The Tales of Whispering Hills

Chapter Two

The weekend had gone by fast and soon all the students in Whispering Hills were back at school.

The Whispering Hills Middle School, WHMS, was the only middle school in the town. The middle schoolers all hated the school. All the classrooms were stuffy, the principle was strict, and the hallways always smelled like cabbage after lunch, one of the teachers always ate cooked cabbage in the break room.

The school colors were gray and black, and it made the whole school have a dull atmosphere. The only fun part about the school was the football games that happened every other Saturday. WHMS had one of the best middle school football teams in the district. Either that or all the other teams were horrible.

The best part of the school year was the hyped-up football games. Everyone would wear school colors, which wasn't that exciting, but everyone would paint their face, people acted happier, and the teachers would have a school spirit contest.

Ten teachers would be the judge and during 1st period they would call down everyone who wanted to participate. Everyone would get in a line, and they would give everyone's outfits a star rating based on how much school spirit they showed.

The teachers would narrow the people down to nine people, and place them in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place for each grade. Every time they did it, the winner would get small prizes, but they would also get bragging rights.

The only person in Hazel and Monnie's friends' group to ever win first place for their grade was Solomon in 7th grade during the end of the year. He had gone all out and wore head-to-toe gray clothes, painted black war paint under his colored eyes, and colored his eyebrows and hair gray with a spray.

Solomon won 1st place and got a bag of gumballs. That was the only time anyone in the friend group was noticed by the popular kids' group. In between classes Solomon was getting high-fives and fist bumps, but even more weird looks. It was a hilarious sight because Solomon just stood embarrassed and tried to get to his classes as quickly as possible with Hazel, Monnie, and Gabe as his escorts.

The congratulations faded by the next contest and everything was quickly back to normal.

That Monday there was a new student in Hazel, Monnie, Solomon, and Gabe's homeroom class. They were all sitting there until suddenly the class got quiet and everyone was looking at the classroom's door.

Mrs. Bryant, their homeroom teacher, walked over to the door and greeted the new student. She put her arm around the student's shoulders and turned her around to the class. "This is Cassandra, she's new to our class and I would like everyone to be kind to her, so its easier for her to settle in."

Cassandra was around Hazel's height and had long black hair. She was pale and was wearing dark colors, but she had very soft pale eyes, which contrasted with her dark hair beautifully.

Mrs. Bryant guided Cassandra over to the four friend's table and told her she could have the extra desk. She out her stuff down, sat in her chair, and quietly started writing in a small hardcover book, which looked like a Diary.

Hazel introduced everyone. She gestured at everyone as she said their names, "This is Solomon, this is Monnie," Monnie showed a small smile, "this is Gabe, and I'm Hazel." Every time Hazel introduced a person, Cassandra studied them with expression and wrote down their names in her Diary. After Hazel was done, she quietly looked back down at her Diary and continued to write.

Hazel was determined to make Cassandra talk to her. Solomon and Gabe found it entertaining and watched as Hazel asked her question after question, "Are you new to Whispering Hills?" No answer. "What kind of music do you listen to?" Silence. "Is that your Diary?" Nothing. While Gabe and Solomon tried to refrain from laughing at Hazel, Monnie was embarrassed by Hazel. She tried to get her to stop questioning her, but to no avail.