Different

Different-Chapter 2

2: First Day-Landon

All. Time. Low.

I was slouching in a chair in the office within a half hour after arriving at school for the first day. Apparently being silent is just as bad as speaking your mind. Too bad for teachers that I do both.

I yawned, having stayed up all night for this special occasion. Sleep didn't come naturally for me anyways. Ever since I'd been frozen in time, I'd had nightmares. Things chasing me, eating me, scratching at me with claws, things from horror movies. On the better nights I'll be flying above a city-and then I'll begin to fall. I never hit the bottom.

A girl about my age came into the office. I looked up at her. She looked at me and rolled her eyes. I guess they weren't big on welcoming people here.

She had long blonde hair that swished around as she walked up to the front desk. The woman behind the desk looked up at her. "Hello Sophia. What can I do for you?"

The girl flipped her hair. She had fair skin and wore a jean skirt with black leggings. Her T-shirt was tie-dye with a giant peace sign on the back. Her shoes were black and white converses. I wondered what group type she belonged to. She was probably a popular, yet interactive and smart person.

"I need the permission to access-" she looked back at me and lowered her voice. "I need permission to access the..." Her voice trailed off and became too low for me to hear. Whatever it was though, the woman nodded and gave her a key that looked like an antique. It was heavy too. The blonde almost dropped it before putting it in her pocket. "Thanks," she said and glanced at me, then left.

"Who was that?" I asked the secratary.

"Sophia Lock. Honor Roll student, Yearbook staff, and one of our most promising students. She's a Junior and has been here since she was twelve."

Huh, she started when Elle started. Sort of. I wondered what had to be wrong with her for her to end up here. This was a school for messed up kids wasn't it?

The secratary was saying something. I looked back at her. "...like her?"

"No, I don't like her. I saw her for five seconds."

"I didn't ask if you liked her," she said disdainfully. She checked her computer. "You can go in now." She pointed to the door leading into the principal's office. Show time.

I walked in and sat down on a black chair, kicking my feet up on ole Freaky-Smile's desk. "Hey, hey. So where's the party?" I asked obnoxiously. My current strategy to get kicked out was to speak when un-needed and to not when needed. It had proven quite successful at other schools.

Freaky didn't look as amused as he had yesterday. He pushed my feet off his desk. "Landon, may I ask why you are here?"

I stayed quiet.

"Did you refuse to answer to Mr. Taylor in US History?"

I nodded.

"And why didn't you respond?"

I decided not to respond to that either.

"Landon, look at me and move your hair out of your eyes," he commanded.

I looked him in the eyes and stared hard. Then I moved my hair out of the way by pulling it back, as if to put it in a pony tail. "Do you have something to help me hold this back?" I asked.

He looked mad now. "Landon, I don't have time for your childish games. Keep acting like a stubborn bull, but know that it will take more than that to get yourself major disciplinary action. Now please go back to your class. And to make sure you won't skip, I'll call down a student to escort you. Do you have any friends that share your interest of spending time outside of class?" I think what he meant to ask was, "Do you have any friends at all?"