Convergence - The Last Science #2.1 - In Plain Sight

B2: Chapter 1 - The First Day of School - V

  They reached the classroom just in time for the bell to ring. Quinn pulled her out of the way to the side as the door swung open and dozens of kids trooped out. Natalie felt a bit overwhelmed already. She'd never seen that many kids her age in the same place in her life, except maybe the time she'd gone to Disneyland with her dad.

  The thought of her father, however brief, sent Natalie's chest into a tight knot. She had to force herself to breathe. In and out. In and out. Everything's fine. I am okay. I'm supposed to be here. I'm Jennifer Heshire. Heshire's a stupid name but it's all we could come up with at the time. At least my real name's still kinda there.

  "You good?" Quinn asked, noticing her tensing up.

  Natalie had to take a second before she could answer. "Totally. I'm just super new."

  "Not asthma or anything like that?"

  "Nope. I'm good." She lowered her voice slightly, though the rest of the kids were already gone. Only a few had even given her a passing glance standing off to the side of the door. "I was homeschooled until now. I don't like crowds."

  "Oh. Well that makes sense," Quinn said thoughtfully. "Especially in a school like this. We're one of the biggest in the state. You're really jumping into the deep end here."

  "Yay me."

  "Come on, we gotta get your stuff." Quinn lead her inside, where the teacher was prepping for her next period. Quinn handled everything smoothly, introducing her and explaining their absence, getting an overview of what she'd missed (a syllabus—she'd never even heard of such a thing), and promising to be on time the next go-round. Natalie only spoke once or twice, letting Quinn handle all the talking. She liked that he was helping her so much without making her feel stupid. She was still getting her bearings, and the teachers were pretty intimidating too.

  She wondered why she felt so scared of all these people, even the other kids. She'd been in fights with actual monsters and she'd gone up against the scariest man in the world. She hadn't been afraid for a moment around them, not really. Even now, thinking back to those encounters, Natalie didn't feel anything but a sense of pride and accomplishment. Okay, a little fear, yeah, but she'd done her part. She'd helped beat them and probably saved the world. Or something like that. At least, she'd definitely helped save Rachel and her friends.

  She wished Rachel would talk to her again. Lily informed Natalie that it wasn't just her—Rachel had vanished from the map entirely. No one had heard from her in months. But Natalie and Rachel had something special. Rachel should have at least kept in touch with her, if no one else.

  Where are you, Rachel?

  Natalie breezed through the next two periods with only a few pointers. Switching classrooms every hour was weird, but she liked the variety at least. She mostly sat toward the back and tried not to draw much attention to herself. Quinn seemed to be one of those kids everyone liked, but no one really hung out with. He had a few friends who said hi, but they gravitated away to the popular kids like wolves joining a pack. It gave him plenty of time to talk to Natalie, explaining every little detail about school.

  She felt so lucky her cover story hadn't changed from being homeschooled, because she really didn't know how a normal school worked. Quinn had to show her how lockers worked, when to speak up or be quiet in class, where the supplies and things were, how the cafeteria worked, everything. There was just so much to cover. Natalie had never quite understood just how small her hometown was until Quinn pointed out that their grade was about three hundred eighth graders. Three hundred! Just her grade! Natalie's home only had that many people when the college was in session!