Chapter One

“Just think positive!” I give my mom one more long glare as I pick myself up from the passenger seat of her silver Honda civic. “What? Oh come on now sweetheart; it’s alright! You’ll like it here I promise. Someday you’re gonna thank me for…” I slam the door in her face before she can make any promises she won’t be able to keep and look up at the tall, looming building standing right in front of me. The vibrating in my pocket, I just know, is Lacey telling me she’s already missing me in her first block. The only good thing about going to this new school is that it starts thirty minutes after Lakeview High School. LVHS was in my hometown; the good ‘ole Cortland, Ohio: population 6,310. Salem, Massachusetts is a very big change. Back in Ohio there were 57 in my graduating class; I knew everyone’s name. Here, I could tell it was going to be a lot different. Salem High School is about three stories high. My whole school at Lakeview would fit on just one floor. Deeps breaths. Think positive. I might as well listen to her, at least for just today. It could help to put a little optimism in my day by thinking happy thoughts.
            Repeating it over and over, I put one foot in front of the other, and by some magical force I actually make it to the front door of the building without tripping. Some students are still going in to the school, but not many are hanging around outside. Everyone’s pretty focused on getting inside, since it is below freezing out here. Just another perk of joining a new school at the start of second semester. I sigh, but quickly erase the thought from my head. Think positive. Still too scared to enter the creepy building, I pull my phone out of my pocket and go through my messages.
            Being extremely nervous, I must have missed all the vibrating my phone had been making in my pocket. 10 new messages let me know that either Lacey has horrendous detachment problems or Steven texted me again… and again. Steven? X-boyfriend. Don’t they ever give up? We dated for a while freshman year, and things were pretty serious. That was, until I totally caught him feeling up a dude… It didn’t last long after that.
            I slip my phone back in my jeans and rub my numb hands together. I guess I might as well go inside. With only ten minutes ‘til the first bell, I could start looking for my first block. Mr. Wright, the principal, showed me around the school after hours this past Friday, but my mind is a little foggy with all the stress starting a new school has given me. I pull my book bag up tighter on my right shoulder, and grab the handle of the door, finally feeling ready to…

            Get hit in the face as the door swings violently open and whacks me right on the nose. I feel the blood start to pour, and I quickly drop my bag and fly my hand up to my face. Tears spring to my eyes, and I feel a massive headache coming on. The guy who decided to ruin my morning even more, steps out from behind the door. Red hair, 6’5”, and freckles look me straight in the eyes for about two seconds before continuing to run down the pavement. He may have said sorry, but the blood pounding in my ears wouldn’t let me hear a word, so I just forget about him.
            It hurts. Bad. And now I’m stuck out here in front of the school with probably 8 minutes ‘til first block and blood starting to ruin my brand new shirt. Way past nervous now, I throw open the door and shield my face as I run to the first restroom I find. I know kids are watching me like I’m some freak, running through their school with my hand covering my head, but things could’ve been worse… I guess. Luckily, the first bathroom I find is a ladies’, so I run to a stall, and start pulling the toilet paper out of the dispenser. It’s pretty much stopped bleeding by now, but there’s drying blood around the edge of my mouth and down my neck. I smirk at my wild eyes staring back at me in the mirror; what a wonderful vampire I would make. But at least I stayed conscious and didn’t pass out from seeing so much blood. Sometimes that happens.
            I splash a little water on the toilet paper, careful not to let it get too mushy. I stick little wads of the paper up my nose, to make sure it’s done bleeding. The blood on my face and neck is easy to get off but my shirt is a whole different story. I spring into a stall and pull my shirt off. Glad that I wore a cami underneath the shirt, I just zip my jacket up halfway and stuff the dirty laundry in my book bag. With three minutes to the bell, I dart out of the bathroom and run into a large horde of people walking towards their first blocks. I so do not have time for this. Oh, wait. Think positive.
            I notice a few people giving me funny looks, and self-consciously I pull my fingers up to my face. Oh my gosh! In a rush out of the bathroom, I had forgotten to get the toilet paper out of my nose. Completely embarrassed, and hoping not many people noticed, I nonchalantly duck my head down and pull them out. They’re not red, so I guess that means my nose has finished its little waterfall parade, and I stuff the tissue in my jeans pocket.
           
            Crowds in the hallway finally start to clear out, and I pull out my schedule to check the room number for my first class. C-104; that’s first floor. Good. Now if only I could find C hall… I notice a girl leaning up against a wall, her hair down in her face, covering her eyes. Normally she would have been the last person I would get help from, but for some reason I feel like she might understand. I don’t know, but I decide to check with her anyways. As I get closer to her, I notice her face is drawn up in a confused and frustrated face.
            Directly in front of her now, I see her eyes are closed. Weird. “Hey,” I say, hoping she’ll open her eyes, because I’m getting kinda freaked now. She doesn’t. “Hey. Do you know where C hall is?” She still doesn’t acknowledge me. And since I’m getting antsy, I decide to just touch her arm to get her attention. The second I reach my arm out and lightly touch her arm, her eyes snap open, and she looks at me with a glare that sends chills down my spine.
            “Who are you?” the girl whispers in a rough voice.
            “What?” I answer. “My name’s Aerie. I just need help finding the C hall… Please, I didn’t mean to…” I let my voice fade away, and I look back at her. “On second thought, I’ll just get going. I’ll find it myself.” I turn away, but she grabs my arm.
            “Wait, sorry. The C hall is down that way and to the right.” She smiles at me, and I smile back instinctively. I like her, even though she is a little weird… She chuckles and walks away. Okay, that was creepy.
            The tardy bell rings, and I jump and dash in the direction she pointed in.

While being the only student not in the class when the bell rings and having to stand in front of everyone like an idiot while the teacher hands you papers is not the most charming way to start a new school day, at least you get out of the whole awkward, find-a-seat number. So when you he points me to a table with a girl smiling back at me, I decide I can get along fine in this class. Science has never been a strong subject of mine, and the girl looks really smart. When I sit down next to her, she sticks out a hand and thrusts it right next to my arm. “Beatrice Holland. What’s your name?” I start to respond, but she cuts me off. “This semester is gonna be great! Don’tchya think? I’m just so excited about the prom, too. Can you imagine? It’s only like… 2 months away. What grade are you in? I’m a sophomore, but I’m taking Chemistry this semester cause I took Biology last semester. OMG, this is gonna be the best. And you are pretty. How come you were late? Did you get lost? They really could use better maps in the school. I’ll tell Henry to put some up, and maybe you could help me- ”
            “Ms. Holland?” She took a look up at the board.
            “Isopropanol and water, Sir.”
            “Correct.” I looked over at Beatrice and stared. I swear this all happened in ten seconds. She talked so quickly, I thought she would puncture a lung. And then she hears exactly what Mr. Law asks? No way was that humanly possible. I’m so screwed. I close my mouth and look back up to the front where Mr. Law is discussing a lab we’ll be doing involving rubbing alcohol.
            “So. What’s your name again? I didn’t catch it.”
            “Uh, Aerie.” I was scared she was gonna go off on another tyrant, so I slid down in my seat more, but she follows me with her entire head.
            “That is so pretty. Did you know there’s a store named Aerie? I go to it all the time. It’s so cool.” I jump in a sentence before she can keep going.
            “Actually, I’ve been around longer than the store, so you can stop talking now.” Wow that came out harsh, but it sure didn’t faze her.
            “Sure! Let’s talk after class. I have so many people I want you to meet. First, you’ll have to meet Henry, I think I mentioned him before. OH, and then Annabeth. She is just amazing. We call her Anna, though. I think you’d like her. Ooh, your names both start with A, too. That’s so cool…” She must have gone on for ten more minutes after that, but I stopped listening. I don’t have time to fail a class and be charted around by Miss Sunshine, so I just close her out.

After an eternity, a bell rings and I jump up. I thought it would never end! I grab my book bag and slip it over my shoulder. Next to me, Beatrice is stuffing a lime green bag full of books. I take a few steps away from her side of the desk and pull out my class schedule. E-517. Where is that?! I keep my face cool and sophisticated as I turn to a boy standing off to my right. “Uh, hi? Where is E-517?” He looks at me like I’ve lost an arm and turns back to talk to his friends. Jerk. I feel a tug on my back pack and turn around.
“Where’s your next class? I so hope we have it together!”
“Uhm, actually it’s US History. But, I think I can get there by myself. I don’t need anyone’s help, really.” I turn away from her, but she grabs my arm.
“Nonsense! Who do you have? I have Algebra 3, but I can find someone to walk you!”
“I have Mrs. Walker?”
“Oh! No, that’s Mr. Walker! And Henry has him at the same time as you. Hurry let’s go. He’ll walk you. He is just the sweetest guy I have ever met.” She grabs my hand and pulls me toward the door. “He’s a little bit shorter than me. But I’m really tall. So he’ll be about your height, maybe a bit bigger. You know how guys are. They’re like so tall. But that’s okay. You’re not too tall…” I drown out her voice until we step into a huge mess of chaos in the hallway. “FOLLOW ME!” she yells over the noise emanating from the students around us. People bump into me, and don’t say sorry but I just keep going. Now I’m glad I was so late to first block. I missed all this hassle. This will definitely take time to get used to.
A boy stops her as we reach a small cubby sticking into the lockers. A couple is making out in the corner, and the boy turns around and yells, “Mr. Jamison! So glad to see you. How have you been?” The two quickly separate and diverge back into the horde of people walking down the hallways. I look behind them for a teacher, but I don’t see anyone.
“Nice!” says Beatrice. I think it’s the shortest sentence I’ve ever heard her say. The guy blushes and looks at his feet.
“Thanks.” He looks between Beatrice and me and makes a puzzled face.
“New student,” she says to clear up his confusion. “Just moved here from…?”
“Cortland.” He is about to ask what state, but I stop him. “Ohio.”
“Oh, great! Well, welcome to Salem High School; home of the witches,” he says. “And don’t worry; we won’t put any spells on you!” They both laugh, but I already know this place is scary enough without witches to worry about.

Beatrice finally went to a different class, and Henry is walking me towards the E hall, pointing out different classrooms. I try to follow, but he’s talking so quickly, I just faze him out. No wonder him and Beatrice are friends. He stops in front of a door. When he opens it, we step out into a large courtyard.
“Wow. Nice,” I say. He looks over at me like he didn’t think it was that great.
“Yeah, I guess. Maybe I’m just used to it.” A few people are scattered among different tables and walking opposite directions. Four sidewalks come out of four different doors, and they meet right in the middle. When we step right into the middle of the courtyard, my head lights up on fire. I feel triple the pain I felt this morning when I had a headache. The pressure behind my eyes is excruciating, and I drop my bag to the floor to hold my hands up to my face.
“What’s wrong?” Henry asks. I look at him but his figure is all distorted. He bends down to look at me, but it hurts so bad I ignore him.
More people are starting to notice me, and a few give me nasty looks. The creepy girl from the hallway comes up and squats next to me. Behind her I see a boy with dark brown suede shoes walk with her. I feel small tears dripping onto my hands, but the pain is still too great to feel much more than that. The girl whispers in my ear, but I only catch small glimpses of what she’s saying.
“Step… circle… kill… looking… trouble…keep away.” The stranger’s friend is talking to Henry; keeping him busy, but the girl pushes her hand hard on my shoulder and I stumble out of the center of the walkways and onto the dark grass surrounding the edges. The pain immediately stops, and I sit up in bewilderment. What? I look back up to the three students looming above me. One reaches a hand, Henry, and pulls me up. The other two are leaving. The tan girl and dark brown boy both look back over their shoulders, but I look down quickly. Once I know they’ve stopped watching, I look back up to see the boy wrapping his arm around the girl’s shoulder. But she quickly pushes him off.
“Are you okay? What just happened? Ronny told me people have been having bad headaches lately. I don’t know why. I wasn’t listening. I was so worried! Beatrice is gonna kill me.”
“Relax. I’m fine, really. Who’s Ronny?” He looks at me like I’ve just asked him to jump off a bridge.
“Ronny? OH! Ronny! The guy I was talking to. Didn’t you see him? He was standing right there.” He points over to the spot where they were. “Are you sure you’re okay? I can get the nurse.”
“I’m fine. Now what was that other girl’s name?”
“Uh, I can’t quite remember. I think she’s new, too. I think it’s… oh yes, I remember! It’s Caitlyn. I remember. Cause she spells it weird; with a C. She’s kinda odd, isn’t she?” I nod my head.
“Sure, whatever. Let’s go,” I say. “I’m ready to get to class now.” He points over at my bag right in the middle of the walkways.
“You gonna get that?” he asks.
“Uhm, could you get it?” I hold my hand up to my eyes like they’re starting to hurt again. He jumps up and says, “OH my!” before grabbing the bag and slinging it over his shoulder. He grabs my hand, and pulls me across the courtyard and through a new door. I look back just once at the almost stranded square, and notice a figure with hair over her eyes watching me from behind a window.