A Hidden Sanctuary chp1 pt1

Okay, I've actually been revising this story since 2004. This is the first idea I've ever had, and this is the one that you're going to see on bookshelves one day ^.~

That is....if I ever get it the way I want it....Each chapter has two parts, each in different views. so yeah....

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Chapter one

Toki

The leaves crunching underfoot, the sound of a heartbeat, the taste of berries, the scent of another body, and the feeling of warmth from another being.

These sensations…I know that I’m dreaming, but everything is just so real, so vivid. I feel death lurking around the corners. Am I really safe here? Can I truly survive in this place?

The heartbeat races, the taste of berries turns into blood, the scent of another is familiar and I’m afraid, the warmth is only a false sense of hope that he’ll stop one day. The leaves…I long for the leaves of autumn, the cold breeze that encases me like I remember from my mother. She’s never coming back…my father will never leave me alone…and I’ll always live in this false happiness, burrowing this sorrow deep inside my soul so that I’ll never think of it again…

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The school bells rang loudly across the yard. The molding and cracking brass making the bells sound flat and out of tune as if they hadn’t been rung for centuries, when they’ve truly been rung every day for the past hundred years.

“Shut up already!” Tamara Bishop, affectionately nicknamed T, shouted at the bells, throwing her backpack down at the ground and then whimpering. “I have the biggest headache.”

“Well, that’s what you get for drinking all night prior to the first day of school.” Kim Warner told her snidely, walking past T, her hips swaying gently from side to side.

T looked up with a scowl on her face, seeming about ready to charge at her. “You wanna run that by me again, eh, pretty girl?”

She looked back, a wry smile on her face. “Is that a threat, my dear?”

“Don’t you ‘my dear’ me.” T said, standing and stomping towards her, a determined look on her face, leaving her backpack behind on the ground.

I quickly jumped between them, pressing my palms, flat, on their stomach. “Okay, first day of school, I don’t wanna deal with you two. Be friends today, for me?” I asked of them, putting on my best pleading face.

They both stared at me, Kim with a pleasant smile upon her face, and T with her jaw set. Kim turned around sweetly, her skirt catching a breeze and lifting slightly.

“Come along then, Toki.” Kim said with a bright smile, looking over her shoulder, her perfect blonde waves being taken with the late summer air.

“Come on, T.” I said, walking backwards.

“You go ahead with the perfect girl child.” T said, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. “I’m going to have a little wake-up call with the gang.” She said, giving Kim one last glance and then heading the opposite way where a blob of dark colors were standing around in a circle.

I watched her leave and then faced forward and walked with Kim to our first hour class that we shared together.

We wandered into class, everything we needed inside our packs. The teacher wasn’t in the room so Kim and I sat as far back as we could and still sit next to each other.

We ended up in the middle row with Kim next to the window and me next to Kim. She sat down gracefully, smoothing her skirt underneath herself and then taking a notebook and pencil out of her pack and setting them on her desk and crossing her legs properly, smoothing her shirt after doing so. I clumsily folded myself in my seat so I was sitting cross-legged in the chair. I took my light blue flip-flops off, setting them neatly next to my backpack and out of the way of walking people.

“Heeey, hun.” Matt Venney said as he walked passed Kim, lightly brushing his hand across her cheek affectionately.

The bell rang and Kim leaned backwards to whisper to Matt, her boyfriend of a full year now.

I ignored their whispers of sweet nothings and looked up as the teacher walked in, followed by a new student that took a seat in the front corner of the room closest to the door. I couldn’t help look over at him, feeling my flesh tingle at the sight of him. I shivered involuntarily and rubbed my arms, catching a glance from Kim from the corner of my eye.

“Welcome back to a new school year.” The teacher started out. He seemed very tired, his words very unenthusiastic with his dark brown hair mussed, the buttons on his shirt mismatched, and a hollow look in his pale blue eyes. He paused to yawn, covering his mouth. “Well now, what say you all about a five minute sit about while Teacher tries to wake up?”

The class chuckled and he leaned against the white board, stuffing his hands in his pant pockets and looking at the faces of the class. I couldn’t help but notice how young he looked compared to the rest of the teachers, and how un-put together he was. His hair hung in his face and he flicked his head to the side to get it out of his eyes, and his shirt buttons were off as well. I couldn’t stop staring at those blue eyes. They were so icy and almost colorless. I vaguely wondered if he wore contacts to get that icy effect.

“Toki?” I heard Kim and I flinched and turned to her, resting a leg on the floor.

“Yeah?”

“Jeez, girl, did you zone out, or what?” She asked.

I chuckled. “Yeah, sorry about that. Were you wanting something?”

She nodded and leaned in close to me. “Don’t you think he’s really cute?”

“Who?”

She smiled. “The teacher, silly.”

I glanced at Kim and then back at the teacher who was looking towards us. I blushed and turned back to Kim. “He’s staring at us.”

Kim giggled. “I think he’s a new teacher.”

I nodded. “He is, you didn’t know that?”

She shrugged. “You know I don’t usually pay attention. But, no, isn’t he really attractive?”

I shrugged. “He’s a teacher…”

She sat up a little straighter and waved a dismissive hand. “Oh pish, hun. You know that doesn’t stop any of them girls that get all over the teachers, doing anything to get a good grade.”

I glanced at the English teacher from the corner of my eye. “Well it’s still wrong. He’s gotta be in his 20’s, at least.”

“Are you guys talking about the teacher?” Jenna Lyn quickly interjected our conversation. “He’s a cutie, that one. I heard he’s only 24, and fresh outta college.” She looked over at him with her flirtatious brown eyes. “That man’s going to get himself bombarded with girls that will willingly do things without the exchange of a better grade, he is.” Her southern accent showing slightly

“Including from you, Jen?” Matt said playfully and she hit him on the arm.

“Ya’ll know who’s going to get to him right away, don’t’chya?” She asked, getting into a gossip mode, leaning in real close, knowing others can hear, but pretending as though she doesn’t. “That one Goth girl, Tamara.”

I pursed my lips, not wanting to hear anymore about my friend. “Please, Jenna, we all know you’ve gotten around plenty in middle school.” I said, loud enough for half of the room to hear. “We all know why Mr. Culfer was fired and taken to jail.” I glanced at her from the corner of my eye, smiling wickedly at the shocked look on her face. I looked towards the front, re-crossing my legs and slouching in my chair.

“Whatever. Talk to you later Kim, dear.” Jenna said and glanced down at me. “And I probly won’t have a choice of avoiding ya’ll so I’ll see ya’ll later, shortee.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at her name calling and then I looked to the front and already saw some of the ‘pretty’ girls giggling at the teacher as they talked to him. He smiled as he fixed his shirt, the girls watching, their eyes alight with curiosity. I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t exactly tear my eyes away easily either. I distracted myself with a loose thread on my shirt and looked up when I saw movement. The teacher was standing tall now and he seemed less asleep and more awake. He combed through his hair with his fingers as he spoke.

“Sorry about that, class, I had a rough night last night and just couldn’t focus much.”

“Oohh, hittin’ the bottles last night, weren’t’chya?” Finn Presselay commented with a chuckle and the class came to life with side chatter as the teacher got distracted once more.

It wasn’t until five minutes before the bell was about to ring when he quieted everyone down again.

“Alright, I hope you all know that not everyday is going to be like this. You guys were the lucky first hour class and won’t get one of those boring first day speeches that we teachers like to give.” He walked over to his desk and sat at the edge, fiddling with a pen. “Anyways, as you all must have noticed, I’m a new teacher this year, just graduated over the summer from-”

“Hey, where’d you graduate from?” Dennay Willson asked, interrupting him.

The teacher furrowed his eyebrows at Dennay and just stared at him for a couple of minutes. The class fell silent, the kids wondering what was happening and then the bell rang. The teacher stood and walked behind the desk, letting us all pass.

“Have a nice rest of the day.” He said and watched us all leave.

I glanced at him as I left, and our eyes locked for a split second where time seemed to stop and my head began beating with a dull throbbing. I ignored it and went through the rest of the day, not being able to forget the teachers eyes.