undecide fate, Dionne Newman [fb2 epub reader txt] 📗

I sipped it slowly and looked over at my grandfather; he was shaking with silent laughter. ”What “i asked him with a look of shock upon my face. “Nothing” he replied “it’s just your grandmother suffered from the same condition”. We sat watching TV for the next couple of hours then i said that i was going to bed. “Yeah, you better get some sleep, you’ve got a big day ahead of you tomorrow, night Claire “. “Goodnight Papa Joey “i replied. I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and hug then went upstairs to my bedroom, turned on the air conditioning, put some pyjama’s on, lay down on my bed and threw a thin cover over myself. I fell into a fitful sleep thinking about what tomorrow would hold in store for me. I was woken the next morning by an alarm from my grandfather’s bedroom shrieking through the whole house. I looked at the small clock that i had brought from my house back in Gladdysville. It was only 6:30. I groaned, stretched, pulled myself out of bed, grabbed my purse that held my showering things and headed to the tiny, pristine bathroom. I locked the door, turned the water on, undressed and stepped into the fresh, lukewarm water rushing out of the showerhead. I washed and then shampooed and conditioned my hair. When i finished i wrapped my towel around myself, brushed my teeth and blow dried my hair. After i brushed my hair almost straight i went back to my room in search of something to wear that would be suitable for the hot weather. In the end all i found was a brown, strapped vest top, a pair of denim shorts and a pair of brown, jewelled flip-flops. I put on some make-up just mascara, blusher and lip-gloss. I looked in the mirror and examined myself. I didn’t think i was pretty, just average to be honest. I was tall and tanned (something i take off my dad) i have longish blonde hair, blue eyes, full pink lips, i ‘m slim and have long legs. I went downstairs for breakfast. Papa Joey had laid out a bowl of cheerio’s and a glass of orange juice on the table for me. I ate slowly and drank my juice. My grandfather came down the stairs and into the sitting room. “Are you not eating that” he asked. I shook my head. “Hmmm” he replied “okay then come on”. I left my breakfast on the table, ran upstairs to my room, grabbed my bag for school and ran out to the drive where my grandfather was standing. He smiled at me “Claire, your mom emailed me when you passed your driver’s test so i decided that as you were coming to stay for a while, you might need some form of transport rather than your papa driving you everywhere in his rusty ole truck, it would also give you more independency and freedom here, so i got you a little present, look”. He opened the garage door and showed me a little red mini cooper with black stars starting at the driver’s door and leading to the back passenger door. It was stunning, i grabbed my grandfather and hugged him tight, “thank you so much Papa Joey” he waved my thanks away with a flick of his hand. “Right” he said “off to your first day at school, good luck” my stomach flipped and i dropped to the ground once again. I sighed as i came to; again i was cradled in my grandfather’s arms. “You alright to drive” he asked. “Yeah” i replied. I explained that i had forgotten to do my relaxation exercises and that i could normally control my fainting. He nodded his head as a sign that i could go now. I went into my new car and he handed me my keys. He gave me a quick kiss on the head. “Please be careful” he breathed. I nodded and pulled carefully out of the garage, drove down the drive, tooted my horn and started towards my new school. I tuned into the radio while doing my relaxation exercises. I drove into the little village and looked for my new school. My stomach flipped gently i breathed in and out, concentrating on my heartbeat and felt better. I caught myself smiling and singing to one of my favourite songs “dynamite” by Taio Cruz.

CHAPTER 4

I found the school within minutes. It was a medium sized building with a corrugated roof. I drove into the car park and pulled up into a space in front of two automatic doors with a sign above them stating that this was the main entrance. I took a deep breath, got out my car and walked through the doors and up to the main office. At the desk was a small, pleasant looking elderly woman. “Morning” she said in her Texas drawl “can i help you” she smiled crookedly. “Hi, yes I’m Claire Bails, it’s my first day here and i didn’t know where to go” i replied. “Okay, well you’ll have to meet with the principal to get your schedule, so I’ll give him a quick call just to let him know that you’re here. Just head up to the top of this corridor and it’s the last door on the left, his name is Mr Peterson, well good luck then” she smiled again, gave my hand a little reassuring pat and went over to the office phone. I started walking up the long, corridor, found the principal’s small, room and knocked his door twice. The principal, Mr Peterson a broad, athletic looking man in his fifty’s, with weather-beaten skin and worn out hands, as if he had spent many years working with them came to the door with a wide smile showing his yellowing teeth. “Good morning and welcome to Reeth Valley high Miss Bails”. I smiled at him, he was pretty friendly. He asked me to take a seat at the opposite side of his desk, when i was seated he gave me my schedule, i thanked him and put it in my bag. He asked if he could be excused for a minute, he handed me a small bottle of water and then left. I sipped the water and realized how warm the weather was today. I could feel the heat of the sun coming in through the window and hitting me squarely on my back. I went over to the window and looked out, people were starting to file into the school now, they all looked cheerful and upbeat, at the side of the building there were a bunch of tiny, eighth graders playing catch. It was sort of funny as they were trying to keep a rally going and they weren’t succeeding. I smiled to myself and thought about how i used to play catch back home in the rain when i was younger. The door opened, i turned round as Mr Peterson walked through the door with a really good-looking guy around my age. This boy was about 5ft 11”, with golden, blonde hair and hazel eyes. He smiled at me and i smiled back his eyes lingered on me for just a moment to long and i started concentrating on fixing my shorts. “Zachary this is Claire bails”, “Claire this is Zachary Dalton and he will be your guide around the school”. I nodded at the principal and felt my stomach flip as i saw that there was less than a minute before the bell would ring sounding the start of first lessons. I took a couple of deep breaths and relaxed again. Mr Peterson waved me and Zachary out. Walking to my first class Zachary rambled on about how fine the school was, i completely tuned out, i was more interested in how today was going to turn out and trying not to drop to the ground. I made a solemn oath to myself that i was not going to make an idiot out of myself by fainting. I had numeracy first, which was as Zachary said at the other side of the building. We arrived at the classroom just as the bell rang. The bell was loud and would probably be heard from my bedroom window. Pupils waiting for the teacher to arrive started filing up at the classroom door, even with my back turned i could feel their eyes on me and hear their whispers. I sighed, it was like being back home when someone new came into the school, everyone would stare as if the newbie was something in the zoo and now i was being ogled the exact same way. I felt a hand on my back; i jumped a little, looked slightly over my shoulder and saw Zachary smiling at me. To be honest i forgot he was there. I smiled back i think he could tell i was nervous. The teacher a tall, weedy man with a moustache almost as big as his head walked over to the classroom door and started to fumble about with his key ring which held around 20 keys, it was amusing and somehow irritating to watch. After a couple of minutes of fumbling about Zachary piped up “it’s the key with the yellow rubber at the top” the teacher groaned and gave Zachary a grateful smile. Once we were in the class Zachary walked me over to the teacher’s desk. “Unfortunately the seat beside me is taken but no matter where you sit I’m sure you’ll be fine” he said. It was now that i realized Zachary didn’t have a Texas drawl like everyone else here, but a different sort of accent that i couldn’t place. His voice was rough but still gentle and he talked as if he was from a different century like Shakespeare or something, but his voice comforted me and i felt like wrapping my arms around him, which is weird for me as usually I’m quite timid but standing here with him i felt different as if I’d known him for years even though we only met an hour ago. He went to go and take his seat and as he walked past me his hand brushed off mine and my whole body started tingling like he was sending electric volts through me. I gasped as the butterflies in my stomach started and the tingling started to elevate, he flashed me a dazzling white smile and winked at me. I didn’t realize all the pupils were staring at me as if i amazed them beyond belief. I caught sight of them staring at me with wide eyes and mouths slightly ajar; i looked down and stared at my flip-flops, shuffling my left foot from side to side. My new numeracy teacher came over and introduced himself. “Hello, I’m Mr Garth, welcome to the school, what’s your name”. “Hi, I’m Claire Bails”. He smiled at me and nodded his head. He took a quick glance around the classroom and then focused on a spare seat next to a girl who i couldn’t see properly because she was facing the back chatting away to two guys behind her. “Claire you can sit at the back beside Chantelle Lopes, that’s the girl who can’t stay quiet for more than a minute”. At that the girl whipped around in her seat and gave an embarrassed smile, while the boys behind her hooted with laughter, she flashed them a wicked look and they fell silent. I could see she had total control over them. I went over and took a seat beside her “hey”, she smiled at me. She had long blackish, blue hair that