices to whispers. All eyes followed me to my seat at the back of the bus. Awkwardly, I sat down and avoided eye contact with any of the children. The bus ride was around 25 minutes and it stopped occasionally for a kid. Honestly, there was only about 30 kids on the bus. This school must be small.
After a ride that felt like forever, we came to a stop in front of a cracked and ancient building with a flimsy flag pole in the front lawn of yellowing grass. We loaded off and I followed the crowd nervously towards the door. It smelled of windex and old erasers inside. Like dirty rubber. I have no idea where to find a principal. Seeing a girl leaning against a locker casually, I hesitantly approached her. I recognized her from on the bus when she turned to face me.
"Uh...do you know where to find the principal-,"
"Are you the girl from Vind street?" She squeaked timidly. I stuttered.
"Well, yea-,"
"I..I have to go." The girl scurried away. I frowned and searched for someone else to ask. A teacher, even. But as I strolled anxiously down the halls, everyone seemed to scatter away and to retreat into a classroom. Classes haven't even started yet. Then up ahead, I saw a girl and a boy chilling out next to a water fountain. More confidently, I marched up to them and plastered a smile on as best as I could.
"Hey." The girl greeted. She had a deep and flattering voice. Her smile back was crooked and she looked comfortable and not like everyone else had been.
"Oh...hi." I replied back. The girl looked away at the boy, then back at me.
"Can I help you?" She asked.
"Yeah..do you know where the principal's office is?"
"Kid, you don't need the principal. Just come to classes with me." She wrapped her arm over my shoulder. My cheeks flushed red. I shied from her arm and the boy gave a slight wave. They looked very similar. They both had almost platinum blond hair and a small splash of freckles over their noses. Their eyes also resembled the same. They were both a forest tree colour. Like a shade of hazel. I waved back.
"My name's Marilyn." She said suddenly.
"Hm?" I hadn't caught what she'd said.
"Marilyn. That's my name." She repeated.
"Oh. That's a pretty name." I complimented. She made a confused face at me like I was crazy.
"Really? I think it sounds like the name of an old lady who lives with a ton of cats." She muttered with a grin. "But thanks anyway."
"Adam." The boy finally spoke and held out his hand.
"Hey...Adam." I shook his hand gently. Marilyn nudged my shoulder.
"What's your name, newbie?" She chuckled.
"Oh, my name's Jaelyn." I answered.
"Ok, I'm calling you Jae." Marilyn stated. I nodded. I didn't really care that much. The bell rang like an old cowbell and students began to separate and divide into their classes. My throat felt dry.
"Should I drink from that?" I gestured towards the fountain. It had flakes of red rust around the spout and gunk on the drain.
"Not unless you'd like to go get shots." Marilyn smirked. Adam laughed.
"Never mind." I mumbled. I'll have to wait until I got home. Ugh, home. I remembered my restless night. I had a nightmare. It wasn't even that scary. All it was was that I was laying on the floor and I was looking under the fridge. Underneath the wobbly refrigerator, laid a key. Nothing special about it. But I was so tempted to grab it. But my body wouldn't cooperate. Then I had stood up, not under my commands, and went upstairs and stared at the attic. It was locked closed. I couldn't move or even look away. I had just stared at it. I almost could hear movement too. Then as I reached for the door, I woke up. And for some odd reason, I had awoken drenched in sweat and extremely nervous.
"We are going to be late." Marilyn tugged my sleeve. I shook my head in realization and followed her to the first class.
