CHAPTER ONE

“Good morning!” Norabel said brightly, descending the stairs to the kitchen. Her deep copper hair flanked her face as her long legs ate the stairs, closing the distance between her and Marisa. This wasn’t hard to do as she was five feet ten inches tall with hazel brown eyes.

“Oh! Look! She is awake,” Marisa smiled. Her blue eyes sparkled as she looked proudly at her beautiful eighteen years old daughter who had a knack for trouble with so much love. Nora didn’t look anything like her physically. Marisa was six inches shorter than her. Nora got her physique from her father.

“Relax mum, I’m not late,” Nora said as she went to the fridge. She always woke up very early to go for a run but some mornings, like today, a girl just wanted to sleep in.

“Did I say anything?” she replied, rolling her honey blonde hair to a bun.

“You don’t have to. I can tell when you are being sarcastic.” She brought out a carton of juice from the fridge and emptied it into a cup.

“Ha-ha, funny.” Marisa’s porcelain white skin dazzled from the sun’s reflection as she walked across the kitchen to her.

“That was another one,” she smirked.

“Here,” Marisa handed her a plate of toast and omelette.

“Thank you,” she said, collecting the plate.

They sat down, opposite each other on the small dining table in the kitchen to have their breakfast.

“Have you made a decision?” Marisa took a bite of her toast.

“No, not yet” she replied airily, sipping her juice. She knew what her mother’s question meant. Her college applications.

“Norabel, you have to make a decision, before those applications close,” Marisa said. Her daughter had gotten offers from three colleges, but she was yet to make up her mind on which one to attend.

“I know, mum. I will.” As much as Nora wanted more out of life than being a suburban wife, she was not ready to say goodbye to high school and her life at Meadowville. It was the only life she knew, except when she travelled to New York to visit her aunt Lucy and her son, Mark. Or maybe something else was holding her back from deciding. She always had a feeling that going to college was not the next stop. She didn’t know what that next step was, but she was sure it wasn’t going to college or maybe she was just another high school girl, afraid of the unknown world of grownups.

“Alright,” Marisa said, trying not to be pushy, “just know you can’t keep putting it off.” She sipped her coffee.

Nora folded her lips and nodded in reply. She sniffed and continued with her breakfast, pushing aside the burden of deciding which college to attend when her senior year ends. Nora swept the kitchen with her gaze; it was her home. The Bennetts’ house was located on the west side of a town called Meadowville. A three-bedroom, two-story duplex with pale blue French bricks exterior and blue scaled roof. The living room and kitchen were downstairs, separated by a wall partition while the three bedrooms and a study were upstairs. A straight stair, two feet opposite the partition wall, led upstairs, linking both floors together. The kitchen to the left side of the stairs and living room to its right. The house interior was placid blue with grey tile. A big brown U-couch was placed in the living room and in front of it was a flat-screen TV, a black modern stereo set and a brick fireplace. Framed pictures, most of which were Nora and Marisa’s and two of Thomas, lined a section of the interior wall.

“I will be home late from work today,” Marisa changed the subject. Marisa worked at The Frontier, a newspaper company in the town where she mostly kept to herself. Lucy and Mark are the only family Nora knew.

“Why?” she looked at Marisa suspiciously. “Is something wrong?” Nora always met her mother at home when she got back from school. Telling her she would be home late meant something was out of place.

“No. Nothing is wrong,” she took a bit from her last piece of toast. “The company wants me to write an article on animal attacks.” Meadowville was a small quiet town where nothing ever happened. Until about two months ago when frequent reports of bear sighting and strange animal attacks in the town’s forest reserve caused hysteria in the minds of the townspeople. Geographically, there should not be any wild animal in the Reserve and there had not been a single report of wild animal attack or bear sighting in the town for years.

“Oh Okay.” Nora’s mind flashed back to the latest attack that happened two weeks ago which left the town in a state of frenzy. A forest reserve ranger, Mr Henshaw, was rushed to the ER at Meadowville Medical Centre with deep claw marks across his chest and a 3rd-degree burns on his face. It was like wax melted on his face. He claimed he was attacked by a wild bear with acidic saliva. Nobody believed him because a wild bear with acidic saliva sounded preposterous. It was ruled as another animal attack, although nobody in town bought the story. Everybody knew something bizarre was going on in town.

It was 7:45 am on Thursday, Marisa pulled up in front of Meadow High with Nora in the front seat. Like always, Nora insisted on going alone or with the school bus. But ever since she poked a boy who wanted to take her lunch with a fork, on the school bus in her 4th grade, Marisa never allowed to her take the school bus. Except, she was going with her best friend Ruby, who lived three streets from the Bennetts. Nora sometimes walked there in the morning and they’d walk to school together.

Nora checked her face in the rear-view mirror, turning her cheeks to make sure her makeup was in place, while Marisa stared at her with a mixed facial expression of amusement and worry. “Is there a boy?” she asked facetiously. “Because if there is a boy, I will understand what all the makeup is about.” Marisa knew there was no boy. Nora found it difficult to connect with some emotions. Feelings related to love crested the other incomprehensible emotions.

“Very funny mum,” Nora said adjusting her lip gloss and eyeliner. One of the few things Nora shared with most girls her age, was paying attention to her look.

“I am serious. I wish there was a boy,” Marisa said. Nora had height, excellent shape and a slender figure covered by her tanned beige skin. She wasn’t lacking any attributes, physically. Ruby had voiced her jealousy- more than once, of Nora’s curvy chest and beauty. Marisa could not figure out why her stunning daughter didn’t have boys flocking around her. Not that Nora didn’t have boys that would battle themselves to have her, she just wasn’t into feelings.

“Uhm-hum, I can tell. Because I am not interested in emotional attachment with boys doesn’t mean I can’t give them something to drool over.” She puffed her flowing hair girlishly with her right hand.

“Oh God,” Marisa rolled her eyes, “please don’t say, ‘not interested in boys’.” She turned her head to her side window, to the students trooping inside the school while she waited for Nora to be done with her pageantry touch-ups. She read the school’s sign, Welcome to Meadow High, Home of the Falcons. The sign was painted in red and gold, the school’s colour. The school was the only public high school in town. There wasn’t much to decide when Marisa wanted to enrol Nora in school. “Isn’t that McKwosiki?” she squinted her eyes to get a proper view of the huge untidy boy.

Nora followed her mother’s gaze, “Humph! Yeah, it’s him.” She packed up her bag.

“Is he still a bully?”

Nora laughed. “Not after what I did to him.” McKwosiki was three times Nora’s body weight. Everybody was worried for Nora when she challenged him to a fight to end his era of bullying, two years ago. They were sure he would knock her into oblivion and everybody except Nora felt that way. The boy landed a few punches on her during the fight but she did not stop until she was able to put him down.

Marisa scoffed, “Yeah, I remembered the fight got you one-month detention for having a fight club in school. You should be proud of yourself,” she said sarcastically.

She sighed, “Those were good times. School is boring now.” Nora’s school Principal, Mrs Holmes, told her and McKwosiki when they were called to her office that even though her cause was right, she attracts trouble wherever she goes. Nora made a final adjustment to the denim jacket she wore over a teal top and black jean. The top brought out her round and full chest. Finally done, she gave her mother a smile that had achievement carved in it. “Thanks, mum,” she opened the door and stepped out of the car, “bye.”

“Bye honey, love you.”

“Love you.” Nora took her first step away from the car and waved at her mum while she started her car engine. Nora was halfway down the stony pedestrian path that led inside the school when she heard her mum called her.

“Norabel!”

She wheeled back to her direction.

“Please, don’t fight today,” she pointed her index finger at Nora.

“Pffft! Very funny mum.” Now Nora was being sarcastic, she knew Marisa was not joking. “Fine, I won’t,” she said, raising both hands when she saw her mum’s unwavering warning look.

“Bye.” Marisa was not convinced, but she smiled at Nora anyway and drove off. Her daughter was as tough as nails and could not stand what was not right. Although, this often got Nora in trouble and Marisa having to visit her school more often than other parents because her daughter fought for “a good cause,” a part of her was proud of her for always standing up for what was right.

Nora took long and fast paces through the hallway, passing by students and some of her colleagues, most of whom she started 1st grade with. Meadow High like every High school had different groups. The nerds, the jocks, the gothics, the cheerleaders, loners, gamers, class clowns, skaters and the means girls, all roaming the corridor before the start of the first period. And then, there was Nora, the girl who did not conform to any clique.

A lanky boy had his head buried in his phone as he tapped its screen unceasingly with both thumbs. He almost collided with another guy, a skater with a black beanie. “Hey! Watch it!” the skater shouted, whooshing past the lanky boy.

“You are not supposed to skate in the hallway!” the lanky boy retorted, then continued walking. He would have bumped into Nora if she had not seen him. She held him back by the shoulders to avoid walking into him. The boy felt her hands on his shoulders and looked up.

“George, you are multitasking again,” Nora said with a smile.

“Nora! Hey. I’m sorry but I’m almost at level 45 of this game. I had a bet with Will that I am going to get to level 60 before we graduate,” George said. “And that is in two months,” he stressed.

“And what did Will bet with?” Nora asked.

“Said he will give me five hundred—”

Nora laughed. “You know Will doesn’t have that kind of money.”

“I do but I’m waiting for the second part of the bet. He said he will give me five hundred and run around the school,” he grinned, “naked.”

Nora chortled, “You want to see your best friend run around the school naked?”

“A bet is a bet,” he shrugged. “Even though I don’t want to,” he gestured, his phone firmly clasped in his right hand, “I’m positive our class will thank me and forever remember an epic event at graduation, when Will shows them his dangling luggage,” he smirked.

Nora cracked up, “Alright, good luck. Watch your step.”

“Will do,” George resumed his game and walked away.

“Hey Nora!” another student greeted as she walked past her.

“Hi Heather,” she waved at her.

At the red locker hallway, a short guy stood in front of his locker, staring at the combination lock. He entered a combination number and pulled the door but it didn’t open. He scratched his hair confusedly as Nora walked to him. “Rakesh,” she called him.

“I forgot again,” Rakesh reported, on seeing Nora.

“5678.”

Rakesh slapped his head, “Ah! Yes!” Nora smiled as he entered his locker’s passcode. “Thanks, Nora,” Rakesh said with a smile, opening his locker.

“Anytime.” Rakesh’s locker was beside Nora’s and he always forgot his locker’s code. She had memorized it for him, just in case and that had saved Rakesh several trips to the janitor’s office. Nora opened her locker and picked the books she would need for the day.

“Nora!” Ruby squealed, walking and running at the same time towards her. Marisa was the only person that called her Norabel. She preferred Nora and introduced herself such. “Hey-you!” Ruby said cheerily. They had been friends since 8th grade. Ruby was the first student to join her crusade against the school for not allowing females to join the wrestling team. Nora had wanted to join the wrestling team but she was turned down because of her gender. She led two days sit down strike in front of the Principal’s office with few of her classmates she was able to strong-arm into joining her protest. Ruby was the first to join willingly and they had been friends since then.

“Why are you in such a good mood?” She shut her locker after she was done and gasped, “Did you sneak out to meet up with Chase again last night?”

“Well…” Ruby replied with a giggle that confirmed that she did sneak out to meet up with Chase, her Bliss High— the only other high school in town and privately owned—, boyfriend. Chase’s and Ruby’s relationship was a bit difficult. They hardly got to see each other, except they met up after school. Even that was always a hasty affair as it was usually too late to spend meaningful time together because of Ruby’s 7 o'clock curfew. The only option was to sneak out after claiming to go to bed or to do homework. In Nora’s opinion, Ruby enjoyed the thrill of sneaking out to meet up with a bad boy than the actual relationship.

“Thanks, Nora,” Rakesh said, running off without a reply.

“He forgot his combination again?” Ruby asked.

Nora smiled with a nod. They walked down the locker hallway, to their first class. “How many times have you done this now?” Nora asked.

“Done what?”

“Sneak out.”

“I don’t know,” Ruby replied casually as they walked into Biology class, “lost count after 6 times.”

“I’ve got to say, I am impressed.” Nora took a seat and Ruby did same beside her. “Thought you would have been caught by your parents by now.”

Ruby laughed. “I’m good at what I do,” she said wittily, crossing her legs and revealing a larger part of her thigh left bare by her mini skirt.

Nora giggled. “Just be careful. I don’t want you to break your leg while jumping off a window.”

“Says the girl who once dived into a water hole from a cliff just to prove a point.” she snickered, “Yeah I will be careful.”

“Good morning guys!” Mr Roy their Biology teacher walked into the class, interrupting Nora’s chance to defend herself from Ruby’s last sarcastic comment. “Turn to page 72.”

Biology was Nora’s favourite subject but that did not stop her mind from drifting throughout the class that day. She mulled over which college to choose; did she even want to go to college? She once decided that if she would settle for an ordinary life, she would join the navy. She knew Marisa would not take that well. Anyway, that was what second choices were for and hers’ was to be a Biologist or study Medicine. With her grades, she could get into medical school.

After Biology class, it was Mathematics. Nora listened to her Math’s teacher for a while before her mind wandered off again. Nora didn’t subscribe to the idea that life should be straightforward. Go to school, graduate, get married- although love and feelings were not her things, pop a few babies and that was it? The idea of living her life like that was too ordinary- for lack of a better word- and boring. She was meant for something more peculiar and unconventional.