Chapter 2

My heart is beating so fast. Why did I run? Why did I skip out like that? Why did she make me come with her? Why did she quit her last job?

I continue to run down the main hall, muffling my whimpers with my hand, trying not to look as pathetic as I feel. Classroom after Classroom whirls by until I finally skid to a stop when I see the entrance to the library. I shuffle in. I walk past rows and rows of literature. Nonfiction, fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and many other genres fill the dark mahogany bookcases. I decide to walk into the horror section. There were shelves upon shelves of books. Everything from Mary Shelley and Edgar Allen Poe to Kendare Blake and Mira Grant exists in this very room.

"How on earth do they have this many books?" I grab a book about a fictional serial killer that seems interesting enough and sit on the nearest beanbag chair. Thumbing the table of contents, I scan through to see if this is a book that I might vibe with.

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'Where could she have gone?' I run through the halls, peeking into every spare classroom.I pass many more hallways before I finally find myself parked in front of the library. This place has always been so warm and inviting to me. All the days I have spent here, doing projects, whispering with friends, studying, and reading everything I could get my hands on. I spend countless hours in this four-walled safe haven. This is how I get away. This room is the only place where I never have to impress anyone. I can be anything I want to be here. I can be a knight. I can be an investigator. I can absorb all these characters and get so engrossed in a book that, on many occasions, the librarian has had to physically throw me out of the library to be able to lock up and go home.

I enter and pass the computers. Looking through a few rows of shelving, I decide to veer off towards one of my favorite sections, horror.

"Mr. Rennet won't mind if I am gone for a while. After all, I am looking for the new girl. For all I know she could be here." I mumble to myself as I grab a book off the shelf and run my fingers along the gold-lined edges of the pages. Edgar Allen Poe. My favorite short stories of all time are in this book. I can only imagine how many hours he spent creating these brief masterpieces. Every time I read a story from him, all I can picture is him cutting open a vein and bleeding his emotions and experiences onto the stationery. I take the book and go look for a comfy spot to hunker down.

I look to see if my favorite chair is available, the only chair that I have been able to form perfectly to me. Every other chair, couch, and cushion in this library is either 10 years too old and stiff like a rock, or a structureless blob of feathers and beans. I would know because I have spent a whole weekend trying out every single chair in this building. No chairs have been able to live up to the old leathery armchair. As I finally pass the 7th bookshelf from the entrance of the library and walk towards my seat, I notice a small female form on the beanbag that rests against my old armchair pal. With her face shoved in the book, I can barely tell who it is. All I notice is her black hair. A half-up, half-down look. A ponytail on the top of her head with long-mostly straight locks covering her back and shoulders. What a unique hairstyle. It seems familiar.

Then it clicks. I recognize that black half ponytail.

"Claudia? Is that you in the bean bag chair, skipping out on school?" I whisper jokingly. The girl slowly takes the book away from her face. She nods, getting up from the bean bag.

"Why did you run away?" I ask. I notice her red puffy eyes and her tear-stained cheeks. Man, she must be shy. I guess my classmates didn't help her any with their rude remarks and obnoxious laughter. An introduction like that would have been mortifying for any newcomer.

"...Do I really have to go back to that room?" She says quietly, face turned towards the ground.

"Well, you really should get used to the school, and how can you make friends, and learn, and flourish, if you don't come to class at all? I think we should go back. We can at least make the last twenty minutes of the lesson if we go now." Claudia peers at the ground, half ponytail bobbing slightly as she nods her head. 'Fuck why do I have to be so responsible,' I curse myself as I shuffle back to the horror section to return my unused book. I didn't even notice Claudia silently following behind, book in tow, until I spun around and almost knocked the poor girl right onto her ass. Coincidentally, she too appreciates the thrill of a well-written tragedy.

"So it looks like you are a fan of spooky stuff as well?" I ask her after we return to the entrance of the library. The corners of her lips slant upwards just as we make our way out. It's kind of refreshing to meet someone who shares similar interests. Everyone else I know hates the chills that accompany a good scare. What a shame.

"I'm stoked to finally find a buddy to geek out with." She pushes her hair behind her ear and returns her gaze to her feet as we make our way back to room 1215. I open the door and usher her into the room. Mr. Rennet points me to my seat as he takes Claudia into the hall. 'I hope he doesn't give her too hard of a time' I chew on my lower lip, thinking to myself.

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What have I gotten myself into? I am probably going to get detention on my first day. I will tarnish the perfect record that I have only had for less than an hour. My mother is going to kill me.

As soon as we are in the hallway and the door is shut, he hands me a paper. "I imagine this is what a detention slip looks like," I say as I briefly glance at the pastel yellow piece of paper in my hands before gazing back up at him.

"Oh no, I'm not going to give you detention on your first day. That's a bit harsh. It's the room number for a little after-school 'therapy' group. I'm not saying you need help or anything, I'm just hoping that maybe you will take the opportunity, or at least consider meeting with this group so you can build your confidence or possibly get to know your peers and this school a smidge better. All it can do is help. This class will have oral assignments in the future and if you can't even introduce yourself in front of your peers, I imagine you will have a tough time with these assignments. I hope you take this advice into consideration. It can really help, and you might gain a couple of friends too. If you want any more information, just email me. My email is in the school directory. Let's head back in now. We have been out for at least five minutes and I don't trust those kids in there, especially Mr. Foster with all the trouble that he causes me." Mr. Rennet shakes his head, again rubbing the bridge of his nose to release some of the stress that has built up solely from the thought of Foster's troublemaking.

I fold the paper and place it in my pocket. I follow Mr. Rennet into the room, slightly relieved that I have a cool teacher who might possibly understand the woes that come with being a modern teenager.

"Miss Jones, you will be sitting next to Foster for the remainder of the year. Maybe you'll rub off on him and make him slightly quieter in class." Mr. Rennet says with a hearty chuckle. I take my seat next to Foster. My seat is not only right next to the only teenager in this city who has actually been nice to me so far, but it is also right next to a window. And it's in the very back of the room. Maybe the rest of this year will be okay. I open my textbook to the correct page and focus my attention on the last little chunk of the class to see if I need to catch up in any way. I'm not too late into the new year and my old school had a similar curriculum to what I am learning in all of my classes at this school.

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I try to focus on the lesson but for some reason, I'm having trouble paying attention. I try to regain my attention only to realize that I am staring directly at Claudia. I return my gaze to my desk. Maybe I should invite her to come to the library with me after school today. Would she be interested in that? I pull out a scrap sheet of paper and write the following:

Do you want to come to the library after school today and hang out? If you aren't doing anything of course. I mean if you don't want to come, I understand. I could see how some random dude passing a note to you during class saying 'come to the library' could be suspicious. I was just wondering. I always go to the library anyway. I'll be there whether you come or not, hopefully, you will.-Foster

I fold the note a few times and when Mr. Rennet is faced towards the board, I toss it onto her desk. She looks at me slightly confused and then looks at the note, and then back at me. I mouth the words read it and she makes this 'oh' face. She opens it and I turn my attention back to the lesson. I finally can focus on what is being taught. I guess all I needed was to get that off my chest. A few minutes later a paper falls onto my desk. I unfold it and read what it says:

I don't see why spending some time in the library would be an issue. I guess I'll meet you in there after school today. I will be by the bean bags again. Thanks for the invitation. I am looking forward to it.-C

I look up at Claudia, give her a thumbs up and she cracks a small smile. The bell rings. I get up out of my seat and pack my bag so I can go to my next class. Just as I put my last folder in my bag, I see Claudia looking at her schedule, still confused. I chuckle and take it from her to see if I can help at all.

"It looks like you are stuck with me considering we have the exact same schedule. Creepy. I guess that makes me your new stalker," I tease. "I am kidding by the way. Eventually, you'll learn my sarcastic ways." I say to reassure her. It would suck to scare her off after knowing her for less than an hour.

The rest of our day pretty much went as follows: We went to 6th period. She ended up sitting next to me again. 7th period she became my chemistry lab partner and I almost set her on fire (awesome first day so far). Finally in last period she, like every other class, sits next to me for history. I almost fell asleep in history today. She flung a scrunchy at my head which woke me up. As the end of the day got closer, I could feel myself getting excited. Every minute is another minute closer to me being in the library, away from whatever bullshit they force down our throats in this hellhole that the government labels a learning institution.

The bell rings right after we get our homework assignment. I hop out of my chair and start packing my bag. Claudia slowly stands from her chair, stretches slightly, and begins packing her bag as well. I wait by her desk until she finishes then I grab her arm and start bolting down the hallway to the library. Luckily, she kept up with me and didn't trip. Maybe running wasn't the best idea, who cares? I get there faster that way. As soon as we enter the little glass room at the front of the school I wave to Barb, the librarian, and walk straight for the tables so we can start our homework. I'm not going to be a bad influence. Besides, the faster we get our homework done, the more time we had for fun things. We plop down and open our bags again. School life is just a continuous cycle of putting papers in your bag only to take them back out later. We only have history homework today. I guess my teachers were feeling hospitable. Usually whenever there is a new student, the workload in class tends to lighten so the new student doesn't get overwhelmed. Lucky me, because I share all my classes with her.

"Can you explain to me what our history homework was? I didn't really catch what she was saying at the end of class. I was too excited to leave I guess." I say while rubbing the back of my neck in embarrassment. She grins.

"Well, basically she gave us this little worksheet of questions and wants us to read chapter 21 in the book. The answers to the questions on the worksheet are in the reading. I guess it's like word hide and seek." She says as she nibbles on the tip of her finger. I nod and grab my textbook from my bag, opening it to chapter 21. We sit in silence for a short while as we do our homework. Every so often, I sneak a quick glance at her and see how far along she is. I don't want to be too far behind. I notice a few other things with each glance, like how she nibbles on her finger when she is thinking and how whenever she finds an answer or accomplishes something she raises her eyebrows a little and taps her feet, kind of like a happy baby penguin. Claudia is an odd girl with some odd quirks.