The Demiseer Saga 1: Limitation

Sophie

I hesitated, but returned it with a nod.  “Yeah, I just wasn’t... expecting this.”  I laughed lightly, shaking my head at the situation as I removed my backpack and hung it up on the hook inside the locker.

“McGregor isn’t what most people expect,” she assured me, nodding as she shut her own locker and leaned against it before sticking out her hand.  “I’m Sophie, by the way.”

I really should have just taken her hand then and there, shaken it happily, and told her my name as well.  Hell, in a perfect universe, we could have even bonded over the irony that our names were French whereas we most certainly were not.  Then she could have shown me where Mr. Vernon’s classroom was, and maybe she’d have laughed and said she had the same home room.  We could have been friends.

As it was, I didn’t want to be friends.  I didn’t want to get to know the seemingly nice Sophie, only to possibly learn how she’d die in a couple of nights.  I wanted this new slate to stay as clean as possible, or else I’d be even more miserable here than I already was.

I didn’t realize how long I’d stood there, not shaking Sophie’s hand, when she let it fall back to her side with an expression of annoyance.  “Okay, so... Good luck,” she offered, shrugging once.  I gave a start, then took a step forward involuntarily.  As much as I didn’t want to be unhappy, I wanted even more so to not be alone.

“Wait!” I blurted out, holding my hand up in a stop gesture.  “Sorry, I’m just a little..  Adjusting, you know?  Really, don’t take it personally.”  I managed an apologetic smile, and she seemed to study it for a second before letting her features relax.  “I’m Madeleine.  Maddie, rather.”

I even offered this lame, sort of cupped-hand wave.

She didn’t seem to think I looked like some sort of i***t, though.  Thankfully, her bright blue eyes lit up and she grinned a bit more broadly.  “All we need is a Pierre and we could totally have our own club,” she joked, giving me a wink.  How did I know that was coming?

I laughed, though, and she eagerly took a step toward me and peered down at my map.  I wasn’t tall by any means, but she was incredibly tiny next to me.  I could only guess that she was right at five feet, if not four-eleven.  “Who do you have for home room?” she asked, frowning when she realized I wasn’t holding a schedule.

“Ahh, what was his name,” I mumbled, turning back to the locker and fishing through the front pocket of my backpack.  “Vernon,” I recited, clutching the wrinkled paper in my hand.  “Room Four-oh-nine?”

Sophie wrinkled her nose, then shook her head.  “He’s okay, kind of boring.  I hear he’s got a new TA, so maybe she’ll be cool.  Anyway, he’s straight down that hall there.  He’s got a huge yellow door, can’t miss it.  What else?”

I felt an immense amount of gratitude swell inside of me for this tiny girl, and I handed over my schedule before returning to the job of unpacking my bag.  I knew I had American history and earth science in the same hall as home room, so I grabbed the books and binders for those classes before turning to await further instruction from my guide.

“Not bad,” she was saying, nodding slowly.  “All right, you’re gonna leave Vernon’s class and head left – that’s where Coach Carlyle’s classroom is.”

Coach Carlyle?  I inwardly groaned; only remedial classes were taught by coaches in my old school.  What on earth had I signed up for?  I listened as Sophie told me that the American history teacher’s classroom was on the same side of the hallway, but about four doors down.  It all seemed pretty easy to remember.

“And then you’ve got psychology with me!” she chirped, bouncing on her heels a bit.  I was surprised by that, but pleasantly so.  Psych was the one class I was interested in this semester, and I was glad to have my new friend in there with me.  “Mr. George’s classes usually have the third wave of lunch, so I’d suggest either heading back here for your stuff before psych, or taking it with you now.”

I glanced down at my map, seeing whether I had enough time between second and third period; I figured I would, so I nodded and then waited for her to finish.  “And we’ve got fourth together, so don’t worry about that, either!”  She smiled, then handed my schedule back to me.  “See you in psychology!”