Chp 1. A Surprise

The sound of the bell sent a small shock of pain into my ears telling me to head to class.

“Brittney, I don’t feel so well today.” I murmured, scratching my scalp under the tight blonde bun I enjoyed having my hair in a bun for my hair is massively thick and curly and I could like a lion at time, but having my hair up in a bun made me look and felt professional and organized. 

“What do you mean?” Brittney question as she opened up the school door in front of us. I suddenly scrunched up my face for the halls smelled like cleaning supplies. I looked down at the floors and saw how shiny and clean they were. You could see your reflection through the protection glass of trophy cases. The custodians had cleaned every inch and spot of this school, but sometimes I think they use too much cleaning detergent or soap for as soon as I entered and inhaled the inside of my nostrils burned a little and made me a little teary eyed. I rubbed my nose gently and sighed.

“It’s just something deep down inside of me. Something is off putting today.” I said softly.

“Did you get your monthly gift?” she joked. I rolled my eyes and shook my head gently

“No,” I chuckled. “It’s not that.”

“We’ll today is Monday, and nobody likes Monday.” She said. Brittney puckered her lips as she slipped on some quick cherry chopstick. She was an awesome 18 year old character. At time she could be very witty and have a stunning positive attitude. When I was negative, she was positive for me. We took a right and went through some double doors, walked a few feet down, glanced at a few posters that hung on the walls, made another right, and entered through another pair of double doors again that bared the name “Mrs. H’s Theater Class.”
Just before entering the classroom, I turned to look at Brittney. 

“Well, maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s just Monday.” I let out a reluctant sigh, but was not sure in my answer.

“Exactly, now how do I look?” Brittney asked as she twirled around as to let me examine her. She fluffed up her curly blond hair and smoothed out the wrinkles in her body tight black shirt. She fixed her lacy choker making it nice and straight. I smiled as she slapped her tight blue jeans and clicked her black combat boots upon the white linoleum floor.

“You look like me, same kind of hair, eyes, height, hotness, and humor.” I smiled.

“Now what about me, do I look ok?” I asked giving her a spin in return in my brown Melissa Tall Lace boots that laced up to my knees. I of course had to very tight blue jeans to wear these gorgeous shoes. I patted my bun and the top of my head to make sure no loose hairs or baby hairs stuck out. I showed off my new corset.It was a beautiful fitted black velvet Victorian corset with lace trim at the flared cuffs. It was decorated with red and black satin ribbon on the front. The corset itself hugged me tightly throwing off my curves with a zipper in the back. Putting my hand behind my back I made sure the zipper stayed put and hidden under the extra flap of fabric.

“You look like me.” She giggled. Brittney was right, we physically looked similar and our fashion styles shouted out Goth! She and I were short, a little less than 5 feet. I had dirty blonde with deep bluish green eyes. My hair tightly pulled back in a fancy donut shaped bun. I was usually cheerful and positive in the mornings, but today just felt really odd. I couldn’t put my finger on it. We entered through the double doors in front of us.

“I just love to act in the mornings.” Brittney sighed happily.

“Good morning, ladies!” A familiar positive sounding voice, that I enjoyed hearing in the mornings, called out to us.

“Good morning Mrs. Hackenburg.” Brittney and I replied happily. I surveyed the classroom feverishly looking for anything or anyone out of the ordinary. In theater class our seats sat in three arc shaped rows. Some students were chatting with other students. Others had their cell phones out texting as fast as they could with their fingers before the bell rang. A couple of students had a pencil in their hand, paper and book in their lap, trying to write furiously to finish last minute homework. Letting out a sigh of relief, everything looked and seemed normal, but then I frowned when I spotted four new faces at the very back of the room. They dressed in unusual casual dark clothing. They didn’t wear any bright color apparel or accessories. The colors of black, grey, dark grey, and brown clothed them entirely. The four of them had their heads dipped sort of low whispering to each other softly. They may seem to look like a couple of regular students to others, but there was something about them, their aura that surrounded them was off putting.

“Are you kidding me?” I gasped gently.

“What’s wrong now Elizabeth?” Brittney questioned

“I think I know why I’m feeling so down today,” I groaned

“Why?”

“We have new students.” I leaned over to whisper in her ear. One of the boys suddenly made eye contact with me. He had luscious chestnut hair with deep ocean blue eyes. He wore a solid black V neck shirt that sort of hugged his body, in which slightly outlined to what appeared to be a 6 pack of abs. The tightness of his sleeves around his arms showed he was a bit muscular. His dark blue jeans hung lowly around his hips.  His face was sort of stern and looked uncaring; the way he pursed his lips with his eyes narrowed and looking down at the floor.

“Hey, he looks kind of cute.” Brittney said as she pointed to one of the boys who had very dark brown hair. I broke eye contact with the boy as I moved to see who she was pointing to. 

“You’re already taken.” I giggled softly. Even though Brittney had a boyfriend she and I never stopped looking or talking about cute guys. 

“I know, but I can state my opinion, can’t I?” She chuckled backed.

“So who is it that you think is cute?” she suddenly asked me. I was quiet and cautious to reply at first, but then I spotted him again.

“The one that looks like a junior, the chestnut haired one,” I replied gently. The boy again made eye contact with me, only this time he also gave me a smile.

“ELIZABETH!” I turned my surprised face to see where the yelp of my name had come from.

“What’s up with you?”

Oh Alyssa. Alyssa hollered to me from her seat. She would admit to you that she’s too lazy to get up and greet people, so she just decides to holler instead.  She gave me a great big smile with her sparkling brown eyes. In one hand she held a coffee mug; take small sips, while the other lay comfortably on her big broad chest. She had her short length brown hair tied back in a ponytail to show off her happy morning expression. I sometimes wish I had the power of morning brightness and bubbliness, but then I didn’t like coffee, while she did. I envied her for she had a sarcastic and witty sense of humor, but nonetheless she could make me smile in the morning and put me in a happy mood. I rolled my eyes and chuckled softly at Brittney. Brittney smiled back at me and walked to her seat. Finally realizing I was being overly distressed, I decided to just calm down and face for whatever laid ahead of me this day.

“Oh you know how it is Alyssa,” I hollered back at her as I sat down in my seat.

“It’s Monday, and nobody likes Monday.” I winked in Brittney’s direction and laughed.

“Yep, yep that is true” Alyssa replied.

“Oh! Oh! Dane, don’t you look lovely today?!” Alyssa continued to holler. Dane was wearing a favorite t-shirt of mine. Upon her t-shirt bore a quote from the book “Twilight.” The shirt was white and on the front it had two blue uniquely drawn designs on the top and below it, were the words ‘stupid lamb.’ It was from the passage where Bella and Edward were talking in the wood. I closed my eyes and remembered how conversation went, starting with Edward speaking:

“And so the lion fell in love with the lamb…” he (Edward) murmured.  I looked away, hiding my eyes as I thrilled to the word.

“What a stupid lamb” I (Bella) sighed.

“What a sick, masochistic lion.” (Edward replied)

That part of the passage was beautiful to me. The tardy bell rang and everyone immediately settled down quietly. Many teachers we’re impressed that this class could settle down so quietly, but when your teacher threatens to write your name on the board and give you a after school detention slip, I think then you would understand why we do this. No one likes to stay after school, but Mrs. Hackenburg loves to listen to the announcements. And even if you whispered to other students quietly as she’s trying to listen to the announcements, the next 12 or 20 minutes of your time after school would be hers. As soon as the intercom came on we stood up and said the pledge of allegiance, after that we sat back down silently to listen to the announcements. I glanced behind me to where the four new students were sitting. The chestnut-haired boy didn’t meet my gaze this time. I frowned gently and turned back around to watch Mrs. Hackenburg who stood close to the double doors in order to hear the announcement coming from the speakers in the hall, as our classroom didn’t have an intercom. I chuckled every time she did this, but then my mind began to wonder. The boy to me was very cute, but in some sort of way odd too. It felt confusing and aggravating to me that I couldn’t quite figure out why he felt so odd toward me. He looked handsome and very fit to me. He had gorgeous eyes and cute lips, but when they cute lips were pursed and his eye brows furred over pretty eyes, he looked upset or cautious, but for what reason? What was he thinking so hard about to act like this? I then remembered that odd feeling that I had this morning. This particular boy had to be the cause of it! I glance once more at his muscular arms and 6-pack. I licked my lips gently and grinned. An exuberant feeling suddenly exploded within me.  He was mighty fine. When the announcements came and went, the classroom became ultimately quiet, I’m pretty sure if someone dropped a pin, you could hear it.

“So,” Mrs. Hackenburg sliced the silence after checking role.

“We have some new students.  By Ms. Stricklet we have Mr. Wes Dé Court, to his right, his sister, Rebecca Dé Court and to her right, Robert Dé Court. All who are juniors. And last but not least to Robert’s left is their eldest brother, Viktor Dé Court, a senior who will only see this school for sadly one year.”

“Where did you say you all moved from?” she asked curiously.

“New York.” The one name Viktor answered gently. His voice was deep and soft.

“Hey, that’s where Elizabeth use to live.” Brittney spoke.  The four looked at me curiously. I blushed and smiled.

“Yes, I used to live up there.” I said.

“What part?” The girl named Rebecca chimed in

“Middle Town, New York. The city is kind of small, not really widely known.” I replied. She offered me a friendly smile, which I exchanged warmly.

“All right, well welcome to Roanoke Rapids High School home to the yellow jackets.” Mrs. Hackenburg clapped her hands happily. Some students let out a soft scoff in reply.

“Yes, welcome to Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina!” Alyssa sneered.

“Now,” Mrs. Hackenburg continued. “Let’s stand up and stretch. Come on guys don’t be shy,” she said to the new folks. They stood up gracefully and did as they were told. Mrs. Hackenburg then turned some music on and started to stretch, while we mirrored her movements. Now, I couldn’t help but turn my head every now to glance at the young man named Wes, especially when he lifted up his arms. His shirt would slip up a little revealing a little bit of his 6-pack. His other 2 brothers also had a 6-pack, especially Viktor. Viktor was especially large and muscular. He had a broad chin with sharp hazel coloring eyes, which went very well with his slicked back black hair. Robert looked similar to Wes, only his hair was sort of crazy, but natural looking and of course dark brown. He looked a little bit skinnier than Wes, but it looked like he could still put up a good fight. And then there was Rebecca who has maroon colored hair that stopped at her waist. Her bright green eyes sparkled like bright emeralds. She looked mighty fit too, it also looked like she was a runner for her legs were so toned. The whole family looked fit and mighty proud. After about a quick five minutes Mrs. Hackenburg turned the music off and asked us to get in a circle around the piano. The four new students stayed of course together and stood opposite of me on the other side.

“Since we have new students, I want you all to clap to the beat and say anything about yourself. Get to know each other a little bit more.” she said smiling.

“We’ll start with you Brittney, you know how to play.”

“What’s the topic?” Brittney asked over the sound of Mrs. Hackenburg plucking at the keys, and the rest of us started clapping to the beat.

“Share a piece of information about yourself,” the teacher replied.

“What do you like?” I prompted.

“What I like… I like ice cream” she said.

“Wow Brit.” I rolled my eyes.

“Shut up.” I knew sometimes she hated being put on the spot. Brittney was not the type who liked to go first. Whether it being in a game or speaking in front of the class. This is how we met and became friends on Theatre class. Mrs. Hackenburg had made Brittney my partner in an acting scene and told us that we would be going first. I remember I was bold in saying to Brittney, who was solemnly and silently at the floor, that I did not want us to go first. She had looked up at me with suddenly a bright expression on her face; she had said felt like that too. Then and there we became friends from there on out. We went around the circle, until we got to the new students. Viktor said he liked to play sports, Rebecca said she like to paint and draw, Robert said he like to work on cars, and Wes, well, when I heard Wes’s voice I almost melted. His voice was so beautiful and tender.  His answer was that he liked to read in his spare time. We continued until we got to me.

“I like vampires.” I said.

“Why am I not surprised, reading from all that “Twilight” crap,” Travis laughed from the right side of me. Travis had the most outrageous kind of hair. As of today it was spiked up with bright red and orange hair dye. He had a nose and lip piercing and wore a grey band shirt, but it was so worn out that I couldn’t see what the name of the band was anymore. I assumed it was his Sex Pistols shirt, for he was infatuated with that band. His black converses went well with his black Tripp pants. His whole entire outfit screamed Emo, but I didn’t care. Travis was unique and made many people smile and laugh, especially me, but when “Twilight” was mention, he could get on my nerves. He hated “Twilight” and thought it was the most stupid book ever written, though I didn’t understand how he thought it could be so stupid since he read the entire series. The Dѐ Courts didn’t smile, but gave at me a plain stare.  I huffed at Travis who just continued to laugh. I then rolled my eyes and looked at Brittney, who was trying to hold her own laughter back.

“Shut up,” I mumbled.

“You brought it on your own self,” she burst.

I gave her a smirk.

“Well I wasn’t the one who said I like plain ole’ ice cream, did I?”

“Touché,” Brittney smiled.

“All right Lindsey, your turn.” I nudged the girl on my left. The little game continue, Robert, Viktor, and Rebecca looked at the others when the rest of them spoke, but Wes kept looking at me. The game ended, and we started improvisation with an opening quote.

“Elizabeth, why don’t you and Wes go together?” asked Mrs. Hackenburg. Oh, this was going to be good, I thought to myself. We both stood and moved to the front of the class.

“I will take the open quote, if you don’t mind?” I asked Wes. He shook his head to indicate he didn’t mind, and I put my hand into the envelope and retrieved a slip of thin paper. I unfolded it and chuckled softly to myself. Yep, this is going to be really good. I placed the quote back into the envelope and turned to Wes, who stood before me smiling. I balled my hands into fists, placed them on the side of my hips, and leaned toward him with calm expression.

“Why do you love me?” I asked. Wes glanced at Rebecca, Viktor, and Robert; they snickered. Wes took a deep breath and looked at me with soft blue eyes.

“I love you, because you are the most beautiful and delicate creature I’ve ever met.” Wes replied. I was caught off guard. The room suddenly became excruciatingly silent again. What was I to say? Apparently Wes could see I was stumped, so he continued.

“Your hair may be tied up in a bun, but when it’s out of its cocoon it flows and shines just like the sun’s rays. Your eyes may be small, but when you’re outside in the sunshine your bluish green eyes shine brightly like the stars. So in the end the answer to your question as to why I love you is because you are my little ray of sunshine, my sweet beautiful heaven, my delicate tender love.” I was quiet; I don’t even think our little audience was even breathing anymore. Everyone was equaled stunned. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. My eyes looked deep into his. His eyes might’ve been blue but around the pupil there was a ring of grey. It seemed to suggest something sad deep within. He was hiding something; perhaps pain. I glanced at his brothers and sister; they had the same blank expressions as the rest of the class. Yet somehow,  their gazes were more like stone statues. Not one single emotion rose from their faces. I shook my head and finally found my voice.

“Mrs. Hackenburg I have no response to his reply, but I will say and admit Mr. Dé Court you are quite the poet.” I returned to my seat and left it at that.