Prologue
“It's official, man. We're freshmen.” Rayne's muffled voice echoes in his navy blue locker. “Fucking high school!”
“Don’t get too excited,” Seth adds, throwing his army green colored bag over his shoulders. “It's still school, and we're at the bottom of the food chain.” He waits for the two of us while moving his blond, shaggy hair out of his eyes.
“Yeah, you tell yourself that when these pricks shove you into your locker…” His anxiety about the first day of school at North High isn't unwarranted. This school is known for its fights, bullies, and faculty that doesn't do shit about it.
“Why do you think you're so fucking special that no one would try?” Is he really pouting right now?
“... because no one is going to know who I am…”
“That's fucking sad, bro.” Rayne finally finds his way out of the dark cave that is his locker. “You don't want to meet anyone new?”
“Nah, I just want to blend in and out of the crowd. Level up through each one of these grades, graduate, and get out of this town. Besides, I already know you guys. That's enough for me…”
“No one makes it out of this city, not unless it's in a damn body bag or a police cruiser…” Rayne continues stuffing his bookbag with blank notebooks and pre-sharpened pencils.
“Then maybe you'll be seeing me being driven away by flashing blue and red lights.” They both look at me with wide eyes as I laugh to myself. “Damn… I'm kidding.” The sound from my zipper could cut through the thick tension between the three of us.
“Whatever, man. Don't joke about that shit. Not on the first day of what is supposed to be the start of the best days of our lives.” Rayne can have his contorted idea of what this place is. Seth and I both know it's a fucking prison, and we're all just waiting to be released in four years.
I raise my hands, showing him that I playfully surrender. “Damn man. I'm just messing around. I'll be on my best behavior. Scouts honor.”
The three of us break away from our familiar group and go to different homerooms. Rayne's is on the third floor, and Seth's is right next to mine in Mrs. Bennett’s classroom.
With unsure looks, we give our quick goodbyes, and I make my way to the back of the classroom.
The last row of desks was a piece of safety that cloaked me in a sense of invisibility in middle School.
It'll be the same sort of refuge. I'll stay back here, and it'll be what keeps me hidden in this sad excuse of an educational institution.
It's just what I want to get me through this year and the next year and the following years after.
With a mix of nerves, I face the clock above the doorway. I'm already counting down the hours until this day ends.
That is, until she walks in. I first notice her long auburn hair that falls past the hem of her pale blue short sleeves covering her upper arms. My eyes continue upward towards her face, and the white glitter on her wide smile catches the yellow glow from the fluorescent lights.
I continue staring, my goofy expression surely evident, when I find her vibrant green eyes.
Wow. She's so pretty. Who is she? She sits down in the front row and clumsily lays her pastel pink backpack next to the legs of the desk.
The way I'm staring, I swear I could drill small holes in the back of her head behind her cinnamon colored waves.
“Candi… Hart…?” Mrs. Lyle’s shrill voice breaks me from my trance.
“Here!” She adorably raises her hand. So your name is Candi? Our homeroom teacher continues reading more names, but the only one that plays over and over is hers. Candi Hart.
“Andrew Miller!” How has she gotten through so many names? My own name jolts me to attention. What a great way to start my first day of high school.
“Uh… yeah, here.” My body goes rigid in my seat, and everyone looks around the classroom, everyone including her, and suddenly, I don't want to blend in anymore.