Running (old story)

Chapter 3

Lily didn't do much talking as she and Beth made their way towards class but Beth more than made up for Lily's silence. She pointed out the, apparently, best water fountains in the school, and the broken vending machines to avoid, as well as informed Lily on which bathrooms to avoid at certain times of the day.  By the time they made it to class Lily was pretty sure she liked Beth and was hoping they could become friends.
Beth quickly made her way to the far end of the classroom pulling Lily along with her. And it wasn't long after they sat down that their teacher made her way in and started the class.

Although Mrs Spence said that that for the first few days they'd just be doing a quick review of the material from the last year to help jog everyone's memory Lily was already lost. She frantically took notes as more and more numbers and letters were added to the board. Risking a quick look around at the risk of getting even more lost she noticed that she was really the only one taking notes. Sure there were a few students taking down things here and there but the majority of the class just seemed bored. Beth was one of the few students to also have taken notes and appeared attentive but Lily could see that it was all just reviewed for her and she seemed more eager to get to the new material.

The class passes quickly, too quickly for Lily to actually grasp any of the concepts that were gone over, but that was something she'd have to worry about later. For now she needed to figure out where her next class was.

"So what class do you have next?" Lily jumped slightly as she wasn't expecting Beth to talk to her again.

"Um, English with Mrs. Robin I think."

A smile lit up Beth's face as she beamed down at Lily.
"That's awesome! I'm in that class as well as two of my friends! We've actually got enough people to have proper study sessions now. Come on I'll show you the way."

Lily was ecstatic. After the nerve wracking way the day had stared she had never imagined that it would turn out so well. Here she was walking to class with a sweet girl who seemed to genuinely want to be her friend. Her first friend in nearly five years at that.

Once they made it to the classroom Beth grabbed a desk and pulled Lily to sit next to her. Once they were situated Beth pulled out the chair from the desk in front of her and dropped her bag onto it. Lily's quizzical expression pulled a smile to Beth's face but before ether of them could say anything Beth's name flew through the classroom in a high pitched squeel turning their attention to the girl swiftly making her way towards them. She had short brown hair offset with blue highlights that would definitely stand out in a crowd, her loose knit cardigan hung off one shoulder that was decorated with many colourful designs. She didn't seem angry as she marched her way over, more annoyed than anything else. She came to a halt just in front of Beth's desk with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I thought that you said you'd save me a seat."

"And I did. See." Beth said motioning to the chair her bag was currently resting on.

The girl let out a breath and let her arms drop. "Why do you always try to annoy me?"

She proceeded to plop Beth's bag back onto the desk as she took a seat finally turning to greet the wide eyed Lily.

"Sorry about that, Beth just has a knack for pushing my buttons when she knows she can get away with it. I'm Skye by the way."

Lily quickly recomposed herself and extended her hand replying quietly with her name.

"So are you new to town?"

"Yeah. I arrived a couple weeks ago."

"She the new girl that Brett told us about. You know the one working for his aunt." Lily could stop the blush that crept it's way up her face at the though that people have already been talking about her.

"Oh yeah!" Skye exclaimed. "You're so lucky to be working for Mrs. Harris. She's so sweet and I always see the staff getting free food from the kitchen. I've always been tempted to get a part time there just for the food."

Before Lily got a chance to respond they were all taken by surprise as someone pulled out and sat on the chair next to Skye.

"Well it looks like someone has an attitude today." Skye said to the figure slumped next to her.

He just barley raised his head to look at Skye but that was all it took for Lily to realize that he was the same quiet, bruised guy, Noah, she met at the cafe.

Unfortunately though before anyone could say another word the teacher stood and decided to start the lesson drawing everyone's attention except for Noah who continued to sleep on his desk.

* * *

By the time the class ended Lily was even more confused and a headache was starting to develop. Luckily though she realized it was now lunch giving her a much needed break.

"So Lily, do you want join us for lunch?" Said Skye turning around while stuffing her pencils into a small pouch. Both Skye and Beth turned to Lily with smiles and kind eyes while Noah just looked at her with a bored and cold expression.

"Um sure." With a gleaming smile Beth hopped up pulling Lily with her. Beth joined Lily in grabbing their lunches from their lockers while Skye and Noah headed straight to the cafeteria to join the lunch line.

It didn't take long for Beth and Lily to push past the crowd at the front of cafeteria and find a table where three boys were sitting. One she recognized as Brett but the other two she dad never seen before.

"Hey Beth." Said Brett looking up from his fries. "And it was Lily right?"

Lily just barely started to nod when Brett started to laugh. "And to think my aunt was worried about you finding your way around. With Beth you'll know this school better than the back of your hand, especially the library." With that Beth gave him a small whack on the back of the head before sitting down next to him.

"Hi I'm Ron, this is Finn and it looks like you've already had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting Brett." Said the boy with messy ginger hair as he extended his hand. She cautiously shook his hand noting that his hand was surprisingly gentle and soft. While his general look was imposing with plugs in his ears and muscles showing under a black tank top, he gave off a calming vibe. His eyes bright and voice calm he managed to help Lily relax as she sat at the table.

Once sat down Lily's eyes wandered to Finn, the only person in the group yet to address her. He sat leaned back in his watching her with hard eyes. Like his friend he also gave off an intimidating atmosphere with short hair spiked up slightly and a stiff jaw. Lily lowered her eyes under his intimidating stare. Before long though Skye and Noah join everyone at the table. 

"So Brett told us that you work for his aunt at the cafe?" Enquired Ron bringing Lily's attention back to that side of the table.

"Yeah I do. I've been there for about three weeks now so I'm finally getting used to what to do."

"God you are so lucky. I've always said if I needed a part time job I'd apply there just so I would have easy access to the food." Brett said moaning slightly at the mention of the food.

"I know that's what I was telling her too!" Exclaimed Syke startling Lily who had not been prepared for the outburst beside her.

"As if you'd ever need to get a job. And who says Ellen would even hire you she's known you long enough that she probably already knows what a bad idea that'd be." Finn quipped, speaking up at last.
"Hey I'm a hard worker!" Rebutted Skye causing all her friends to raise their eyebrows and look quizzically at her. "Well if I want to." She added with a grumble leading to a round of laughter to erupt from the table.

The lunch continued in a similar manner with light conversation and jokes. Lily didn't contribute much but enjoyed being there non the less and was saddened when the bell finally sounded signalling he end of lunch. She was grateful though as even though it was her first day she'd already found a group of people who could possibly become her friends.