*UPDATED*

A massive red banner reading 'Go Timberwolves!' adorned with a large, growling wolf fluttered in the wind above my head. Trudging up the lawn towards Mystic Falls Highschool, the colour coded building jutted up three storeys above the trees.
Jitters flooded my body. I had never been to such a school before.

I stooped my head in annoyance. What was I doing!? I was getting carried away! I wasn't here to attend school! I was only here to cover my true intentions.
Teenagers were the perfect source of information. They were so good at talking that I was bound to find what I needed.

Making my way to the entrance, a girl rudely stepped into my path,

"Interested in signing up for the cheerleading squad?" she said sweetly, chewing away at her piece of gum. The overpowering, sickly-sweet smell of green apples wafted from her.

"No, thank you." I politely side-stepped her. She scoffed but all was forgotten as she spun around and started on the next unsuspecting teen. I didn't need any distractions today, especially in the way of a cheerleader. I was too old for pom-pom's and a mini skirt. My main purpose was him. As soon as I found him, I could then leave and go right back to my estate in Lynchburg.

Where it jutted out, the school building would have been 50 metres away. If I didn't have to rely on my mortal limbs, the front door would have already been a thing of the past.
I stopped in my tracks, my ears attuned to an air disturbance. Over trudging on grass, a faint whistling, no louder than a breath, came into proximity. I spun to a football in my direct line of contact.
I shot to the left, the balling skimming past me. It hit the grass before bouncing away with a twirl. My focus being on said football however, took my attention away from the young men fetching it like a pack of dogs. The last of the pack shunted me into the ground, his reflexes not on par with his friends.
I let out a gargle of air as my back hit the ground, my head slamming into the grass. In the daze, I held my breath for a second, letting any injury heal quicker. After another second, I felt fine if not for the insatiable urge to rip a light post from the earth and introduce him to baseball. A group of girls sniggered far off. I wouldn't mind some practice swings either.

Sitting up, I recollected my belongings which were now strewn everywhere. I refrained from pursuing the young man who hadn't even bothered to stop. Was chivalry that dead!? If this was what my day was going to be like, it was best to hop back on my bike now.


"Are you okay?"

I looked up, still fumbling for items in the grass. I must have looked dishevelled because the girl who'd come over bent down and started to help.

"I'll be fine." I downplayed the impact. If he had knocked over a human girl, then it could have broken her bones, but he ran into me instead. He should have run into a human. Humans forget and I get bored.
I reached across the grass for my sunglasses, making sure to keep my eyes out of as much direct exposure as possible.

"Are you new here?" The girl politely smiled at me. I took a good look at her this time. She had a dark complexion with long brown, wavy hair reaching down to her collarbones. Her own bag rested on her shoulder.

"What gave me away?" 

She giggled before passing me my helmet. "I'm Bonnie Bennett."

"Valerie Inverno." I mimicked her toothy grin before getting up.

"Nice name." When people said that they usually meant unusual, "C'mon, let's go inside, you must be so excited!" She was more excited for me than I was.

 
The hallways were bustling full of kids which I followed tightly behind Bonnie to avoid as they pushed and shoved paths through the crowds.

"Do you know where your locker is?"

"Uh..." In the event of falling over, I had forgotten my list of instructions, "I had to go see the headmaster."

"Okay, you need to find the deputy principal's office which is down the end of this hall." Luckily, she didn't seem too bothered by my blunder.

"Thank you." I readjusted my bag strap.

I knocked on the door before the Deputy ushered me in.

"You must be the new girl. Please, have a seat."

All I managed to read before Bonnie stole the sheet from my hands was:

Student- Valerie Inverno
Age- 17
Subjects- Maths 1, History 1, Calculus 2, Bio-

I grumbled but she didn't seem to hear. "Okay, so your locker is at 52B. See that sign over there?" She pointed to a small blue rectangle hanging above the heads of students. "That's the B block of lockers. Then you simply have to find number 52."

Bonnie waved a hand, making me follow.
My locker was nothing special; especially not the neatest kept. Its last owner hadn't particularly cared for it. Bonnie discretely reached forward, ripping down the Brittany Spears poster stuck to the door, and scrunched it up.

"I suggest just using today to learn the code," She suggested with a grimace.

"Wouldn't be the worst thing to happen today." This charade was getting so complicated.
She held out her hand, which caught me by surprise.

"Good luck!" She grinned, visibly excited for me. I acknowledged her outstretched hand and copied her gesture.
Our hands touched for the barest of seconds when chills shot through my arm. We both jerked our hands away, and she now looked at me as if I had killed her dog. She looked horrified.
She quickly masked her expression, looking down at her books,

"Oh wow, English is starting. I best get to class. You've got History which is that classroom over there. I'll see you around, Valerie." She pointed to the room at the next junction.

"You too, Bonnie. It was nice meeting..." She was already gone, having darted away as fast as her legs could manage. She looked so scared of me. What had I done? One thing I did know, it felt like I had made and unmade a friend in not even half a day. Today was starting to be a write-off.

My Friday's schedule surely enough had me in History first up with my teacher, Mr Saltzman. He seemed nice. I noticed he had a daylight ring. He didn't reek of deathly decay though so he was very much alive. I still kept mine out of sight, just in case.
My seat was the only vacant one situated at the back of the room.

We all turned to page 142. At least I did anyway. Some people were exploring escapism to its fullest, staring out the windows looking over the field. The page was about the Civil War in which Mr Saltzman started writing notes on the board.

Most of what he was writing, I already knew having witnessed the Civil War in one form or another, even if some events differed to actuality.
I decided it best to write it all down regardless. Twirling my pen in my hand, I got the feeling I was being watched. I peered up, scanning the room.
It was a guy in the corner. He looked away as we made eye contact. His dark brown eyes glanced back every so often. I pretended not to notice and continued writing.
If only he knew who he was staring at. It was rude to stare at someone so capable of cold- blooded murder. Unlike football boy, I would confront him later, but right now I had to draw a mud map of an old civil war trekking path that connected Mystic Falls to a no longer existent, northern village.

Before I knew it, a chiming had started in which everyone got up, collecting their gear. I hadn't finished my map yet. Everyone else must have because I got left being the only one sitting down.
  
"Everything okay, Valerie?" Mr Saltzman caught my attention from his spot at the front of the class.

"Yes, sir." I said with a polite grin, bundling my stuff up after realising he expected me to leave too. Note to self- Chiming is an electronic bell signifying end of classes. I should have kept myself in the loop instead of being in hiding all these years.

I made my way out of the room and once again into the hall of humans. They were so inconsiderate of other people's breathing space. If I fell here, I would probably get trampled. Some were listening to music as they walked; others clutching their pile of books. This experience was definitely making me cherish my solitude, especially as another bumped into my shoulder. Maybe I could compel them to move out of the way? To part like the sea did for Moses.

According to my schedule, a recess was in order. I made my way back to 52B, keeping my ears open for gossip.

OMG. That dress is so last year... Can I have my calculus sheet back?... C'mon Bonnie! I didn't say it on purpose!... Caroline, you still said it... Matt, you going to tryouts this summer?... When's history due?... No, you got it all wrong. Vader IS Anakin... Oh as if nothing interests the Stefan Salvatore.

Salvatore!

My breath hitched. I heard that right...right? I turned my head, a tall guy was surrounded by girls, one being Bonnie. He didn't look like him, but I was sure I heard Salvatore.
Bonnie glanced back and spotted me, before turning her head back again. She was talking, the others listening intently. Everyone then stared up at me. wide eyed, I darted to my locker.

I threw my History books inside, went to collect my bag and woosh! He was standing right there! One shoulder leant against the locker, with his attention 100% on me. They had to be related now. He got to me too quickly for a human.

"Hi," he smiled, "Bonnie tells me you're new here."

"Yeah, I'm living with my brother for a bit. He told me I had to go to school." I laughed nervously. I wasn't acting. His face contradicted his eyes. He had worked me out, at least I thought he had. He didn't make mention of it if he did know. Maybe this was a warning so I didn't cause him trouble. I certainly didn't want to. I just wanted to find Damon and get out of here.

"That was rude of me, I'm Stefan." He smiled, outstretching his hand. I didn't know whether I wanted to shake more hands.

"Valerie." His hand wore a silver ring, with a large blue gem. It looked similar to mine, at least to how mine used to look. It put me into a spot of bother though because I would have to reveal that hand to him. I quickly switched my ring between hands behind my back then went to shake his. Hopefully, to him I was just adjusting my jacket.

"That's a nice name."

"Thank you." 

I wasn't sure what to do now. Most of our kind were not friendly to strangers especially when they too, were vampires. I didn't bank on Damon having relatives. He could probably hear my heart rate sky rocketing.
He tapped his hand on the locker, pushing back into an upright position.

"Well, I guess we'll see you round." I let out a half- laugh, nodding my reply, trying to recover from my imminent heart attack.
Once he was gone, it truly gave me the time to sink in the fact that I was most likely going to die in Mystic Falls.