𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝑯𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚|| 𝑫𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏 𝑺𝒂𝒍𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒆 [1]

𝑯𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝑹𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈

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X. TEN

INTO THE WOODS

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CLICK. CLICK. Click. Ava's thumb pressed down on her pen, over and over again. Oliver chewed at his highlighter's cap, his eyes gazing at the back of his best friend's head with his eyebrows scrunched up. Elena walked into the classroom, noticing Ava's gaze on the floor with her clicking her pen. "Is she okay?" Elena mouthed to Oliver. He shrugged his shoulders.

"What?" Ava spoke out.

She turned her head, watching as Oliver and Elena switch their gaze back to her. The worried look was still in their eyes. "Nothing." They said in unison.

The sight of Bonnie walking into the classroom caught Ava's attention.

"Bonnie—" the girl tried to get her attention, only for Bonnie to sit far back, away from the trio. Elena and Ava share a look.

"Good morning, everyone." A voice greeted the class. The man was tall, dressed in a formal navy blue shirt accompanied by a pair of jeans and a leather jacket. "Tanner's replacement," Oliver whispered to both Elena and Ava, but Ava wasn't looking. Her gaze remained on the Bennett girl, whose gaze never met hers. Bonnie was ignoring her. "Alrighty."

Elena nudged Ava to pay attention.

"Let's see."

The loud sound of charge chalk's friction against the blackboard filled the room as the new teacher spelled out his name. "Alaric Saltzman." The new teacher introduced himself, clapping his hands to rid of any chalk residue. "It's a mouthful, I know. Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue."

"Saltzman is of German origins. My family emigrated here in 1755 to Texas. I, however, was born and raised in Boston." Mr. Saltzman explained. "Now the name Alaric belongs to a very dead great-grandfather I'll never be able to tank enough. You'll probably wanna pronounce it 'AL-AR-ICK' but it's Alaric, okay? So you can call me Rick." He smiled at the high schoolers. "I'm your new history teacher."

☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎

First period had ended quickly for Ava. Mostly due to the fact that Ava wasn't paying attention to whatever lesson was being taught. She was in her head, thinking about whatever thoughts were driving her crazy. The sound of the bell ending the first class of the day had broke the Gilbert girl out of her thoughts.