The Secret Chapter One

The First Meeting

It was a cold, rainy day when I first met Rowan in the Literature Wing of the Leighton School for the Gifted. I had a free period, and as usual went to spend it in the library, which except for myself, was hardly visited, even by the librarian, much less the students, who had little time or interest for reading classics or browsing the dusty shelves for a good read. This hardly bothered me; I liked the time I could spend alone, without the constant cruelty of the 'popular' group, who were all nothing more than bullies.

While Leighton was a school for the Gifted, it was run by the same cliques and hierarchies as other high schools. For instance, the equivalent of the jocks in a normal high school is the captain of the debate team and his loyal followers, also on the debate team. Now the equivalent of the cheerleaders is the 'rally girls.' The girls who are incessantly starting new groups for the poor and are so involved in hoards of charities and other groups like that. They're perfect angels at first sight, rallying for support to 'help the needy', but take a closer look, and they are snobby, cruel, rich girls who desire all the admiration they can get. Everybody loves the debate team guys and the rally girls; all the teachers, the principal and all other adults are under their spell. Only the few of us unfortunate enough to be the object of their dislike are the ones who see the true nature of these bullies. I, myself, have been something of an annoyance to the rally girls, seeing as I remain quite stoic though they try to get under my skin with their biting words and nasty remarks. I learned long ago how to defend myself against bullies and mean girls, and this couldn't have angered them more. Thus began their never-ending quest to break me.

A couple weeks after school had started, my junior year, I was headed to the library to enjoy my free period, like usual. The library itself was a grand room, with a high painted ceiling reminiscent of the Sistine Chapel, and golden sculpted trim lining the edges. Most of the light came from two large skylights set into the decorated ceiling. Since ninety-nine percent of the light came from these two skylights, the library was quite dim on cloudy days, but positively cheery and bright on sunny days. Yet, rainy days spent in the partially dark library were some of my favorite days. The dark cherry wood shelves were arranged in neat rows on both sides of the room, and along the back wall there were three desks, each with their own lamp. In the center of the room were four pastel blue armchairs placed on a large intricately woven rug on top of the cream carpeting. At the front of the room, there was a large carved librarian's desk, which, in the absence of the librarian, I had made my own. Stacks of papers littered the desk, ink pens of all colors were strewn everywhere, and a few mechanical pencils were present as well. A tiny Einstein bobble head sat next to the blue desk lamp I had bought last year as a birthday present to myself. My favorite item, though, was a globe that sat to the side of the gigantic desk. Tiny colored tabs marked all the places I wanted to visit after college. Places like Paris, Rome and London. Places I had only dreamed or read about.

Once I reached the heavy oaken doors, I pulled them open and stepped in. Instantly, I could feel my stress melting away as I took in the comforting smell of paper and old books. I pulled the doors shut behind me and reached into my gray button-decorated messenger bag, pulling out the two books I had borrowed. I dropped my bag in one of the plush chairs in the center of the room and went to re-shelve the books, Jane Eyre, and Great Expectations. The latter wasn't one of my favorites; I hated it when I first read it in third grade, and I hated it now, but I had to read it again for my AP English class. Jane Eyre though, was a book I did enjoy, and I had read it at least twenty times to this day. I placed Great Expectations back on its shelf between A Tale of Two Cities and (insert another dickens book here) flinging it a last look of disgust as I went to put Jane Eyre in its rightful place next to Wuthering Heights.

I hummed "Still Alive" from the popular PC game, Portal quietly to myself as I browsed the shelves. I figured I should give myself a break after forcing myself through Great Expectations, so I chose one of my favorites from when I was younger, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. The book was an easy read; I could most likely finish it by tomorrow, as long as I had an hour or two of uninterrupted reading. I read at an extremely high rate, which I suppose, came along with my being 'gifted' and all. Really, I didn't understand why average people were so different than us; the only problem was my extensive vocabulary. There have been many instances when I have spoken to an average person and they had to stop me to ask what a word I had said meant. I used to think it was slightly sad, but now I just accepted it.

Removing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows from its shelf, I walked back over to the chairs in the center of the room, picking up my messenger bag and slinging it over my shoulder. I looked up and nearly jumped out of my skin. There he was. The mysterious, nameless newcomer was just sitting there, a book open in his hand, staring at me with a curious expression.

"Oh, u-um…How long have you been there?" I asked, startled. He tipped his head slightly to the side, studying me. I waited for a minute, but when it became clear he had no intentions of answering, I sighed. "Sorry, that was kind of rude… There's just usually never anybody that visits the library, and I didn't realize you were here, so…" I trailed off, uncomfortable under his steady stare. I winced inwardly, thinking how incredibly awkward I sounded. "I'm not bothering you, am I?" At this, he looked slightly taken aback, for some unknown reason, but after a moment, he slowly shook his head. I smiled, relieved. "Oh, good. A lot of people think I'm completely annoying; it's actually quite refreshing to have someone who isn't immediately irritated by me. I really don't know why, I don't usually speak much, and I try not to be bothersome, but it seems I can't avoid it. That's why I usually spend my free period here, in peace and quiet, you know? And…oh, no." I said, wincing, "I'm rambling. I tend to do that sometimes. So sorry… I'm just not very good at talking to people…" I sighed, turning and walking over to my desk, collapsing in the large office chair behind it. "I'll let you get back to your book now." I dropped my book on the desk and opened to the first page, inwardly cursing myself for my lack of people skills. Out of my peripheral vision I saw him study me for a moment longer, then return to his book, but not before I saw the ghost of a smile pass across his face. We sat like that, in strangely comfortable silence, for the rest of the period. Still, I was almost relieved when the bell rang, for I wasn't used to being in the company of others, especially in my library.

For a few weeks, we remained that way, the both of us coming to the library for the free period, sitting in silence either working on some schoolwork or reading a book until the bell rang. During this time, I slowly got used to his presence, and the quiet was no longer tense or uncomfortable. One week though, as I was packing up my things to leave for next period, he came up to the desk, his messenger bag, much like my own save the fact it wasn't covered in pins and buttons, slung over his shoulder.

"What's your name?" he asked, to my complete and utter astonishment, in an accented voice. He watched me, as always, with a cautious eye.

"M-Marie." I stuttered, barely able to contain my surprise. As far as I knew, he hadn't spoken to anybody since he arrived. Even the teachers never spoke to him. This is why my shock was so overpowering in that moment. Still, I forced myself to calm and ask, "What's yours?"

"Rowan." He replied. His eyes seemed to widen for a second, and they darted away from mine, his fingers drumming on the side of his leg. He blinked, appearing to mentally shake himself, and then looked back at me, a somewhat defensive look in his eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow, Marie." He said, turning quickly and walking down the hall, casting a look about him carefully. I watched him curiously until he turned out of sight, and then hurried to my next class, barely making it to my desk before the late bell rang. All throughout that class, which happened to be Ancient Cultures, I couldn't focus for anything. My mind kept wandering to the strange Rowan, and his paranoid ways. My inquisitiveness reared up, trying to persuade me to find out more about Rowan, possibly do some detective-grade snooping. I shook these ideas away, and tried once more to focus on the lecture. Still, I thought of Rowan. I couldn't consciously put my finger on what it was, but something about Rowan sparked my interest, and there was no escaping it now.

The final bell of the day jarred me from my thoughts, and I quickly gathered my things, stuffing them into my bag. As I was exiting the class, the teacher, Mrs. Allan, a dark-skinned Jamaica native, pulled me aside.

"Marie, where you in class today?" she asked in her heavy Jamaican accent. I opened my mouth to ask what she meant, but she hushed me with a raise of her hand. "You body here, yes, but your mind was elsewhere. Pay better attention tomorrow, hear? You one of my best students, don't you dare go make me take that back, now." She scolded. I bowed my head.

"Sorry, Mrs. Allan." I replied.

"Don't cha' 'sorry' me! Don't do it no more. Now, go spend ya afternoon doing somethin' fun." She said, smiling at me. I had had Mrs. Allan for my entire high school career, and she was one of my only friends in the entire school. It's actually quite sad if you think about it. I sighed, brushing my hair behind my ear.

Walking home that evening, humming a nameless melody, I saw something dart across my peripheral vision. I glanced around, but there was no one in sight. I dismissed it, assuring myself it was just a squirrel or some other small creature that had startled me, yet, the rest of the night, I felt strangely unsettled.

Author's Notes: Hey, everyone! Hope you liked chapter one! Due to exams, I probably won't be able to update until next week (ish), but I will remember to finish ch. 2! I know this story isn't very exciting yet, but it's only ch. one, so give me a break! lol ^^' Anyway, things WILL get exciting...just in due time. So be patient! Bye! :D