Unbound (Unbound, Book 1) ~Formerly Casting Power~

Chapter 39

I had Life Transitions after lunch, which alternated with Phys. Ed every other day. In Briarville I hadn't had to take Phys. Ed or Health, or any of the other mandatory classes at Grimas. Of course, Wickenton had its own set of rules, some more laid back and others that were just... pointless.

"Hi, I'm Maible."

A slim girl about my height was looking at me with wide blue eyes from the desk on my left. She was smiling, which must've been contagious because I found myself nodding and grinning in return.

"Noreena, right?"

"Uh, yeah." I cleared my throat. "It's Nora."

"Don't worry, this class isn't as hokey as it sounds," she said before returning her gaze to the front of the room, her dark hair swinging onto the desk behind her from its high ponytail.

Whether it was out of respect or because she wasn't a prying person, she didn't ask about me, my family, or why I was here. Maybe she didn't care, but I was sure every student knew why I was here by now. Rumors, good or bad, spread like wildfire when given to teenagers.

When the class was over, I waved goodbye to Maible and wandered around until I found my last class of the day, Visual Arts. It was funny that the office had scheduled this as my last class, squashing my desire to skip others because I didn't want to miss it.

"Well, hello, new student," the teacher, Mrs. Martin, called when she noticed me at the door. She was a plump woman, around five-three, and red-faced with what appeared to be a mixture of exertion and cheeriness.

"Hi," I said. "I'm Noreena Fallyn." I looked around and then back to her, and lowered my voice, "Please don't make me introduce myself to the class."

"Why would I do that?" She laughed and patted my shoulder. "Boy, I hated it when teachers did that to me, and I was an army brat, so I'll let you guess at how many times that happened. My rule is that I won't make a student do anything that made me uncomfortable growing up. You've taken art classes before, I assume?"

"Yes. At Pederson, and we had a class at the community college in Briarville that was open to all ages. I enjoyed that."

"Well, then I'm sure it won't be difficult for you to catch up on our projects seeing as we are only a few weeks into the year."

"No, I don't think that will be a problem." If I can get inspired.

She stared at me for a moment and then nodded, smiling. "Here is the syllabus. We've just started the third project, which is painting. How about you begin with that and we will talk afterward about some space for you to use during your free time to catch up? You can use that table in the back. Canvases are over to your right—choose whatever size fits your ambition. All the other supplies are through that room behind my desk. I keep them there so that I can catch my slackers from misusing things."

"I, uh, thank you." I smiled, paused, and then walked to the back table.

It was the only empty seat in the room, and right beside Duvessa's boyfriend. I pulled out my sketchpad and placed my bag on the floor, doing everything I could to ignore his presence, but it was impossible to pretend I hadn't noticed him staring at me since I entered, especially when everything else seemed dull in comparison to his presence. The hollowness in my chest returned and this time, I couldn't make it go away.

"What?" I asked without looking up.

"Whatever do you mean?" he asked, bent over his project, the corner of his mouth lifting. "You know, most people are too scared to lie to Duvessa."

"I don't know what you mean."

"Of course, you don't," he said, still amused. "You handled her well for someone so ignorant about themselves."

"I'm not ignorant about myself," I said, looking up. Up close, I could see that his eyes had tiny flecks of blue. "Can I help how she interprets my answers?"

"Don't you mean lack of answers?" He raised his eyebrows and I couldn't help but smile. It was easy banter between two people who could've been friends if he hadn't already been tarnished by Duvessa. Then again, even without Duvessa as a factor, I doubted any girl could ever be just friends with a guy like him.

"What do you know?"

"More than you are willing to share," he whispered. "Don't worry. I only know things because our moms knew each other when your parents were married. Sorry for your loss, by the way. Vavila was cool."

"Thank you, she was—"

"Calin?" Mrs. Martin called and we both looked up. "You'll have to share your brushes with Noreena until I get her a set of her own to take care of."

"Of course." He smiled at me as he ducked his head back to his project, unrecognizable in its infancy.

We didn't talk again. I turned my page to a sketch already half-finished so that it would look like I was doing something if Mrs. Martin decided to wander by.

"Take care, Nora," Calin said and stood as the final bell rang. "If you ignore Duvessa, she might go away."

"Nah, girls like her never know what's in their best interest." I waved my hand in the air and smiled.

He watched me for a moment and then nodded, shoved his hands deep into his front pockets, and left with me staring after him. I sucked in a deep breath, feeling my lungs fill with much-needed air, and then exhaled.

* * * * *

"Hey, Noreena! Wait up."

I stopped as I exited the school and let go of the breath I'd been holding when I realized that it was Maible who was vying for my attention. I turned around and smiled, pausing so she could reach me. She was sweet and talking to her put off going to the Manor, though I did want to see Onyx.

"What's up?"

"I just wanted to know if you needed help catching up on your schoolwork. I mean, I'm no Einstein, but I bet that I could help you if you want, at least in a couple of classes," she said, breathless. So far it was just the way she talked, hurried as though anticipating getting cut off mid-sentence.

"Yeah, that could be cool, though I'm not that far behind. I only missed four days, and Grimas is pretty much where we left off at Pederson last week," I said and pulled out my phone. "What's your number? I'll give you a call."

She rattled it off and then started off in the other direction, as though her duty to be nice to the new kid was done.

"Hey, Maible! What's your last name?"

She turned. "Baun. And you are... Noreena Dwyer? Is your dad really Devland?" Maible bit her bottom lip like she worried she may have pried too much and offended me.

Funny, but it didn't bug me coming from her.

"Dwyer? No, my name is Noreena Fallyn. Devland is my dad, though, at least as far as DNA." I sighed, the filter on opinion dropping out of existence as I added, "I don't know the guy, and to be honest, I don't want to. He's not one of my favorite people right now."

"I can't believe you came to school—a new school—so soon after your mom and everything." Maible looked sympathetic.

Talking with her was as easy as it was with Nancy, like it was just another of Nancy's various looks. Same girl, different style. Unexpected tears pooled in my eyes and I averted my gaze.

"Okay, well, call me if you have any questions or you just want to talk or whatever, okay?" Maible started off again in the opposite direction, away from the student parking lot.

For the first time, I noticed that the area that she was headed to was compressed with students waiting for the yellow buses at the sidewalk.

"Hey, Maible?" She turned and I waved her back.

"What's up?" She ran back, casting worried looks behind her.

"Would you like a ride home?"

She looked over her shoulder at the buses and nodded in relief. "I would love one, thanks."