Chapter Two

My first lesson was art, and I think I very nearly died of boredom. Listening to a teacher droning on about nothing for an over an hour is certainly not at the top of my to do list, but I hardly had a choice in the matter. Fortunately, one of my closer acquaintances was in the class, so we sat at the back, crouching behind our books in an effort to avoid the teacher's line of sight as we whispered.

I remember talking about such trivial things, and giggling over the latest gossip. Sitting there with not a care in the world...ah, how I miss it. It is times like this I sure do envy my younger self for her carefree attitude.

Still, no matter. What is done is done, and the past is the past. There is nothing I – or anyone else – can do to change it. Perhaps the past should stay dead and gone, if it lead us all to this.

And yet again I find myself rambling. It's a bad habit when writing something like this, but I don't quite want to break it. I think blathering on like this helps clear my head a little, and calms me down. At any rate, I slept a little better last night after writing, so maybe it does help. I sure hope so, or I almost don't see the point in writing this.

So, back to school. My next lesson after art was English, and something I was really looking forward to. My crush at the time was in the class, and due to the assigned seating was right next to me. Naturally, it was another class I didn't exactly pay the most attention in, though luckily I wasn't anywhere near failing.

As I sat down, my heart did that odd little flutter teenagers know so well, and my crush smiled at me. I blushed, smiling back and lifting a hand in greeting as I dumped my books on the desk.

Class passed all too quickly for my liking, the hands of the clock rushing forwards whenever I looked away for an instant. I made a half hearted attempt to pay attention, but my sleep deprivation was catching up with me, and I soon caught myself nodding off.

I awoke to find scratchy wood rubbing against one cheek, and the furious face of my teacher leaning over me.

“Miss Carter,” she leered, “would it kill you to refrain from sleeping in my class?” It was the sickly sweet tone we all feared so much, because you knew punishment was coming, and when it came to that certain teacher, said punishment was no small matter. I gulped nervously, doing my best not to wince and cower back in my seat.

“I'm s-sorry, it won't happen again,” I stuttered, stumbling over the words thanks to my oh so wonderful nerves. The teacher glared, her gaze assessing my sincerity, and the amount of truth she felt in my words like a mind reader. I swear that teacher always knew what you were thinking when it came to her. It was kind of creepy, really. If you were thinking of running, she would just look at you as if to say 'Don't even think about it', and when you stalled for time she would just look at you with an almost weary expression on her face, and state that you had to hand up whatever was due the next lesson.

You know, I just realised how much this sounds like your generic high school love story. Please, please, kill me now, for I never want to write one of those things. But I suppose I have to build the story a little, let whoever is reading this get to know me a little, and see, bit by bit, just how screwed up my life has gotten. Then again, I suppose whoever is reading this has gone through the same stuff I have. Or maybe not; you can't really know, can you?

Okay, back to the generic high school story. I escaped the class in tact, and headed off to my science lesson. We were focussing on botany at the moment, and I had the dreadful feeling there was going to be an assignment terribly soon, which sucked for me, because I was sleep deprived enough as it was, and I really didn't need more work on my plate. Still, the teachers don't care, so long as you hand your work in, so I was looking forward to another few sleepless, caffeine filled all nighters.

As I walked into the classroom, I winced, knowing that this would be a class I would actually have to pay attention in, what with the impending assignment and all. There was also the fact that the teacher absolutely loved random seating arrangements, and at the start of every lesson drew names out of a plastic container and put them on the desks. He said it was so we could get to know other people better, but I think after spending three years stuck with the same people, you more or less had your friends sorted out, or in my case, lack of friends.

I wandered around the classroom, my eyes scanning the tables for a little piece of paper that said Avalbane Carter. I found it at the back of the classroom, and I smiled inwardly, knowing that I could draw in class without the teacher noticing. Much. And then I noticed the other name on the table, and my face screwed up in an ugly grimace. You know how every school has that one more than slightly insane person? The one that everyone avoids? The one who always smiles creepily at you from some dark corner? That person was Sarah Langdon, and I – unfortunately – had to sit next to her. Now, that normally wouldn't have been so bad, but there was another thing. My science teacher loved for us to do assignments in pairs, with whoever you were sitting next to at the time. You were always paired up, whether you hated the person or not; in rain or shine, you were stuck with each other.

You know, its funny how opinions can change. At the time, I really didn't like Sarah, and thought she was more than a little scary and creepy, but now she's one of the closest people to me. I guess it's like that with the others, too, all except Nathan. I got along with him from the start, but Jer drove me insane, and I always thought Avery had serious anger management issues.

Ah, I'm getting off topic, aren't I? I shouldn't mention my motley group of travelling companions just yet; they'll get introduced later. But I'll say now that they are probably the most important things to me now, even though I hated half of them when I met them.

Anyway, back to the story. I really need to stop rambling like that...

I dumped my books on the desk with a resounding thump, feeling very much like a sulking child as I sat down and lay my head on my arms. The chair next to me scraped across the floor, and someone slid into the seat, laying her books down gently, so softly as to almost not make a sound. I only noticed just then, even after spending half a year with her in my class, and years before, how graceful Sarah was. Then again, it was usually overshadowed by her creepiness, so I didn't blame myself for not seeing it before.

“Hello, Avalbane,” a voice uttered, so soft barely heard it. I almost jumped out of my seat in shock, because Sarah never talked to anybody apart from teachers, and that was only when she had to. For her to be talking to me was both a miracle, and utterly terrifying.

I lifted my head, turning to face her. “Why are you talking to me?” I asked, willing my voice not to crack. The girl gave off this weird feeling, and I had the terrible notion she knew me. I don't just mean as a passing acquaintance, but something deeper, like she knew me, and not the pathetic facade I gave to everyone else. A shiver ran down my spine, and shrank back from Sarah Langdon without even realising it.

She smiled, but there was something wrong with it. It didn't reach her eyes, I think, and it seemed like the kind of smile you give to someone before you torture them, or kill them. It was a smile that spoke of bad things happening.

“Something's about to happen, Avalbane Carter, and you and Sarah will become very close, believe it or not,” she said in that same whispery tone, her unblinking eyes never leaving my face. I think that is the moment things changed, where my life was spun upside down and inside out and then tossed out the window like so much trash.

I turned away after giving her a weird stare, and lay my head on my arms again, thoroughly creeped out. Thankfully, the teacher came in before she could say anything more, and I shifted my gaze to him as he spoke about our next assignment. It was a choice between cataloguing plants in our local area and writing down what they were called, the scientific name, and whatever significance they had, along with a sketch or a photo, or researching a rare plants and putting in a lot more information.

Naturally, we were to work in pairs, and naturally, I was stuck with the psycho girl. I forced myself to look at her without shrinking back even a little, looking right into her eyes. “So, what would you like to do?” I asked.

She seemed to consider it for a moment, her dark brown eyes darting across the classroom, never staying put for more than a second. Her chocolate hair fell in her face, but she made no move to shift it. Then she looked straight at me with a gaze whose intensity made me wince.

“Sarah would like to look at the local flowers. She knows you are quite the artist, so she thinks you should sketch them while she writes down a few properties and some background information,” she said, and I gave her a weird look. I had never met someone that referred to themselves in third person, and it was more than a bit disconcerting.

“Do you always talk like that? It's creepy,” I said bluntly. Sarah's eyes narrowed into an icy glare, and she turned to leave, her skirts sweeping across the floor. She paused in the doorway, turning around to look at me, her eyes blank now.

“Is Avalbane coming? The learning man gave Sarah's class permission to go outside and look at the flowers, and that includes Avalbane,” Sarah informed me. I glared back, hating her for making me seem like an idiot, even though most of the class had trickled out of the room by then.

“I'm coming,” I growled, scooping up my sketchbook and pencil case, walking over to the doorway. “Where to first?”

***

I think I'm just now realised how childish, selfish and closed minded I used to be. Reliving my memories like this is strange, but at the same time I can look back on how I acted and felt back them and be proud I'm not like that now. I think this writing is doing me some good after all.