Chapter 3

Its been about three months since storm Cindy, and three months of murders. Schools across Harlin have reopened their door to welcome a fresh stream of students for the new year. Originally, the schools would be opening in September, but due to the damage caused by the storm as well as the slow progress caused by the murders, it finally opened in October.

The younger, less aware, kids were happy with the suspended term date, however, the same could not be said for the older more aware ones.

In the kindergarten and primary schools in Harlin, the scene was reminiscent of previous years for the children but was rife with tension and fear for the adults, both the teachers and parents. On the other hand, the secondary and college kids were more aware and as such, they felt fear the same as the adults. It was easy to notice the tension in front of the school as they slinked in, trying to be as unnoticeable as possible and the subdued silence that echoed in the halls, with sparse whispers from friends catching up.

Those whispers hush as a face never seen before walks down the halls towards a locker, indicating his status as a student. He is tall, taller than any other male currently within the school grounds, and dressed in black from head to toe. A few people brave the steps to get a better look at his appearance for the gossip mill. The new student looks to be incredibly handsome with pale aristocratic features, they discover that he has dark eyes as well as hair and clothes, giving an unfortunate likeness to a stereotypical vampire. Tall, dark, and handsome with incredibly pale skin. The news spread quickly among the students, as fingers flew on their phones, a photo was also sent in by the adventurous few.

At his appearance, several people looked up from their cliques in the hall or begun gossiping in the rooms for the different year levels.

"OMG!! He's so hot Gin, I can't even... D'you think he's single? He probably is, never seen him before so he's probably a new kid." said a brunette in the seniors' class.

"I know right? Where has he been all my life? It would have been nice to have that level of eye candy in this drab town." said Gin to her friend.

****

"Man, this sucks." said a dark-haired teen.

"What Jack?" said his friend.

"Dude's hot," said Jack.

"...Is there something you're not telling me?" said his friend.

****

"Hey Bella, Chloe giving you any more trouble this year?" said a bespectacled youth.

"Hi Jeremy, it's cool, better than last year. She might be getting bored of me," said Bella. "Though I won't hold my breath if not."

"Hmmph," said Chloe, who was secretly listening. 'She better not hold her breath', she thought.

****

In a classroom, a strawberry blonde teen was sat at the front reading a physics article, surrounded by whispers of A new kid.

'I hope this guy is smart, I hate dealing with idiots.

"Octavian! Have you heard about the new kid?!" said Jake, from the back of the room.

"No, I haven't heard of him. It's not like all of you were talking about him loudly or asking the rest of the class about him." said Octavian, still reading his article.

"Hey! No need to be so sarcastic, I was just asking..." said Jack, leaving Octavian alone as he went back to his friends.

****

Everyone watched the byplay with amusement, as Octavian is known to be sarcastic to all who dare to disturb his reading. It was interesting watching from the sidelines and temporarily distracted the gossip over the new person in the school.

As this was happening, a person walked into the room draped in black.

He walked unnoticed to a seat at the side, away from Octavian, and thus the spotlight created by the conversation. As soon as it was over, they all went back to their conversations and missed his arrival entirely.

Time went by quickly, as the bell signaling the first rang and the teacher came in with the name list for roll call.

During roll call, everyone was surprised when an unfamiliar name was called and even more so when a deep, rich unfamiliar voice responded. Almost synonymously everyone in the class, teacher included, turned to look at the person who had the misfortune to move to Harlin just before a serial killer appeared.

The pale skin looked flawless under the morning sun, which was further enhanced by his dark hair acting as a halo around his face. His hands looked extremely pale, almost white as they peeked out from the black sleeves of his long-sleeved shirt and jacket combo, as he leaned against his desk looking languid as he watched the class assess him with half-closed onyx eyes, shielded with thick dark eyelashes.

He looked like a black and white fantasy painting come to life, all elegance, indifference, and whimsy, taking the breath of all present. As he moved to cross his legs as he sat, the glimpses of lean muscle further enticed his audience, his black jeans rose higher revealing a similarly pale ankle above his black shoes and socks.

****

The classes eventually continued. Each teacher having similar reactions to him, more intense however were the art teachers who were stunned by his looks and wanted to paint a portrait of him. During the class changeover, the students who would see him for the first time would stare in shock.

The students who had the same class as he did previously, always looked forward to this reaction. School passed in this manner as very few people were able to pay attention in class with him in the room, the gossip reached a fevered pitch as students who had classes with him sung praises about his looks. He did not eat at the cafeteria, so more were curious. By the time school was over, almost everyone stared at the entrance to watch him leave.

That was how Harlin High spent their day, with the sole exception of the new student, Gabriel Harleigh.