Strange Encounters

Chapter 1

There once was a boy, whose life took a very unexpected turn.

Jack was a very reserved boy. He had been his whole life. He had short, wavy red hair, and deep green eyes. His skin was pale, and his face was covered in freckles. In fact, any skin that was seen was covered with freckles. He typically wore a hoodie with pants, and a beanie on his head. The colors always changed. One day would be blue, the next orange, and then black. No one could ever tell what color Jack was going to wear next.

Everything began to change once he moved. He had a hometown of Slybury. A small, little town where everyone knew everyone. Now, he was moving to Rimchester, a large city in the small island he was from, just off the coast of Ireland. That was already overwhelming. He had to take the bus, something he had been unfamiliar with in the small town of Slybury.

On the first day of school, he put on a black pair of ripped-up jeans, and his purple hoodie. He grabbed his black and red backpack, slung it over his shoulder, and headed out the door, to the bus stop. He grabbed his purple beanie from his backpack, and put it on his head. He took out his phone, and used the black screen to make sure that he looked alright, made a few adjustments, and continued walking towards the bus stop.

He waited anxiously for the bus. More and more people were arriving to the bus stop by the minute, and Jack didn't like it. Some of the kids gave him weird looks. He was the new kid after all. Finally, after what seemed like ages, the bus arrived. He hurriedly got on the bus, accidentally shouldering someone. He turned around to apologize, and came face to face with a girl that he hadn't noticed at the bus stop. She had dark blue eyes, and long, shiny black hair that fell well past her shoulders. She was slightly tanned, and had very little blemishes across her face. He looked at her some more, and saw her pretty smile quickly fade.

"O-o-oh, s-sorry..." Jack stuttered, as he attempted to look away from her.

The girl giggled softly, not smiling much. "It's okay," she said sweetly. "It's the first day."

Jack felt his face turn red as he scratched the back of his head. "Y-yeah.." He said shyly. Not wanting to hold everyone else back, he quickly went to the back of the bus, and sat alone the whole way to school.

Once they arrived, he was the last one off the bus. He quickly entered the school and took out his schedule. He looked at his classes, and tried to figure out where his first class was. The school was about five times larger than the last school he was at. A few kids bumped into him as he slowly walked against the wall, trying to understand how the rooms were numbered. He was grumbling under his breath when suddenly, he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Hey, busboy." He quickly turned around to see the girl from earlier. She was smiling, but again, it faded. "Need any help?"

"Um... Yeah, I could use some help." He held out his schedule, and showed the girl.

"Oh, you have the same first class as me. Here, I'll show you." She paused for a moment, and introduced herself. "I'm Clara, by the way."

Jack blushed, and smiled. "M-my name's Jack."

"Nice name, but I think I'll call you busboy." She tried to smile, but it didn't last long.

He followed her all the way to their class. The whole time, he wondered why it seemed like she couldn't smile.

"H-hey...Um..Clara...I have a question." Jack said nervously.

"Yes?" Clara responded, almost monotone.

"How come it seems like you can't smile..?"

Clara sighed heavily, and grabbed his arm, pulling him away to a small little area where no one could neither see, nor hear them. She looked around, making sure no one was around.