Forsaken (The Night Children, Volume 1)

Chapter 2

                                                      Chapter 2

                                                            Astra

I climbed onto the bus, wanting more than anything to just graduate and get into a good school far away from Los Angelous.Stepping around legs, feet, and backpacks, I made my way to the back of the bus, when someone kicked me in the back of my knee, sending me tumbling forward, and I grunted as my hands broke my fall.

That’s going to bruise…

“Oops,” Daren snickered. “Sorry Gray, didn’t see you there.”  Ignoring his taunts, I plopped into my seat, organizing my bags so that there was no room in the seat next to me. Not that anyone would have wanted to sit next to me anyways. Running a hand through my inky black hair, I shuffled through my backpack, searching for the notes that I needed to have memorized for the Physics test that I had first period.  

The first few minutes of the bus from the orphanage to school was fairly uneventful, and I was able to study my notes in peace, relaxing as the October California sun beamed through the windows. Suddenly the bus jerked to a stop, and I was thrown against the seat in front of me. Groaning when my nose slammed against the seat, I righted myself, looking to the front of the bus to see what all the commotion was about.

It seemed that we had a new stop on our route, because a boy whom I had never seen before was boarding. He exchanged a few words with the bus driver, and then made his way towards the back. The bus grew strangely silent as he passed. He had a certain aura about him… something that made me want to both shrink away in fear, and get closer to him at the same time. I didn’t realize that I was staring until he waved a hand in front of my face.

“Um, what?” I stammered.

“I asked you if this seat was taken,” he replied, not really looking at me. He wore a black leather jacket, and had the hood pulled over his head, obstructing my view of his eyes.

“O-oh, no. Here you go,” I said, hurriedly gathering my belongings toward me as the bus began to move again. He slid carefully into the seat, and when he was settled with his backpack sitting on his lap, stretched his hand out to me without looking at me.

“Name’s Gaidrian.”

I stared at the hand he offered me for a moment, wondering why he was being so polite, until I finally replied, “I’m Astra,” and shook his hand. There was no spark, no fireworks, just a strange pull. It felt almost as if there was a bungee cord tied around our wrists, and if we strayed too far apart, we would simply be jerked back together.

Startled by this, I glanced from our joined hands and looked up, his own eyes finally meeting my own. I gasped, because for a moment I thought that I was looking at a reflection. His eyes were bluer and more vivid than the clearest ocean, and matched the color of my own exactly. His black hair fell across his forehead and contrasted nicely against his pale skin. Finally releasing my hand, he mumbled “Nice to meet you,” and turned away from me. 

Not having very good social skills, I awkwardly turned away and went back to my notes, trying to ignore the unsettling feeling in my stomach.

As I left my Honors Physics class later that morning, I knew that I’d aced the test. Feeling proud of myself, I wandered over to my locker, very careful not to bump into anyone. The last thing I needed was for someone to decide to make me their punching bag. After gathering what I needed for my next set of classes, I made my way into the cafeteria, getting in line. Using my free-lunch tickets to pay, I quickly grabbed my lunch and sat down in a deserted table. Picking around my plate of green meatloaf (don’t ask), I jumped when Jacob Whittington (of the California Whittington’s) slid into the seat next to me. 

“Hey Ash,” he grinned, tossing his backpack onto the table.

My cheeks heated at that smile. His smiles were like basking in sun. “Hey Jacob, what’s up?”

“Can’t I visit with one of my fellow classmates?” He inquired casually. Jacob was one of the few people at this school who treated me with any sort of kindness. That, coupled with the fact that he was absolutely gorgeous, was reason enough for me to have a crush on him. And boy, was I crushing on him. Bad.

“Don’t see why not,” I shrugged, going for the nonchalant approach. Although he was kind and friendly enough, he was still one of the most popular guys in school, and rarely spoke to me except in class or in passing.

“I’m just messing with you,” he laughed, fishing around in his lunchbox and pulling out a delicious looking sandwich. I quickly glanced down uncomfortably at my green meatloaf. “There’s a reason I’m over here. I wanted to ask you something.”

Homecoming, homecoming, homecoming! I chanted in my mind, totally ignoring the fact that I had absolutely no money to buy a dress and that the dance was only two days away.

“You know tonight is the homecoming game, right?” I nodded eagerly, nervously tapping my stubby fingernails on the table. “Well, I was supposed to man the concession stand for student counsel, but my date really wants me to watch the game in the stands with her. I know that you need more service hours for college applications, so I was wondering if you might want to fill in for me.”

My stomach dropped and tears prickled, threatening to spill over. “Your date?” I stammered.

“Yeah, you know Trixie, right?” He replied conversationally, pointing at the bottle blonde beauty where she sat with the rest of the cheerleaders. “Anyways, can you do it? I told Ms. Bennett that I’d try to find someone to fill in for me, but I know that you’re busy with dance and all, so it’s cool if you can’t.”

 Slightly insulted that he automatically assumed that I didn’t have a date and determined not to cry, I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded politely.  “I’ll do it. I could really use the hours. Thanks, Jacob.”

He grinned broadly, placing a hand on my shoulder, causing my heart to skip a beat. “Thanks Astra. You’re a lifesaver. The shift is from the first quarter to halfway through the halftime show. Cool?” Feeling numb, I nodded absently. “Awesome. Thanks again. And by the way, do you know that guy?” Jacob pointed behind me discreetly. I turned, surprise when I saw the guy from the bus leaning against the wall with his hood pulled up over his head and drinking from a milk carton a short distance from where I was sat.

“No, why?”

“Because he’s been glaring at me since I’ve sat down,” Jacob shrugged dismissively, gathering his belongings and standing from the table. “Got to go. Yearbook. See you in English!” And with that, he sauntered off into the mass on students. Sighing, I turned back around to where Gaidrian had just stood, but he had vanished too.