Their Pride

Their Pride Part 2

Chapter 1

The doors loomed ahead.  What I would do once I entered?  I didn’t have a clue.  Humans were new territory for me.  I was used to the quiet of my pride, not the stares that were thrown my way, or the whispers that echoed throughout the area.  What was it about this particular place that I was afraid of, another question that had no answer?

Pushing the double doors opened, the smells assaulted my nose; girls with something flowery coating the smells of their body, boys with something musky covering them.  I had to admit that some of them smelt like home, like the woods I traveled in, but others made my eyes water.  Breathing through my mouth, I stepped in.

The whispers that were bouncing off the halls ceased.  The glances I was getting earlier turned to full on stares.  I looked down on my clothing, expecting to see my shirt inside out, or my zipper down.  Nothing, there was nothing misplaced.  So, why were they staring?  Why were they sending me smiles or tiny glares?

A girl with brown hair stepped out of the group and smiled at me. Her glasses were perched on her nose as she looked down at me.  “Hi, I’m Courtney.”

“I’m Alexandria,” I told her, inclining my head in respect.  Whoever she was, she seemed to hold a kind of power over some of the people.

She held her hand out to me.  Mine slipped into hers, and I knew right then that this girl never had to work for anything in her life.  Her hands were perfectly smooth, her fingernails were perfection, while my hands were roughened, and the nails were chipped.  Her grip was even.  She didn’t attempt to use the handshake, as a test of dominance like my people would have done.

Tugging her hand back, she widened her smile.  “I know being new can be kind of hard. I just wanted to know if you would like to hang out with us.”

“No, thank you,” I replied.  Her smile may have been warm, but I saw the coldness in her eyes.  She may have made the attempt to include me in her group, but it wasn’t something that she wanted.  She hated the idea of me being a part of them.

Her smile dimmed in the corners as she took a step forward.  “You are going to regret that,” she whispered.  “You and your cheap clothing can go to hell.”

I clenched my teeth to keep in the growl that was rising in my throat.  “I would rather have cheap clothing than be fake.  How can you live with yourself when everything from your hair to your leather purse isn’t real?"

Her eyes flashed angrily, but the smile stayed.  “You’re a stupid girl.”

Before I could reply, she turned on her heel and walked off.  Her high heels clicked on the tiles as she stalked off.  Looking around, I noticed that the people in the halls hadn’t paid attention to our exchange.  They were all either roaming through their lockers, or were making their way to different rooms.  Looking around, I tried to find the word ‘Office’ etched into a door, but I didn’t see it anywhere.

Something tapped my shoulder.  Looking over, a girl with blonde curls smiled at me.  “Ignore Courtney.  She just doesn’t know when someone doesn’t want her around.” A confused expression crossed her face.  “Did you understand a single thing I just said?  Yeah, didn’t think so.  Come on, I’ll show you the way.”

She snagged my hand and began tugging me down the hall.  Immediately, I pulled away from her.  She glanced at me over her shoulder, but just shrugged and continued down the hall.  I let out a sigh of relief at the fact that she didn’t question my actions.  Questions seemed to be something that humans loved. 

Rounding a corner, we stopped.  In front of me was the room I was trying to find only minutes earlier.  The girl sent me a smile.  “There you go.  Just walk in and Ms. Janice will give you your schedule.  She’s a nice lady; so, you shouldn’t have any problems.”