Chapter 34 Bowmore High
686words
I shredded my jacket, intended to cover up the abrasions on my arms, dreading the idea of having to enter my first day looking like I got mauled by a bear.
I kept my hair loose to hide the cuts on my neck, only to get rewarded with mouthfuls of my hair each time I tried to respond to the boatman's questions.
A big part of me was glad I managed to miss the ride over with Kayn and Ember, but I wished otherwise as I passed through the vast, rusty wrought-iron gates of Bowmore high.
Heads turned at the scent of fresh meat.
I folded my arms across my chest as people's eyes zeroed in on them, gaping shamelessly, as I passed down the extensive hallway.
At that point, I regretted taking off my jacket and figured it might have been better to die of hyperthermia instead.
The school was colossal for an average of three-hundred and forty students occupying its red-brick halls, leaving me wondering what they did with all the extra space.
I had a feeling that I was going to spend more time than I'd like inside the school gym. As I plotted excuses not to partake in any physical activities in class, I realized that I had no idea where the office was.
Hesitant, I glanced around for a face that appeared friendly enough to approach, but it seemed people ran in crowds here.
I almost ended up trying to talk to a group of goth kids when they moved out of the way to reveal someone sitting alone on the far end of the hallway.
A pale, freckled girl with large glasses sat perched at the edge of a broken mermaid fountain, her face inches from an open book almost as large as my backpack.
Beside her lay an open sketchbook with a pencil. Her fingertips had gray smudges on them as if moments before she was drawing and got sidetracked by the book.
I pulled the strap of my backpack tighter over my shoulder, crossing my arms again before I headed toward her.
She didn't look up as I paused beside her, enthralled by the book she held almost up to her nose. I turned my head to the side, curious about what she was reading.
It was the fifth installment of Harry Potter. A pang of envy struck me when I realized it was a collector's edition.
I was so busy admiring the cover art that for a moment, I had forgotten why I was there in the first place and didn't notice she was glancing up at me.
"Cool cover, isn't it?" she beamed at me. I wasn't sure if she deliberately ignored my startled expression, or if she didn't notice, she held up the book in her one hand. "Unfortunately, I only have the first two, and then this one. I'm still trying to convince my parents to get me the rest of the collection. It's a bit hard to find them though, you know?"
"Collector's editions are pretty hard to get hold of."
"Exactly," she exclaimed, turning to give me a sideways glance. "Why are you talking to me? Don't tell me you're one of Kate's new minions."
My eyes widened. "Kate? I've never met her. I'm new, and I hate to admit it, lost too."
"I see." She pinned me with a suspicious look. "Are you sure, though? Because ruining people's lives is not cool. I still have yet to recover from this." She lifted a hand and pointed at her shoulder-length, chocolate-brown hair.
I nodded, not sure what she was referring to. "I swear, I'm here with good intentions only. Well, lost and confused intentions."
She stared at me for a moment as if she was deciding what to do before she got up from the fountain and procured a backpack from behind it, stuffing her book into it.
"What are we looking for?" she asked, gathering her art and putting those into her bag.
