Myth Breaker

05| Myths

I follow swiftly behind the ever-smiling Lucian as he walks us through the crowded hallways, he looks like he might have rushed through the people easily but stays right in front of me giving me that easy empty space in his wake for me to slip into. I'm hidden by his wide shoulders but it doesn't stop the other students around us from noticing me and of course gossiping with their friends about me.

The main point of the gossip is that no one thinks I belong here, that even if Annie is my grandmother it doesn't give me any sense of belonging. Little do these people know I've never really belonged anywhere.

Lucian walks us past an open classroom door inside my eyes and quickly finds Nathaniel, his back to me as he speaks with one of the other teachers, one that was not at the cottage for our meeting. My eyes catch the other teachers and he looks at me, resentment leaking out of his eyes. Nathaniel turns to see and when he catches mine he turns with a glare that I'm not sure is meant for me or not.

The look doesn't stop the other teacher from loudly announcing to Nathaniel and everyone else outside the classroom.

"Just like her mother, doesn't belong here and is just making the other students suffer unnecessarily."

Her words are like glass in my throat and I have to breathe deeply before Lucian finally has us moving past the open door and back into the sea of people. Clearly, he had heard and now he moves so he's standing closer to me, protecting me but my mind is elsewhere, barely noticing my surroundings.

My mother had come to this school, probably bullied and looked down on for whatever reason and now it's happening to me as well. Is this the reason my mother hates Annie so much, hates this school?

As the thoughts swirl around in my mind something comes crystal clear. I will not let these people bully me out of here if nothing but to show them wrong. This is my home for now and even if the students and teachers don't want me here Annie says she does and that's all that matters to me.

My eyes catch another student glaring right at me and my resolve tries to shift, I hold their glare returning it with my own before Lucian can continue walking us to our next class.

I turn my eyes to Lucian but instantly I know he's not happy. His smile is not the normal easy-breezy smile but a tense fake smile. I follow his line of vision to see him glaring at a group of guys leaning against the wall whispering amongst themselves, not low enough that their hurtful words can't be heard of the bubble of noise. The guys look up laughing about a lame joke told at my expense but when their eyes catch the angry look in Lucians they all quickly fall silent, their faces losing color instantly. Lucian walks right past them continuing on his way.

Feeling slightly like I might be putting Lucian in an awkward situation I give his jacket a quick tug, he turns to me instantly and it's like all the tension that was building in his body disappears as he looks at me, a genuine smile stretching his face and lighting his eyes.

The look on his face as me losing all the stress as well, and suddenly the thought of losing him in the middle of all this has me scared and worried. I wouldn't be able to hold my head even half as high if he wasn't beside me, so instead of what I was going to ask him, I say the first thing that comes to mind.

"So your friend from before? Ummm, Cedric?" He nods quickly, curtly and I notice the way his shoulders seem to tense up instantly at his name but as I say Cedric, my thoughts are filled instead with images of Cedric. The strange boy who had given me his jacket without a second thought clearly didn't think I didn't belong here. I pull the jacket tighter around me, the earthy scent of Cedric envelops me just like the hug from Annie did my first day here.