The Veiled Bride

Chapter Three

After settling in the class, the warning bell chimed which was more like a tune used to lull babies to sleep than a warning sound. The teacher entered soon after and she was surely a beauty. Those girls didn't lie. She made all the pretty girls in class look inferior.

"Settle down everyone, it's time for art," the pretty teacher said smiling.

The class door opened and the quiet class became rowdy again as two boys entered.

"Oh my! He looks so hot today!"

"Where did he get that jacket? It's so shiny!"

"Dude's gotta tone down on his hotness. He's making our girlfriends crush on him. His friend too is no joke," one male student scoffed. He was definitely the guy in the hallway bad-mouthing me.

"I wish I had both their hotness. Girls would flock around now," one guy said dreamily.

"Snap out of it bro. You can never be like them even if you're their doppelganger. They just have this awesomeness aura around them, like some sort of royalty," I commented, blending in with the crowd and I did mean what I said from a third person's point of view. Personally, they look like players.

"Who are you?" The guy snapped, eyeing me up and down.

"I'm new," I shrugged and faced the front as the two boys went to their seats; right behind mine. Before they did though, Philip's eyes met mine and I winked.

"Do you know her?" David said as they settled behind me.

"No, I don't think so," Philip replied.

"She's cute though," David complimented and rolled my eyes. I was more than cute, I was gorgeous albeit my cover.

"So, I see we have a new student in our midst. Kindly step forward and say hi," Miss Pretty said and I sighed and got up. I specifically asked for no introduction.

"Hello, my name is Ella and I'm new in town. I am a very boring person and I hope you ignore me and continue on with the class," I said and bowed.

"Strange. Most people hope to make friends," Miss Pretty said batting her lashes cutely at me with an amused smile.

"I'm not good at making friends, so I prefer to be alone " I said and smiled politely before heading back to my dear with a series of 'boo' following me.

"Hi, maybe you could join our friends group. You seem pretty chill," David whispered to me as I sat down. I could have sworn he sniffed me hair.

"No thanks," I replied curtly and focused on the teacher. I was to not draw any attention and being a wallflower seemed like the perfect cover while I guarded little ol' Phil.

"I'm Miss Vanessa. Welcome to art class. I'll be your permanent teacher and student Counselor from now on. Feel free to offload your problems on me. Now press other button at the top right corner of the desk to activate your canvas," Miss Pretty said and I did as told, so did everyone else.

A canvas came out from the centre of the table along with the colour palette and brush. I nooded with a smile. The school was top notch. No surprise it's for the rich.

"Now the topic of today's lesson is creativity. Show me how creative you can be and draw," Miss Vanessa said and clapped. There was groaning here and there before everyone got to work.

I wasn't very artistic so I wondered what to draw. I thought deeply and then an image came to mind.

Once done, I rose my hmads as I saw others do and the teacher came to inspect my work. At first sight, she gasped. I could've sworn her cheerful eyes turned cold for a second.

"How did you paint this? Where did you see the image?" She asked, sounding shaky to which I just shrugged.

The image was of a blood red sky which had a tornado spiralling down into a bowl of red.

"Woah, that's creepy. You must've seen tons of horror films," David commented peeking at my painting.

"What did you draw?" I asked him. I felt quite uncomfortable with their reactions. So what if my dreams were weird?

"A wolf. Philip drew a Phoenix bird. He's been obsessed with that extinct creature ever since we learned about it in archaeology class," he replied chuckling. He turned their canvas to me as proof and truly, the canvasses had the two animals: A grey wolf and a brown Phoenix bird with golden wings.

"You guys are quite artistic. Both paintings look quite detailed," I commented, nodding in appreciated.

"So, what's the story behind yours?" Philip asked, with piercing eyes as if trying to figure me out.

"I don't know. I sometimes see it in my dreams right before the fire," I replied and then bit my lip. I've said too much.

"What fire?" David asked curiously. I turned back to my canvas, signalling the end of the conversation

*****************

"See me after school," Miss Vanessa said as we headed out the door. She didn't say anything after seeing my painting but instead went to inspect the others. The bell had been rung so I nodded and went to my next class.

The rest of the classes before break was uneventful and boring since I had done them all when I was homeschooled. Soon, it was time for break and I headed to cafeteria.

"Hey Ella, come sit with us," David called waving at me from a table occupied by him, Philip and some girls.

I sighed and headed to the table. The girls there were giggling at what ever when I got close.

"Thanks. The whole place is occupied. Is this how school cafeterias normally?" I asked curiously settling beside none other than David himself. He had stylishly pushed the girl beside him away from him to create space for me. Looking at them up close, it didn't seem like they were comfortable with the girls' presence.

"Yeah sure. Is this your first time?" He asked, resting his head on the table and observing me like I'm some weird human.

"Homeschooled, so yeah," I replied and began digging into my food.

"Hey, you're really pretty. And you seem close to the hottest boys in our school. Would you like to join our team?" One of the girls at the table asked, twirling a hair with her finger.

"No thanks. Are you guys like their fangirls or something?" I replied without much thought.

"Being pretty doesn't necessarily mean she'll have talent. Just let her be," Philip commented. Talent? I noticed he had been subtly looking around as if trying to find a specific bodyguard. Silly.

"I'm sure we'll find something for her to do," another girl said. She was the girl from the hallway.

"What do you do in your team?" I asked curiously.

"We're performers. We sing and dance. We perform during shows and School parties. We're sort of cheerleaders but without a sport team to cheer. We plan to become a band after high school. We call ourselves the Crimson Four. If you join us, we could become the Crimson Five," a third girl explained excitedly.

"Hmm, well I'm not really into those things. Red isn't my colour and I'm not a fan of odd numbers so.. Thanks for the invite anyway," I replied, politely refusing their weird group. I just cannot see myself singing and dancing or performing anything art.

"Do you want to spend your last year in high school as a boring, socially awkward person? We're lending out a hand here," the fourth girl asked, more like complained.

"I'm pretty sure you understood my introduction in Art class. You shouldn't be so surprised. Besides, I'm only here because of a certain someone," I stated blankly, muttering the last part. I was tired of their faux niceness. I should've been at a resort or even in the Mayor's pool house not tailing this Silliness like a freaking puppy. Why else do I have gadgets? My work was supposed to be made easier with them but no, the big guns decided to make me a leech for a more efficient result.

The girls huffed and left the table making us sigh in unison. I turned to them raising a brow.

"What? Girls can be so clingy and pressuring but you ... now I think you're a guy in a female's body," David said. "I'm David by the way, and that's Philip," he introduced to which I nodded.

"Nice to meet you guys. I would love to hang out with you but I'm supposed to be a wallflower and do not want to cross paths with those girls," I replied.

"Don't worry, we'll make it happen. We'll ensure you don't meet them while you're with us. I'm curious about something though. Who is the certain someone you're here because of?" David asked curiously. How did he catch that? I was pretty sure I spoke in very low tone. Philip suddenly focused all his attention on me. I looked between the boys and gulped quietly.

"My... Dad," I said slowly. Seriously, they had no idea I was an agent. Why would that silly question make me want to spill my guts.

"I sort of caused trouble in my old neighborhood so my dad sent me to this school across country. I moved here from Alaska. I must say, Canada is totally different from Alaska. He decided that day school would prevent neighborhood violence," I explained. Was I given a back story? Nope. I came up with it on the spot! That's how good I am! I'm boasting, I know.

"So you fight?" Philip asked giving me a suspicious look.

"Only when provoked," I shrugged and sipped my smoothie.

"That was mine," Philip pointed out, glaring at me. What's it with him and being clingy? Didn't he take my words to heart?

"Oh come on, it's just smoothie. It's not like I ate your food or anything. Besides-" I started but was rudely interrupted.

"Don't you know the concept of sharing? Yeah, I heard that this morning," Philip said frowning.

"Someone ate your food? Who would dare? Your dad?" David asked playfully.

"A freaking bodyguard," Philip sighed in exasperation and I instinctively glared at him. He couldn't even keep his mouth shut for two seconds. The moment he got, he poured out the secret info like a running tap unto the lips of his friend. Stupid!