New Beginning

"Wolves may feature in our myths,

Our history and our dreams,

But they have their own future,

Their own loves,

Their own dreams to fulfill."

--Anthony Miles

I stepped off the school bus that had pulled up in the high schools turning driveway.

The high school was rectangular and square in shape, its brown stone walls covered in sheets of twisting green ivy. Its sign was a polished rock in the front lawn. "Delamater High School, established 1853." Was scratched into the glossy rocks face.

I sighed as I walked up the path that was lined with wiry bushes that no longer had their glossy leaves as winter slowly started to seep through autumn. The unfamiliar doors weren't inviting even with the brass template on the side of the wall that read: Welcome.

The inside wasn't much different. The office was right in front of the doors, a woman with silver shaded curly hair was seated at the front desk, typing at the out dated computer.

She looked up at my approached and smiled. "You must be Heaven Ackland."

I slowly nodded as I flipped my silvery flaxen hair over my shoulder. "Yeah,"

"Well welcome to Delamater, have you liked the city so far?" The woman asked as her fingers started typing frantically and her eyes were glued to the computer screen.

"It's alright." I murmured with a shrug of my slight shoulders.

"Well you'll find this school much smaller then your last one, that's for sure." The secretary muttered. "Oh and I'm Mrs. Apple, sorry for not introducing myself sooner."

"It's ok," I said back as I let my blue eyes wander around the square welcome area that led to a stair case in the corner and two hallways, one opposite to the doors and the other right beside the secretary desk.

"Well here is your schedule and a school map." Mrs. Apple said as she handed me a small pile of eggshell white paper. "If you have any problems, ask any of the teachers or even the students."

I nodded as I flipped through the papers nonchalantly. "Thank-you Mrs. Apple,"

Mrs. Apple beamed. "No problem dear, now you better hurry before you miss the beginning of your first period class."

I started toward the stair case and climbed them at an even pace. Students passed me quickly as I finally came to the upstairs hall, searching for my locker.

I found it easily, after being in a school with over a thousand students a school this size with only a meager number for four hundred students seemed like nothing. Compared to the High School on the other side of the city this one seemed a little dumpy. Which was why I had insisted on going here instead of the big school, I needed a change, a desperate one.

I shoved my books onto the top shelf of my locker and hung my backpack on the little hook that looked to fragile to hold the weight of an empty backpack, let alone one filled with text books. Surprisingly, the hook didn't even sag.

The bell clattered and bounced off the narrow walls of the hallway. Students quickened their paces toward class, not wanting to be late.

Sighing again I grabbed my binder and looked at my schedule to read the room number that had been assigned to me for home room. First class was science, typical bad luck there.

The classroom was almost full when I slipped in the door, just before the bell rang again to tell the students that they should be in class by now and were now late.

Picking a seat in the back, I tried to look as invisible as much as possible, not wishing to draw any attention to myself. The less people noticed me, the more pleasant my stay in Delamater would be.

The teacher started going on about some chemistry topic concerning the periodic table. I bent over my paper and wrote whatever was necessary that would allow me to pass the class. Mostly I doodled, drawing a picture that I always drew.

The door crashed open, right in the middle of the period. A girl with golden brown hair, freckles covering her entire face and was a bit chubby came in like a hurricane, her freckled face red and her breathing labored.

"Well, Miss. Carter how nice for you to join us." The teacher said whose name I had forgotten entirely.

The girl was still gasping for breath but she still managed to apologize to the teacher and sit down in the only empty seat left in class, the seat beside mine.

I edged the edge of my seat, the closeness of the girl not welcomed. The girl seemed totally unaware of my obvious discomfort of her being so close and instead she looked sideways to my picture before I could quickly cover it with my hands.

"That's good." The girl breathed as the teacher wrote down the work on the board and had finally stopped talking. "I'm Daisy Carter."

"I'm Heaven Ackland." I whispered as I uncovered the sketch of the pair of wolves I had drawn on the scrap piece of paper.

"You're new." Daisy said with a nod of her head her tawny eyes glowing. "How do you like Delamater?"

I rolled her eyes. Was everybody going to ask this question? "I like it fine."

Daisy didn't seem to be deterred by my curt reply and started going on about the things to do in Delamater. I just nodded along as I did my work; Daisy needed little encouragement to keep a conversation going.

The bell rang, ending the period and I got up from my seat and headed toward the door, Daisy following close to my heels.

"What's your next class?" she asked as they as she followed me down the hallway toward the staircase.

"Art." I said as I glanced quickly at my schedule again.

"Damn," Daisy huffed. "I have English." She then instantly brightened. "But I'll meet you up in the cafeteria for lunch ok?"

I nodded as we came to my classroom. "I guess I'll see you later?"

Daisy nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, I'll see you then."

I stepped into the classroom which was setted up with four long pine tables that had eight plastic orange chairs around them. Only a few kids were in the class and were talking animatedly to each other.

I walked by them and settled in the farthest seat in the top left corner, pulling out my sketch pad and got back to work on the picture of the two wolves. I blocked out the other students conversations as I got consumed by the intricate work of the sketch.

I didn't notice a boy, who looked to young to even be in high school sit beside me. "What ya drawing?" He asked as he leaned sideways to look at the drawing.

I jerked my head up in complete surprise as I found myself staring at a boyish youthful face with calm hazel eyes. He was young, having not of lost the baby fat in his face yet.

His eyes clouded with interest as he stared at me and then quickly glanced down at the picture, so quick that I almost missed the movement all together. "Nice picture." He whispered his voice low and sincere.

"Thank-you," I replied, studying him with stiff interest. He was wearing only black, black plain t-shirt matched with a pair of black jeans that had gaping holes in the knees. His black hair was long and pulled back by a piece of rawhide to make an attractive low pony tail. To sum it up, he was beautiful.

The class went by in a blur, the teacher talking about shades of colour and how to match them.

The boy that wore only black was quiet during the whole class as he sketched and half listened to the teacher.

The clatter of the bell made me jump as I stared at my watch; it had gone to quick for it to actually be lunch time. In my surprise I had let go of my sketch pad, letting it land on the floor making a dull soft thud.

"Here, let me get that for you." The boy said as he stooped down and picked up the sketch pad and offered it to me with an out stretched hand.

"Oh, thank-you," I said as I stretched out my hand to retrieve my sketch pad, my fingers only just touching his quickly. Powerful energy zapped through my arm to my heart making it jerk in my chest, I pulled my arm away from him quickly, holding tight onto my sketch pad.

His expression was unreadable as he stood up and pushed his chair in, swinging his backpack effortlessly over his shoulder. "I'll see you around."

I nodded, my face burning hot as I ducked down trying to hide my embarrassment by shoving my sketch pad back into my bag.

Daisy was waiting for me in the cafeteria at a table which occupied just three other girls.

"Hey Heaven, over here!" She called across the vast room as she waved her arm back in forth, beckoning to me.

I walked over with my full lunch tray in my hands and sat down beside Daisy. Daisy quickly made the introductions but I forgot the other girl's names as quickly as Daisy told them to me.

One of the girls leaned across the table, staring at me with awe. "So where did you move from?"

"Alaska." I said as I opened my milk carton and stuffed a straw in it.

"Alaska!" The girl squealed with enthusiasm. "What was it like there?"

"It was really, really beautiful." I said with feeling. "It was really beautiful there during the summer, but in the winter the snow was so clean and made these great snow drifts it was just breath taking."

"So why did you move?" Daisy asked, finally asking a question concerning me and not about herself.

"Dad got a job transfer." I said with a shrug.

That seemed to end the speculation of me and the girls finally started talking about shopping and then started arguing about the recent romantic comedy movies that were playing at the local movie theater.

I was happy about the new turn of the conversation and made comments whenever they applied. Mostly I ate my fries and looked around the cafeteria until I came upon the table in the dark, far corner of the large square room.

Four boys sat at the table, eating their lunches. One of them was the much younger boy that had sat beside me in art. He was arguing with the tall black boy beside him, obviously mad about something. The boy he was arguing with was almost ignoring him as he ate, only pausing to talk which infuriated the boy more.

"Who are they?" I asked Daisy as the girls conversation finally came to a pause.

Daisy looked to where I was pointing to and shrugged. "I don't know them really, just that they have weird nicknames for each other and that they belong to this weird gang outside of school."

The girl with the short brown hair, the one who had asked about Alaska spoke up. "The youngest over there is only thirteen but unbelievably smart. His older brother owns a car repair garage over on the bad side of the city."

"He sits beside me in art." I said as I continued to stare at the table. One of the boys that had his back turned to me, looked over his shoulder and stared at me with a curious look.

I blushed and quickly looked away and turned back to the girls who had changed the subject back again to shopping.

Third and fourth periods went quickly as well and I soon found myself on the school bus again, this time heading for home.

The second day of school was almost identical of the first. I kept to the back to the class in science and Daisy talked excitedly about getting going shopping on Saturday and asked me if I wanted to come.

Before I could decline, the bell rang saving me from an answer as I quickly rushed to art class.

The boy was there already, playing with his pencil be rolling it back and forth between his large hands on the table.

I hesitated then sat in the same seat I had been in the day before, right beside the boy.

"Hey," He greeted, beaming.

"Hi," I said, blushing as I pulled out my art supplies and placing them onto the table.

"I forgot to introduce myself yesterday." He apologized. "My names Spiral."

I frowned, that was a strange name. "My name is Heaven."

"Nice name," He acknowledged as he grinned impishly at me.

"Thank-you," I said as I placed my pencil case onto the table. "Yours is…interesting."

Spiral laughed, his hazel eyes glowing. "It's a nickname, my real name is Anthony but I beg you to never ever call me that."

I couldn't help but laugh back. "I saw you yesterday at lunch."

"Yeah, Tyr said you were looking at us." Spiral said with a shrug of his broad shoulders as he looked down at the table.

"Sorry," I apologized quickly, wondering if I had crossed an invisible line with him.

Spiral quickly shook his head. "No apology necessary, me and Hawk were just arguing as per usual."

"Hawk and I," I corrected. "I thought you were supposed to be smart."

"What kind of garbage has been shoved down your ears?" Spiral asked his eyes amused.

"That you're thirteen, really smart and you belong to a gang." I confessed, for some reason talking to this boy was way too natural.

"I belong to a gang?" Spiral demanded in mock dismay. "I've never heard that one before."

I blushed furiously. "I didn't mean…"

Spiral broke in. "Don't worry about it, its just that I've never considered the guys a gang really. Hard to think of the only family you have ever known as a gang really but I guess that's the impression people looking in would get."

"Only family you've ever known?" I questioned curious to what he actually meant. "What about your parents?"

Spiral hesitated, his eyes storming over as he pondered over whether to confide in me or not. "They died what I was born really, and my brother has looked after me ever since."

"I can sympathize." I said my voice filled with sympathy. "I was adopted and I've never known my real parents."

"Sorry to hear that." Spiral whispered as the class started and we had to stop talking.

The rest of the day just repeated the first from that moment on.


"How was the second day?" my mom, Gertrude Ackland asked at dinner as the small family sat at the dining room table eating lasagna.

"Fine," I said as I stirred the half eaten food on my plate.

"Just fine," Sam Ackland questioned, casting a concerned look at his me and then to his wife.

"Yeah, just fine," I repeated.

"Make any new friends?" My mother persisted as she stood up and gathered up her and her husbands clean plates to take to the kitchen.

"One, I guess." I said her as I stared at my plate with deep concentration. "He's thirteen, really smart and his name is Anthony but he insists on being called Spiral."

"That's cute." My mother commented as she cleared the rest of the table.

"I'm going to go do some homework." I mumbled as I excused myself from the dining room table and gracefully went up the stairs to my bedroom. My bedroom was painted white, something I would have to fix later when we got more settled in.

There wasn't much homework and I was done in a matter of hours. Bored, I climbed into bed after pulling on an old pair of flannel pajamas. I remembered yesterday when I had accidentally touched Spiral, the way my heart had responded so violently. I tried to hold onto the feeling as I drifted into the welcoming darkness of sleep.