The Dare

Chapter Eight • Three Tracks

EIGHT • THREE TRACKS

"Hello? Rose, you ready?" I heard Chloe calling through the crack of the door. Quickly pulling on my blazer, stockings, and shoes, I straightened myself up in the mirror one last time before grabbing my bag and bursting to the door.

"Hey."

"Hey! Geez, woman! You take forever to get ready," she exclaimed, examining me. "And for a good reason- the guys might not be able to keep their eyes off of you." My eyebrows raised, we linked arms and then began our descent down the grandeur hallways that even peaked the art and beauty of the infirmary.

"Really? Guys all over me? I think you're looking at someone else," I whispered, checking my surroundings. Chloe giggled like a young girl in trouble.

"You seem pretty comfortable for a newcomer," she said. I shrugged, trying to think of what to say.

"Well, it's not like I didn't talk to anyone back home. I've had to talk with my mom's ex's, my persecutors...I figure making conversation with someone who doesn't hate me shouldn't be too hard." Chloe's jaw dropped, her face frozen in an almost mock surprise.

"Huh, yesterday, shy. Today? Hellllooooo Rose Levie. Feels like I've known you since birth!" We both laughed, finally reaching the lower level.

"Today is...better. I feel like..." She looked at me curiously and I quickly decided to avoid anything to heavy or deep. "I feel like I should get to my first class without being late on my first day. Sound good?" Chloe smiled from beneath her brows.

"Sounds great. See you at lunch!" she shouted, running in the opposite direction. In spite of everything that had happened, it was nice to know there were some nice people out there. Sighing with a new light in mind, I stumbled my way along the hallways to find my first and only non-smartypants class, AP Calculus. Why they felt the need to call it 'AP' considering the circumstances, I had no idea.

However, just as I turned the corner, I crashed into someone's black, leather-coated back, tripping and landing on the ground. I gripped my throbbing back, trying to get up.

"I'm so sorry, sir, I really am. I'm soooo sorry," I gushed, still focusing on steadying myself. Suddenly a hand shot out and pulled me up by my arm. With another brush of my skirt, I looked up only to meet the eyes of the Mind's mojo. Cas.

"You alright?" he asked, leaning over to pick up my bag. If I hadn't spent my life wallowing alone in my room watching movies, I would've refrained from using the comparison of this moment to a Hollywood film. But how could I resist? I tried to speak, but no words came. My cheeks were burning profusely, probably a deeper red than Mars, and my hands a bit shaky.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked again, looking up at my eyes and handing me my bag. I blinked a few times before realising there was someone asking about my welfare. That was something I hadn't hears in years.

"Um, yeah, yeah I'm fine. I just didn't see you and I didn't mean to, but I just-"

"It's okay. No damage," he said, staring at me through his extremely tired eyes. Did Reietto cause Cas to take his studying and school life to bed with him at night, or was purple bags a family trait? Trying to clear my mind and focus on what was right in front of me, I realised a second too late to say much else as I saw him walking away. I sighed. So much for an introduction.

After brushing myself off and sorting my things, I jumped at the sound of the most unforgiving bell and sprinted to my first class without another distraction to, well, distract me.

With loads of book work already assigned and my mind heavy with mathematics, I stumbled along to my next class: computers. It was the only class I really cared about, considering that it was what I wanted to do for my living here at Reietto. As far as computers went, I just wanted to fix them, use them, and recreate the future with them. And although it was a passion of mine, my plans were basically screwed by the fact that I has never owned. Ever.