Her Chosen Mate

Chapter 6 - First Day Jitters

"Ouch!" screamed Lucy as she hopped around after slamming her pinky toe on the foot of the kitchen table.

 "You all right hun?" asked her father from his post at the island.

 “Put a move on it Lucy, we’re about to be late!” yelled Derrick from the driveway.

“Well somebody’s excited for tryouts,” mocked her dad.

“A little too excited if you should ask me,” mumbled Lucy, still smarting from her toe.

“Lucy!” Derrick yelled again from the driveway.

“Dad I think my toe is broken. Can I miss school today?” she whined.

“Nice try Luc.”

“I’m serious.”

“Sure you are; but you’re not missing school short of anything but complete loss of limb.”

“That can be arranged,” she muttered under her breath.

“Well until you do, off you go,” said Tim, handing her her backpack. “Quick before your brother has a stroke.”

“If I don’t make it back, tell mom she’s always been my favorite parent,” she yelled as she sprinted out to the driveway.

“That’s why I love your brother more!” her father yelled back before she was out of earshot.

“Finally,” mumbled an annoyed Derrick as she got in the car next to him.

Lucy ignored her brother's comment and stared blankly out the window as he drove them to school. What would her new school be like? She didn’t know what to think, she hardly knew how to feel; but one thing was certain this was definitely going to take some getting used to. Derrick on the other hand seemed quite at ease, he prattled on about the stats of the football team and how great all the guys at his impromptu practice was. Lucy, who was hardly listening only responded with the occasional "hmmm" here and there. Derrick didn't seem to mind though as he was so engrossed in his story he didn't even notice his sister wasn't paying attention. 

The fifteen minute car ride felt like ages, and Lucy felt trapped in her thoughts the entire time. She felt her anxiety rise even further when Derrick finally pulled into the school's parking lot. The last time she checked her new school didn't even have a music program. All her friends had been apart of the school orchestra at her old school; they had all shared the dream of one day getting into Julliard. They had bonded over their shared dream and Lucy wasn't sure how to make friends outside of that.

“Umm we’re here,” said Derrick at his sister's obvious reluctance to exit the car.

“Really? I hadn’t noticed,” she replied sarcastically, as she grabbed her backpack and got out. Lucy sighed as she looked at the building in front of her; her bag felt like it weighed a ton, beads of sweat began to form at the base of her neck and her knees felt like they were about to buckle any minute.

“C’mon it’ll be fine,” consoled Derrick while gently rubbing his sister’s shoulders.

“That’s easy for you to say,” mumbled Lucy as she allowed Derrick to shove her toward the office at the front of the building.

The secretary was a nice, older looking lady who gave them a warm smile as she handed them their class schedules. They had barely made it out of the office when they bumped into what Lucy surmised was the welcome wagon.

“Hi I’m Tina,” announced a sandy haired, freckled face girl as she shoved her hand forcefully towards Derrick. “Student council president and the welcoming committee here at Lincoln High. You must be the twins Lucy and Derrick”

Lucy rolled her eyes at the dreamy look Tina gave Derrick. She was way too use to this by now. Everywhere they went girls fawned over her brother; while she was pushed to the side, barely being noticed. Tina leaned in seductively toward Derrick.

“You guessed right,” replied Derrick, flashing her a devastating smile.

Lucy couldn’t suppress the gag that escaped her. She smiled shyly as both Derrick and Tina turned to look at her.

“Is something wrong?” Tina looked down her freckled nose at her.

Lucy looked from Tina to Derrick, then back at Tina. She couldn't very well tell them that their shameless flirting was making her sick. Tina stood there with her hands on her hips as she waited for Lucy to respond. Derrick seemed thoroughly entertained by his sister's obvious discomfort and made absolutely no effort to assist her. Lucy, who was at a loss for words was happy when the bell rang, signaling the start of classes.

“C’mon Lucy let me show you to your first class,” said Tina, grabbing Lucy’s class schedule and linking her arm through hers. “I have a feeling were going to be the best of friends.”

Lucy groaned inwardly. She knew Tina only wanted to be friends with her to get close to Derrick.

Tina stuck by Lucy all through first period and lunch. She spent the better part of lunch catching Lucy up to speed on the who’s who at Lincoln High. She was just downloading who to avoid when a tall dark haired girl in a black leather jacket walked in. She locked eyes with the new comer and she was sure she saw hesitation for a second. Lucy on the other hand felt pinned to the spot by her gaze. Time seemed to stand still as they stared at each other. Lucy could hear her own labored breathing in her ear and any minute  now she was sure she would pass out.

They stared at each other for what felt like ages; blue eyes locked with green; and Lucy did not feel the need to be released any time soon. The dark stranger was the first to break the trance. She veered off and made her way to a table at the far end of the cafeteria.

“W-Who is that?” asked Lucy following the stranger with her gaze.

“Oh, that would be Brea. Brea McIntosh. Remember those popular kids I told you about? The ones that are so high up on the food chain us mere mortals can only dream about what it's like to be near them? Well, she’s one of them and here comes the rest of them now,” Tina motioned to a group of mostly guys filing through the cafeteria door. “That tall one at the front is Caleb, he’s Brea’s brother and captain of the football team.”

"Oh yeah. I know him. Derrick and I met him at the mall yesterday," replied Lucy.

"Met? As in talked to?" asked Tina in shock.

"Yeah. Derrick is interested in joining the football team," she replied.

"Well Caleb and his crew are the most popular guys in school, so that makes his sister the most popular girl in school. You either wanna be them or you wanna be with them," informed Tina, her voice laced with envy.

Lucy sighed as she stole another glance at Brea. She gasped when she realized that Brea was staring directly at her. It was never easy being the new girl and she couldn’t tell if the butterflies in her stomach were caused by nerve or from being trapped in Brea’s intense gaze.

“Earth to Lucy,” Tina waved her hands to get Lucy’s attention.

“I’m sorry what?” Lucy blinked.

“Where did you go just now?”

“Just thinking.”

“Care to share?” pressed Tina.

“I just don’t like being the new girl,” she lied.

“Oh I get it,” replied Tina, giving her an understanding look. “Don’t worry. If you stick with me you’ll know everyone in no time.”

“I’m not so sure,” muttered Lucy so Tina couldn’t hear her.

“So what class do you have after lunch?” asked Tina

“Chemistry I think,” she replied distractedly.

“Oh Mr. Fritz isn’t that bad but he hates when you're late, so whatever you do-."

The bell rang cutting Tina off and Lucy was all too happy to be rid of her. She was a nice girl; but Lucy preferred peace and quiet and Tina was a little too chatty for her liking. It took Lucy all of two minutes to regret ditching Tina so soon as she was not familiar with the school as yet and had no idea where she was going. By the time she got to chemistry class twenty minutes had gone by.

Lucy was greeted by the intense stares of her classmates when she finally walked into the lab. Tina wasn’t kidding, clearly being late for Mr. Fritz’s class was taboo.

"Nice of you to join us Ms. Hayle," scolded Mr. Fritz as he looked down his glasses at her.

"Sorry. I got a little lost," she admitted, it wasn’t like they had given her a map.

"Take a seat," he said sternly before turning to address the rest of the class.

Lucy scanned the lab uncertainly for an empty seat. All the seats seemed to be taken except for one. For the second time that day Lucy found herself staring into the darkest pair of green eyes she had ever seen; and for the second time that day she lost the will to move, it was like being hypnotized.

“Any day now Ms. Hayle,” scolded Mr. Fritz in an annoyed tone.

The other students chuckled at his remark, all except for Brea, her eyes followed Lucy as she made her way past her. Lucy took her seat behind Brea just in time to hear Mr. Fritz say, “You have two weeks to get acquainted with each other, after that you will select your lab partners. I implore you, choose wisely, there will be no switching. Now open your books to chapter eight.”

Brea could hardly concentrate all through Chemistry class, she had immediately recognized those ocean blue eyes the moment she set foot into the cafeteria. She had no idea she would see the girl from the woods again, and just like the first time they had met she had been frozen in place. Her heart had done a summersault in her chest and it took all of her willpower to move. Now here she was again, seated in front of her in class, so close she could touch her with the least bit of effort. It was like fate was playing a cruel trick on her. Her head pounded from the intensity that this girl brought on. Lucy, that’s what she had heard Tina call her in the cafeteria earlier. Yes Lucy, the name rolls off the tongue quite nicely. 

Brea groaned inwardly as the scent of lilac and honey filled her nostrils. Lucy seemed extremely nervous and that heightened her scent even more. By the time Mr. Fritz got past the basics of lab safety Brea was barely hanging on by a thread. She was holding onto the desk so hard her knuckles grew white. How could this new girl affect her so badly? Brea closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath; big mistake! She got the full force of Lucy’s scent stuck in her nostrils, and all her self-control seemed to slip in one go. Her hand shot up in the air, like she had been shocked by a thousand volts of electricity.

“Mr. Fritz!” she called through gritted teeth.

“Yes Ms. McIntosh?” came his annoyed reply, he was not a man who liked to be interrupted.

“May I be excused? I think I need to go to the nurse,” she lied.

“Fine, here’s a pass,” Mr. Fritz shoved a pass her way, clearly happy to be rid of what he deemed to be a bother.

Brea bounded out of her chair, grabbed the pass and made a beeline for the door. She needed to get out of here fast, before all hell broke loose.