The Lies We Breathe

Chapter 3 - Monday, July 31: New Enemies

After one day at the new school, I knew that I had a lot of catching up to do. I might be one of the poorest students around, but my father raised me to be competitive. I wasn't going to be the dumbest around too. So once the classes had finished, I headed for the library. I had seen pictures of it in the "Guide to Highridge" and couldn't wait to explore it.

My mother had been a librarian at the local public library in town. And I had spent a lot of time there while growing up. The smell of books had always reminded me of her. In my old school, the library was small and hardly worth a visit. People usually went there to hang out, not study.

But I had high hopes for the Highridge library and I was not disappointed. As soon as I stepped in, I knew this would become one of my favorite places on the school grounds. It was an old library, the wooden panels perfectly preserved. And there were very few people when I arrived. Most preferred to google things these days, rather than read an actual book.

It was fine with me.

An elderly lady sat by the entrance and lifted her head as soon as I walked in. The sign on her desk read "Mrs. Parkins."

I greeted her cheerfully. She greeted me back, rather drily. I'd need to try harder with that one, I concluded, since I was planning on spending a lot of time on these premises.

I made my way between rows and rows of books and pulled out a few. Before I knew it, I was sitting on the floor completely lost in the reading. I didn't know how much time had passed when I heard footsteps. Someone running. And then a muffled scream.

I lifted my head and listened. It was strangely quiet. I looked at my watch. It was past 6 pm. I better go now, I thought.

Then again, I heard a scream and it sounded like "Help." I jumped to my feet and hurried in the direction the cry had come from. I passed rows of books and then finally I saw them. There was the boy I remembered from my first class today. The scarred rabbit.

He was on the floor pressed against the bookshelf. In his arms he held his school bag, protecting himself with it. Two older guys towered over him with menace, one of them kicked the bag hard and the boy on the ground cried in pain.

"Stop!" I shouted and moved in their direction. The two guys turned to look at whoever had dared to interrupt them. There was a hint of surprise on their faces.

It took me only a second to assign each face a name and the realization made me stop in my tracks. One of them was Josh Randall, red-haired and skinny, and the other was Frank Jenkins, with long black hair and the face of a spoilt brat. Faces I well remembered from the tabloids.

Oh no! This could only mean one thing!

I took a step back and bumped into someone else standing behind me. I turned to look and my heart skipped a beat. I was looking directly into the eyes of Liam freaking McKinnon. A shiver ran down my spine. His blue eyes studied my face with curiosity. He was a head taller than me. His blond curly hair endowed him with almost angelic beauty, which I so well remembered.

"I suggest you run," he said with a rueful smile. His voice didn't sound at all like the voice of the boy I once knew. What did I expect? I've changed, he's changed. Did I think I would see Liam at Highridge? Of course, I did. I hoped to see him from afar. But I would have never expected to get this close to him and for him to ever speak to me.

I opened my mouth to say something, but no sound came out.

He lifted his eyes off of mine and looked behind me where the others stood. His expression changed and I knew something really bad was awaiting me.

Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! My mind screamed inside my head.

I slowly turned back and I saw him... Blake Shields! As if in slow-motion, I watched him emerge from behind the shelves.