CHAPTER TWO

We arrive at school after about twenty minutes of driving, and I don't know what to think. Students are walking around, smiling and talking, looking happy to see their friends, and some of them were embracing and holding each other tight. My eyes linger on those people, thinking of the friend that I had lost and it makes me notice how long it has been since I had been hugged. They looked so excited to see each other again. I couldn't remember the last time I had been excited about anything. Maybe a book? A movie? I didn't think those counted.

I look around and I'm a bit overwhelmed by the number of people I see. There are a lot more students than I expected, and I was willing to bet that there were a lot more in the building.

But I suppose I should have expected it, what with this being a public school and all. David and Sarah had wanted to put me in a private school but since Michael goes here it felt weird and I rejected the offer.

But still, going to school with this many people felt a bit much. Though this meant there was less chance of me getting noticed, that was an upside I supposed.

I breathe slowly through my nose, trying to calm my heartbeat. Michael notices. Of course, he does. He doesn't miss anything.

"Are you nervous?" He asks and I raise my eyebrows, surprised. I didn't think he cared. Most of the time he acted as if he didn't even know I existed.

"No, of course not," I lie, not convincingly. He looks at me for a while, his face slightly skeptical then, without saying a word he grabs his bag, opens his door, and gets out of the car. I blink after him, slightly surprised but not really.

He is a weird and unpredictable person. I never know what to expect from him.

Now, in the solidarity of the car, I rest my head against the headboard of my seat and take another deep breath. After a moment I grab my own bag

and exit the car after him.

My eyes immediately land on Micheal before I even try to look for him. He's a bit hard to lose in a crowd because of his height. I was in no way short-I was five foot nine-but even I had to crane my neck to look up at him. Michael is staring up at the school, several feet away from me, but then he abruptly turns to me. "You have English first period. Do you want me to take you?"

I slowly nod, "That would be great, thanks." It's not like I was going to refuse. I'd probably wander around for hours if I'm alone, lost. That's how big this place was. My old school was tiny in comparison to this.

Michael shrugs and starts walking towards the building. I follow him a few feet behind. I look around and notice that people are staring. Not at me, but him. At Michael. Lots of people, though he doesn't seem to notice, or maybe he gets stared at a lot and he's used to it. It's not like I'm surprised. He really was good looking. He was a bit on the skinny side and his short dark messy hair looked soft. His eyes were also nice, I supposed. A shade of brown so dark it almost looked black. It almost felt like you could get lost in those eyes if you stare at them long enough.

Now though, I try not to look at anything and keep my head down. If people notice him, then I don't want to be associated with him. I'm trying not to be noticed. If I get noticed then the chances are high that I won't be accepted. I'd rather just be ignored. I didn't even know why I cared so much about being accepted. I wasn't always like this.

I glance up a little and see a guy walk up to Michael and stop him. So I stop too, still a few feet away, like a weird shadow. They exchange a few words and somehow I get the feeling they're talking about me. Then, just as I think that they both look over at me.

Now that I look closely at the guy I recognize him, he's Michael's friend, Simon. The one who came over to the house.

He smiles and waves me over.

I slowly walk up to them, trying not to be awkward but obviously I was failing. Michael isn't looking at me and he's not looking at Simon either. He's just staring into space. He does that a lot.

"Hey!" I blink, taking my attention away from Michael a bit shocked at the enthusiasm with which that word was spoken. Simon is smiling at me, rather wide and it actually looks genuine. It's been a while since I've seen a genuine smile. Sarah is always faking it and David's is...I'm not sure if his is genuine or not but it does look like it most of the time.

I have never seen Michael smile. My forehead crinkles at the thought. I have never seen Michael's smile. Michael never smiles. How had I never noticed that before?

"Lia, right?" Simon goes on, taking my attention back to him. "I'm Simon. I once came over to your house?"

It's not my house, though I don't tell him that.

"Yeah, I- I remember you," I stutter then nod. His smile dims a little at my lack of enthusiasm and he looks a bit confused. After a while, he clears his throat.

"Right, um....well," he looks at Michael, but Michael is not paying attention to us. " I'll see you later, then."

He waves and walks off.

"Come on," Michael says, heading towards the school once again. I sigh and follow behind him staying a few feet behind.

T

his was going to be a long, long day.