I cowered behind Elle's shoulder nervously, swallowing as my eyes followed a figure in the throng of students. "Did you see that guy?" I shivered. "He looks scary..."
It wasn't exactly that his appearence menacing... there was just something about him, about the scars on his arms and the half of a smirk that lurked at the corners of his mouth - I wasn't sure what it was, but something just screamed "Stay away!". And I'd learned to trust my gut instinct a long time ago. It had the habit of being correct ninety nine percent of the time.
I didn't let go of Elle's shoulder until she sighed. Nobody really minded me in the busy hallway, except maybe Elle. She turned around to face me, rolling her eyes. "All the guys here are scary," she said simply. I grimaced. It was a known fact that Elle was not a good judge of those things; I was certain that deep down she half believed guys still had cooties. Seeing the doubt over my face, she added, "And did you hear about the new transfer student? He was in a motorcycle gang and got expelled from his old school. That's proof right there. They're dangerous, Sarah. Do you even know that word?"
She did have a point. I pulled my hands away from her shoulder. It was a large school, and not exactly known for how safe it was. Elle and I had been best friends since second grade, and had stuck together when we transfered in. It was sad that we didn't make any new friends, but honestly... we didn't really blend in with all the other groups.
She smiled at me knowingly, as if sharing my pain. "It really sucks that our acceptance standards are low, doesn't it?"
I nodded. Since it was the first day of school we got to see some "charming" new additions. I was shaky just thinking about it. But, then again, the school was close to home, we were both good students so acing shouldn't be a problem, and the fees were pretty low. It made sense, on paper.
"This school makes me want to cary around a taser," Elle continued queitly. She resumed walking toward our locker, me following edgily behind.
"So, tell me what it's like to be a Junior," I said, trying to think of a more cheerful topic.
She pushed back a strand of black hair, her bangs covering her eyes for a moment. "Fantastic," she said aloofly, in a tone that never quite told me if she was being sarcastic or not. "But tell me yourself."
I looked around slowly, examening the hallway. The walls were still painted yellow, above the greenish lockers, and there were still students chatting everywhere. "Well, you know... it just feels like school," I confessed finally.
"Exactly my point! It's just school. But no, Mom wouldn't listen to me when I told her it was no big deal..." Elle shook her head. "Why is my mother so emotional?" she wondered out loud.
I opened my locker, focusing on the numbers for a second. "Did she cry again?"
"Yes! God, why does she get like that?"
I giggled. The contrast between cool and collected Elle to her heated mother was kind of funny. "Maybe because she lives with people like you and your dad?" Elle actually seemed comforted by the thought.
The bell rang shrilly; it was almost comical how everyone froze, then sped toward the classrooms. No one wanted to be late on the very first day.
"I'm going to be late either way," Elle decided at last. "Hadn't even gotten my books out yet. You should hurry along."
"What? Without you?"
Elle put on the expression of a martyr. "Yes! Go on without me! Oh, but save me a seat."
"Will do," I giggled.
In the class room it was pretty noisy. Everyone was talking to their friends, probably about the summer holidays or whatever. I put my back pack in the seat next to me and sat down.
The teacher walked in, tagged by an extremely tall guy by his side. The guy had his hood on, hiding his face halfway. On his arm was a pretty big cut which was painful to look at. I wondered why he didn't treat it or anything. For some reason, he didn't give me the creeps. I sat there, examinning him, and wondering why the hell my gut wasn't kicking in. Other than being freakishly tall, he was muscular, that much I could tell, but it felt like he didn't try to emphesize it at all.
Suddenly, his eyes flickered to meet mine. I felt an electric current run through me. For whatever reason, my instinct - quiet just moments ago - kicked into action, but for once, I couldn't understand what it was telling me. My mind was too busy screaming the thought: Our eyes met! I quickly hurried to shift my gaze, looking at the short, balding homeroom teacher. He looked extremely miniature next to the new guy.
Everyone already slipped into their sits, but he still felt the need to say, "Settle down everyone, settle down! This is Aiden, he'll be joining our class." It felt silly that the new guy would still need an intorduction at our age. It looked like he agreed since he pursed his lips in disdain.The teacher scanned the filled classroom until his gaze locked on the seat next to mine. "Who sits there, Sarah?" he asked shortly.
I swallowed. "Elle does... sir."
"Well, not anymore. Aiden, you sit there from now on."
"What?" The words popped out of my mouth. "No! Elle and I have been sitting together since freshman year!" The teacher silenced me with one look before proceeding with the regular "do your homework, attend class, don't fail" nonesense. Aiden made his way slowly toward Elle's seat in silence.
Why was he so quiet? Could it be I offended him? But I didn't mean to! I put my head in my hands as he settled down, dropping his bag on the floor between us. Great! This was just a terrible way to start the school year.
Thanks for sharing with us! 
