Chapter 26

It was early Monday morning when Emily and her two brothers stood at the bus stop across seven-eleven. Emily was excited, yet anxious about her first day at the new school, E.D.S High. She wondered if the handsome boy, Delmar she had met on the beach will also be on the bus. What made her mostly anxious was the unknown. Something about it always made her a little jittery. She often wondered whether it was the lack of control or maybe she just expected the worst to happen.

Emily noticed the bus approaching from around a large bend down the road. The bus seemed almost full of scholars, but then again she would only be able to tell once she got on. Her anxiety level elevated when the bus stopped not too far from them, but at least her brothers were with her.

The door opened with a hissing sound from the pressure release. Patrick was the first one to get onto the bus, eager to make new friends. Emily sometimes wished she was more like Patrick. Full of confidence and no knowledge of fear. She walked down the aisle. As she expected, most of the scholars on the bus were staring at them. She scanned the bus for an open seat, but she did not really expect to find any. She heard a familiar voice calling Patrick's name from the back of the bus. She held her breath when she noticed Delmar's handsome face sitting next to Bernard. Her cheeks and ears felt warm. Fortunately, there was a row of seats open in front of Delmar and Patrick immediately shifted in. Andrew looked at Emily and pointed to the open seat next to Patrick.

'It's okay, you can sit there,' Emily said softly. She was not quite ready for a deeper conversation with Delmar yet. In any case, she would not know what to say to him. She rather preferred the natural evolution of things. She noticed another open row of seats next to Andrew and felt slightly relieved.

The bus jerked away and soon they were on their way to Vredenburg. Emily moved closer to the window and stared out. It was yet to be another day in the West coast hell. The skies were clear blue and the sun had already cast its fury across the dry farmlands.

Emily heard the excitement in her brothers' voices while they exchanged the past events of the December school holiday. She felt happy for them once again. She was particularly happy about one of their friend. The handsome young boy, Delmar. She was hoping to get to know him better over time.

'So what grade are you guys in?' Delmar asked. He realised they had such a good time on the beach the day they met that it did not even cross his mind to ask such an obvious question.

'Both of us are in grade twelve, almost done with school.' Patrick said. 'You guys?'

'Grade eleven. Not so lucky I suppose,' Bernard said.

'Yeah well, maybe Patrick will join you next year,' Andrew laughed.

'Ah fuck that already man,' Patrick said, annoyed. 'That shit's getting old by now.'

'What about your sister?' Bernard asked.

'Emily is in grade 10,' Andrew said.

'You are very quiet this morning,' Emily heard Delmar's voice. She turned slightly to look behind her and noticed Delmar's eyes upon her.

'Hi,' Emily blushed. Her heart started racing.

'How was your holiday?'

The noise of the bus was too loud for her to hear Delmar properly. Emily shifted away from the window and closer to the aisle. 'What was that?'

'How was your holiday?' Delmar repeated.

'Great thank you, just really busy. Unpacking, cleaning, you know...that sort of thing.'

Delmar nodded. 'So how do you like Saldanha so far?'

'It's cool, not the weather I mean... the place is really nice. Can't believe we are finally staying at the coast. We always went to Durban for holidays from time to time, but we've never been to this part of the world. I think my dad wants to retire here. I love it, so clean.' Emily could not believe how the words fell from her mouth, but she knew it had everything to do with her nerves. Sometimes when she felt nervous, she became a real motor mouth. She supposed it was not such a bad thing after all.

'That's good to hear Em,' Delmar said. 'You don't mind me calling you Em, do you?'

'Not at all,' Emile shook her head. 'That's what my family calls me, anyway.'

Delmar nodded. 'I'm happy for you guys. Hey, don't worry about school or anything, all right? We will show you guys around.'

Emily noticed something different about Delmar. She could have sworn there was a slight hint of sincerity. At first, she thought she liked him, but now she was certain. It was almost as if Delmar read Emily's mind. He understood her discomfort. She was a stranger in a new world. 'I will, really appreciate that. Thank you.'

Delmar smiled. He turned towards Andrew and Patrick and joined in on their conversation.

Some scholars got up and started moving towards the front. The bus stopped, and the doors opened with yet another hiss. Emily noticed many scholars scattered on the school ground with their blue and grey uniforms. Some were moving towards a large building while others were standing in groups. The whole scene made Emily think of ants returning to their nest. Emily remembered that they first had to report to the principal's office. The principal probably wanted to welcome them, but he most definitely wanted to make sure they understood the rules of the school. Emily hoped her brothers would not get into trouble. She knew Andrew was not the type of person who liked making trouble as long as no one caused trouble for him. Patrick on the other hand was more likely to pick up problems. Not that he was looking for it. Trouble seemed to follow him like a dark shadow.

'This is it guys,' Delmar said, already standing in the isle picking up his almost-empty school bag. He noticed Emily watching it and said, 'Don't worry about the empty bags for now. By the end of the day, these babies will be heavy with books.'

Soon they were off the bus and headed for the school ground through a small gate in the fence. Emily noticed a strange-looking crowd of six in the distance. They were standing on their own almost as if they wanted to isolate themselves from the rest of the world. There was no mistake that they shared a cigarette as they passed it around scanning the area. For all Emily knew, it could have been marijuana. Judging by their tight, washed-out clothes, one can expect any sort of trouble from that crowd of boys. Emily felt their eyes upon her as they headed towards the principal's office. She could have sworn she noticed a tattoo on one boy's arms. She noticed one of them displaying a vulgar gesture towards her, imitating the act of sex. She instinctively looked away when she heard their loud roar of laughter.

'Don't worry about them,' Delmar said from behind. He could sense Emily's uneasiness. 'Those guys are the scum of the school. They've got nothing better to do than to make trouble and smoke the last bit of their brains to bits.'

'Well, I don't care who they are. As long as they keep their shit to themselves,' Patrick said, looking at them. His face was serious and instantly red.

'Don't look at them bra,' Bernard said, with a hushed tone. 'You don't want these guys to make your last few months a living hell.'

'I don't give a shit Bernie, I can take care of myself,' Patrick snapped.

'Not these guys. They are involved in some bad shit. Some say they are part of a cult or something.'

'A cult?' Andrew frowned. 'What? Satanism?'

'I think so, not sure what their story is,' Bernard said. 'Just stay away from them.'

Emily feared for her brothers, especially Patrick. She knew, although he was not the academic type, he got into some trouble in the past for fighting at their previous schools. He never started it, but he sure finished it, probably had something to do with his fitness levels and competitive nature, not to mention his short fuse.

'We should go to the principal's office first Pat,' Emily said, trying to get his attention away from those jerks.

'Oh yes, I completely forgot about that,' Patrick said. 'Where is the principal's office, Delmar?'

'Just started here and already you guys are in trouble hey,' Delmar mocked with a smile.

'No, no,' Andrew chuckled, 'we were told to report there before we started with anything.'

'Yeah, what a schlep. All this trouble for a few months of school,' Patrick said. He scanned the rest of the scholars.

'I'll take you guys there,' Delmar said. 'It's just around the corner.'

They passed some large buildings and headed for a smaller building with a flight of stairs to the side.

'This is it,' Bernard said.

'Thank you, Burns,' Patrick said, extending his hand. 'I guess I'll see you guys around.'

'Sure man,' Bernard said. 'We'll see you during class breaks. Remember, if you want to know anything about school, just ask us, man. Oh yes and stay out of trouble and stay away from those other weirdos.' He shook Patrick's hand and looked into his eyes.

'Will do,' Andrew said. He looked at Patrick whose mind seemed somewhere else for a moment. Andrew knew Patrick's mind was already racing with new ideas and making friends.

Patrick patted Delmar on the back, 'thank you guys once again.'

'No problem bra,' Delmar said. He looked from Patrick to Emily who seemed a little concerned. 'Don't worry Em, it will be okay. Welcome to E.D.S High.'

Emily smiled, 'Thanks.'