BLACK

Moving

My mother and I moved to a new house about a week ago. It was a lake house on top of a hill. My mother's dream house, she fell in love with it the moment she walked inside and made an offer the same day.

Six weeks later, we were moving in and I was transferring to a new school. It was both exciting and nerve racking at the same time.

Who wouldn't be nervous moving to a new school in the middle of the school year? Especially to a school that's all the way from the other side of the country. Florida is a long way from California and I don't know how am I going to fit in with the cool kids from the valley.

My anxiety was getting the best part of me. I don't think I slept at all the last three days and you can tell by the big bags under my eyes.

Tomorrow is my first day of school and I hoped for no one to notice the newest girl in school. It's a small high school so I know everyone will be curious.

I hate getting unsolicited attention.

I swallowed a big breath and convinced myself everything is going to be alright. No one is going to pay attention. I'm nobody; just a mediocre girl from a red neck town in central Florida.

I plucked my schedule from my phone. First period is History. Great! My least favorite subject. The location doesn't match any room numbers anywhere near the front office building which means I have to walk all over school just to find the right building.

It was a little scary. The atmosphere in the building were a little heavy that it made the hairs on my skin stood. I've always been terrified of ghosts, spirits and the dark ever since I was young. Even though I never seen one in my life.

It felt like something or someone is behind following me that I kept my head stiff and tried not to turn around.

It's okay. I tried to calm myself. It's just your imagination.

It's a breath of relief when I finally made it to the classroom. It was a small class. Probably twenty students. We moved to a small town in the middle of nowhere after all. I don't suspect the population is any more than one thousand.

The students all looked up as I opened the door and poked my head in, too many curious eyes assessing me. The notion of having everyone staring at me was enough to get my heart pumping, and blood rushing to my head making me a little dizzy.

I pulled myself together as the teacher waved me inside, I handed her my slip. "I'm the new transfer student."

She's a heavy Hispanic woman, she smiled once she read my note and said welcome. She soon sent me to the empty seat on the back of the room. I was relieved when I didn't have to introduce myself. She could probably sense my anxiety and decided not to put me through the nightmare of having to speak in front of the class. God bless her.

Just when I thought it would be harder for my new classmates to stare at me at the back of the room, somehow being in the back of the class wasn't enough to avoid all the attention.

A boy sat next to me leaned in, "I'm James." He said in a quiet husky voice. He seemed like the overly friendly type. The kind of boy who flocked over to the scent of fresh meat before anyone else beat him to it.

"Grace." I whispered back.

"So, where you from?" James asked. 

His curiosity was accompanied by his touring eyes that seemed to assess me deeper than needed to be. James seemed like a very attracted boy even at first sight. Ashy blonde hair and green eyes. Tall nose and heavy jaw line. He's built like a star quarterback and I could only imagine he's one of the more popular guys in this godforsaken tiny town.

"Florida." I answered.

"No wonder you have a nice tan."

I gave him a faint smile. "I'm half Filipino."

He gave a big gesture of surprise; his smile grew larger. "Really? I would've taken you for a Puerto Rican."

"I get that a lot."

I knew I should've worn a sweater on my first day of school. James kept glancing at me which made me a little uncomfortable. The weather was cool enough for it but I didn't want to look out of place. No one wears a sweater at 70 degrees in northern California.

"Must be a completely change of pace." James asked or assumed. I couldn't tell from his voice.

I gave him another smile before a warning groan from  Mrs. Fork made us both quiet down.

The rest of the morning passed in about the same crippling slowness. A minute felt excruciating long and by the time we finished for lunch, I was exhausted. I was happy to get out of the stuffy room and it just so happens that James was on my Calculus class also.  At least he wasn't sitting next to me this time but that didn't help because he still managed to invite me to sit with him for lunch.

"It's lonely eating alone." He said as though he's doing me a favor. No one likes to feel like an outcast especially on their first day of school. 

"I guess it's my luck, I like being alone." I answered politely turning him down.

Being an introvert has it's perks.

"Well, maybe next time." He smiled hopeful. "I wouldn't want to pressure you."

I followed the traffic towards the cafeteria and realized, the same shitty menu. Dried chicken nuggets and french fries. Or I could have a dry sandwich on the other side. I guess it doesn't matter what part of the country you are, school lunches are equally horrible.

It didn't take long before the cafeteria is filled with students. I noticed the crowd of people. The same group of popular kids, athletes, rebels and trouble makers grouped together,  choosing to be with people they have in common in order to feel like they belong. I never had the need to belong to a group. I never wanted to be popular, too clumsy to be an athlete and too mellow to be a trouble maker. I much rather be alone. I never felt like I belonged anyway. Ever since I was young, it always felt like there's something different about me. I've always preferred the company of dogs more than anyone. A pack of free spirited dogs always felt more like home. 

I ate my lunch fast, wanting to get out of the crowded cafeteria taking my tray to the nearby trash can when I passed a group of students. They were sitting far away from the rest, towards the back of the building. Each one of them dark skinned with long black luxurious hair. They're built with innately natural muscles that seemed to define them separately from the rest of the student body. I couldn't tell whether they were native or not, but I wasn't given a chance to stare longer when one of them caught my curious eyes.

His deep brown eyes flicked into mine and held it with intensity that even for that split second he held my stare, I felt the weight of it and the panic he was able to inflict in me.

I inclined my head down, nervous as my heart pounded beneath my chest. I managed to walk and dump my leftovers to the trash can when my gaze found them again, this time, they were all staring at me.

Three men with dark set of eyes boring into mine. Each one intimidating and drowning.