The World Beyond Me

Chapter Seven: New friends

After the fourth period was over Mabelle had offered to help me find my last class of the day. I had accepted her offer since she seemed to know the school better than anyone else. So now me and Mabelle were walking up a set of stairs. For some reason, I had to take some of my classes (drama, dance, music, and art.) with the grade eight’s! My teacher said I only had to do rotary subjects with them, and that it would help me overcome my anxiety. At first, I had been petrified, but right now I was more worried about what had happened during the break. Mabelle saw how worried I was and reassured me saying that

“They wouldn’t tell anyone what happened because it would cost them too much of their reputation. I bet a million dollars that they'd never ever admit they’d been beaten by some newbie, especially you. No offence. You might have even earned a little bit of respect by showing them how courageous you are! Not many kids have had the gut to stand up to them like that! Relax, you're a hero!”

To which I responded with, “I am?” still not convinced.

“Well, you did save my bracelet,” Mabelle pointed out.

Besides Mabelle’s reassurances, I still couldn’t help but worry.

What if they told on me anyway?

What would happen then?

What if they told the police and wanted me arrested?

What if I get arrested and go to jail?!

I can’t go to jail! I still had my whole life ahead of me!

It isn’t even the end of my first day of school and I might already be a potentially wanted criminal!

By the time we reached the end of the stairs, I was so focused on my thoughts I must’ve missed the final step and nearly fell down an entire flight of stairs! Thankfully I didn’t. Someone had managed to swiftly catch me before I did. A set of collective gasps filled the stairs, as I looked up to meet my saviour’s icy blue eyes, I froze. They were as cold and as blue as the freezing waters of the arctic. His grip was firm but gentle, and his icy blue eyes stared back into the depths of my soul. I was still dazed by everything that had happened that I forgot to breathe. His overgrown jet black hair drooped over his face, his face was tense, and his heartbeat was steady, while mine was still increasing at an alarmingly rapid pace. He gave me a poker face showing me his lack of interest, but his eyes glistened trying to tell a different story. Before I had a chance to thank him or say anything for that matter I was whisked away by Mabelle who immediately started talking and would not stop! I desperately scanned the crowd trying to spot the boy who just saved my life, but he was nowhere in sight. It was as if he’d just vanished. Mabelle must’ve noticed I wasn’t paying attention to a word she was saying and said,

“Hello?! Earth to Emma! One moment you're with me, next moment I’m looking for you at the bottom of the stairs worried you’ve fallen down, third I find out you somehow didn’t?! Wanna explain?! How the heck did you not fall!?!?!?!?” she shrieked.

Once again before I could answer someone emerged from the crowd and said.

“Not how, but who.”

I turned around to find a tall girl with olive-green eyes, luscious long raven black hair that had an electric blue ombre at the end and was tied into a very high ponytail. She wore a white T-shirt, jeans, and a camo sweater tied around her waist.

“Huh? Oh, it’s you. Could you be less cryptic, please?

The olive-eyed girl looked amused.

“Why? I thought you liked riddles,” she said, obviously finding annoying Mabelle amusing.

Mabelle let out an aggravated groan, she was clearly annoyed.

“Common Sa-Olivia, You know I suck at riddles! Common, just cut to the chase and tell me!!! Please~” she said in an eager impatient voice.

I was afraid that a fight might break out between the two of them, but to my surprise, the tall girl began to laugh and gave in.

“Alright, alright, I’ll tell you. I was waiting for Nate but-”

She was just then interrupted by a boy who had slightly long silky, shiny, raven black hair with a few electric blue highlights that matched perfectly with Olivia’s ombre.

“Nate’s in the house, someone called my name?” he said, flashing us all a wide grin, I wanted to correct him by saying that we were in an institution primarily advocated to educate children.

Street name: school, but I decided against it since I’d recently discovered the term nerd. I didn’t know the exact definition but it was said that nerds weren’t very well respected, at least amongst my fellow classmates and peers.

“You're late.” Olivia pointed out.

“I’m not late, you're just early” Nate responded in a rather presumptuous tone.

“Fourth period ended 10 minutes ago,” Olivia said once again stating the obvious in a rather bored tone.

“You know how Ms. Smith always likes to go, ‘The bell doesn’t dismiss you, I do!’ at the end of every class”, he said, imitating a woman’s high-pitched voice with his own.

That set Olivia and Mabelle into a set of giggles, but Nate ignored them and went on, “You wouldn’t know because you always skip the last five minutes of class by using some excuse, and surprisingly she lets you! Like, if I ever tried that she’d just say, ‘you can wait until the end of class’,” He said using that higher-pitched voice of his again.

Olivia smirked and said, “What’d you do this time?”

“Me?” Nate said in an overly dramatic way pretending to be offended, I could tell he wasn’t actually offended because he broke into a smile two seconds later.

“What makes you think that?” He asked with a sheepish grin on his face.

“Oh, I dunno. Maybe it has nothing to do with the fact that last week Ms.Smith felt the urge to do nothing but lecture us on the fact that she found a whoopie cushion on her chair the day before” Olivia said, using the same voice Mabelle had referred to as sarcasm.

“Anybody could have placed that there, and Ms.Smith has a tendency of overreacting anyway,” Nate said, shrugging it off as though it was nothing.

“Oh, I’m sorry let me speak more clearly since you obviously didn’t get it the first time, a whoopie cushion with YOUR name on it!” Olivia said slightly annoyed that Nate wasn’t taking this more seriously.