Chapter 106 - 106. I use old spice (2/2)

”I'm headed to the gym, actually. I think I can find it.”

”That's my next class, too.” He seemed thrilled, though it wasn't that big of a coincidence in a school this small.

We walked to class together; he was a chatterer - he supplied most of the conversation, which made it easy for me. He'd lived in California till he was ten, so he knew how I felt about the sun. It turned out he was in my English class also. I must repeat no boys allowed in the harem but me.

But as we were entering the gym, he asked, ”So, did you stab Amanda Cullen with a pencil or what? I've never seen her act like that.”

I cringed. So I wasn't the only one who had noticed. And, apparently, that wasn't Amanda Cullen's usual behavior. I decided to play dumb. ” I don't think she likes the smell of old spice honestly.”

The Gym teacher, Coach Clapp, found me a uniform but didn't make me dress down for today's class. At home, only two years of RE. were required. Here, P.E. was mandatory all four years. I watched four volleyball games running simultaneously.The final bell rang at last. I walked slowly to the office to return my paperwork. The rain had drifted away, but the wind was strong, and colder.

When I walked into the warm office, I almost turned around and walked back out.

Amanda Cullen stood at the desk in front of me. I recognized again that long blonde hair she didn't appear to notice the sound of my entrance. I stood pressed against the back wall, waiting for the receptionist to be free.

The door opened again, and the cold wind suddenly gusted through the room, rustling the papers on the desk, swirling my hair around my face. The girl who came in merely stepped to the desk, placed a note in the wire basket, and walked out again. But Amanda Cullen's back stiffened, and she turned slowly to glare at me - her face was absurdly beautiful - with piercing, hate-filled eyes. For an instant, I felt a thrill of genuine fear, raising the hair on my arms. The look only lasted a second, but it chilled me more than the freezing wind. She turned back to the receptionist.

”Never mind, then,” she said hastily in a voice like velvet. ”I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help.” And she turned on his heel without another look at me, and disappeared out the door. ”How did your first day go, dear?” the receptionist asked maternally.

”Fine,” I lied, it was scary. She didn't look convinced.

When I got to the truck, it was almost the last car in the lot. It seemed like a haven, already the closest thing to home I had in this damp green hole. I sat inside for a while, just staring out the windshield blankly. But soon I was cold enough to need the heater, so I turned the key and the engine roared to life. I headed back to Charlie's house, time for some runescape.