Young Writers Society

Make sure you've read all the other chapters first! Thanks!

Chapter Six

Over the next week, Ness didn’t get to invite Landon or his friends over for a pool party like she had hoped. Instead, she spent the time being dragged around town by her mom and Cliff, exploring all the sights and shopping opportunities that Pittsburgh had to offer.

Two incline rides, five hundred dollars, and three Primanti’s sandwiches later, Ness had all kinds of new school supplies and clothes—even though everyone who attended Saint Catherine’s had to wear a uniform. Ness figured that Cliff just had way too much money than he knew what to do with.

It was a warm Monday morning when Ness finally got to see Landon again. The first day of school had approached, and so had the usual turmoil that normally went on in the Horowitz-Parazzi household.

“Dad, I don’t want her to come to school with us!” Claire was arguing over an elaborate breakfast of Belgian waffles and fresh-squeezed orange juice that Ness just couldn’t bring herself to eat. “She is going to absolutely ruin my reputation!”

“Don’t worry, I don’t want you to tell anyone that we’re affiliated with each other in any way,” Ness told her.

Claire, however, didn’t seem to hear. “She looks horrible in that uniform, anyway.”

With that comment, Ness’s mom stood up and walked behind her daughter’s chair. “You don’t look horrible, Nessie,” she said softly, smoothing Ness’s hair.

“Whatever,” Ness mumbled, pulling away from her mother’s touch. “You know what? I’m going to find my own way to school.”

And that was how, for the fourth time that week alone, Ness found herself leaving the house and slamming the door behind her. Right away, her eyes traveled across the street toward Landon’s house, and Landon himself was standing in the driveway.

“Hey!” she called, rushing across the street. “Are you going to school?”

“Unfortunately,” Landon replied, opening the door to the green Honda Accord that was sitting in his driveway. “Want a ride?”

“Yes,” she said, and quickly moved to the passenger side door.

“I bet Claire’s being a bitch again, huh?” Landon asked.

“Claire? Claire who? I don’t know any Claire’s,” Ness told him sarcastically. “She’s not my stepsister anymore, okay? Not at school, at least.”

“Got it.”

Inside, Ness was still fuming over Claire. She knew she shouldn’t be worrying about it so much, but her new stepsister made her more angry over stupid things than anyone else could. However, just sitting in Landon’s presence somehow made her feel more calm and comfortable. It was strange—no one had ever had the affect on her before, especially not someone she barely knew.

So then why do I feel like I know him so well? she asked herself.

“Ness. Is that short for ‘Vanessa,’ or something?” Landon asked as he backed out of the driveway.

“No...no, it’s just Ness. What’s ‘Landon’ short for?” she added on sarcastically.

“Funny,” Landon said. “Do you have any idea of what classes you’re taking this year?”

“Um, calculus, European history, some kind of English…”

“Jeeze. You must be pretty smart,” Landon told her, clearly impressed. “Those are some of the highest classes seniors can take.”

“Yeah, well, my mum is really hard on the whole education thing, because she didn’t really have much of an opportunity to get one herself.”

“That sucks,” Landon said. “My mum always tells me to do my best…it’s my dad that’s kind of hard. What’s your dad like?”

“Uh, well…” By the tone of Ness’s voice, Landon could tell that he’d trod on forbidden ground. “I never met my dad.”

“Oh.” Another short silence followed, but it didn’t last long. “Do you miss L.A.?”

“Yeah. I mean, I have to start all over again, get new friends…you know. The usual new-kid stuff. So…how is this school?”

“Typical Catholic high school. In other words, it sucks,” Landon said, rolling his eyes.

“Don’t you get sick of the uniforms?” Ness asked, pulling at her skirt. “And having to wear a tie everyday?”

“Yeah, they suck, too.” He gave a little laugh. “I promise you, I actually do know more adjectives than ‘sucks.’”

“It’s all that Catholic schooling, I bet.”

“It’s really not that bad, I guess,” he admitted. “And there’s days when we can wear whatever we want, instead of the uniform. They just don’t happen all that often, and usually they make us pay two bucks to do it.”

“Seriously? You have to pay to wear jeans?”

“Hey, it’s a good fundraiser. Most of the girls—especially the ones like Claire—would definitely pay to show themselves off.”

“What’s the difference between it being a regular old school and an ‘academy?’” Ness asked, getting the subject away from Claire.

“Well…Saint Catherine’s isn’t just a high school. It starts at first grade and goes all the way up to twelfth—but there’s different buildings for the elementary, middle, and high school.”

“Oh, so there’s going to be a bunch of little kids in ugly uniforms running around, too?”

Landon laughed. “Yeah, a bunch of ‘em.”

It took about ten or fifteen minutes for them to get to the school, but they never ran out of things to talk about. Once again, there wasn’t an awkward moment throughout their conversation—it just flowed, and the minutes it took to get to school didn’t seem so long after all.

“There she is,” Landon said when the school appeared in front of them. “Good ol’ Saint Catherine’s.”

Ness was surprised by how impressive the school was. There were four red brick buildings all connected by walkways enclosed in glass. Bushes, plants, and flowers littered the grounds in creative patterns, and there were various statues of the Virgin Mary and other saints among the gardens. There was a massive, sparkling cross hanging on the front wall of the central building, and underneath it were the words Saint Catherine’s Academy.

“Wow,” Ness breathed. “It’s…beautiful.”

“I know,” Landon agreed. “Well, if you need help or whatever…you can just come and find me…” Landon’s voice trailed off.

Ness smiled and said, “Can you show me where the main office is?”

“Sure,” he replied, and they both got out of the car and walked toward the central building.

* * * * *

That morning, the first thing Ness learned about attending a Catholic school was not to walk into the principal’s office with her skirt rolled.

While she was getting dressed much earlier that morning, she couldn’t help but notice how horrible she looked in a practically knee-length pleated skirt and knee-highs—until she grabbed the elastic by her waist and rolled some excess fabric underneath it a few times. She looked in the mirror, pleased with her ingenuity and the skirt that no longer looked like what the old woman in the airport had been wearing.

However, the principal was not pleased at all.

The main office was in the central building, along with a few other offices and the cafeteria. Ness was amazed by everything she saw—there was a big section of the cafeteria that was enclosed in glass, like a giant porch. She couldn’t help but wonder how much her mother and Cliff had to pay to send her to a school like this. And secretly—despite the uniform, of course—she wished that it wasn’t her senior year so that she could spend more time in this school.

The secretary’s desk was the first thing in the office, and right behind it was a door that said Mr. Palmer on it in big black letters with Principal written underneath of it.

The secretary—a young blonde woman wearing something that Ness thought was a bit too flashy for this sort of school—led her back to the principal’s office after the redhead explained that she was new. Ness smiled, trying to put on a good first impression and give off waves of, “See? I’m a model student, worthy of attending your educational institution.” However, the principal looked her up and down, then said, “Ms. Parazzi, girls in this school do not wear their skirts like that.”

Humiliated, Ness unrolled the skirt until it almost touched her knees again.

Mr. Palmer motioned for her to sit. “If you come in to school like that again, you’ll receive a detention,” he told her. Ness nodded and Mr. Palmer moved directly on to the next order of business. “Your mother told us that you’ve never attended a Catholic school before, correct?”

Ness nodded again.

“I see. And are you a practicing Catholic?”

“Catholic, yes. Practicing, no,” she told him truthfully. Something in Mr. Palmer’s eye twitched.

“While you’re attending Saint Catherine’s, that’s going to change,” he told her. “You will be attending Mass with the rest of the student body and going to confession during Christmas and Easter—we don’t take these matters lightly, Ness.”

She shifted slightly in her seat, trying not to let her distress show on her face. Ness didn’t think that God would want her to go to confession, let alone Mass—she was, apparently, the spawn of Satan, after all—well, only according to her grandmother. But what if it was true? Maybe she could just skip school on the days they had Mass.

“I understand,” she said.

“You’ll find that we’re a bit more…focused…than public schools. We are stricter—we don’t allow a lot of the things that the school you formerly attended probably did, and that may take some getting used to. But I’m sure you’ll adapt in no time—and if you don’t, there will always be someone here to help you.”

“Alright.”

“The elementary school is to the left; the middle school is to the right. The high school is in the back—it shouldn’t be too hard to find your way around. You’ll notice that you’re in the wrong place once the kids start to get shorter.” Mr. Palmer laughed at his own joke and then continued. “The secretary will help you with your locker and your schedule—just give her your name and you’ll be set.”

“Thank you,” Ness said, hoping that she was setting a good impression despite her little skirt faux pas.

They both stood; Mr. Palmer shook Ness’s hand and led her to his office door.

“Oh, and Ness?” he said as she was halfway to the secretary.

“Yes?”

“Welcome to Saint Catherine’s.”

* * * * *

Max looked up at the chalkboard, trying to process the mindless math equations that Mr. Pearson was attempting to drill into the classes’ thick heads. No one really seemed to care; all of them were either asleep or looking out the window.

Max took off his glasses, put his head on his desk, and gazed out the window with the rest of them. The sky was still light blue, but it was supposed to rain later.

He looked at the clock. Twenty stinking minutes were left in that morning’s first period. Why did math always take so long? Why did the whole damn day take so long?

“…find the sine of two-Pi over four and take the angle…”

He felt as though he was too stupid to ever understand this stuff. What was he doing in a math class, anyway? And, more importantly, when was summer going to come?

You idiot, it’s only September, he told himself.

What lay beyond the window was so inviting. It was such a clear day, even though the weatherman said there’d be thunderstorms from morning till night. It would figure that he had to be cooped up in school.

Wait a minute…what was that guy doing out there?

Max picked his head up further off the desk, trying to get a better view. There was a man standing out there, dressed in a torn-up, bloody brown and black robe. He looked like something straight off a movie set.

Of course he’s not looking at me, Max thought, taking off his glasses. Suddenly, the guy was closer to the window—almost on top of it.

Couldn’t anyone else see him? How many other people were looking out the window? Were they all completely blind?

The guy reached out a hand and actually went through the windowpane. He was climbing up, his whole body going through. And he was staring daggers at Max, red eyes like glowing embers.

Why is everyone just sitting there? he thought wildly as he shoved his glasses back on his face, beginning to panic. What do I do? He was breathing hard, trying not to look at the man—was it even a man?—who’d went through the glass in the window. Not only was that thing staring at him, so was everyone in the class.

“Mr. McCloud, are you alright?” Mr. Pearson asked, one eyebrow raised.

“Uh…asthma,” Max lied, trying to get out a convincing cough. The man was right behind him, reaching out a wrinkled hand…

“Can I use the pass?”

Mr. Pearson nodded and pointed out the door. Max grabbed the pass and rushed out of the room, sneaking a quick look behind him.

The thing was gone.

* * * * *

Ness stepped out of the lunch line and paused with her tray. She really didn’t know anyone…was she supposed to sit by herself? Even back home she didn’t have to do that.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Landon sitting at a table with two other guys—the same guys who had been at his house last week, watching her. There was something about the boy with blonde hair that stirred a memory…

She couldn’t help but notice that Landon looked really good in his uniform with the blazer off and the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up to his elbows. Slowly, her feet started to take her toward the table where the boys were sitting.

“Hey! You’re the new girl, aren’t you?”

A hand rested on Ness’s shoulder and she spun around, nearly dropping her tray on the floor. The girl that stood behind her was tall—though still shorter than Ness—blonde-haired, and blue-eyed—someone that the boys in Ness’s old school would call “a total babe.”

“Of course you’re new,” the girl said, tossing the wave of sun-blonde hair over her shoulder with her hand. “I’m Mackenzie—Mackenzie Phillips.” The girl said the name in a tone that made Ness feel as if she should have heard it before. “Do you want to come and sit with me and my friends?”

Ness looked over at the three boys and opened her mouth to decline the offer, but she stopped. She could never make friends this easily in the past…and Landon lived right across the street from her…she could see him at any time.

“Sure,” she replied, looking toward the table that Mackenzie Phillips motioned to—and froze. Claire was sitting there, along with the girls that had been at their house on Ness’s first night in Pittsburgh. She opened her mouth to protest, but it was too late.

All the girls sitting there looked exactly like Mackenzie: pretty, skinny, and very preppy in their Saint Catherine’s uniforms—and every one of them had their skirt rolled, just like all the other girls in school. How did they not get caught with it like that? Ness looked down at her burgundy knee-highs and pitifully long grandma skirt. These girls looked like movie stars, and she looked like…well, different, even though they were wearing the same thing.

As she walked over to the table, she felt like Ty in the movie Clueless: as if she were a project for a makeover, since she was such an obvious fashion disaster compared to these girls.

“Hey girls,” Mackenzie said as she addressed the group. “This is—what did you say your name was again?”

“Ness Parazzi,” Ness said. The girls at the table moved over to make room for her, but not before their eyes scanned her up and down. She saw Claire shoot the girls that had seen Ness at her house last week a dirty look, and they both looked down at their trays.

“My name is Katy,” a blonde with green eyes said to her. “I like your hair, by the way. Where did you get it dyed?”

“It’s not dyed,” Ness said, involuntarily putting a hand to her hair. She tried not to meet their eyes; if she did, she had a good idea about what they’d talk about next. She felt so out of place at this table—not including the fact that Claire was there, either. They all seemed to follow each other here instead of themselves, and that wasn’t something Ness was used to doing. She longed to be at the table with Landon and his friends.

“Just to let you know, Ness—that’s Kelly next to you, then Kristy, Katy, Claire, Molly, and Britney,” Mackenzie said. “You should really get to know everyone else, just to make sure you stay with the Right People.”

“I guess you’re the Right People, huh?” Ness asked, but she was ignored.

“So, this is our quick little cafeteria tour,” Britney said.

“Those are the drama freaks over there,” Kelly told her. “All they do is write plays and obsess over the drama and the musical.”

“The geeks are next to the drama freaks,” Kristy continued. “Enough said about them.” Ness’s eyes looked over at a table full of kids that looked absolutely normal to her.

“Then there’s the super geniuses. Don’t talk to them unless you need homework or have computer problems.” All of these people either had a laptop or a PDA in front of them.

“The foreign exchange table is next, but no one can understand what they say, so why sit there anyway?”

“Fiona Kline always sits by herself.” Molly pointed to a lone girl reading an art book. “She’s just plain weird.”

“What about those three guys over there?” Ness asked, pointing to where Landon was sitting. She wanted to hear this group’s criticism on them. Claire shot her an evil look.

“Landon, Jonas, and Max,” Mackenzie told her after a look over her shoulder. “Jonas was my boyfriend once…but there’s just something about him that’s weird. Don’t talk to him, if you know what’s good for you. Landon’s super cute, but he’s too nice for his own good sometimes. It makes you wonder, you know? No one can be nice like that all the time.”

“Oh really?” Ness raised her eyebrows. These girls were pathetic.

“He’s really quiet most of the time, too. Very shy,” Kelly added.

“He didn’t seem that way to me—” Ness began, but she was immediately cut off.

“And Max…well, he’s questionable. No one would care if he would just…disappear one day.” Mackenzie let out a little laugh.

“And they’re just weird looking, you know? They don’t match. It’s unnatural,” Katy remarked.

“Kind of like Ness, huh?” Claire said, a nasty gleam in her eyes. Britney and Molly snickered.

“That is weird, isn’t it?” Kelly began. “I mean, she looks just as scary and as mismatched as they do.”

There was a brief, uncomfortable silence that rang through the air despite the dull mumble of the cafeteria around them. Ness shifted in her seat, lowering her eyes to look at her lunch instead of the snickering faces at the table.

“Seriously, Ness. It looks like someone tried to make your eyes blue, but really messed up somewhere. Don’t worry, though, I’m sure you can get contacts to fix that,” Mackenzie told her.

What are you doing? Ness’s mind yelled at her. You’re just going to let these girls do that to you? Uh-uh. No. This isn’t California, this is Pennsylvania: people are not going to pick on you like that here.

Ness raised her eyes with a new sort of resolve. She glared, turning the full power of the frightening, unnatural violet on the girls. “I’m pretty sure they’re much nicer than you,” she said steadily.

The girls looked taken aback. They probably never before had someone talk back to them after they made fun of them.

“And as for the Right People…I bet they’re it, not you.” Ness stood up and walked away.

For a moment, all of the girls looked shocked—except, of course, for Claire, who looked like she wanted to kill her—but then they burst into laughter.

“Be careful,” Mackenzie called out. “I wouldn’t get too close to them if I were you.”

“Yeah, Jonas gives bad sex anyway!” Kristy said and the girls fell into another fit of laughter.

Ness was walking toward the three boys with her lunch tray when she saw the golden light.