"I am late again", I remarked standing in front of the huge metallic gate of Willow Creek High School.
I turned to look around, and finding a new face in my sight standing behind me, I got surprised.
Glancing at him, I paused for a moment and couldn't take my eyes off him.
Handsome would be an understatement, he had the kind of face that could stop you in your tracks. His basalt jaw and Spartan shoulders spoke of strength. His mountain peak cheekbones appeared chiseled into shape by a master craftsman. They were such sharp contours, it looked as if they were sculpted and pared to perfection. He carried an imperious nose with deep golden eyes, bright as stars, that could bewitch all those who fall under his steady gaze. His tanned skin and thin pair of lips made him look devilishly handsome. His chestnut brown short hair which glistened in the sunlight was combed back perfectly. The swirl of his loamy cologne can make people swoon in the aisles. I guess he must be used to that, the sudden pause in a person's natural expressions when they looked his way followed by overcompensating it with a nonchalant gaze and a weak smile. Of course the blush to my cheeks that accompanied it was a dead give-away.
"Do you go to this school?" I asked awkwardly.
The boy nodded.
"Ah, a transfer student. Follow me quietly."
"To where?"
"To the school of course."
"Isn't it this way?"
"Hey, look at the time we are late, if you don't want to get punished in this scorching heat follow me."
I tiptoed to the wall that sided the gate and threw my bag over the wall. I climbed the wall and at the top, turned to the boy and asked him to do the same. I jumped down. As we climbed over, I gave him my hand to hold onto when jumping. He held my hand firmly and jumped down. We both stood their holding hands under the huge white willow and as we took a glance at each other, we awkwardly let go of each other's hands and picked up our bags.
"Let's go to the school fast, it's almost time for class", I hastily spoke.
The boy swiftly shook his head and followed me to the walkway to the school.
As we entered the hallway I showed him the way to the staffroom and took my way to the class.
As I was walking, I felt a gaze on me. A weird feeling as if someone was watching me secretly. I looked around to check but found nothing of suspicion.
*****
Miss Rosalie entered the classroom with someone walking behind her. My face unconsciously lit up the very instant I recognized him.
"Good morning kids, we have a transfer student. Would you like to introduce yourself?"
"Hi everyone, I am Shaun. I hope we can get along well", he said with a slight smile on his face in an oddly satisfying tone.
"Great, you can go and take a seat, Shaun."
Miss Rosalie said pointing her hand towards the empty seat a bit far beside me.
I impulsively rose my hand to greet him with a huge smile.
I must have lost my mind. In a split second, I grasped the situation and embarrassingly put my hand down. My cheeks flushed, I bit my lower lip and started looking to the side.
I would have been agitated and probably abashed by everyone who saw this silly act of mine but Shaun scanned my flustered face and saved me by waving back to me. Seeing him waving and walking in my direction with a grin, my heart skipped a beat and I forgot how to breathe.
He sat beside me and I remained still.
"Get a hold of yourself, Claire. What's wrong with you, he is just a boy. Come back to your senses!" I reminded myself and took a deep breath.
The whole day I couldn't look at him and when once or twice our eyes met, my heart was left unsettled. It was strange, I've never been like this no matter how good looking of the person it is. I stayed unbothered. He was different but nothing more than a nice-looking boy. Then why is his presence affecting me to the point of a heart flutter?
What was more strange is his demeanor. For all this time he didn't even mind asking me for my name but then why did he help me to cope up with that embarrassment before. He acted as a friend but just for that brief moment.
I was puzzled and kept thinking about it on my way to Emily's classroom after the night study session.
I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't realize Emily was walking behind me.
She put her arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to her.
"What's wrong Claire? Did you just ignore me", she exclaimed.
"Sorry, I'm just so out of it", I sighed.
"Why, did someone confess again?"
"Nope, it's nothing really."
"Snap out of it and listen, have you heard of the rumors going around about a wild creature being sighted on the meadows behind the schoolyard?" she said, as we stepped out of the school gate.
"What creature?"
"A hound or maybe____"
Awoo~
Awwo~ Awooooo~~~
We were interrupted by the howl of a____
"A wolf!" We both gave a cry of surprise.
"Aren't wolves the most horrifying wild animals?" I teased her.
"I'm scared, Claire, let's stop taking night study classes at school. We can't go through this dark, creepy roadway with a wild creature running around."
"Em!!" I yelled, "There is something behind you!"
"W..W-hat do you mean!!!, stop j..j-oking Claire."
"Is it a wolf, oh no Emily."
"Aaaah!" screamed Emily.
Seeing Emily trembling in fear I broke out in a laugh.
"You are such a coward, you might pass out if you ever see a wolf."
"Claire, I am gonna kill you today. You scared the hell out of me!"
Claire started running, guffawing, and teasing her with Emily running behind her.
*****
Coming back to the class after a physical education session, I found my bag on the floor with all my stuff disorderly laid out as if it was thoroughly checked for something. Among my notebooks lumped on the desk, I noticed a scrap paper. Taking it out I was left in dismay.
In blood-red, it read:
He's back.
He's back to destroy your life.
He's back to take what's his.
Your past will forever haunt you.
Going through it, my hands started trembling and sweat ran down my forehead. I remembered nothing of my past other than that night. But those words pierced my soul. I tumbled down on my chair, my head with filled questions.
Who?
When?
Why?