Paper Cuts (COMPLETED)

Chapter Four: New Girl

"Bloody hell, it's cold."

I stamped my feet in agreement, shoving my gloved fingers into my coat pocket. My scarf held my neck high, so I was forced to look around the grey concrete courtyard as I shivered. I glanced into the windows to where everyone huddled inside the warm school.

"We'll be the sick ones if we stay out here any longer," grumbled Matt. He wore a thick down jacket over the grey and maroon uniform, sandy blonde hair curling out from beneath his black beanie.

"We promised we'd wait for him," I reminded him.

"I don't see why."

Soon a black range rover pulled up to where the courtyard met the road, separated by metal bollards. Out of the passenger side jumped a brown-haired boy wearing a full Adidas tracksuit in bright blue.

Matt and I watched wide-eyed as Harry sauntered over to us, rucksack slung over one shoulder. His glasses, always too big for him, slid down his face, and he pushed them up the ridge of his nose.

"Don't hug me fam," he said in a congested voice, flicking his wrist comically, "Still infected."

"What's with the slav outfit?" I said, making a face.

"Man's not hot," was his explanation. I grimaced.

Matt and I turned without more than an exchanged brow-raise and walked into the school. The moment we stepped inside, flooded with the warmth of the heaters, I was pulled aside by the white-haired Deputy, Mr Pane.

"Sarah," he said, smiling with crooked teeth and giving Harry's tracksuit a once-over before continuing in a flustered manner, "Would you like me to take you to admin so you can pick her up from there?"

After a split second of utter confusion, I remembered.

"Oh... Oh!" I said, "Sorry Mr Pane, I forgot about that. Yeah, I'll come with you."

Mr Pane smiled wider as he gestured for me to follow him back out into the cold. I gave Harry and Matt a mocked forlorn look, and they waved back in a similar fashion before jogging up the stairs. Mr Pane and I crossed the courtyard to the opposite building, which held the science labs and Administration.

"That's quite alright, Miss Townsend," he affirmed, "With everything that has happened, I don't blame you."

I nodded with a smile, as I always did around teachers, even if I didn't necessarily mean it.

We entered admin, which was a low-ceilinged reception area divided in half by a semi-circular desk and decorated with worn black chairs that lined the walls. It smelled of freshly printed paper and white-out liquid. The only people in the room were the receptionist and a girl sitting in the middle of all the chairs, glancing at us as we came in, and then looking away again.

Mr Pane took it upon himself to stride over to her with a put-on spring in his step, and I followed with a wary smirk. The girl looked up at him and gave the deputy a small smile.

"Hello, Miss Howard," Mr Pane said jovially, and she stood. Mr Pane turned and gestured to me with an awkward, gangly arm, "This is Sarah, she'll be your best friend while you get settled in."

The girl looked to me with an uncertain expression, and I gave her an embarrassed smile that hopefully told her that yes, he was being over the top.

"Hi, I'm Shiloh."

I smiled back, and Mr Pane told her that she could request the library edition of her textbooks until she got her own, and that her lack of uniform was just fine for now.