Rose Night

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Chapter 1: Introducing Rose Night

I locked the door and set out walking to school with an empty backpack. Now, I know what you're thinking. Who the heck goes to school with an empty backpack? Well, whether you wanted to know or not, it was my first day of school at Caterwaul (Cat•er•wall) High. The name makes you want to scream and pull all your hair out, I know. However, I've gotten used to the revolting name. For God's sake, my preschool, elementary, and even high school all started with Caterwaul, all three conveniently built right next to each other.

The city that I lived in that no one had ever heard of was called Norkwood. Norkwood was the exact opposite of what you would call a "rich area". Compared to Beverly Hills, Norkwood was...just...well...sad. For one, everything in the schools were pretty used; the textbooks were extremely worn and battered, while the desks creaked every time you breathed, and the walls were covered in a faded blue paint that was peeling off in several places.

I've been here as long as I could remember, but I've been living alone for awhile, because my parents kind of got in a car crash with some psycho that was drunk and... Well, anyway I lived alone at the moment, but my Uncle who was supposedly my "guardian" sent me money and dropped by from time to time so it really wasn't too bad. The little apartment was under my uncle's name, and within walking distance of Caterwaul High, only a few blocks away.

Reaching the school, I walked in past the open rusty gates, and found myself in the cafeteria. I saw students clustered around little pink papers that were taped all along the walls of the cafeteria. I walked over to a sheet of paper with no people around it and read:

Classroom 56- Mr. Burner: N-Z

1) Angelina Namerman

2) Danny Namplike

3) Butch Nanoke

4) Gizelle Naopley

5) Jim Naplo

6) Kristy Narly

7) Kelly Narm

8) Sally Narni

9) Jake Nask

10) Nick Natleyl

Growing tired if reading names that weren't mine, I skimmed down to the very bottom of the list where I finally located my name:

29) Rose Night

This was totally unbelievable. I couldn't believe it. I'd somehow ended up as the last person yet again. In all of my years of public schooling, for some strange reason, I had always been the very last person in the entire school. This had happened in preschool, elementary school, and now I was dead last in high school as well. For some weird reason, no one had a name that started with anything that came anywhere in the alphabet after an "n". No o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, or z. What were the chances?

I walked over to one of the old lunch tables and grabbed a school map that was just lying there. I found room 56 on the map and headed in the direction of the classroom. When I did reach room 56, I opened the door only to find no one inside. I quickly spotted a desk situated in the very back corner of the room and hurried over to it. I strategically sat in a way that would prevent anyone from sitting next to me at all by taking up two seats--one for me and the other for my backpack. Ha, no one would sit there now! Yay, ELBOW ROOM ALL FOR MEEEE!!

The first bell ring and teens started to file in. Unlike me, the kids filled in the seats at the front first, and went back from there. I heard the bell ring again and a man, slightly bald with very gray hair came striding in through the classroom door.