Chapter 1

Cassandra’s POV

As I was getting ready to get out of my dad’s car, I noticed the blood red doors to the entry of the high school. The glass windows grew from the ground up to the top of the building. The structure was solid and towering over most of the trees that surrounded the building. It left a dark vast shadow on the grass, the students all looked bored and over with school though it was only 7:30 in the morning. I shrugged off the feeling I had in my gut, it was not my first-time moving countries and schools, but my anxiety rises with ever new building I enter, new students, new friends, new life; everything seemed awful. I never had the chance to have a real friend or boyfriend for that matter. I barely was able to open all my boxes from home with clothes and books since in a matter of months my parents would always announce a new ‘’adventure’’ as they called it, and everything would come crushing down. Everything I would build of myself during the time I would spend in one place it would not matter for shit since I had to start all over again , it felt like a was in this time loop and every so often it would reset itself , only with every time around I would feel like I was losing my mind more and more with every turn I started of this game my parents called life.

Nonetheless I grabbed my backpack from the floor, it was this washed black backpack with silver zippers and a small design of a white thread creating a design all over the bag. I gulped down the sick feeling in my throat and with one swift move of my wrist I pushed the car door open and placed my black converse shoes on the ground. I pulled my long hair to the side; it was this dark black hair that cascaded on my back toward the end of my waist.

‘’ Have a good day sweetheart, and remember, don’t stress yourself over anything just be calm meet new people and enjoy your day.’’ My dad said as I closed the door with a small smile on my face, knowing that I have heard this phrase twice already this year. I guess third time is a charm, until New Year’s Eve hopefully.

As I walked past people, I could already learn which groups go where, it was quite simple by now guessing who was popular, who was a nerd, who was into theatre and so on. As I pushed past this blonde-haired girl that had a loudest mouth, I could ever hear her arm grabbed my bag and yanked the backpack off my shoulder.

‘’ You know, is awfully rude to walk past people and not present yourself. As I am looking around you are the only stranger here and since we are the ones who don’t know you, we should at least get the name of the girl who pushes people to get in this school.’’ Her face was covered in those never-ending layers of foundation, she had this smug smirk on her face as if she just said the smartest thing in class, it almost made me laugh but decided to bite down on my own lip.

‘’ Last time I checked the area for chatting is on the benches, but I guess everyone has their own rules, and my name at the moment is none of your concern since I, myself, don’t know your name so I guess we owe nothing to one another.’’ and with that I walked past the click and entered the red doors.

‘’ Miss Cromwell? the office is to your right, please follow me so I can get you your class schedule for the week. ‘’ said this thin short person, I think it was miss Bardo, from what I knew she was meant to help me with my first days in class since my mom happened to know her. She seemed like a nice lady, she had this dark orange suit on with her small bag in her hand, her glasses would sit on the far end of her nose which made it easy to notice her dark brown eyes that had a warm look. She had this long curly hair tied in a cute vintage bun and mostly you could hear her from the small heels she wore.

‘’ Um... sure, I apologize for being late.’’ I replied as she grabbed my hand to lead me through the door.

‘’ Miss Cromwell, this is our head office Mister Thatcher, he will give you the needed paper and the map for our school. Now, please wait for one of you classmates to help you out for today. ‘’ and with that she just vanished outside of the room with only her sweet perfume scent left in the air for a few seconds.

Once I was left alone with Thatcher, he just started explaining everything I needed to know, as if I could keep up with the speed and tone of his voice. Nonetheless he placed the papers on the table and excused himself. All I had to do now is wait for that someone to help me out.

‘’ Hi, I’m Irene, I will be your classmate for most of your classes this semester. ‘’ said this gentle voice behind me. As I turned around there she was, this quite thin person with ginger long hair cascading on her chest, she had this green t-shirt on with an unknown band on it and some cherry red trousers. On top she had this jacket that almost looked like it has a story to tell, and her stature was tall but not taller than mine, her hands were in her pockets, and she just smiles at me.

‘’ Hi, I’m Cassandra, but I prefer to be called Cass. ‘’ I said handing out my left hand for a shake.

As we walked through to corridors, she started explaining what classes we had that day. Our first-class English, then we had Math, Biology and History, after we had our lunch break and soon our P.E. Great … I forgot to bring a note explaining why I hate P.E, well you know better said why I ‘’ can’t ‘’ take P.E. classes.

As I entered the classroom, I decided to take a middle seat more in the back of the class, to be honest I would much rather mind my own business than for them to get that much in my own business. Luckily for me Irene sat right next to me. I pulled out my notebook and decided to sit down for a quick chat with her.

‘’ So, I heard you move around often, where was the last place you stayed at?’’

‘’ Well in the past eight months I moved twice, well three times counting this, from January until May we stayed in Norway, and we moved to Germany, so I guess this is our present stop, though it’s not my first time living in North Dakota. We stayed here for a while when I was about 7 years old.’’ I explained.

‘’ Wow, you do seem to travel a lot. I also moved once but I did not live that far away from here, only like a four-hour drive. My grandparents still live there though. ‘’ Irene smiles as we seemed to get along quite well.

Not long after, the class started to fill up with more people, and from the corner of my eye I happened to notice this person, he was quite something might I say, he had this dark brown hair with this muscular face structure, his eyes were this mesmerizing green, the one deeper than any forest I have ever seen, he had red stained lips almost like a bitten cherry. He was quite tall, might I say around 6.2 ft, I noticed from the way his shirt hugged his body, he did seem to work out quite well. As I was looking at him, it felt like time stopped for a while. All I could notice were his black converse just like mine and this musky forest scent from the cologne he wore.

‘’ We have a gazer apparently.’’ Irene laughed as I pushed her with my finger.

‘’ Who is he though?’’

‘’ That is William Elordi, he is something else I do have to admit. I have my eyes on Jasper his mate, the tall blonde guy with those ocean eyes. They are from a group that is quite untouchable, they don’t really chat with anyone else apart from themselves, as in the group you just saw walk in. The other guy with black hair is Bruno, he generally is awfully quiet; the other guy that has ginger hair and the tattoo on his shoulder is Caleb and the other one that is wearing a red t-shirt and a hat that covers his hazel hair is Malik. Might I say they are kind of like a pack and Will leads the way around the school.’’ She explained as they passed by us. I honestly feel like they just heard every word she said because the look on their faces seemed to say it all.

I sunk in my chair as my cheeks flashed red, feeling as if he knew what I asked. Not that it mattered but to be honest, the way he looked just got me in a state of lust. Suddenly, I hear the door slam shut and our English teacher made his way to his desk in front of the class. He seemed scary; the way he was holding his notes prepared to give us a test that we will never forget.

‘’ Good day everyone, not so nice to see you all since I can already tell how excited you are for this new semester. Luckily for you we have a new student ready to start the day, I hope. Her name is Cassandra Cromwell.’’ He said as he pointed to my chair. My head froze in its place and all I could do was raise my hand as if I just placed a flag at my table, so they all knew who he was talking about.

William’s POV

As I walked in the class with my mates, I noticed a new girl in our classroom, she was chatting with Irene. She looks to be a tall girl but not so tall, with a fit figure, her long black hair cascaded to her waist creating small loose curls all over the places. Her green hazel eyes seemed to look all over the place as I heard Irene talking about us. I could almost hear her heart beat out of her chest as she noticed I was looking at her, her small hands fidgeting with the pen in her hands. I smiled in my head for a second as I turned my attention to Caleb who was talking about our plans for the weekend.

As I walked past them a breeze from the window and hit her hair, my nose filled with her sweet yet earthy smell from the perfume she was using. For a second, I stopped and wonder who she might be, but as soon as my thought left my brain our English teacher let us know she was Cassandra Cromwell, our new classmate, though I noticed Irene called her Cass, probably that is how she likes it. As I started to place the books on the table our English teacher told us that for next week, we have a project coming up.

‘’ For next week I shall be placing you in groups of two people and we will be having a debate on a book depending on what each think of the book. The Handmaid’s Tale is the book you shall be writing a report on. Now, please write your name on a piece of paper and place it in the glass jar on my desk please. ‘’he said as he mentioned to the jar placed on the left side of the desk. We all knew what it meant, making pairs in the order that he picks the papers … great.

Cassandra’s POV

I finished writing my name on the paper and as I got up from the chair and placed my name in the jar I accidentally pumped into Will.

‘’ OMG, I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you.’’ I apologized as I picked his piece of paper from the floor.

‘’ It’s fine, don’t worry about it. It’s my fault as well, I kind of rushed behind you to place my name as well. ‘’ he smiled at me. Oh god, those eyes I could lose myself in them any time of the day.

I rushed back to my seat as I could hear Irene giggle next to me. I gave her a strong glare as I sat down putting my head in my hands for a moment. I waited for everyone to place their names in the mystical jar. From there, our English teacher started mixing the names and pulling them out one by one, hoping that I would pick with Irene since I did not get to chat with anyone else. Unfortunately, she was paired with a girl called Paige, it was the blonde bimbo that I bumped into this morning…. great. As I waited for my name to be picked, I noticed that pretty much everyone was paired with someone.

‘’ Miss Cassandra, this is you lucky day I suppose, you shall be paired with William. Prepare yourself to probably read this book alone. ‘’ my English teacher said with a very awkward cocky smile.

I just can’t believe it. I guess it is my chance to make new friends, but also, Irene said they don’t really talk to anyone else apart from their group. I must get my grades though plus never say never, right? I mean what if we do get along after all.

‘’Please change your seats so you can be placed next to your partner until next week on Friday. ‘’ I heard our teachers voice say. Looking in the far back I noticed Will pulling a chair beside him and gesturing me to come sit next to him. I grabbed my stuff and smiled at Irene who was very angry she got chosen with Paige. I made my way to his table as his mates smirked at me and made way so that I could get next to him. In a matter of seconds, they have all vanished and I was left alone with Will.

‘’ Hi, I’m Cassandra, but please call me Cass.’’ I mentioned as I sat down.

‘’William, but as all my friends call me Will, please be my guest to do the same. ’He smiled as he pulled the chair back with his hand so I could sit. ‘’ So, have you read this book? ‘’

‘’ I did study this book last year at my other school, so I pretty much have all my notes written down for it, all we have to do is check them out tomorrow when I bring them to school and see what opinion do, we have in the end about this.’’ I spoke. For a split second as I was looking at his face for a response it almost looked like his eyes had this yellow tinted shine to them, something I have not noticed before.

‘’ I also have read the book and have my thoughts on it, so I shall agree to meet tomorrow for a chat about this. Now, I am indeed more curious about you and how you ended up here from Germany.’’ He questioned with a smile on his face.

‘’ My parents like to travel a lot and their field of work allows them to do it whenever they want. So, I guess I am mostly the person they drag along in this unwanted adventure and every time they change their minds about their place, I have to just pack my stuff and move. I mean, don’t get me wrong I love traveling and meeting new people, but sometimes I would love to have a stable home or some real friends. ‘’ I said not realizing I was literally spilling the beans on myself. He gave a laugh as if he already knew my thoughts.

‘’ My family used to travel a lot, until we found a spot here that they actually enjoyed.’’ He stated about himself.

William’s POV

Her voice was so gentle and steady I could listen to her all day. I have never felt attracted to someone like her. We usually stay away from her kind and mind our own business, that why we don’t really go with any clicks in here. But she did raise some questions, she was in appearance a human, but her aura had something else to offer and I just could not help but wonder, what if here family was running from something or someone and that is why they move so often, after all they used to live here and now suddenly decided to come back, can’t help but wonder.

As I heard the bell ring, I thanked her for the conversation and decided we shall meet tomorrow to start on our project. I got up from the table and picked my backpack from the floor. The boys were waiting by the door chuckling about the sight in front of their eyes. I growled at them a little to make them stop and pushed Jasper in the shoulder who started laughing.

‘’ So, I see Cass growing a little on you, eh?’’ Jasper asked.

‘’ We are just paired up from a project, that’s it. ‘’

‘’ Mate, we felt her aura too. Plus, we are all linked, remember? We could just sense the tension between you too.’’ Bruno added.

‘’ There is just something there, she might not know it herself, but I am sure she is no ordinary human. Maybe she has not gained her powers, or she is compelled to not know who or what she is. It wouldn’t be impossible. Her parents moving so often, we all kind of know what it means when you talk from our world’s point of view.’’ I stated waiting for someone to add to my conclusion.

‘’ You know, Cromwell does sound like a familiar word. I’ll check our old history books I am almost positive I heard it before. Or her parents are just fancy like that.’’ Jasper replied.