N O B O U N D A R I E S
C H A P T E R 1
P A R T 1
I always loved the first day of school for some strange reason, and even the fact that school started on a Monday was going to ruin it. The only thing that was making this day somewhat dreadful was the familiar boy who trying to open up his locker a little ways down from me. I would normally try to help out anyone who was having a little trouble, even though I am not the most social person in the school, but I couldn’t bring myself to face my long-time best friend who moved to New York in fifth grade. And he looks a lot different than I remembered him … in an unapproachable-with-heavenly-good-looks way. I suddenly missed when he was pudgy, short and stubby.
I quietly move past him in the fairly crowded hallway, hoping he would not notice me as I slip by. “Hammond!” I hear someone call out from behind me and instantly recognized the voice of my good friend, Rein Beckett. My stomach drops as I look back and see August, my old friend, staring at me with a smirk on his face. I try to ignore him as he opens up his locker and leans against it, still watching me. Rein runs up and gives me a hug and we both made our way to our homeroom class. “I can’t believe school has already started back!” she says as we take our seats in the room. “And … we’re juniors!” she yells a little too loud. “It’s crazy…,” I mumble, taking a sip of my favorite morning coffee.
“Have a nice summer?” asks Emmy, another one of my friends, as she takes the other open seat beside me. “A busy one … with sports camps, kids’ camps, church camps, mission trips, and beach trips,” I say, thinking about all my summer adventures. Sure, I would have enjoyed a less hectic summer, but I have no idea what I would have done with my self if it wasn’t so eventful. Yet, with all the vacations, camps, and trips, probably the most exciting thing that happened to me was learning of August’s return. It was definitely a major shock.
I was pulled out of my own thoughts when someone exclaims, “I heard we had a new kid!” My friend Marlee looks at us with bright eyes and a big smile as she tells us the news. All the other girls in the room had now turned towards our conversation. “Oh! I saw him in the hallway, I think…,” Jules exclaims, jumping into the small talk. “He was like a god—completely gorgeous.” I watch as smiles spread across everyone’s faces. It was rare that we had new guys come, especially good-looking ones. “Did you catch his name?” Posy asks, making sure that she looks all right in the reflection on her phone. “Eh … no.” Jules says, “But it’s not like I would care… I have a boyfriend,” She says with a smile as she slips out of the conversation and into her own thoughts.
I wonder silently if I should mention that I know the “new” kid … and so do most of them. The sad thing is though, last time he was here, he was not very well liked. Truthfully, I was the only one who was nice to August, which is why we were such close friends back then. I seal my lips and watch the clock, waiting for first period.
For the rest of the extended home room, I tried to block out the chatter about the new kid and watched as the clock slowly pass and occasionally tune in to Rein’s one sided conversation with me. When the bell rang, though, I found myself quick to my feet ready to head to first period, English 4 Honors. The class was large, so when I saw August make his way in, I was thankful for the class size. He took a seat by himself if the corner, which was thankfully the farthest away he could get from me, but I could still feel his eyes on the back on my neck. I was positive he knew that I had recognized him and that I was ignoring him.
Our teacher walked up to the front of the classroom and began to hand out our syllabuses for the year. This was another reason why I loved first days. You basically did nothing in all of the classes besides listen to the rules and regulations of each class and then afterwards you were able to chat. After our English teacher had told us all that was expected of us this year, my friend Emmy and I began chatting about random stuff, but all she mainly wanted to talk about was August who was chilling by himself in the back corner.
if you want more ... click the heart :)
last_breath