It was the next evening that Dad woke me up from a power nap with exciting news. He'd gotten the trucking job he was hoping to get. He was ecstatic, and I was happy for him, of course. I just wasn't thrilled with the timing.

"I'll be heading out at 5 in the morning, and I'll be home in ten days, give or take. Will you be okay getting to school by yourself tomorrow?"

I reassured him that I would be fine and told him I would deal with riding my bike to school until his car arrived. I didn't want to dim the newfound light in his eyes, no matter how nervous I was about the next day. As expected, he went over a list of ground rules.

"No parties, no boys in the house, and no opening the door for strangers. Don't go out late at night, especially not alone. Keep your pepper spray with you at all times. Hmm," he paused with a crease in his brows, "are you going to be able to feed yourself?"

"Yes, Dad," I chuckled and rolled my eyes at him.

"I had to make sure," he grinned, rising to his feet.

He pulled a hundred dollar bill out of his wallet, the wallet I'd bought him for Christmas the previous year.

"There are groceries in the kitchen already, but this can be for anything else you may need while I'm gone."

I took the cash from him and nodded.

"Alright, I'm gonna go pack up everything I just unpacked," he joked, giving me a thumbs up.

He slipped out the door, closing it behind him. I sighed, staring up at the ceiling. I wasn't able to sleep again until late that night. My thoughts kept me awake until the early hours of the morning. I awoke at 4:30 AM because I could hear my dad singing in the shower. That's something I hadn't heard in a very long time.

He poked his head into my room to say his goodbyes before heading out.

"Good luck today, Eve," he grinned, putting a baseball cap on his head.

"You too, Dad," I said sleepily.

I stayed awake until I heard his truck crank up and pull out of our driveway. My cell phone alarm pulled me back out of my slumber at 6:00 AM. My heart started fluttering anxiously as soon as my eyes were open. I forced myself out of bed and into the kitchen for breakfast. I made myself some french toast, which usually is my favorite, but I didn't feel hungry. I sat alone at the table and ate half a piece before getting dressed.

Since it was my first day at Westview High, I decided to make myself look sort of cute. I used my eyeliner to draw two precise lines on my upper lash lines and combed through my eyelashes with mascara to make my hazel eyes pop. Then, I slipped into a flowy white dress shirt, a pair of dark skinny jeans, and my black Vans. When I was ready for school, I stared at myself in the bathroom mirror and took a deep, shaky breath. It was time to go.

I stuffed the hundred dollar bill Dad had given me in a worn wallet of mine, and double checked my backpack for my cell phone and pepper spray. I'd learned my lesson about not carrying it. When I saw that I had everything I needed, I zipped up my backpack and flung it over my shoulder. I locked the door on my way out and shoved the house key in my front pocket.

I grabbed my bicycle and went on my unmerry way.

I arrived at the school close to an hour later. I was exhausted, but the windy weather had prevented me from sweating too terribly. My hair, however, had suffered. I parked my bike in the packed parking lot and kicked out my kickstand. Students were everywhere.

I followed a group of pretty girls into the school building about ten minutes early. My heart fluttered at the sight of the congregation of students in the hallway. I pushed my way through the mob, spotting the office pretty quickly and making a beeline for it. Once inside, I noticed a petite senescent lady sitting at the desk fumbling through a stack of papers. I was relieved to see that she was the only person in the room.

She peered up at me through her eyeglasses and fabricated a smile.

"Good morning honey, can I help you?"

"Yes ma'am, I'm Evelyn Stanton. I'm a transfer," I explained, clamping my sweaty hands together.

"Evelyn Stanton, oh okay," she rolled her desk chair over to an overstuffed filing cabinet and started to flip through it. I patiently waited for her to retrieve whatever she was trying to find.

"Ah-ha!" she exclaimed, grabbing a yellow folder and wheeling back over to her desk with it.

"Alright, Evelyn. I'm Ms. Hayes, the school secretary," she paused, situating some papers in her hands, "and here is your locker information, your class schedule, and a map of our campus. If you have any questions, I'll be right here all day. Don't hesitate to come and ask!"

I swallowed hard and reached for the papers, "thanks, Ms. Hayes."

She gave me a warm smile and said, "welcome aboard."

I nodded and feigned a smile before exiting the office and starting the search for my locker. I nudged my way down the hallway and after a few minutes of trial, eventually found it. I entered the combination, and the door popped open on the first attempt- the first thing that had gone my way all day. I shoved my wallet inside and slammed the door. At the locker next to mine, I noticed a girl who seemed to be struggling.

She was fumbling too many binders in her hands, and I watched as two of them slipped through her fingers and smacked against the floor below.

"Dammit!" she huffed, forcefully shoving the remaining binders in her locker.

I quickly dropped to the ground and swooped them up. I helped the girl because I knew what it was like to be down on luck. I held onto the binders for her until she turned and faced me.

"Oh," she smiled and pushed her short, dark hair out of her face, "thanks."

She took the binders from me and shoved them into her locker with the rest.

"No problem," I insisted.

"I don't think I've seen you around before. Are you a newbie?"

"Yeah, it's my first day," I admitted, crossing my arms.

"Oh, well, I'm Iris," she smiled and shrugged, "like the song."

"I'm Eve," I introduced myself.

"Eve," she repeated, "do you need any help with anything? Finding your classes?"

"Um," I unfolded my class schedule and campus map, "actually, that would be nice."

"What class do you have first?"

"Literature with Mr. Axton," I read aloud from my schedule.

"That's where I'm going," she smiled and pushed her glasses up on her nose, "you can just follow me."

I followed Iris through the herd until she took a sudden right turn into a classroom. There were already a considerable number of students in the room. I approached the teacher while Iris went to a desk. Mr. Axton was sitting at his desk flipping through a textbook. I cleared my throat to capture his attention. He looked up at me through his glasses.

"Hi, I'm Eve. I'm new here and need a textbook," I nervously explained.

He scratched his coarse beard and reached into one of his desk drawers. He pulled out a Literature textbook and handed it to me.

"What's your name again?"

"Evelyn Stanton, but I go by Eve," I explained.

"Welcome to Westview, Eve. We're glad to have you," he smiled and shook my clammy hand.

"Thank you," I firmly nodded.

"Have a seat wherever you'd like."

I scanned the room for a free desk and found Iris. She was sitting at the back of the classroom waving me over to an empty seat next to hers.

"It's Monday so we won't do much," she informed me after I sat down, "Mr. Axton doesn't like Mondays."

I smiled, "that makes two of us."

She giggled softly, "same here. So, where are you from?"

I sucked in a breath, "I doubt you've heard of it, but Langley, Washington."

"Yep, you're right. Never heard of it," Iris chuckled.

"It's a small town," I grinned, "like maybe a thousand people."

"Wow, this is a massive change for you then," her eyes widened.

"Mhm," I admitted, "it is."

Mr. Axton stood and cleared his throat.

"Alright guys, turn to page 135 in your books and read through page 160. If you don't finish your reading in class, then you'll need to finish it for homework. Pop quiz on the story tomorrow," he explained while scribbling the page numbers on the dry erase board.

Just as he finished explaining, a fresh, familiar face stepped into the classroom. He approached Mr. Axton and shook his hand firmly. It was Kaden, the guy that walked me to my bike at the mall. Mr. Axton retrieved a textbook for him and motioned for him to have a seat. Kaden scanned the room, and his gaze stopped on me. He smirked halfheartedly.

"Damn, I wonder who that is," Iris whispered, looking him up and down.

I chuckled and whispered back, "his name is Kaden. I met him at the mall yesterday."

He sat on the opposite corner of the room and threw his book on the desk.

"What class do you have next?" Iris asked, peeking up from her textbook.

"Hmm," I checked my schedule, "Pre-Cal with Mrs. Reed."

"Ah, I have Physics, but I can still show you where her classroom is."

"It's okay. I think I can find it using my map," I assured Iris.

"Let me see," she told me, reaching for my papers.

I glanced across the room at Kaden. There were a couple of girls cornering him trying to talk to him, but he was mostly ignoring their advances. His textbook was closed even though there was no way he could've finished reading the story already. He'd only been sitting down for a few minutes.

He must have felt my eyes on him because he looked directly at me. I quickly darted my attention back to Iris who luckily hadn't noticed my attention had drifted elsewhere.

"We have Literature, Gym, and History together," she told me with a smile.

She began trying to show and tell me exactly how to get to my next class using the campus map. I took my schedule and my map back from her when she was done and folded them up into tiny squares that could fit in my pocket.

"Thanks, Iris," I smiled, "I'll find my way."

Mr. Axton was struggling to hold his eyes open at his desk despite all the chatter going on in the classroom. What Iris said about his dislike for Mondays must have been pretty accurate. I noticed that no one else in the room was reading their pages, but I read as many pages as I could before the bell rang. I made a mental note to remember to bring my textbook home. The sudden realization that I would be alone when I got there made my heart twinge slightly.

The rest of the day went by smoothly. I found all of my classes without too much trouble. I sat with Iris in the cafeteria, and we ran laps together in the gym.

When the final bell rang, and it was time to go home, Iris and I walked to our lockers. She was rambling on and on about different things. I put in my combination and shoved what I'd be needing to take home with me in my backpack. Iris was in the middle of a story when she suddenly fell silent. It was probably the first time all day that she had stopped talking. I glanced over at her after shutting my locker. Her eyes were focusing on someone or something behind me, and her chin was noticeably trembling.

"Are you okay?" I asked, slinging my backpack over my shoulders.

When she didn't respond, I looked over my shoulder in the direction she was. The hallway was cleared out for the most part, but I did exchange glances with a beautiful girl. She was of average height with long platinum hair that reached her lower back and ocean blue eyes that were glimmering. Her skin was a shade of olive, and her body shielded by expensive clothing. Her rosy red lips stretched into a smile.

She was walking with a tall brunette guy wearing a baseball cap. He had his eyes on the girl, and a smile on his face as well. When they had their backs to us, I faced Iris who was then choking back tears.

"Hey, what is it?" I said, taking her forearm in my hand.

"That guy is my ex-boyfriend, Jake. We just broke up last week," she stammered, "but I guess he's already over it."

I glanced back at Jake guy and the girl he was walking beside. They were already exiting the building together.

"What a jackass," I shook my head, "who is the blonde?"

"I've never seen her before," she shrugged and wiped at her eyes with her shirt sleeve.

I found myself at a loss for words. I didn't know Iris or the situation well enough to offer any advice. So, I said the only thing I could think to say.

"You know what, you've been such a help today that I want to buy you some ice cream," I looped my arm through hers.

She sniffled and let out a soft giggle.

"For real?"

"Yes, for real," I smiled, "there's an ice cream shop at the mall I went to a couple of days ago. Let's go."

She giggled again and nodded, "okay, yeah. Deal."

We headed out the front doors of the school together. Jake and Blondey were out of sight and out of mind. I was glad for Iris's sake.

"Did you drive here?" Iris asked, scanning the parking lot for her vehicle.

"Yeah, my bicycle," I chuckled, pointing to where I'd left it.

She laughed, "we can just take my truck, so you don't have to try keeping up with me on that thing."

"Sounds great," I chuckled.

"We can load your bike up in my truck, and I can drop you off at your place afterward if you want," she offered.

"That would be awesome, actually," I agreed.

I was thankful for her offer. The temperature outside had risen significantly since that morning. Iris went ahead to get her truck while I grabbed my bike. A black Dodge truck flew passed me dangerously fast, and I wasn't surprised to see Jake, Iris' ex, in the driver's seat. I rolled my eyes at his recklessness.

I checked to see if Iris was on her way over yet. I didn't see her, but I did see someone else that I hadn't seen since that morning in Lit. Kaden was leaning against the fence across the parking lot and seemed to be in a heated argument with someone in a silver Mercedes Benz parked next to him. I couldn't make out what he was saying, but his expression was icy. My curiosity got the best of me, so I stuck around and tried to act busy while I watched the situation unravel.

The Mercedes suddenly floored backward and sped to the front of the school building. A guy I quickly recognized by his letterman jacket exited the school and stopped by the vehicle. It was Bradley Hughes- the quarterback, my neighbor. He conversed shortly with the driver before opening the passenger's side door and hopping in the vehicle. The car sped away, but when they paused at a nearby stop sign, I saw Blondey from the hallway sitting in the driver's seat.

I assumed she was playing the field, literally.

"You coming?" Iris called out, breaking my daze.

I had been so focused on the situation that I hadn't noticed she was parked next to me. I quickly picked up my bike and rested it in the cargo bed of her white Toyota truck. I hopped into the passenger's seat, and she pumped the gas. When we stopped at the stop sign in front of the school, I scanned the parking lot and the fence for Kaden, but he was gone.