Elements-Paused

Two

"Mr. Grubbs?" I ask after knocking.

"Come in," says his normal scratchy voice.

I open the door and see he is doing paper work at his very cluttered desk. I sit down in one of his two comfy chairs across from him. His office is littered in papers. Some are lying loosely on his desks and some are on his shelves behind his desk.

Mr. Grubbs is an older man and in his 50's. He doesn't have much hair left on his head. Only some stubble and along his chin to form a really hideous beard. Mr. Grubbs is the type of principal that always wants best for the students at RiverCliff Junior High School.

"You requested to see me?" I say reminding him when he looks up from his paper work looking at me, confusion evident on his face.

I forgot to say. He has a little bit of  short term memory lost. It isn't serious but it does get a little bad sometimes. He usually has to write stuff down and I have no idea how he does it cluttered with many papers.

"Ohhh.... yes Madilyn. Right, right, right. One second Ms. Evans." He tells me getting up from his seat to get more papers from his dark oak shelves and talking to himself, while waving a finger, "Here. Ok. First of we are going to have a foreign exchange student coming to our school. I thought that since you are a really good student, straight A's, never missing anything, not missing a single day of school, that you can tour him around." He tells me, "Oh and he will be in all your classes so you can show him everything and be his friend. How does that sound?"

I look at him with my jaw literally on the floor.
What????? Why me? Why not Hazel or anyone else, but me!!! I think to myself.

"Ummm....." I start, "What is his name?" I ask before saying yes.

"Jayden MaZinn." He tells me.

He sounds like that supper cute, bad boy that will go after Hazel. Urgh!!! I think.

"How long will he be here?"

"His family is moving from Australia. And he is going to be here for the rest of the year."

Oh great an accent! And he is staying! Great! Just what my life needs! I complain to myself.

"Fine, I'll do it." I tell Mr. Grubbs. And the only reason I am doing it is so once he gets friends and all the girls go after him, which will be the first day of school, he'll leave me alone and never ever have to intrude in my life ever again.

"Ok. It's settled then." Mr Grubbs says. I give him a tight smile and get up from my seat to say thank you to him before walking out the door to chemistry with a frown taking over my face.

•*•*•

I couldn't take the bus home because I had detention. It was horrible. I had to catch up on everything that I missed during the day because I kept dozing off during every class even with food in me. I am now walking down a street of Tofino. The sky is a dark grey and is spitting out tiny droplets of rain. It seems to be mocking me as the rain get heavier. Instead of focusing on the rain and the terrible day I had, I decide to think.

I start to think about this Jayden. Wondering what he looks like and how he will act around me, the non-social girl.

I hope he doesn't notice my hands. I think, looking at my hands. Nothing is wrong with them on the outside but it's the inside. I can control water. I don't know how or why I just can. I haven't told anyone about it because when I tried to tell my best friend in Grade School, she left me.

I was too busy thinking that when I turned the corner I didn't realize that I bumped into someone until I hit the slick pavement.

"You ok?" A heavily accented voice asked. "I didn't see you there."

I open my eyes to see two brown eyes staring at me.

"Yes." I tell them.

A hand is extended out to me and I grab it, thankful for the help. I look up and this boy around my age, 14-15, looks back at me with those brown eyes. For some reason the eyes look fake and I don't know why. He has red-brown hair that falls onto his face. He also has this perfect smile that will make girls go ballistic over. He has on a jean jacket covering a plain white t-shirt with some jeans along with black converse that look new and clean compared to my dirty blue ones. He looks like the perfect model.

"What's your name?" His accented voice asks.

Oh!!! Wow his accent is so crisp and sharp!!!

I kept staring at this beautiful star stranger, until I realized I must look like a freak. I quickly looked into those fake eyes.

What is wrong with his eyes?

"Umm...hello? Are you ok?" The stranger says waving a hand in my face.

"Oh....!!!! Sorry! I-I was thinking. S-sorry about th-that." I stutter looking back at him. His hair is falling on top of his head due to the rain falling heavily now.

"Oh it's ok." He says laughing it off, "Soooo....what's your name?" He asked again.

I didn't want to tell this stranger my name.

I decide to tell him the first name that came to my head. And that happened to be my moms, "Poppy Evans." I say.

"Hmm..." he says, "You don't look like a Poppy. Not to be rude but with your black hair, dark freckles, and water blue eyes.....you don't look like one." He says narrowing his eyes and going a little quiet as he says water blue eyes. No one has ever described my eyes like that.

"Well, thanks." I say not being offended because my name isn't Poppy.

He looks at me suspiciously and I start to get uncomfortable when he keeps staring at me.

"Well.....nice to meet you." I say to him, moving around him to get home.

I keep feeling his eyes on me until I turn the corner to my street.

I keep walking down the sidewalk when I feel a cold chill go down my spin.

I turn around to see if anyone was there and no one was. I get scared and start walking down faster, turning my head every five seconds.

I am half way to my house when I hear footsteps behind me. I turn around again, panicking and see no one is there. I stay there stunned.

What the heck!!! I think. What's happening? Am I being followed?

I turn around and run the rest of the distance to my house, terrified. And the whole way I hear someone following, but every time I turn my head around it is just me on the street.

I finally reach my house and slam the door shut.

"Madi?" My father's calm voice asks.

———————————————————————