Norah walked alone along a narrow treelined path scattered with red and yellow leaves that crunched underfoot. Hogarth had this fresh, clean scent that Norah wasn’t used to back in the city, which she didn’t hate, but the pollen was enough to drive her crazy. She’d been desperate to sneeze all morning and it was starting to give her a headache.

She’d been too nervous to eat the buttered toast her mother placed in front of her that morning and now she was regretting it. Her stomach growled, plus her head was spinning from the two cups of coffee she’d forced down before she left. Norah stopped for a moment to steady herself when a strange energy struck her, shooting up the nerves in her teeth and into her already pounding head.

Leaning around the trunk of a large oak tree, Norah saw a young couple talking up ahead, a boy and a girl who looked to be in their late teens, and assumably also on their way to the High School. They were stood facing one another, holding hands in what could be interpreted as a gesture of love, but there was a sort of desperation to how the girl clung on to him.

Norah couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but an intense, aggravated energy was sparking off the girl in chaotic waves, while the boy seemed keen to untwine himself from her. Their thoughts were so loud it was making Norah’s teeth ring. She crept forward through the trees in hopes that she might be able to pass them unnoticed, but she got too close and was forced to hide.

“We've been seeing each other for months, why can't we just tell people?” the girl had an aggressive tone.

The boy rolled his eyes and sighed, but didn’t say a word. Not this again, woman.

The girl stared up at him with expectation, squeezing his hands so tightly he had to wrench them from her grasp. She was a small girl, with short dark hair. She was slightly on the heavier side, and seemed cute to Norah, despite the scowl on her square little face. By comparison, the boy was tall and extremely broad in the shoulders, with a narrow waist. He looked athletic and quite full of himself, with his evenly tan skin and jet black hair, Norah had no doubt he would be a member of the popular crowd.

The girl was still glaring at him, “Hello, am I talking to myself, Ravi?”

Ravi rubbed his face, trying to remain calm, “I’ve already explained this to you”.

“Yes, you have but I’m telling you I don’t understand. Loads of guys on your team have girlfriends, so why is this different?” she had such a ferocious look for such a petite person. Though Norah didn’t know the ins and outs of their situation, she could hazard a guess of what could be making the boy so hesitant.

But their girlfriends are cheerleaders. Ravi looked to the heavens for support, he seemed squirmy, “I know, Halle, but I'm the Captain. I can't appear unfocused”.

Halle threw her hands up and stormed off in the direction of the school, and Norah realized she might finally be free, only for Ravi to chase the girl down and wrap his arms around her waist to pull her back towards him. Halle struggled half-heartedly against him before easing into the embrace, her face brightening into a relaxed smile.

Ravi stood with his chin rested on Halle’s head for a few moments then grinned, “Come on, admit it. You like being my dirty little secret–”, he pinched a small amount of chub on her tummy and Halle scowled. Norah felt the thunder crackle through Halle as she threw his hands off her and stormed off again.

“You're such a dick, Ravi!”

Yet again, Ravi chased her down. This time trying to grab her hand but she kept slapping him away, “Halle! Come on, don't be like that”. He grabbed her shoulders and held her there, “Would you stop?”

Norah peered out, wondering if it would be possible to slip past them now, only for Halle whip around to glare at him. Halle’s eyes filled with tears and she looked at the ground to hide them, Ravi’s shoulders slumped and he pulled her into an earnest hug.

“It's just for a bit longer, okay?”

Halle shoved him off and crossed her arms, avoiding his gaze, “You always say that”.

Ravi shook her in frustration, “Because you always make a scene!” Halle turned to leave but Ravi blocked her path, “What I meant was… is it such a bad thing that I want something that’s just ours?”

Even Norah could smell the bull crap on that one. Halle narrowed her eyes like she was ready to punch him, but Ravi went on, “I’ve got people nosing into my life all day. It’s nice to have something that they can’t touch”.

Halle’s expression softened and she slumped her head into Ravi's chest, he wrapped his arms around her and smiled in relief. Worked like a charm.

Norah’s lip curled and it took all her strength not to call out to Halle to announce what a sleaze she thought her boyfriend was, but that would mean engaging, and that was literally the last thing that Norah wanted to do. Particularly in such a high stress situation. If Halle's waves were that powerful at a distance, she hated to feel them up close.

Ravi pressed his forehead against Halle's and stared at her lovingly, “Please don't be mad”.

It was too late, one shot of those big brown puppy eyes and Halle melted, “I’m not mad”.

“Great!” Ravi planted a perfunctory kiss on her cheek, “Gonna be late, bye!” and sprinted off towards the school, disappearing through the fronds of a weeping willow and leaving Halle confused in his wake. She stood there staring after him for a long moment before she threw her hands up in the air. It finally dawned on her that she’d been played. Again.

Now that the uncomfortable situation was over, Norah could finally emerge from her hiding place, hoping to slip past Halle without being noticed. However, as she approached she became entangled in the thick syrupy aura that was surrounding Halle, despite how still and calm she looked, her entire body was screaming.

Well, there he goes again, off with his friends.

God, Halle, you are so stupid. Why do you let him treat you like this?

Who are you kidding? Like he would ever admit you're together.

As Norah tried to move forward, every one of Halle’s thoughts snagged onto her like barbs, she’d never come across a person so filled with anxious negativity. Norah could hardly move for how dense it was, but the thoughts kept flying off Halle. Slicing into Norah and filling her head with noise she couldn’t escape.

No. If you just try harder he'll see what a great person you are.

He could be dating anyone in the popular crowd but he...

Wait, why isn't he dating any of the popular girls?

Oh god, what am I doing?

Norah’s head was ringing, with Halle's thoughts coming so thick and fast they became a discordant like a swarm of angry bees.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Wait, I'm just some dork with a bad personality... what’s he doing?

Just chill, Halle! Stop obsessing.

Norah’s body began to shake, and she could feel the blackness licking at the edges of her eyes. It was happening, she was changing. Norah gasped, trying to force the feeling back inside but the pain was so intense.

Oh my god. Maybe it's because you obsess too much–

“Holy crap, get some self-respect, already!” Norah bellowed as she dropped to her knees.

Halle whipped around in surprise and stared at Norah, firstly in shock, then in anger, “What did you just say to me?”

Norah knelt on the ground clutching her head and waiting for the fog to clear, when she finally glanced up she realized what she had done, but she was already in too deep. With difficulty, Norah got to her feet, “That boy. He doesn’t like you”.

Halle's face contorted as confusion rippled through it, “Excuse me?”

Norah didn’t intend to, but before she could think she was already saying, “You shouldn’t waste your time on someone like him, you deserve someone who actually wants to be with you”.

This set off a chain reaction as Halle’s face began boiling with hot rage, but she was too upset to form words, so instead it bubbled up inside of her ready to erupt–

Who the hell are you.

Wow. She's pretty.

What a bitch.

What are you even talking about?

Is that her real hair color?

See Halle, even complete strangers think you're a freak–

“Stop!” Norah winced.

Halle cocked her head, “Stop what?”

She was like a naked wire, shooting off sparks at whoever came too close, it filled Norah’s head with noise until there was nothing but a high-pitched squeal. Norah covered her ears, although she knew that wouldn’t help. She needed to get away from this powder keg before they both went up.

Without another word, Norah swerved around Halle and sprinted off in the direction of their school.

“Stop what?” Halle chased after her, “Hey, don't walk away from me!”

When Norah emerged from the pathway, the street leading up to Hogarth High School was swarming with students knitted together in small groups. Using this to her advantage, Norah weaved in and out of the groups to get away from Halle. Although, she could still feel that fiery aura coming up behind her.

“Hey, I'm talking to you!” yelled Halle. Are you deaf?

It was almost like the other pedestrians could sense it too, many of them turning around just in time to duck out of the way of Halle's war path. The girl clearly had a reputation among her peers, who began whispering about her as she passed by. Norah could see why. With her determined look and flared nostrils, Norah was certain she didn’t want to be anywhere near Halle ever again.

Seeing the lights were about to change at the cross-walk, Norah scurried to the other side of the street, and rushed for the High School. A featureless modern building surrounded by a wrought-iron fence. Unfortunately, a red light was not enough to deter Halle, who stepped right into the street and was almost hit by a man on an electric-blue motorcycle.

Halle grabbed the handles of the bike and glared at the rider, “Hello! Pedestrians! Do you mind?”

Ignoring the honking cars, Halle continued her march towards the school and Norah was forced to retreat into the courtyard, where pockets of students were congregating. Ravi was stood with a group of athletic boys and some preppy-looking girls, who were drinking coffees with smug expressions, as if they were watching cattle being herded into a pen.

In her haste, Norah knocked into one of the girls, putting her on the receiving end of a venomous scowl, “Excuse you!”

The girl had wiry blonde hair that was slicked back into a high pony and was wearing a polo dress that was far too tight. Beside her was a tall, thin girl with ravenous black hair and sharp eyeliner that made her narrow cat eyes look violent, and a ditzy looking redhead with gigantic boobs, which she seemed keen to show off.

Norah could feel Halle catching up to her, so without giving much of an apology, she rushed off prompting the blonde girl to turn to her friends, “Can you believe that girl?”

As Halle passed by them, the tall girl called out, “One of your friends, Halle?”, causing them all to erupt into fits of laughter.

This gave Halle momentary pause, as she looked to Ravi for support, only for him to pretend she wasn’t there.

Seeing this as her chance to escape, Norah rushed into the school-building. It was your average high school with wide corridors lined with pale blue lockers that looked like they could use a lick of paint. However, as soon as Norah stepped through the front doors it was like she’d walked into a swarm of locusts, catching wisps of her peer’s darkest inner thoughts whenever they brushed past her–

Gotta get more Adderall. How am I supposed to get through this year without Adderall?

I'd like to punch him until my fist hits dirt.

Where’s that bony geek with my book report?

Forget Halle, every student there was a buzzing hive of anxiety. Norah steadied herself against a locker trying to block out the noise. She was able to resist until a tall boy brushed past with a tense expression.

I hope she's not pregnant, God, Coach is gonna kill me–

Norah’s heart was racing, maybe Braran was right, enrolling in High School was a mistake. She pressed her head against the cool metal of one of the lockers and tried to calm herself – imagine a serene ocean – but the thoughts kept buffeting into her.

It's not fair, why does she get to go out with him? She’s not even pretty.

I can’t believe I got held back a grade. You are so stupid.

I should just kill myself, everyone hates me anyway. Mom, Dad, Connie, everyone at school. Even the teachers hate me.

Norah’s eyes were turning black, she could feel the smoke licking at their edges… it was coming. She could feel it and now all these people were in danger. Norah gasped in pain when suddenly the noise stopped and was replaced by a ringing silence. She opened her eyes and looked around her to see a boy standing next to her, looking at her with concern.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Norah stared into his doe-like green eyes intently, like she was trying to read his mind, but she couldn’t hear a thing. Not a peep. It seemed like just his presence there was enough to bring silence upon the whole room, but Norah had no idea why. She kept staring at him until the boy shifted in discomfort.

“Did you hear what I said, new girl?” He waved his hand in front of her eyes as if to summon her from a trance.

“What?”

The boy gave her a warm smile, “First day jitters?”

Norah tried to laugh but she felt delicate, “How could you tell?”

“You've just got that rabbit in the headlights look about you. Plus, Hogarth’s a small town, so I’ve known most of these people since I was five”, he reached out his hand, “I’m Josh”.

She tentatively shook it, “Norah. I just transferred”.

Josh blew air through his lips and leant against the wall, “Wow, transferring in your junior year? That's rough. What did you do, kill someone?”

Though she knew he was joking, a jolt of panic ran through Norah, and suddenly the voices were back. A girl hurried past them with a tense expression–

You're going to flunk again just like you did last year, mouth breather.

The wave struck Norah and she felt it so strongly it vibrated through her whole skull, “Tell me about it”. She began kneading her temples to alleviate some of the tension.

Sensing her distress, Josh gave her a big smile, “Don’t worry, I can show you the ropes. Tell you who to bribe and such, although you might want to invest in a taser”.

This time Norah really did laugh, only for a wave of fresh heat to wash over her liked she’d opened an oven door. Instantly she felt sick, when she glanced up Halle was glaring at her from the end of the corridor. She narrowed her eyes. Found you.

Halle was a bull ready to charge and Norah felt it like a punch in the gut, “Uh, gotta go. Bye”.

“Hey! I was just kidding!” Josh called after Norah, who ran around the corner and vanished into the depths of the High School.

Josh felt Halle's presence before he even saw her, she appeared beside him with steam practically pouring from her nose. Josh smiled and shook his head, casually putting his arm across Halle's shoulders, “How are you?”

“Fine.”

“You might want to let your face know that”, he whispered into her ear.

“Do you know that girl?” she was glaring off in the direction that Norah fled.

“Oh no, just doing my daily good deed and helping a weary traveler. I’ve gotta say that road-runner impression of hers is uncanny”, he turned to Halle, “I’m assuming you’ve met?”

“No. She just went off on me outside.”

“Norah?”

“Oh, it has a name, I didn’t realize you were best friends”, Halle scowled, she wouldn't look at him.

Josh sighed with exasperation and placed his hands on Halle's shoulders, “What happened?”

Halle became animated, “I was minding my own business out on Bishop’s Parkway and she started verbally assaulting me”.

“Well, you’ve been known to have that effect on people”, Josh said with a mischievous grin.

Halle knocked his hands off and glared at him, “I’m serious, Josh. You should have heard what she said to me!”

“Like what?”

Halle went to speak but then held back, “Just… stuff”.

“I’m sure it was all a misunderstanding, don’t let it ruin your day”, Josh locked his arm around Halle's neck and ruffled her hair playfully, causing her to elbow him in the stomach. Though she was too small to do any real damage, he still winced.

“There’s something off about that girl. She's some kind of nut-job”, said Halle, just as the morning bell rang.

“That’s not so bad”, Josh hooked his arm around Halle and began dragging her to class, “Hogarth was getting a little predictable”.