Swell (Complete)

Chapter One (Part Two)

"Cause everything we know is just something we're taught."

....

The school corridors were littered with metal lockers, bins and posters.
'Join the Wheeler High Edition!' one advertised for the school paper.
'Don't forget to buy your tickets to the Senior Formal!' that particular poster was bright and colourful, standing out unmistakeably from the others.
Iain took the boys to their lockers and waited while they put their bags inside. "There's not really much of the school to see." He explained. "It's actually an old hospital, they broke some walls down to extend the classrooms and added a few extra portables outside. The gym is probably the newest thing about the school, and it's pretty decent."
"That's the most important thing," Tom smiled. "How about you just bypass the boring stuff and take us straight to the good thing?"
Iain chuckled and shrugged. "Alright, to the gym it is! What sports interest you?" He started to lead the twins through the mostly empty corridors. There was still thirty minutes before classes started and it seemed the students weren't too interested in being at the school early.
Tom watched as Iain walked, there was a swagger in his step and he noticed the lean but strong figure underneath the clothes.
"I like ball sports." Tom replied. "Will's not much of a team player though." He teased and nudged his brother with his elbow.
"I just like being busy." Will started. "Mostly running, sometimes shadow boxing." He had barely been present since they had walked into the school and Tom knew it was going to take some effort to get his brother out of his cave.
Iain took them through a set of double doors that led outside and Tom looked around and took in the courtyard and randomly arranged benches and tables; obviously for recess and lunch breaks.

The gym was a light coloured concrete building with a curved roof made out of corrugated iron. It had two sets of glass double doors leading into it and a row of second storey windows.
"It's almost bigger than the school building." Tom remarked.
"Yea, well, we have a fair few sports fan parents that were happy to add funds for better facilities. It's only about five years old, I think. There are two courts, marked for basketball, tennis, soccer, and whatever other sports they could think of. I'm more of a track and swim team person, so you won't really see me running about on the courts too much. Coach Hannah's office is inside, I'll take you in to meet him so you can get a list of things you might want to try." Iain held open one of the glass doors and as soon as they walked in Tom could hear the sound of sneakers squeaking on polished floorboards and a basketball being bounced on the surface.
A smile broadened on his face and he followed Iain into the main room. The two courts were still like new and his eyes immediately moved to the handful of tall boys playing on the court.
"There's a training area in that room over there and we have fold out bleachers when we have games. There's no other school in town so we have two teams for that and sort of do a small round robin with the towns along the highway." Iain explained.
"Sounds organised, show us to this coach's office." Tom rubbed his hands together in excited anticipation.

"So, you're a painter?" Adora had shown Marti the classrooms and the gym building and students were now filling the halls. Principal Dodgers had put Marti into Adora's main classes so that Adora could help her to settle in and they were now sitting in the form room where morning roll call was taken.
"I try to be." Marti chuckled and started to take in the other students. She reminded herself they were now in a small town, tens of kilometres away from the next one, with ocean and cliffs on one side and hills and trees on the other. It was a picturesque town and she was excited to get her painting supplies out, it was also over 200 kilometres from Richieville. She looked away from a pair of boys and back to her tour guide with a sly smile. "So, what's the town like?" She asked, leaning in closer to Adora. "Is it really small town-ish?"
Adora's blue-green eyes widened in surprise at the question. She let out a scoff of disbelief and looked over at the boys, now looking Marti up and down. "Erm, well... My family has kind of been here for generations... I love it here, so I guess anything I say would be biased..." She started, pursing her full lips together. "I guess it would depend on what type of small town-ish you mean."
Marti looked down at the puckered lips and felt the corners of her own lifting in a smile. Her guide was a gorgeous girl; fair skin, which was surprising for a beach resident, her dark hair was long and wavy and the short stature of Adora only made her build look more petite.
"So, the headmaster and Iain are brothers and they're your cousins, is that right?" Marti confirmed. Adora nodded. "Is Wheeler Falls like the small towns in movies? Books? TV shows?"
Adora took a deep breath. "Well, everyone knows my family, and I can't say much about other small towns, but I suppose from my position Wheeler Falls is very much like a stereotypical small town." She frowned as the words left her mouth, as if she had never thought about it before.
Marti giggled a little. "We've moved a couple of times in the last few years, but we've never lived in a small town." She looked to the front of the classroom as a teacher walked in. "This ought to be all kinds of interesting." She turned her attention to him as he started shuffling papers. He was older; probably the oldest resident that Marti had seen so far, not that she had seen much of the town, or its residents.
They'd arrived on the weekend and spent most of the time arranging the house and unpacking their things, but now that the house was sorted, they could try and settle into the town.
The teacher opened a clipboard and a few more students hurried to chairs and tables as a bell sounded.
Marti could feel the eyes looking at her from all over the room, guesses about who she was, judgements on what she was like. She didn't mind so much what people thought about her, she was a lot like Tom in that way.
After their names were called, Adora turned to Marti with a curious expression. "How come you've moved so much?"
"Oh, well last time we moved because Mum wanted to work at a new office, closer to the city; this time it's because Dad bought the bakery." Marti shrugged. "I can't really remember the first town, but we've really only moved..." She frowned and started to count on fingers. "Midtown, Glenden, Richieville and here... So not that much I suppose. We spent most of our time growing up in Midtown. Glenden seemed to have a better school once the boys finished primary school, then when I finished we officially moved there for the high school, Richieville was closer to the city for Mum, and now... Dad's dream bakery is here with the beach."
"So, you've been to three high schools? Wow... How is that on your social skills?" Adora's face creased with concern.
Marti looked away and started to trace a scratch on the table. "Well, it's different for all of us. Tom's really friendly and outgoing, he's never had trouble making friends, fitting in, or getting girls..." Marti scoffed slightly and tried to ignore a pang in her stomach. "Will's a bit more reserved; he tends to let people come to him. He's sort of... an outcast almost everywhere." It was going to be harder for Will in a small town. She adored both her brothers, and while she got along better with Tom and they were more alike, she felt strong connections with Will, and she felt pity for him, especially now. They shared something that she and Tom would never have. They shared Elissa.
"Marti? Are you alright?" Adora had moved her face in front of Marti's and frowned. Marti blinked a few times and felt her cheeks flushing.
"Yea, I was just thinking of a friend." Marti forced a smile and let go of a breath.
"What's it like for you? Friend wise..." Adora raised one eyebrow.
"I'm somewhere in the middle." Marti smiled. The bell sounded again and Marti stood and picked up her bag. "So, being a small town, do all the kids hang out together? Is it like, one big social group?"
Adora laughed and put her backpack over one shoulder. "Not quite. There's more then a handful of kids in town. Some go to boarding schools and are only here on holidays, but most stay here. We do have some cliques."
"What's yours?" Marti had noticed that a few people had greeted Adora, but most had seemed to steer clear, although that may have been because of her presence.
"Um... I guess I'd be in with the musicians..." Adora answered. "Do you remember where your first class is or do you want me to walk you there?"
Marti thought for a few moments. "No, I'm pretty sure I'll manage, it's not like there's much space to get lost in here." She grinned. "Thanks though. I guess I'll see you around. Wish me luck!" She waved to Adora and stepped out into the corridor.
Handfuls of students were walking in various directions and Marti started to head in the direction that her first class was in.
"Hey! New girl! Wait up!" The female voice was loud and clear, so Marti turned around to see a smiling blond hurrying towards her.

Will watched as Tom sat in the middle of the classroom, already a tall, brunette girl had introduced herself to his brother.
He pulled out his books and slouched back in the chair. He was glad to have beaten the other students to the room so that he could take the back seat near the window. He always gravitated to the back of his classrooms even in Richieville; Tom either invaded the middle or swallowed up the front rows.
He tapped the end of his pen on his book and watched the doorway as more students filed into the room. There were three rows of tables and chairs in front of a desk and a whiteboard.
Tom's laugh drew his attention from the door momentarily, but Will's eyes flickered back when he saw the unmistakeably small figure of Adora, the cousin of the headmaster, and Iain.
He frowned as she greeted Tom and then waved at him. Will gave a small, confused wave back and then looked at the title of his textbook.
Adora was the year below them, why was she in their Psychology class?
"Hey Will." It was only a moment later before he was looking up again. Adora was leaning back on her chair smiling at him. He met her eyes and offered her a smile in return. "How was your tour with Iain?"
"Like any other school tour." He responded in a bored tone, tapping his pen again. "I thought you were in Marti's year level..."
"I am." Adora dragged her chair over from the row in front of his, the legs scraped across the wooden floor. "I love psych, so I took it early last year." She shrugged casually. "Do you have a favourite subject?"
He looked up from the pen and frowned. Why was she so interested in him? "Um, it depends on things." He put the pen down and caught Tom smiling at him behind Adora's shoulder.
"Things? Marti told me you'd had a few school changes since high school. What sort of things does it depend on?"
He bit the inside of his cheek. What else had his little sister told this girl? "Teachers, supplies, classmates, course work..." He forced a small, crooked smile. "Homework."
Adora chuckled and nodded. "Yea, fair enough."
Her voice was nice, so were her eyes, a strange blue-green colour. Will couldn't quite tell if they were closer to blue or green and there was a grey cast over the mixed colour as if she was wearing coloured contact lenses. He'd seen Marti and Elissa wear those once for a costume party.
"Morning everyone." The voice broke their eye contact and Will looked up to the front of the class as the broad man stood behind the desk. "We've got a couple of new students in class..." He looked towards Tom, and then at Will. "Twins by the looks of it. Thomas and Willard Taylor, I'm Mr Harrison, can you boys tell me who is who?"
"I'm Tom," his brother waved his hand and smiled. "He's Will, we both prefer the shorter names to the full ones."
Will forced a smile as Adora's chair moved back to the table in front of him and the other students looked from his brother to him.
"Well, thanks Tom, welcome to Wheeler Falls, both of you." Mr Harrison smiled and opened the book on his desk. Will shifted uncomfortably in his chair and took a few deep breaths as the first class in Wheeler Falls started.