Highland Hearts

CHAPTER TWO

Lachlan

Everyone is staring at me like I have two heads when I enter the hall. Which is fair, considering I probably look like I've been dragged through a hedge backwards. My hair, which was neat before I left my new house today, is now a mess thanks to the wind and rain and I'm pretty certain I have a leaf on my cheek. I run my fingers across my damp skin and, yup, a leaf.

My new teacher, Miss Maureen, starts talking to the class but I'm not really listening. I look around the hall to try and familiarize myself with the people in it. There are six other students, three boys and three girls who are scattered all over the hall, stood by their swords.

The first girl nearest me has brown hair that's so dark it almost looks black. It's slicked back into a low ponytail. She's got wide, brown eyes and she's quite pale. She has a teal tank top on and black shorts. The girl behind her is smaller, pale and her brown hair is folded into a long braid that runs down her back. Like the girl in front of her, she is also wearing a tank top but hers is a light purple. Her eyes look grey from under her purple framed glasses.

Behind her is a guy with brown hair that isn't all that different from mine. He's tall, intimidating almost. He's looking down, fiddling with his blue T-shirt. The guy on the bench at the back, who I suppose is Aaron, has hair that's a dirty blonde colour and his eyes are a dull green.

The third guy is stood slightly in front of the brown-haired girl and boy, has dark green eyes and hair so dark it looks black. He has a similar blue shirt to the other guy, which makes me realise; everyone here is very coordinated.

Then, there's her.

She's... stunning. Her hair looks like it's on fire in the light, and it's tied in a high ponytail. Her green eyes shine in the light as she glares at what I'm hoping is her teacher and not me. Like the two other girls, she's also wearing a tank top, only this time in red. I wonder if it's a trend until I realise there's a logo on the back. Oh, it's uniform. Once I realise I'm staring, I tear my eyes away from her and stare at the floor.

"Would you like to introduce yourself?" Miss Maureen says from beside me.

"Oh, sure." I reply. "Um, I'm Lachlan and I'm from Canada." It's very simplistic and reminds me that I'm the new kid here. I push that thought to the back of my mind as Miss Maureen speaks again.

"Great, if you want to take a seat beside Aaron," She nods towards the back of the hall and Aaron gives a little wave. "In the meantime, I'll decide if I'm going to get you both to borrow swords from someone and do them after." She smiles at me as I turn away. "The rest of you, just normal two-and-one!"

I make my way towards the end of the hall as Miss Maureen starts the music. I sit down beside Aaron with a quiet hello.

"So, you're Canadian?" Aaron asks me after a moment of silence.

"Yeah, Toronto." I smile.

"Woah," Aaron replies. "That's a pretty big change."

I nod as I think about the busyness back home in Toronto versus the quietness here, in Lochmartin. I mean, I didn't think Inverness was all that busy when we landed at the airport, but this is so much quieter.

"What's the population of this place?" I ask. I'm sure there's got to be around a thousand. Maybe less.

"Seven hundred? Maybe?" Aaron shrugs, "It's a small town, everyone knows everyone, and everyone knows everyone's business. Watch out for that." He warns.