She told me

Chapter 2

When I wake up, it is to the smell of pancakes. My legs feel heavy as I drag myself out of bed. The mirror makes me realise I look as bad as I feel. So much for making new friends. I quickly brush my teeth and put on the cleanest pair of jeans I can find before hurrying down for breakfast.

To my surprise, it is my father behind the kitchen counter instead of my mom. He smiles at me and pushes a plate of pancakes forward. Almost immediately I realise this is his way of apologizing for missing my last football game at my old school. I grab the plate and begin wolfing them down, my way of saying, "fine, apology accepted."

He settles down next to me with his own plate, "how was your first day?"

I shrug, "it was cool, no one tripped me up in the hallway"

He laughs like he always does. My mom would have sat there stone-faced and told me there was nothing funny about bullying. Guess I got my sense of humour from my dad.

"Anything else?" he asks, "made any new friends?"

I shake my head, "not yet, you?"

He chuckles, "I'd like to think so, yeah"

I bite down on my last bit of pancake, "Could you drive me to school today?"

I know his answer before he says it. I don't mind my dad missing my games because the day after that he says yes to everything I ask him to do. I may seem like a spoilt little brat taking advantage of his parents but honestly, I think the system is fair.

We don't talk much during the car ride mainly because I spend the entirety of it, staring out the window and he takes the hint. The town is a beautiful one and I can almost believe that I'm going to have a good life here. The timing is good too, especially for my parents. If the move had happened back when I was 13, I would have given them hell for it. As an 18 year old, I'm much too tired to care. After changing five schools due to their crazy jobs, I'd started to realise that I was the problem. I just wasn't good at making friends and my school life would pretty much be the same no matter which institution I went to.

I don't even realise that the car has come to a stop till I feel my father nudge me. With a half hearted wave at him, I get out of the car and make my way up the main steps of the dark brown building.

The corridors are full of kids milling around and I make a beeline for my new locker. I stuff my phone inside and slam it shut just as I feel a presence behind me. I whip around and come face to face with a girl who looks about my age. I'm pretty sure she's in one of my classes.

She sticks out her hand, "I'm Maya"

"Lucas" I respond, returning her handshake, "I'm new"

She chuckles, "yeah, I know, that's why I'm here. I wanted to know if you need a tour of the school."

I hesitate, "uh, sure"

"Great" she turns around, "lets start at the washrooms"

"I hate this" I wince as the familiar voice echoes in my head, "school sucks"

"Not now" I mutter, "please not now"

"Why am I even here?" the voice goes on, "its not like I actually learn anything."

I shake my head as I follow Maya through the corridor, trying to keep her in sight as she weaves through groups of students. She finally stops in front of two red doors, "well here we are"

I struggle to push the voice's school hating monologue to the back of my head and concentrate on what Maya is saying, "what?"

She looks at me weird and thankfully at that moment the voice stops.

"The washrooms" she repeats, gesturing at the door, "do you want me to take you inside?"

I don't know if she's joking or not till she smiles and pats my shoulder, "I'm just messing with you"

"Yeah, I knew that" I say, and its true, there is absolutely no way a pretty girl flirts with me on my second day of high school.

She suddenly brightens up and I turn around to see the guy I met yesterday approaching us. He puts an arm around Maya and kisses her before noticing me, "hey, you're the guy whose mom isn't a fan of videogames."

"Guilty" I say, surprised that he remembers. He slaps me on the shoulder, "its nice to see you again man, you should come sit with us for lunch."

I freeze, looking at Maya who seems to be in agreement with her boyfriend, "Yeah, Cory's right, it will be fun."

I nod and look at my watch, "well, I have a class to get to so I'll see you guys around"

Maya frowns, "isn't your next class with Miss Spellman? It starts in fifteen minutes"

"Yeah but I like to be early" I say, without missing a beat, its not my first time getting out of a conversation.

I watch them go arm in arm and head to my new hideout in the building, the study rooms. For as long as I can remember, I've always had hideouts in almost every building I've visited more than once. My therapist would say isolating myself is not a very good way of dealing with my problems but then my therapist also doesn't really know what my life is like.

I come to a screeching halt as I realise that the light in the study room is on. I curse silently as I peer into the room which is empty except for a girl sitting in the corner. She looks up as if sensing my presence, gives me a disinterested glance and goes back to her book. I stand there for a minute, unsure of what to do till and she looks up again, "you can come in if you want to"

I bite my lip, "no, its just.."

She turns a page of her book, "the other side of those shelves, there are more tables and chairs, you can stay there if you want to study alone"

I tentatively push the shelves that look like they are attached to a wall and find that they move, leading to another seating area.

I look back at her, "Thanks"

She doesn't reply.