“Wake up Dante!”

Violet woke me up by running into my room, jumping on my bed and screaming at me.

“Violet, get out!” I yelled at her, not wanting to get up.

“But mom says you need to wake up because you need to drive me to school!”

“I’ll get up if you leave.” I said, hoping she’ll fall for it and get out.

“No, I’ll leave once you get up.” She looked at me in the eye, and she was willing to fight me on this.

“Fine.”

I got up out of bed and Violet ran out the door. I walked into the bathroom and brushed my teeth and fixed my hair. As I was walking out of the bathroom I smelled something burning. I ran to the kitchen to see Violet trying to make us bagels.

“Sorry.” She said, she looked disappointed in herself, so I decided not to yell at her.

“It is ok, lets just eat some cereal instead.”

She nodded and went to grab the milk out of the fridge. I went back to my room and finished getting ready, when I saw a bag hanging in my closet. I opened the bag and saw a new leather jacket. Mom didn’t need to spend all that money on me, yeah the one I had barley fit, but still, I can manage. Even though I was happy she got it for me, I was annoyed because it’s not a necessity. I decided I might as well wear it, since I know she has been picking up extra shifts at the Diner and was working hard. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings by not wearing it, so I put it on. I walked out of my room and fixed my self some cereal, sat down and ate with Violet. We both finished our food and put the plates in the dishwasher. As Violet was still getting ready I packed our lunches. When I was done I looked at the clock and realized it was time to go.

“Violet, time to go!” I yelled for her.

“Ok, coming.”

She came running down the hallway and grabbed her backpack. I handed Violet her lunch and we walked outside to the car. On the drive there we jammed to Moana and Frozen. Good thing we didn’t leave any later, because if we did, we would have been stuck in California morning traffic, and that is not something you want to deal with on a daily basis. As I drove up to her school, we were greeted by some of her old teachers and friends. She hoped out of the car and walked into the school. Before she was in the door I rolled down the window—-

“Bye Violet, love you!”

“Bye Dante!” She waved to me then continued her journey into school.

The drive to school wasn’t too long, her middle school and the high school were pretty close. I drove on in and found a good spot to park. As I was walking in I noticed a Jeep pull into the school and a girl come out. She must have been new, because I hadn’t seen her before. Then a guy came out of the passenger side, who I assumed was her brother since they looked a lot alike. I stood there for a moment watching her exit the car and then quickly run up to the school. I turned my head and headed in, hoping she didn’t see me. As I walked around the school I found my first period, AP Calculus, a very “fun”class. I sat down in the back and got out my notebook waiting for the bell to ring. I moved like an automaton to each class and sat their watching the teachers, seeing their mouths move, but didn’t care enough to actually listen. I picked up a couple words like: summer, college, future etc… Finally lunch came. Most of the soccer players went out to eat, but I didn’t feel like beating California lunch traffic, so I just ate in the cafeteria. I found a table far away from anyone, because I wasn’t in the mood to talk. After I sat down, I saw the girl from the parking lot walk in, she looked confused as to where she will sit. I tried to avoid eye contact, so I just stared down at my food.

“Hey.” She has walked up to me with her foo.

“Hey.” I tried to seem chill and uninterested, and she sat down anyway.

“So… I’m Adelaide.” She said, trying to start up a conversation.

“New?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“Hmm?” She was confused as to my one worded question.

“Are you new?” I rephrased the question.

“Oh, is it that obvious?” She sounded concerned and anxious.

“No, just haven’t seen you around.” I said, trying to reassure her.

“Oh…” She looked down and twiddled her thumbs, wondering what to say next.

I began to eat, a little uncomfortable, because I felt her staring at me. I looked back up and met her gaze, she was studying me, scanning my posture and facial expression. I gave her a look, one that may confuse her, but hopefully peak her curiosity, which it did. The bell rang and she looked away for a brief moment. I decided this was my time to escape, so I slipped away quietly. I walked out of the cafeteria and went to my locker, when I saw he walk out of the cafeteria. After I grabbed my stuff I headed to my next class. Once I got to class, I realized the girl was in it. I got there before she did, so I sat in the back. When she walked in she didn’t notice me, she just sat up front and got her books out. I sat there studying her, I don’t know why but she was like a puzzle I couldn’t figure out. Her eyes said something different than her expressed emotion, and I wanted to figure out why she wore this mask.

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“Bro, why are you staring at the new girl?” Kyle whispered.

“What? I’m not staring at her…” I whispered, worried he might try to get her attention and expose me.

“Whatever you say man, but great choice. If I didn’t already have a girlfriend, I would be all over that.” He grinned while he whispered.

I clenched my fists, but I had to restrain my self from punching him. I don’t need to start anything, especially with Adelaide in here. I ignored Kyle for the rest of class, but he still seemed to annoy me. Class finished and I waited till Adelaide left, then I strolled on over to my last class. The last class went by pretty quickly, since I had a free period, I just read my book for English class. I went to my locker and grabbed my stuff, then headed towards the locker rooms. Once I was done changing, I ran to the practice filed to start soccer practice. Since Kyle and I are Co-Captains, we were in charge of practice. After some warmups we started some drills, working on our foot work and passing. After about an hour of drills we decided to play a couple practice games. I was team captain for blue team, and we were in the lead by five points. As I was playing I noticed a girl running to the tree behind the soccer field. I glanced over quickly and saw Adelaide sitting in her volleyball clothes under the tree. I never made eye contact with her, and just ignored her for a while. It had been about thirty minutes and she was still here, so I was playing the best I could, I couldn’t let her see my fail. I wasn’t sure why I cared about her opinion, or why I wanted to impress her, but I did. I hadn’t missed a shot since she had arrived, and I had actually taken more than I normally do. The ball was kicked over my head and flew through the air, rolling towards where she was. I started running after it when all of the sudden Kyle comes out of nowhere and tackles me. The air is knocked out of me and I just lay there, waiting for my breath to catch up. The guys gather around me to make sure I’m ok, but then I see the guys move from around me and a feel smaller figure get on their knees. She began to get up, but I grabbed her hand, somehow already knowing it was Adelaide.

“Hey.” She sounded worried, was she worried about me?

“Hey.” I ran my fingers through my hair as I spoke.

“Are you okay?” She bit her lip, I suppose out of nervousness.

I couldn’t help but wonder why she was nervous, maybe she shares this weird connection I have…

“Yeah, just had the wind knocked out of me, needed a second to collect my breath.” I tried to sound chill, but my voice was still a little raspy.

“Oh, well I’m happy you’re ok…” She sounded almost relieved I was ok,

“So, enjoy the practice game?”

She looked away. I could tell that may have embarrassed her.

“Umm…” She muttered, unsure what to say.

“I saw you walk over to the trees near the beginning of the game.”

She looked at me confused, probably wondering why I never mentioned anything.

“Oh, sorry. I had just gotten out of volleyball practice and— “

“Don’t worry, it’s fine. I would watch me play too.” I let out a laugh.

She began to laugh as well. I never noticed how naturally pretty she was until now. Her laugh, could make anyone smile, and it definitely made me. I realized I should probably get back to practice, so I took the phone from her hand and grabbed her thumb and placed it gently on the home button. I went to contacts and added my name and number. She was trying to figure out what I was doing, yet didn’t try to look over my shoulder or take the phone back to see. She just looked as me anxiously waiting for it back. Once I finished the contact I texted my self from her phone so I would have her number. I ran my fingers through my hair then gave her back the phone, turned around and walked back to practice. As I was walking back, I saw her run off to her Jeep and drive off. Practice ended shortly afterwards and I headed back to my car. The drive home wasn’t too bad, since it was seven thirty, I missed five o’clock traffic. I got home and saw a note on the counter, it read:

“Hey honey! I can’t wait to hear all about your first day of school when I get home, but I have picked up a couple extra shifts and I may not be home till past midnight. Your sister is at Ava’s House, and she is staying the night so you have the house to yourself tonight. I made some shepherds pie, and it’s in the oven. Love you! —Mom”

I got the food out of the oven and got a small piece out for dinner then out the rest in the fridge. I sat down at the dining room table and ate in silence. I could hear every single noise in the house, from the clicking of the clock to the cooling system in the fridge, so I decided to put some music on because I couldn’t deal with the noises. After I finished eating, I washed the dishes in the sink and packed my lunch for tomorrow. As I was walking to my room, I realized how tired I was, so I decided just to go to bed early and take a shower in the morning. I went into my room and changed out of my soccer uniform and into a shirt and shorts to sleep in. I realized I should probably go through the house and make sure all the doors were locked and all the lights were off. As I was checking the back door, I noticed it was ajar. I thought maybe I had left it open on accident when I entered the house, so I didn’t think much of it. I closed and locked it then headed back to my room. As I was walking back I heard a creak come from the kitchen. I knew it wasn’t my Mom because it was only nine o’clock, and the person who made the creek sounded heavier, so I quietly tip-toed into the kitchen and saw a big hooded figure. They stood there for a moment looking at me, until they’re charged at me with something in their hand. I dodged them and they ran into the kitchen counter, they ran at me again, almost like a bull and I was the red flag. I tackled the man, when I felt a small prick in my shoulder. I tried to get up, but my legs were too wobbly. I tried and tried to get up and run, but all I saw was black. I was paralyzed, but I felt the figure taking me somewhere. I assume it’s nowhere I want to be…