Where the Stars Align

Chapter 3 (edited)

She walked into the main building, not holding eye contact with anyone long enough to notice they hadn't seen hers before.

Almost everyone was engrossed in their own little world, she had noticed . Some heads were down in the middle of a gossip session, some in books, others in phones- people were even sucking of the face of the person next to them.

They were all in the same place and far away at the same time.

So it was all the much easier for her to live her life the way she liked it.

On her own.

She glanced back down at the form in hand, for her locker number.

48B.

No directions. No map.

To find her way around, she would actually have to ask, and she dreaded it. Her problem wasn't really with associating with people or talking to them. It was more about the fact that once you made that initial contact with someone, their curiosity is instantly sparked. They'd want to know who you were, where you came from; your story.

Her story was one she wasn't ready to share. Mainly because she knew probably as little about it as anyone else did.

"Sorry, could you-" she started to say to a nice enough looking girl, but the girl had just bypassed her, walking on by. Almost like she didn't hear her. That was about the same thing that happened with the next three people when she tried asking for help, the only difference was that one of them was kind enough to shove a distasteful glance her way.

What a great first day this was turning out to be, she thought.

She had settled on somehow finding a way to her locker herself; using the ones in front of her as a makeshift guide.

"Lost?" she had heard from behind her.

She turned around to see a large, good looking guy grinning down at her. He combed his fingers through his sand coloured hair, obviously a move that had girls swooning from the smug look of his face, she thought.

"You must be new. I'm Dylan," he said, waiting for her to give him her name, probably her phone number as well, from the way he carried himself.

"I'm..." she had pause for a minute; deciding on wether or not to give him her name. If she did, he'd think he had her pinned down. She eventually decide against it. "well as you can clearly see, looking for my locker."

He was shocked for a minute, then put back on his flirtatious grin; thinking she was playing hard to get.

"Ok, new girl. Where's it at"

She handed him the form and he turned on his heels and headed off. He made it a couple of steps before he turned around. "You coming?"

"Lead the way," she sighed.

Once people had associated her with Dylan, the stares started. Some were simple curious glances while most are sneers and envious glares. The girls had done more of the latter. At that point, she was thinking that he must have been a really be a big deal around here because she could already hear the occasional "whore" and "she looks like such a slut". There for less than five minutes, she thought, and already building a reputation. Tearing her eyes away from the faces of the human Barbies trying to murder her with their glares, she kept her head up. As much as she would like to have disappeared at that moment, she knew that once they pegged her for a pushover, she would become their next object of torment.

"This is it," Dylan said, glancing back down at the slip of paper, then to her.

She moved past him to open the locker and put the books she was given at the admin office inside along with her bag. Closing it, she saw Dylan still there, leaning on the locker next to hers and throwing her a pointed look.