"I don't want to go."

Mum rolled her eyes at me. She was holding her cup of coffee. Her hand was shaking so she put the coffee down on the marble table. Then she folded her arms and sighed as if not knowing how to respond to me. Mum curled her hands around the cup again, tapping her manicured nails against the glass, making a sound. I watched her take a sip and finish it.

"Get up. We're going," she announced, pushing her chair back and standing up. "We've been in this town for a while. It's time for you to get to your new school. You'll make new friends. Stop worrying."

I hadn't been to school and had proper interactions with humans other than my mother and Lilly in nearly four months since New York. Westfield Academy, my new school, was the most expensive school in Kellington but also the best, resulting in a long waiting list-- even the name sounded grand.

Mum looked around and called out. Our maid, Lilly, rushed over to collect Mum's coffee. Lilly was tired. I could tell from the dark bags underneath her eyes and the way she forced her smile. Her wrinkles were evident around her mouth.

Lilly disappeared into the kitchen and Mum pushed me lightly. "Let's go."

That earned her a huff from me. "Screw it," I muttered, moving away and shoving my dirty vans on over my pristine socks. Nothing mattered anymore

Mum stared down in distaste at my choice of footwear for a few seconds then she started to complain. She turned around to face the kitchen. "Lilly. I asked you to scrub all the shoes last Sunday. You missed Stella's."

I rolled my eyes and shoved the other shoe on, grabbing my backpack and hurrying myself to get out of the house as fast as I could. God, I didn't want to go to my new school but staying in the house when Mum was lecturing Lilly was agonising.

A breeze blew past me and I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear as I waited for my mum to unlock the car. I stood on our pebbled driveway, hands wrapped tightly around myself as I wore a loose grey cardigan that was not thick enough.

A beep came from the Mercedes in front of me and I sighed, opening the car door and climbing in, slamming it after. Mum came in a minute later with a sigh and a stretch. She adjusted her chair and the rearview mirror before starting up the engine. Mum started to reverse the car out of the driveway.

"Did you take your pills this morning, Stella?"

I pursed my lips. "Yes."

"Good."

I leaned forward to press a button that heated the car chairs until they were warm then I sat back and stared at the bracelet hanging loosely around my wrist with the letter B engraved previously into a heart.

It was from Blake, my ex-boyfriend back in my old town, for our nine-month anniversary. My heart burned as I thought back to when he broke up with me because he knew for a fact long-distance relationships just wouldn't work.

Screw Blake. I was moving on to my new life. I just wanted to keep this bracelet.

→←

I stood at the office, unsure of what to do. The office was chillingly cold. A lady sat in a roller chair that was fluffy as she moved from her glass tables, flipping through files on the large computer after finding a memory stick.

"Ah, found it!" she chirped. She turned to me and smiled as she pressed a button on her mouse. She rolled her chair over to me. I bit my lip. "Welcome to Westfield Academy." She continued to beam as she told me my locker number and the combination code.

"Thanks, Mam." I recited the numbers in my head, over and over again. Sixty-four. Seven eight nine four.

The printer started to make a noise. I gave her a quick smile and she smiled even brighter. God, all of this was already tiring me. Through all the months I had been here, all I did was lounge in bed watching movies-- trying to distract myself from Blake.

"Here we go!" The office lady slapped a paper down on the glass surface in front of me enthusiastically. It had my name written on the top in bold. I figured it was my timetable. She studied my face with a smile. "You're twenty minutes late to your first class here, Stella. Let's hurry up."

I grabbed the paper and rushed out of the office like the whoosh of her hands told me to and once I exited, I braced myself for the day.

There was nobody in the large, long hallways apart from a man who was dressed in a blue jumpsuit who was mopping the marble floors. It was silent. I took this time to examine the area, biting my lip at the high ceilings and the ridiculous number of lights.

Down the long hallways, each side was occupied with cream-coloured lockers that stretched on forever.

It took me two minutes to find my locker. I punched in the code and opened it to find an empty locker, of course. It had a stale smell, which was surprising for a school this filthy rich.

Pushing the smell out of my conscious, I stocked my locker up with the textbooks and exercise books my mum had gotten my driver to collect last week from the school and then stared down at my timetable.

Monday. Biology. Room B16.

Where the hell?

Then a boy came from around the corner with his hands styling his light hair. He was very handsome from what I was seeing. He was wearing a tidy shirt and shoes that looked like something Blake wore to prom last year. He gave me a sly smirk as he walked past, running his hand through his brown hair. His skin colour was the colour of light, milky coffee, complimenting the hazel saturation of his dark orbs.

That was what I caught of him anyway, since he seemed to be in a rush.

Brushing off his look, I wandered around the school until I came back to the spot where the office was. I had checked every classroom label. There was no B16 whatsoever.

"There you are." A deep voice came from behind me. I jumped in fright and turned around to be faced by the handsome boy from earlier in the smart outfit. His face was better up close. His eyebrows were thick and dark, matching the colour of his orbs. I swallowed a lump in my throat and fiddled with my bracelet hanging loosely around my wrist.

His eyes flickered to my forearm near my bracelet and back up. He spoke again when I didn't.

"I'm supposed to show you around and then take you to your first class," he trilled, to start a conversation. It put a smile on my face. At least I wasn't going to be stuck touring the massive school with a guy who was moody as hell. He seemed in a good enough mood though.

"Oh. Thanks," I mumbled, giving him one of my famous grim smiles. He walked up to me and I held my hand out. "My name is--"

"Stella Jennings, I know," he said, cutting me off. He took my hand tightly and leaned down, planting a kiss on my hand. "The name's Caleb Derez. Welcome to Westfield Academy."

I looked at him as if he had just stuffed peanut butter in his hat and pulled my hand away. "Nice. Um. So, where's Room B16?" I asked with a nervous laugh. He laughed too.

"You're in the wrong block, love. This is Block A. Block B is down a long corridor and basically another building."

"Oh," I said with an embarrassed laugh. He shook his head, lightly amused and placed his hand on my shoulder, steering me around so I faced a turn. I bit my lip.

He showed me the cafeteria and the cafeteria was five times bigger than my last school's cafeteria. He showed me the bathrooms and the locker rooms and the gyms and music rooms in Block A-- all of which were very grand and spotless. Some rooms I couldn't enter because it was occupied by a class.

But boy, all I could say was that this boy was cocky. He made a few jokes that were a little dirty and told me how many girls had been trying to get with him. All of which sounded ridiculous and childish, but this boy had a chilling vibe about him. Something that made my skin crawl.

But nevertheless, he took me to Block B like he was supposed to. There actually was a long corridor with either side large panels of glass leading to B. I could see the plants and the cars in the car park. Everything was gloomy and dark outside, with dark clouds gathering.

It felt colder when we reached Block B. I was just stunned by how prissy clean every spot of the school was. There were neither muddy footprints on the marble floor, nor bins littered with chewing gum. Though I spotted a piece of ripped paper, stuffed behind a locker. I frowned. That was unusual for a school so prestigious and proper.

"I know, you can't keep your eyes off all this money, but Bio's this way." Caleb's deep, but bright voice snapped me out of it. I spun on my heels to face Caleb who was giving me a curious smug smile.

"Sorry," I said, forcing a smile on my face.

I just wanted to go back home to my actual high school in my old town. I wanted to be back in Blake's arms. I needed Sarah and all my best friends here with me.

I sighed and followed Caleb's footsteps. He was hot, but I didn't care about anything anymore.

This was going to be a long day.

-

Hey! Please comment on any grammar mistakes/ spelling/ other mistakes or things that don't seem right. It helps me a lot with editing! x