Excerpt

Please note, when copying this in from word, some of the formatting was lost. Also, this is a draft excerpt - not a final copy by any means. But, hopefully it gives you a taste of what's to come. 

Chapter One

Beeeeeppp beeeeppp beeeeep!

      I rubbed my eyes as I sat up slowly in bed, smacking my alarm clock off. Sighing, I looked around the room with slight disgust. There were boxes shoved against the walls, still to be unpacked. Oh well, at least my dresser and bed are useable, I thought to myself as I climbed out of bed. After a quick shower, and running a straightener through my hair, I pulled on the denim shorts and white button down sweater I had gotten out the night before. I had aired them out in the courtyard hoping to get rid of the musty box smell. As I tightened my leather belt and pulled on some sandals, I surveyed myself in the mirror. Adding a little lip-gloss and running a brush through my hair, I took one final look in the mirror. Sigh. The denim shorts and white sweater set off my deep tan and long legs. My dark auburn hair looked neat and soft. I had no idea what fashion was like here, or what I was in for. New schools sucked.

        I ran down the stairs, taking in the boxes and furniture scattered about. I hated moving. But, that was the joys of being a military brat since my Mom remarried.  As I walked into the kitchen I saw breakfast laid out; croissants, cereal, toast and juice on the table. Mom and Greg sat at the table, reading the papers as per usual. I plonked down on my seat, grabbing a croissant and lathering butter on it.

Mom looked at me, “Did you sleep well Amity?”

“Fine thanks. Think the boxes are giving me hay fever though, again.” I replied, with a pointed look at Greg, who simply acknowledged me with a grunt.

“You’ll be fine. Are you looking forward to school?” Mom asked.

“No.” I said chewing my croissant thoughtfully, trying not to cringe at the hurt look on Mom’s face thanks to my brash response.

“Well, I’ll grab a sweater, and then we can head off. I have to go to the store anyway.” Mom said, putting down the paper and heading out of the kitchen.

I took a sip of juice, enjoying the silence.

“You know, you shouldn’t be so hard on her. She just wants what’s best for you.” Greg commented quietly. He really wasn’t that awful of a guy and I got along with him most of the time. It was just frustrating that in the past 6 years they had been married, we had moved towns almost every year and I had yet to feel settled, or have a decent group of friends. I had stopped getting close to anybody, because we always left. Always. I guess deep down I knew that wasn’t exactly Greg’s fault, but it still drove me nuts.

“Yeah, well, she married you and that’s her fault." I muttered, feeling guilty even as I said it. I grabbed my bag as I walked out the front door, sitting on the front steps to wait for Mom. I could see various people leaving for work, school and other activities in the neighbourhood. No freedom. No space. Just town. I thought to myself, missing the freedom of the farm we used to own. Dad had been the one who had gotten me into horses, and taught me to love the land and all the animals on it. I missed the freedom a lot, and hated living on these ridiculous army bases. Just then Mom came out, and we climbed in the car.

       Ten minutes later we were parked out the front of the enormous, imposing school that was easily 4 or 5 times the size of my old school.  The buildings were dark red brick, and looked like they dated back to about the 1800’s. No joke. They were huge, with four towers on the corners of the U-shaped buildings. The stairs leading up to the huge entry doors looked like they were never ending. Eerie much? Sighing, I turned to Mom.

“Thanks for the lift. ‘Bye, have a good day!” I said as I climbed out. But she stopped me half way, touching my arm.

“Amity… Are you okay? With… everything?” She asked me, her green eyes pleading. I really hated how perfect she looked all the time. Her gorgeous skinny frame, blonde hair, and big green eyes made her the envy of females of any age, including myself. I had followed more after Dad, and although I was of average height and skinny, I had dark auburn hair, and hazel eyes that were really nothing special.

“Yes Mom, I’m fine. I’ll deal, I always do. This time though, I might not unpack. It’s pointless.” I said, looking at her.

She sighed, “Amity… I know it’s not fun for you, but we’re doing the best we can… I’m sorry…”

“It’s fine Mom. Really. I have to go; can’t be late on my first day.” I said, climbing out of the car, and waving her off. I could see a few people glancing my way as I climbed the front stairs of the school, but I tried to ignore them.

       I found my way to the office, trying not to look too much like the new kid. I missed form class waiting for my timetable, and when I finally got it sorted I was happy with my schedule and that English was my first class of the day. As I walked down the hall, following the map I had been given, I knew I wasn’t late for class yet. Students were still scurrying down the halls and the final bell was yet to ring.  As I walked in, I scanned the seats looking for the best spot. To my dismay, there was only one spare seat, right at the back. I could feel my classmates’ eyes on me as I took my seat. Finally, they went back to their chatter before class, and I could scan the room. The cliques were easy to tell, and stereotypically true to form. To my left near the middle were the cheerleaders and jocks, a long with a few others who didn’t quite belong to the sporting groups, but were there none-the-less as they were popular. They’re probably rich, I thought as I looked around. In the middle of the class sat the students who were cool enough to be acknowledged, but not quite cool enough to be part of the ‘it’ crowd. To the right were the students who were definitely not in the cool crowd, although they were probably the most genuine people in the room, and were actually true to themselves and who they were. Finally, at the back, where I had been unfortunate enough to get stuck, were the loners. The people who chose to stay away from any distinct group of friends. Lucky me. Just then the girl in front of me, red ponytail swinging against her blue jumper, swung around. She was quite pretty, with blue eyes that made her bright red hair seem even more on fire. A few curls dangled around her face, and I got the impression that they weren’t deliberate.

“Hi! You’re new, right? My name is Charity; and you are?” She said with a friendly smile, holding her hand out to me.

“Hi. I’m Amity.” I shook her hand, “And yes, I am new. I just moved here from Montana. Military brat.” I said with a sheepish smile.

“Oh, wow! I know how that goes! My boyfriend is a military brat! We’ve been lucky though, his parents moved on again after a year, but he stayed here with family!” She laughed, “How long are you here for or don’t you know?”

“No idea. However long my stepdad is assigned I guess. I never really know.” I muttered. Although I was happy for her friendliness, I was frustrated that I wasn’t lucky enough to have family take me in. I guess that’s what happened when your father abandoned you, and you had no extended family any more.

“Oh, well, that sucks! Well, you should sit with us at lunch, and I can introduce you to a few people and show you around?” She offered with a hopeful smile.

“Sure, that sounds great.” I said quietly.
“Hey,” she said gently, “I know what you’re thinking. It’s okay. I know military kids aren’t big on getting close to others. But some friends are better than none right?” She smiled.

“Sure, that’s true. Thanks!” I said a little more brightly, feeling better as her happy personality rubbed off on me.

          Just then the teacher walked in. For the next forty-five minutes, my life was English. We were studying one of my favourite subjects; slave literature.  I was excited, and couldn’t wait to get started on some of the assignments. As we packed up our books, I listened to Charity chat away about the school and her friends and so on. She was a genuinely nice person, and I could tell she was happy to be making a new friend. I listened as best I could, but got sidetracked as we walked down the halls and I tried to memorise where I was going. We finally arrived at our next class, which funnily enough was the same; Art. In this class we were lucky enough to share 4 people to a bench. Besides Charity and I, there was another girl with long thick black hair, and deep green eyes, who was stunning in a unique way. Next to her sat a slight, gentle looking boy with blonde hair and brown eyes.

“Amity, meet Raven and Thomas.” Charity smiled, “and visa versa.”

“Hi there.” I said quickly. 

       After a slightly awkward start, we all talked easily, and waited for the teacher. Raven was an interesting girl, who seemed determined to separate herself from the normal high school cliques. She seemed mysterious and brooding, but in reality was a cheerleader, although she refused to where her uniform anywhere other than practice, and thought the majority of the girls on the squad were horrible. She was also extremely good at English and loved drama, which became our talking point. I had been heavily involved in both programs at my old schools, and was looking forward to getting involved here too.
     Thomas was hard to figure out. I was pretty sure he was gay, but I wasn’t certain. He was a music buff, and was happy to talk about anything other than school. His one goal in life? To get out this place he called a “hell hole”. When the teacher arrived, we began the class, working on pastels. I had never been good at art, and so I just sort of observed others and drew random little things. At the end, Charity and I left and headed for the cafeteria. I had no idea where I was going, and followed aimlessly, trying to memorise the way. We grabbed our food, and I followed Charity to a table. As Charity put her tray down, I noticed how many people were there; eight not including us. Quickly, she introduced me to everyone, although I forgot their names pretty well straight away, and apologised in advance for that. They all seemed nice enough though.  I sat listening quietly to their conversations, enjoying the interaction. I was talking to Charity quietly about her boyfriend, Mark, who I had yet to meet, when something over her shoulder caught my eye.

       Talking to one of the cheerleaders from my English class, Lissa I think, was the most gorgeous guy I had ever seen in my life.  He was tall, with sandy bronze hair that was tossled and in need of a trim, with a well-muscled frame rare in high school boys, and a mischievous grin. Something about him just drew me too him. I felt like I couldn’t tear my gaze away, and then he looked up. His eyes met mine, and his smile didn’t waver. His deep green eyes bore into mine. Then he looked away. I couldn't explain it, but I felt like I knew him. Like there was a part of me who knew his darkest secrets and visa versa. It was all very strange.
“Amity… Amity? AMITY? Hellooooo???” Charity was waving her hand in front of my eyes.

“Sorry, sorry! I tuned out!”

“Obviously. You were busy staring at Caleb. Caleb Thornton.” She said with a strange look on her face.

“Oh, is that who he is? He seemed familiar…” I muttered, trying to hide the blush that had crept into my cheeks.

“Yes, well, he’s the school bad boy. All the girls want him, all the boys want to be him, and all the teachers hate but love him. He’s strange. I would stay away from him if I were you…” She said quietly.

“Yeah, I got that vibe…” And with that I tuned back into my own world, not daring to look up at anyone, just in case he was near by.

It wasn’t that I was attracted to him, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that I knew him from somewhere.

Just then my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, hoping it was Rob, my riding instructor.  It was.
Heya Aimz! How’s your first day going?
I quickly replied, giving him a short overview of my day.
School looks like a 1800s castle, but met some great people so far. No riders yet. Missing Montana. How’s school? Diamond? The Stables?
       I suddenly felt nostalgic for my old home, my horse, and the stables where Rob had taught me so much about horses. We had never moved across the country like we did this time, and so I’d always been able to keep going to the same riding school, even if I only got to go there on weekends.

     Rob’s response came quickly, Diamond is great! School is school. The stables are lonely without you! Better let you go. Will call you sometime.

      And that was all. I didn’t reply, for fear that my words would convey my thoughts. I wondered if he really would call?
Rob may have been my instructor for a long time, but he was also gorgeous, and for as long as I could remember I had a crush on him. He was funny, knowledgeable, and always willing to help. Plus, he knew me better than anyone. He had become my best friend, and even though at 22 he was 6 years older than me, he seemed to really get me. Something not many people did. He really did know all my darkest secrets, and his friendship had been unwavering. If only all guys were like that. Sighing, I turned back to Charity and continued asking her about Mark.

The rest of the afternoon passed by in a blur. I enjoyed all my classes, although I had only experienced 6 of my 8. My timetable tomorrow would be different. I was looking forward to it, and couldn’t help secretly hoping that Caleb would be in my classes. I tried to shake it off, but there was just something about him that drew me in. I couldn’t figure it out.