Hell's Angel (EDITING)

3 - Andrew | Moving always sucks

This place is intimidating.

I'm standing in front of my new high school, and it's much bigger than the last place I went to. It's all gray concrete and barred windows—really more of a prison aesthetic than a place of learning. And it's built right in front of a world famous cliff.

Yeah, this crappy town that mom's job transferred her to is famous for one thing—the cliff that stands one-thousand-metres off the ground. You'd think they'd be smart enough not to build a school right in front of it.

I chew on my bottom lip as I stare at the depressing gray building. There are groups of students milling about in various cliques, some of them turning and staring at me. Of course, I had the misfortune of starting here right in the middle of the school year.

The weather matches the mood, drizzling and foggy. Wishing I had brought a hoodie, I shiver and rub at my upper arms. No one else is wearing one because it's summer, but it's still chilly here. I dread to think what winter would be like. I'm used to the heat.

Hesitantly, I turn back to the car to see that my dad has already driven off.  Guess it's too late to back out now. I let out a cold huff of breath and make my way into the building.

I'm late to my first class. I had some trouble finding it, and I got delayed with putting my stuff in the locker. The locker to my right was still unassigned, but my left-side locker-mate stared at me a bit creepily when I went to store my extra books. I know I should've probably introduced myself and tried to make some friends, but when I looked at him it felt like the words were getting strangled in my throat.

I'm really bad at talking to new people. Especially ones that just stare at me with their piercing cat-like eyes. My throat still feels a little dry with the words that didn't come out earlier. I wish I were one of those people who could just sail into a new place and strike up a conversation with anyone there.

My new locker-mate turned out to be in all my classes for the first half of the day. He sat somewhere behind me but I could feel him staring at the back of my head, as if he wanted to say something. Lunch time rolls around and he finally speaks up when I go back to put away the rest of my books.

"Hello."

I turn to see him leaning against his locker, staring at me expressionlessly. Dark, tousled hair falls over his face, high cheekbones and strong, angular features contradicting his softly curved mouth. He looks like he's trying to smile but it comes off as more of a grimace.

"Would you like to have lunch with me?" He enunciates slowly.

I'm taken aback. It feels like an odd request to make, or rather, it's his tone and the way he worded it. I had expected to sit alone in the cafeteria, it being my first day and all. I'm so horribly awkward in social situations when I have to meet new people...this is the first student I've spoken to all day. Well, technically, I haven't spoken to him yet—and he's still staring at me expectantly.

"Uhh um...." I clear my throat. "Uh yeah, sure."

He turns on his heel and strides to the cafeteria. I pause for a moment before slowly following him, still horrified at the weird mumbling sounds that had left my mouth. He doesn't look back once as he goes to sit at a table, and I half-think that I had misheard him.

I trail behind him and stand hesitatingly at the seat opposite his. He glares at me for a long time...until I start to wonder whether he had been speaking to someone else earlier. My eyes widen as I consider this possibility. Of course he hadn't wanted to sit with me. He's probably glaring because he's trying to save the seat for someone else. This is so embarrassing.

My throat feels too stuck to mutter out an apology. I'm about to slowly inch away when he suddenly gets up and crosses over to my side of the table. He pulls out my chair and then grabs the tray from my hands, slamming it down on the table.

This is really even more awkward.

I thought earlier was awkward. This is much, much worse.

He even waits till I'm seated and then he pushes my chair in before he goes back to his seat. I can feel the heat rushing to my cheeks. I'm positive they're redder than they've ever been. I can't believe that just happened to me. Now he thinks that I was actually just standing there and waiting for him to help me to my seat. My life literally sucks sometimes. It's like there's some cruel force in the universe that just lives to create uncomfortable scenarios for me. (it's me, I'm the force).

All around us the rest of the cafeteria is filled with laughter and noise. But the two of us sit in dead silence as he creepily stares at me throughout the meal. I try really hard to think of something to say, but nothing comes to mind. Anything would have been better than this uncomfortable silence.

"I'm Andrew!" I suddenly burst out, realizing that we still hadn't introduced ourselves.

"I know," he replies, his expression unchanging.

"How do you know?" I ask, surprise overpowering my usual tendency to keep quiet.

His eyes widen very slightly. His expression shifts to one of realization for a fleeting moment before he replies, his face going back to its usual expressionless state.

"I know because you just told me," he says stiffly.

"Well...."

It's such a weird thing for him to say but I don't question it because everything about him seems weird anyway.

We don't talk after that, and the break finally ends. I'm glad to get away from him. The rest of the school day goes on the same, and then my dad comes to pick me up.

"How was your day, bud?" he asks as I get in the car.

"It was fine," I lie, trying my best to smile. He was worried about us moving here. He knows how I get around new places and new people.

"Did you make any new friends?"

"Yes...." I start hesitantly. Dad raises a brow in surprise. Clearly, he hadn't expected this to be possible.

"What are their names?" he asks, intrigued.

"Uhh...." I realize that the creepy guy hadn't even told me his name. I guess I just have to refer to him as creepy guy. "I forgot to ask."

Dad laughs at that, thankfully, and doesn't press the matter. We drive home in comfortable silence, and I go up to my room to get started on homework.