Chapter 1 - New student.



Sometimes, I believe that the world is a big dark place. That has been my point of view on the world since my father has away from a horrible death. Why would God want to take his life away? Take him from me, from others? He was such a good guy, always with a smile on his face, generous, and loving. I really miss him. Ever since he left nothing has been the same. I wish he was still here.
“Bella, please listen, I am explaining something very important” The teacher’s voice boomed in, pulling me from my thoughts. The familiar glazed look of boredom on my face as I look up at her, standing in front of the board. She just smiles and continues talking. “Okay class, as you all may know, we have a new student that will be here in about ten minutes, right after your break, I want you all to greet him with your best”.
The Bell Rang. The teacher lifted her head, projecting her voice to over-power the resonating sound of the bell. “Remember everyone, your best”. Impatient students, anxious to leave class scurry quickly out of the door with the usual chatter and smiles that come with any break from class. I put my books away and was about to walk out as well when the teacher called. “Bella, I want to talk to you for a quick moment”. I turned around on my heels and walked to her desk. I grabbed the closest chair, twirled it around quickly and sat down. Before she could speak, a boy my age walked in and hesitated at the door and said “Oh, am I interrupting”?
“Nonsense, Peter” The teacher exclaimed and smiled. He smiled in return and walked in.
The teacher looked at me and said “Bella, do you mind showing peter around the school”? I glanced at Peter and he smiled a warm smile, I couldn’t help but smile back. I looked back at the teacher and said “Well, it’s a big school, is it okay if we are a little late”?
She smiled and said “Yes, it’s okay”
As I stood up and walked out, Peter followed behind me, eventually catching up to walk next to me, he turned towards me and asked:
“Do you mind if we can stop by the cafeteria”?
I shook my head in agreement and led the way to the cafeteria. When we arrived at the cafeteria, we were lucky to end up in a relatively short line with only a few people ahead of us. Peter turned around and looked at me. As my eyes connected with his all I could think was “Wow”. He had the most amazing eyes. His eyes were breathtakingly ocean blue, the perfect compliment to his beautiful straight black hair. His face was pale but it suited him. He noticed I was staring and as he smiled, I of course with my blushing problem, hid my face with my hair and blushed.
“You’re cute when you blush” He said still smiling.
“Oh, umm, I blush a lot”
“It’s cute” He said.
He’s the type that speaks his mind, I love it. We got to the counter and he asked for two water bottles.
“No Peter, That’s not necessary” I started to object.
“Bella, its okay, seriously, I am getting us one each, you could take it as a thank-you”. He said smiling.
I rolled my eyes with humor and said “Darn”.
He paid for the drinks we made our way off to tour the school.
“So, where’s our first stop”? He asked curiously.
“Where do you want to go”? I asked.
“Gym”
“Sure, this way” I said guiding him through the halls.
I couldn’t help but feel so protected around him. Protected? You don’t even know him! Well, I can get to know him. Great, I am talking to my inner voice.
“Are you okay”? He asked with concern. He was walking right beside me staring at me. I looked at him surprised, wondering how my face looked just a few seconds earlier.
“Okay? Yes, of course I am okay, why do you ask?
“Well, maybe because you looked like you were mad”. He said with sympathy in his voice.
I blushed, “Sometimes I think very hard”.
He let out a giggle “You and me both”.
That was most of our conversation of the day, I showed him everywhere he needed to know and returned to class, only 15 minutes later. He thanked me as he took a seat next to me and began to listen to everything that the teacher was saying, being sure to take notes. As the lunch bell rang, I walked out of the class room, only to feel a tug on my jacket. Peter’s voice rang out “Hey Bella, wait up!”
I looked back stunned and said “Oh, Okay”. He grabbed his notes and pencil and ran to catch back up with me. We entered the hallway and walked down to my locker. I put in the combination and swore under my breath. He looked at me and offered if I needed help, I back off to see if he could do any better.
“What are the numbers”. He asked.
“0-5-45”. I said
Click.
The lock came undone. I always had trouble with the lock, always having to try again and again to get the lock to click off. He looked at me and smiled and showed me how I was supposed to turn right first then left and then right again. I thanked him and put my books into my locker. He leaned on the locker beside mine, watching me as I put my stuff in. I wanted to steal a glance at him, to catch his eyes, but I knew I would blush like crazy so I kept my eyes on the books while putting them neatly in my locker.
“Do you know your locker number”? I asked.
He scrambled in his notes and said “Here it is, the number is 203”.
“That’s close to mine”.
He smiled. The kind that makes your heart skip a beat.
“What your locker number?” he asked.
I pointed at the number in the middle of my locker which was 204.
His smile widened, now showing his teeth.
He turned to his locker and punched in the number and unlocked it. He put everything in his locker and shut the door. I closed my door, looked at him and he smiled and we started to walk outside.
The breeze was the first thing that hit us, my hair flying in the wind, my face warmed by the gleaming sun. I noticed Peter was looking at me. I looked at him and smiled.
“What”? I asked.
“You’re so beautiful”. He said, not shy at admitting it.
“I-I-I am not b-b-beautiful” I stuttered.
“You are to me” He said, His gaze fixed on the path ahead of him.
I wasn’t what you called the beautiful type, I have blazing red hair that is past my shoulders, green eyes, pale face, I was skinny and really short, just over 5’3. Peter on the other hand, was extremely good looking. His blue eyes were stunning in contrast to his pale skin and dark hair. He was skinny and tall, but even through his shirt you can tell he has abs.
“See, your doing that face again” He said.
“What”? I asked.
“That face you do when you’re “thinking to hard” He said doing the motion with his fingers.
“Oh, I do that a lot”.
He smiled and said “I’ve noticed”.
We continued walking. I was leading him to the store, where most people go during lunch.
We crossed the street, headed down the road and there it was.
I was considering buying him lunch for buying me a water bottle this morning.
Peter ran ahead to open the door for me, he flashed his smile and said “ladies first”, motioning his arm for me to go inside.
I laughed and rolled my eyes as I walked in.
There had to be about thirty people in this store. I went to the drink section, feeling peter right beside me, almost close enough were our shoulders would meet. I grabbed a NOS energy drink from the shelf.
“You drink those”? He asked.
“Well, no, but I am going to” I said smiling.
“Hope you don’t get hyper” He said with a laugh.
I also laughed and said “Well, I must get hyper, when I was a kid, I always had to stay away from sugary stuff, such as cake and candy, lets just say this one time I had to much and was practically climbing everything and laughing like a crazy person”. I was smiling from the memory.
“Wow, well, our next class is gym right? He asked
“Yeah it is, at least I will work off the energy”. I said with a grin.
I grabbed two sandwiches, one for me and one for him.
I got in line and there were 7 people ahead of us.
“Bella” He said, letting my name trail on, seeming like he was going to ask or say something, but unsure how to phrase it.
I looked at him. He seemed to scramble.
“Never mind, it’s not important”. He said.
“Everything a person says is important” I argued.
“It’s not that, this is something completely different. I want to tell you something, but I’m afraid”. He finally said.
“Well, if our friendship is going to work, we’re going to have to trust each other”. I said.
“I do trust you. It’s just…” He hesitated “I’m scared that what I say might scare you”.
“Peter, trust me, nothing scares me, except for clowns for some reason” I grinned.
He let out a laugh, and I instantly began to laugh as well.
“I will tell you after school”. He said as he contained his laughter.
“Promise?” I asked.
He smiled back at me and said “Promise”.



* * *
I laughed and rolled my eyes as I walked in.
There had to be about thirty people in this store. I went to the drink section, feeling peter right beside me, almost close enough were our shoulders would meet. I grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, I grabbed two sandwiches, one for me and one for him and I got in line and there were 7 people ahead of us.
“Bella” He said, letting my name trail on, seeming like he was going to ask or say something, but unsure how to phrase it.
I looked at him.
“Never mind, it’s not important”. He said.
“Everything a person says is important” I argued.
“ I want to tell you something, but I’m afraid of what you would say”. He finally said.
“Well, if our friendship is going to work, we’re going to have to trust each other”. I said trying to lighten him up.
“I do trust you. It’s just…” He hesitated “I’m scared that what I say might scare you”.
“Peter, trust me, nothing scares me, except for clowns for some reason” I grinned.
He let out a laugh, and I instantly began to chuckle as well.
“I will tell you after school”. He said as he contained his laughter.
“Promise?” I asked.
He smiled back at me and said “Promise”.



* * *
We returned to school
He ate the sandwich I bought him, I was still eating mine.
We walked into the gym and sat on the bench, no one was in the gym except for us. I loved it when it was this quiet, where you can hear your own footsteps. He sat close to me. I nibbled on my sandwich and looked at him. He smiled and said “Don’t you wish it was this quiet all the time”
I exclaimed and said “Yes, I would love it”.
I finished my sandwich and swallowed it down with the rest of my water.
Peter put his arm around me, when I stiffened uncomfortably and he took his arm off.
“I’m sorry Bella”. He said then looked at me.
His eyes went from my eyes to my lips, I noticing he was leaning in for a kiss.
"Uh- I'm sorry Peter, I cant". I said leaning back.
He backed away and he looked at me, in my eyes.
“I’m sorry” he said after I didn’t say anything.
I kept my head down, because I was blushing so much.
“No, don’t be sorry”. I said, raising my head until we met eyes.
Ring.
“Well lunch time is over, lets get ready for gym” I said standing to my feet at once.
I felt really energetic. I could run twelve laps and not care.
Everyone was already starting to enter the room, we lined up on the black line on the gym floor, Peter stood beside me glancing at me and smiling.
I whisper “When he blows his whistle, you boot it to that side of the gym and back here, the first one here doesn’t have to do the rest of the running”. He nodded and got ready, so did I, we both watched our gym coach and he was slowly putting the whistle to his mouth. The whistle went off and peter was running beside me, same pace, he grabbed hold of my hand, pulling me to run faster, man, he ran really fast. We both were a head of everyone, we hit the first wall, then turned and we were really close to the black line, we were both ahead, he let go of my hand and made me run to the line, to make me first. I stood there and everyone coming back to the line, panting and clapping for me for being first. I nodded and glanced at Peter and smile. He smiled back, showing his teeth and said “You owe me”. We both laughed. He lined up on the line with the others, while I sat against the wall, watching him and smiling. The coach blew his whistle again and I watched Peter, running his fastest, way a head of everyone. He hit the wall and turned and ran towards me. To me, everything was in slow motion. His hair blowing, his shirt moving gracefully in the wind, I couldn’t think right. He was by my side looking at me, panting, his breath against my cheek, making my hair blow a bit. I turned to him and smiled. “You made it first, now you can sit out of this round”. I said.
He smiled and sat beside me, putting his arm around me, this time I didn’t stiffen. Everyone clapped for him, and we watched them run fast and back. Soon the two last people were left. This is the part where, whoever is the last one, has to do 10 push-ups. It was against Stephanie, a girl in my class, who was chubby and Steve, a boy in my class, he was skinny but took things easy, he was really mellow.
They raced to the line and made it back. Steve won by an inch. Stephanie did her push-ups and we lined up on the line and we waited for what sport we were going to be playing today.
The coach said “Today, we have a choice on going to a walk to the beach, or stay and play dodge ball, which one, raise you hands for walk to the beach”.
I smiled big and raised my hand, Peter saw my vote and raised his as well, there was quite a few who raised their hands.
“Okay, beach it is”. He said.
There were a few groans, but other than that, others seemed happy to be going to the beach.
We all lined up and waited for our coach. He was a nice guy, he was tall, muscular, he had brown hair and hazel eyes, his skin color was like a tanned orange. He was in his mid 30’s. Many of my classmates flirted with him. It was obvious by the way the twirled and flipped their hair.

* * *

We all got ready and headed for the beach. It was a beautiful day. The sun was gleaming, there was not even a cloud in the sky. We all listened as the waves crashed their way up to shore. In the crisp breeze you could smell the salty mist of the cool ocean water.We walked along a path, many of my classmates were taking apples from trees and whipping them at others.
......................................................................................................................
Peter and I decided to walk together, a head of everyone, practically leading the way while others fooled around and shooting apples. This would give peter and I a good chance to start knowing each other more. I guess I will have to start the conversation, so I choose a random question.
“So peter, where are you from”? I asked, catching his attention.
“England, as you can tell with my accent”. He smiled.
“Oh, right”. I said laughing from the obvious.
“Bella, later do you want to come over to my house and hang out, I can show you my drawings” He said.
“Sure, I didn’t know you draw” Smiling and playfully punched his arm.
“Yeah, well I am not exactly the artistic type, but I am improving”.
“That’s good, maybe after that I can show you my favourite place in the world”.
“Really, that sounds interesting”.
“Oh it is” I said in a mysterious voice and winked.
“Describe it to me”.
“Okay, the only sound there is birds singing and the trees dancing in the wind, water splashing from the brook, as you lay there, all your bad memories, anything bad, just disappears and you feel at home once again”. My smile fading as I remember my father. His face always coming to mind. His last words I will treasure forever. My last moments. The last time I ever saw him.
“Dads home”! I yelled watching him pull up into the driveway. I ran as fast as I could down the stairs to meet him at the door. He walks in and sees me coming for him and drops his briefcase and coat aside and spread his arms. Making me jump into his arms and twirls me around. I laugh and giggled and whisper “I missed you”. He kissed my forehead and says “ I missed you too angel face”. He leaves his shoes on and walked to the kitchen to see my mom. I follow him into the kitchen and help my mom with drying the dishes. “Hunny, I only came to get some stuff from my office upstairs and I will be back sometimes this week, I am going to go to Paris for a bit, were having a meeting up there”. He said. My hands are weak and I drop a plate. Hearing it smash on the hardwood polished floor, smashing into a million pieces. My father looks down at me, with a sad expression and says “Oh, angel face, I will be back, I promise, and I will bring you a nice gift”. I look at him mad “ I don’t want a gift, I want you”. My voice almost yelling but im trying to control it. “I will be back, I promise” He says, placing his hand on my shoulder. I jerked my body and ran out the kitchen before he could see my tears about to stream down my cheeks like a waterfall. I ran up the stairs and slammed my door and locked it. The first thing I run for is my cat, Sylvester. Who had green eyes and was covered with black but with white fur on his belly. He was sitting on the window sill. I grabbed him , hugged him and burry my face in his fur. Second thing I run for is my bed to sit on and calm down. I hear my fathers footsteps, he is walking up the stairs on the way to my room. He knocked on my door and says “ Angel face, please unlock the door, don’t I get a goodbye hug”?
I yell “ No, your never ever hear to stay an visit, it is always work first”.
“Okay, I am sorry to bother you, goodbye, I love you”. His footsteps fading, as I hear the front door open I get off the bed and look out the window. I see my father getting into his car and drive away. That was the last time I ever saw him again.



My eyes fill with tears, there’s a lump in my throat as I try to hold back my tears. Peter stopped walking and realized that I was crying, obviously I wasn’t doing such a good job hiding my tears. He was alert at once.
“ Bella, what’s wrong, tell me”. He says
I cover his mouth so no one else and hear him. But it was too late, everyone eyes were on me.