Sin of the Saint

CHAPTER SIX: FIRST DAYS

Liv hadn't been the "new girl" in school. Ever. So, when her first class at St. John's Private High School began, she didn't know what to expect. What she wanted to do was just sit in her desk and carry on like everyone else—after all, she had weeks of homework to catch up on after being absent in her own classes after Charity's death, and then after transferring to St. John's, she had completely new classes to get up to speed on.

But, to Liv's utter dismay, that wasn't how being the new girl was like.

"Students! We have a new student attending St. John's," the Advanced Biology teacher, an old bat with a bad crew cut addressed the class. She held a wrinkly hand out to Liv's direction, in the very back of the classroom. "Olivia Yves."

Instantly, and without warning, each of the students in the classroom turned to her, staring.

Liv's face flushed a beet red, nearly as dark as the freckles on her nose and cheeks. She swallowed and gave a close-mouthed smile, all while not looking any of the students in the eyes.

And as if it couldn't get any worse, the teacher continued, "Why don't you come up here and tell us a bit about yourself?"

No, thank you...She said in her mind while rising to her feet. I would rather die...she thought as she walked, putting up an invisible wall between her and the rest of the students.

She stood quivering at the front of the classroom, her legs numbing as each moment passed in uncomfortable silence. She looked down at her interlaced fingers, wanting to tug at the hem of her red and black plaid uniform skirt. She looked for things to say but couldn't find any.

"How about why you transferred here?" the teacher tried to help, putting a hand on her shoulder, though Liv towered over her by at least a foot.

I can't answer that...she answered, though not aloud. I transferred here because my friend, who is now dead, asked me to. And now I'm a soldier in a holy war that's been raging in the commons area of this school since the beginning of time.

No, I can't say that...

"I was a friend of Charity Grace's...and I'm here because...I miss her and want to feel closer to her if I can," she finally said, though so quietly that only few people, including the teacher, could hear.

The look on the teacher's face spelled out her instant regret in asking. She patted Liv's shoulder and nodded to her, "You can sit down now, dear...I'm sorry. Welcome to St. John's Private High School."

Liv pursed her lips and nodded once before almost running back to her chair. She knew that everyone's eyes still watched her—probably wondering what her problem was, especially if they didn't hear her.

"Let's all be kind—it's never an easy thing to adjust to a new school," the teacher said, then quickly changed the subject. "On to the thesis of today's lesson..."

But there were four periods in a typical day—and four different ones on alternating days. And in each class, she was put through the same humiliation with an almost new set of students each time and was nearly driven to frustrated tears over it. It seemed that no matter how much she tried to mind her own business, everybody had to be a part of her life now—her new life as a Saint.

By the end of her first and second days at St. John's Private High School, nearly every student would know her name, and knew why she was there—or at least knew the reason that she could explain to them without revealing herself.