Manic

Chapter 4.

The thing about going to a new school, almost every year is

You're going to run out of schools, and

You don't get used to being the new kid.

The majority of last year my only companions were the Voices. I did finally end up making a friend towards the end of the year but as it seems to happen every single year, they found out about my Voices. Because you see dad, living with D.I.D. there are a few things that could go wrong, (among thousands).

People will find out

People will be scared of you

People will treat you like you're a freak.

And so, the cycle of my mother plucking me out of one school and dropping me into another one began. When you have D.I.D. you're just waiting until someone gets tired of the charity case they took in when they let you in, and decides to make you someone else's problem. Such was the case last year, leaving Mountain View High School I was told by the staff that I will be missed, but I see past their lies. They were glad to be rid of me. They were glad that I would be another high school problem.

Now you see, I've always been a public school kid. Which might strike you as surprising but it was the cheapest way for my mom to get me into school. But, as I previously mentioned about going to a new school almost every year for 13 years, you eventually run out of schools to stick me in. So this year I would be attending Heritage Academy, a private school that requires us to wear uniforms.

Heritage Academy, (or as I like to call it, Loser Academy) isn't that bad. The uniforms aren't too ugly and uncomfortable. The schedule is split into an A and B schedule, where I attend my first four classes on the A days, Monday and Wednesday. And I attend the four B classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The ironic thing about me calling it Loser Academy, is that in a school full of losers, I am the biggest loser. A senior in highschool coming to a close-knit private school is bound to have no friends.

I arrived early to school this morning, courtesy of Danny and his obsession with being early to things. Not knowing anyone, I went to my 1A class -English 101- and picked a seat in the back of the class. The thing about sitting in the back of the class is the other people who sit in the back don't want to be social either. It always works out.

Well, almost always.

The first bell rings and students start filing into the room, sitting next to their friends that they had known for years. And then there's me, sitting in the back, a loser, completely alone.

"Psst, I'm here with you. You're not alone." Saraphina whispers. My anxiety immediately subsides.

Reid noticed her walk in before I did. "Woah, okay, stay calm down there!" He says to me. I was confused about what he was talking about, but then I saw her.

She walked in the classroom with a sort of elegance that made it immediately clear that she was out of my league. But for some reason that made me more interested in her. She had big hazel eyes and long, thick eye lashes that fluttered as she looked around the classroom for a spot to sit. Her black hair was alluring, it fell in ringlets down her neck, ending at her shoulders. And her skin was absolutely breathtaking. Her dark tones somehow looked amazing with the white t-shirt and tan shorts she was wearing. I stared, and I didn't even care that I was staring.

It's hard to explain the moment in someone's life when you first lay eyes on someone and get a feeling, or a voice inside your mind that tells you you have to get to know them. For me, that 'voice inside my mind' was more literal than not. The voice had a name, Reid.

"Go sit by her!" Reid demanded. I tried to ignore him, I didn't want people thinking I was a freak on the first day.  But I also couldn't listen to him. Why would I sit by her? I don't know her, she doesn't know me, she probably has a million other friends that she would sit by before she ever wanted to sit by someone like me.

My legs had a mind of their own. And that mind was Reid. Suddenly I was standing from my seat and grabbing my books and bag and walking right up to her. I plopped down in the seat next to her, rather clumsily, and held my hand out to her.

"Hi my name is Elijah, what's your name?" Reid instructed.

"Hi my name is Elijah, what's your name?" I blurted.

She looked up from her phone as if noticing me for the first time. She glanced down at my hand that was held out and she smiled. She shook my hand. "KEEP YOUR COOL," Reid said.

"Delilah," She said. She had a fragile accent that sounded South African. It was beautiful. Just like she was.

Danny butts in, "Well? Say something else?"

"Err- it's nice to meet you." I couldn't keep eye contact with her. I was so nervous. My gaze kept shifting from her beautiful eyes to the classmates around us. And then I did probably the most idiodic thing of my entire life. I stood up and walked to the desk in the back of the class and sat down.

Delilah turned around and gave me a quizzical glance before facing forward again.

"God, you're an idiot." Reid told me.