Anna Begins [Paul Lahote]

Chapter Eight

Anna

The Monday after Easter was passing by like a normal school day—until Felicity's hand clasped around my upper arm the moment we stepped into the lunchroom.

"No," she whispered, her eyes glued to something off to our right.

Glancing over, I saw it was a table that simply seated three teenagers. Did Felicity have a problem with them? She hadn't seemed to care much about what other students thought about her, even though there were quite a few who had choice words to mutter when they thought she wasn't in earshot. But did the group sitting across the cafeteria have a bigger problem with her?

"What's wrong?" I forced myself to ask even though I felt awkward standing just inside the doorway. I could feel eyes on me, heating my skin.

Felicity tugged on my arm, pulling me out of the room and down the hallway. "We're not going in there."

My brow furrowed as I hurried to keep up with her. "Do you want to eat somewhere else?"

She shook her head. "We can't stay here."

I blinked. "We have class—"

"Anna," she said firmly. "It's not safe. Trust me."

She wasn't making sense. She wanted to leave, and take me with her, because those people were here? They didn't even know me. I stopped walking, yanking my arm out of her hold. "I can't just leave. It's nice you're trying to be a good friend, but I think I'll be okay. You can go, though. I'll see you later."

Her head was shaking before I'd finished speaking. "I know this is weird, but I'm not lying when I say we can't stay here. Not just me. Both of us. I have a reason for it, and I'm sure I'll get to explain it to you...sometime soon. For now, though, please trust me. Come with me."

My face was growing warm, my palms tingling. I really didn't want to skip. But I also didn't want to ruin the only good friendship I'd had since...probably ever. "I...I don't know..."

Felicity took my hand. "It'll be okay. Come with me now and we'll sort it all out."

Biting my lip, I sighed. "Where will we go?"

"To a friend's house. They'll know what's going on." She started leading me down the hall again.

A friend. More new people. Great. As if I wasn't enough of a mess, now I had to take first impressions into account. "Maybe I could go..." Where? I couldn't go home without my parents knowing I was skipping. And it wasn't like I knew the town enough to suggest anywhere.

Her hand squeezed mine as we exited the building and headed into the parking lot. "You'll be fine. Everyone's super nice." She paused. "Well, mostly."

"Comforting," I murmured as we reached her car.

She let out a brief laugh, but it sounded a little frantic. "I promise, they're good people. They're not going to be rude to you."

She could try to reassure me all day and it wouldn't have any affect—I was going to be paranoid no matter what—so I sat quietly for the drive over to La Push. And for the first time, Felicity let us sit in silence. No chatter to lighten the mood and help pass the time. Though my hands were slightly shaking and my heart was speeding, I was glad I'd left with her. Whatever was wrong with her and those people at the lunch table, she clearly needed friends right now.

We came to a stop in front of a little house that was inexplicably welcoming. It was a complete opposite to how new places usually made me feel that I sat frozen in my seat for a moment.

"Are you coming?" Felicity asked, her expression starting to grow concerned. "I wouldn't bring you here if I didn't think everything would be alright. But if you're really that uncomfortable, we can go somewhere else."