Chapter 3: Vivid eyes
The next day was the first day of my new
life. I would be seventeen in only a few
weeks, and even though I had my uncertain future ahead of me the one thing I
was looking forward to was a routine.
School would be nice, and James seemed like a really great guy. He was waiting for me in the small kitchen
area off the main room. There was toast
and jam on the table waiting for me. I smiled at him in thanks and ate
quickly. We had a lot to do today since
I was going to enrol at my new school and go shopping for some clothes and of
course school supplies.
I was looking out the windows as we drove into
town. I was surprised at how small this
town really was. I was so used to being
in a large city that this rural life was going to take some getting used
to. James turned onto a street named
Brunel, as we drove up the road I noticed a modern sign on the left made of
wood and painted blue that had an electronic message board with the message ‘welcome
back students’ scrolling by. We had
reached Huntsville high school. It was a moderate size but what surprised me
was, as we turned onto Camp Kitchen Road, I noticed that the school had almost no
lawn. There was no football field or
soccer field just a parking lot that backed onto the arena and rocks and
forest. How strange, I thought to myself.
What school doesn’t have a football, soccer or track team? And if they do, where do they practice?
We had arrived at the local high school around ten
in the morning so the parking lot was full of cars and there were a few
students lounging outside in the sun who were most likely ditching class
because it was such a beautiful day. As
I got out of the car and looked at the front of my new school, I noticed some
beautiful paintings hanging on the side of the school. I had never seen anything like them. There were four of them on the wall each
depicting a scene of nature ranging from mountains to the Aurora Borealis, it
was so unique. James led me up the steps
to the main entrance and opened the door and let me enter then he led me to the
office. The secretary was surprised when
we walked in. It was almost the end of
September and the leaves outside were just beginning to turn different
colours.
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My godfather was talking to the
secretary and giving her all my information when I was startled out of my
thoughts as the most good looking boy I had ever seen walked by the office
window. It was the same guy I noticed
from the gas station, he was probably seventeen or eighteen years old and about
six feet two inches tall with vivid emerald green eyes and blond wavy
hair. He wore a simple cream coloured
polo shirt which clung to the contours of his well defined chest and a pair of
relaxed fit, light coloured jeans. He
glanced at me for a second as he slowed his pace, and my heart quickened. I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks, I
was beet red in a full blush as he disappeared down the hall. I never stared at people if I could help it
and if I do, I usually made sure they didn’t notice. I was sure he had noticed though especially
since I saw a hint of a smile on his lips as he passed the window. I turned quickly back to the secretary when
she spoke to me.
“Here’s your schedule dear. Your first day will be Monday I’m assuming?”
she asked looking at James and myself for confirmation.
“Sure, Monday” I said quickly not really interested in what she had to
say to be honest, my mind was still on the hottie who had just walked by.
“Our school is very different than your last school but I’m sure you’ll
fit in soon” she smiled warmly.
“Ya, sure” I said and rolled my eyes. James knew I wasn’t thrilled that they had no
arts school here.
“Well, you can challenge your physical
education classes if you want because of your last school but not many people
pass. The coach has a friend who came up
with an amazing obstacle course and if you can make it through in a certain
amount of time you are exempt from the class” she smiled. My interest suddenly piqued, I asked “What
kind of obstacle course and has anyone passed it?”
“Only four students have ever beaten the coach and his friend. The Worthington’s and the Foxworth’s I’m sure
you’ll meet them soon. They are hard to
miss” she smiled knowingly.
“Tell the coach I’ll do the challenge” thinking I could use a bit of
alone time to do homework.
Once all the papers were in order, James and I left the office and
headed for his car. James took me to Orillia Ontario
When we got home from our shopping trip there
was a large envelop waiting for James on the front porch. I looked at him curiously as he glanced at
the writing. He looked at me and turned
slowly back towards the car.
“I’ll be back in about an hour or so, I have to
pick something up. Don’t worry you’re
not alone. Go put your new stuff away
and get things ready for Monday. You’re
going to be the new kid and everyone will want to know who you are!” he
chuckled when he saw my horrified look.
“Thanks so much. I’ve only tried to stay incognito for most of
my life, you’re making this out to be like a celebrity sighting or something” I
said sarcastically.
“Kid you’ve been more places than most of the kids that are in that
school. I’m sure you can come up with a
great story to tell.” And he was off, laughing as he got into his car and drove
away.
I put my new clothes away and set up my back
pack for school. I went to the kitchen
to make something for dinner. A knock on
the door got my defences up and I grabbed a knife off the counter and headed
for the door. I peeked out the window
and saw a woman with black hair in a Purolator Courier uniform holding an
electronic scanning machine. I sighed
and slipped the knife on top of the fridge and opened the door.
“I have a package for an Anastasia Graham.” She
smiled. “Sign here please.”
“That’s me, thanks.” I smiled as I saw the large box of my stuff on the
porch. I dragged the box into the house
and quickly unpacked it. James came in a
few minutes later with two bags of Chinese food. I raised an eyebrow at him. “Don’t you ever cook?”
“Only on Sundays,” he said in an amused voice. “The rest of the time I
survive on sandwiches and take out”
I smirked and shook my head.
“What’s this knife doing here on top of the fridge?” he asked
eyeing me with concern.
“Someone came to the door and I guess I was over reacting a bit so I put
it there. Sorry I’ll put it away.” I
reached for the knife and quickly placed it in the wooden knife block on the
counter. James watched me with concern still in his eyes but
said nothing. I guess he realized that I
was still very much on edge, and I hadn’t told him about the fight in the
alley. My ribs still hurt like hell if I
moved the wrong way, and I had taped my left side pretty good to hide the
injury but the bruising was still colours of purple and a hint of yellow.
“So, where is this supposed body guard you keep
telling me about?” I inquired changing the subject.
“Where you can’t see them” he said seriously.
“Why?” I asked curiously.
“Because that’s part of the deal, you’re protected but you don’t know
who they are. It’s better that way
because I want you to have as normal a life as possible. You’re seventeen years old and I don’t want
you to think you’re being crowded” he said seriously.
“What are you talking about? I’m
not seventeen for a couple more weeks!” I looked at him confused. I had forgotten that I hadn’t told him when
my birthday was.
“You turned seventeen in August,” he said almost as confused. “She never
told you? Wow! She really did protect you, even from yourself.” he said as he shook
his head. “Your birthday is August eighteenth. I was there when you were born.”
he looked at me seriously and thoughtfully while he waited for the impact of
his words sink in.
I was dumbfounded and I just sat there staring
at him. I finally found my words again
after a few minutes. “I’m seventeen.” “August!”
they were statements not questions, I was trying to wrap my head around this. Obviously
I would be eighteen a lot sooner than I thought.
“Are you ok?” James asked with concern.
“I think so. I just need a sec to
process this. I’ll be eighteen in eleven
months.” Shock was definitely setting in.
“Here, sit down and have something to eat.” We ate in silence while I mulled
over this new piece of information. When dinner was over I got up and started
clearing the table.
“Oh, by the way, I’ll leave the keys to my car
on the table so you can drive yourself to school on Monday. I put you on my car insurance, that way you
don’t have to take the bus and you’ll have a quick getaway if needed” James
said socially.
“Thank you, but what about you? How will you get around?” I didn’t want
to be a bother but it was really nice of him to let me use his car.
“Don’t worry about me, my new truck will be ready in the morning.” he smiled
wagging his eyebrows up and down. He looked very excited and pleased with
himself about his new toy.
The rest of the weekend went by quickly as I wandered
around James’ place and went grocery shopping in town. On Sunday James gave me his gas card and told
me to fill up the car. When I was at the gas station I saw the boy with the
vivid green eyes again and he was surrounded by a bunch of giggling, flirting
airhead girls all vying for his attention.
He seemed vaguely amused by them and it was at that moment I decided
that I didn’t like him because I felt he was leading those girls on. No matter
how much they threw themselves at him he didn’t really seem to care. I hated guys like that and no matter how
gorgeous he is I would never say yes to him.
I paid for my gas and as I got into my car I saw him move from the wall
and start walking towards me. I quickly
started the car and drove away. When I
looked in the rear view mirror I saw an amused smirk on his face. Pompous ass, I thought to myself.
I went to my room early that night so that I
could get a good night sleep. I was
worried and nervous about my first day at a new school. I always hated being stared at it made me feel
like I had a bull’s eye painted on my back.
I was hoping that I would have a least one class with the green eyed boy
I saw yesterday because even if he was a jerk, it would make my day. Eye candy was always nice and even though I
knew I was being silly and that I shouldn’t get my hopes up, I could at least
dream. I wasn’t allowed to get attached
to anyone because if I did they could possibly put a claim on me. I refused to be controlled in any way and
I’ve fought to long and hard to stay free of commitments. But I couldn’t help the fantasy that was
spinning through my head, meeting that perfect guy with the amazing vivid emerald
green eyes. Going on a date for the
first time and dancing the night away.
“Ug,” I said. “I’m such an idiot.”
I shook my head trying to clear it of daydreams and fantasies. I crawled into bed and pulled the pillow over
my head blocking out the moon light and snuggled deep into the covers. I finally fell asleep sometime after
midnight.
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