Forever Fallen

Chapter Two

New Kid

Nathan Martinez was nervous. Which was strange because he had been working his whole life for this moment and also because he had been in far more nerve-wracking moments than this. Although running from all the different foster homes he had been in and eavesdropping on classes that he wasn’t enrolled in didn’t exactly count as ‘preparing’. His heart hammered in his chest, his breath sped up and the walls seemed to be closing in on him. Marc shook his head to clear himself of his distracting thoughts.

So what if this was the only chance of acceptance that he got? So what if this place may be the only place where he ever had a chance of being normal and safe? What he wouldn’t give to have his mother by his side again. She would know what to do, she always did. Nathan had never known his father, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t wish for his father at times. But then again, his mother was the only reason why he was in this small coastal town anyway. Just before she … passed, she had written him a letter saying what she wanted him to get out of life, but most importantly, where to get it.

Amora Cove.

So that was the reason why, ten years, 4 foster homes, a little detour and approximately 400 stolen classes later, Nathan was standing in front of the imposing iron gates of St Jude’s School for Boys and Girls. He hadn’t had breakfast so he was starving and the rain wasn’t helping. Nathan’s scalp was itching from the brown wig and his chest was sweating from the thick jumper. The reason why he was dressed like that was because, being a good looking guy drew too much attention and the whole reason why he had moved to Amora Cove was because his mum knew that this would be a place where he would at least have a chance of blending in.

He inhaled deeply and walked inside the imposing doors, prepared to face the disgusted stares and jeering looks the students would give him. He pulled his hood over his head, trying his best to remain inconspicuous, but in a small town where everyone knew everyone, it was hard not to stand out. Nathan became self-conscious as ascended the stairs into the foyer, his prediction had come true. People were staring, and not in the ‘oh-my-god-he-is-so-hot’ kind of way but in the ‘look-what-the-cat-dragged-out-of-the-bag’ kind of way. He heard whispered conversations as he made his towards the secretary’s office and even though he face was covered by a fall of shadow, he felt bare, exposed, and that everyone was judging him because of it.

He entered the office, the door squeaking in its hinges and announcing his arrival. The secretary looked up. Nathan’s first thought when he saw them was that this town was such a cliché. In movies, and books, the secretary was almost always a woman and this small town high school was no exception. The lady that sat behind the desk had a plague that read Ms Clarke – Nathan thought that that was very original – and she had on a pencil skirt, a plain white blouse probably one of the tightest wound buns in all of America.

“Are you Mr Martinez?” Ms Clarke inquired without lifting her head. When Nathan nodded his consent, the secretary barely seemed to acknowledge him. Instead, she began to rifle through her filing cabinets until she seemed to have found what she was looking for, her head popped up and Ms Clarke handed him a manila folder. Ms Clarke finally looked up from whatever she was doing, “This is your timetable, Mr Martinez and if you have any questions about where or when anything is, you can just ask one of the prefects. They’ll be walking around campus pretty much everywhere and if you need help, you can go up to one of them.” He nodded again, to indicate that he understood. “I hope you enjoy your time here at school, Mr Martinez.”

Nathan knew that Ms Clarke didn’t mean anything she had just said. She wished that he hadn’t come in here to bother her and her little behind-the-desk nail project. She wished that he hadn’t come into town at all. Despite the fact that Nathan knew why, it still hurt. Why couldn’t anyone see past any of the fake face and see the person he really was. Then again, Nathan could’ve come into town as himself but his mother had told him that he should try to remain inconspicuous and making himself into someone insignificant was the best way he knew how.