The Circle

10 | Monday morning

To every student's dismay, school was functioning as normal the next day.

Alec's car arrived at our driveway that morning, and he and wanted to test it out so I drove alone to school.

Our parents arrived Sunday night and as promised, Alec didn't mention anything about what happened the day before. Mum and dad do not need the stress in their lives. They already have more than enoughon their plates from the move and their ridiculously chaotic jobs. They don't need to worry about me as well, I won't allow it. Their concern would hang around my head like thick fog. All it would do is choke me.

The town was crawling with reporters making segments about the newly coined "New Haven Snowstorm." Major news channels roamed around the idyllic city center, reporters filling facades and interviewing pedestrians for comment about the abnormal blizzard.

The car beeps as I lock it in the student park. A handful of students are being interviewed on school grounds, microphones and cameras shoved in front of their faces as reporters hammer them with questions.

It certainly was a freak snowstorm, especially with the suspended-in-midair-snowflakes. Chances are that scientists have an explanation by now. Probably something about climate change and the polar glaciers melting. Science always has an answer. 

Carlisle High's hallwyas are drab and dull, painted navy blue and cream. The extra-cramped lockers and fluorescent lights makes the institution look hellish. It's no wonder that people drop out more and more every year that goes by. 

The public school system is new to me, but I'm finally getting the hang of it. St Marcus' School in London was an extremely elitist, pain-in-the-ass institution, driving everyone crazy with the unrealistic expectations constantly thrust on students since the 1850s. So many girls had pill addictions to keep up with the pressure. They popped Adderall like they were altoids. 

It feels good to have more autonomy here, both with the dress code and the subjects themselves. I can finally breathe. This school doesn't care about social circles and who's in or not; nobody cares about who's richer and has the latest designer piece fresh out of the runway and clad on skinny, emanciated bodies. This feels normal, for once. It feels good. 

Homeroom is already packed when I arrive, and I sit next to Selene again. She was on time for once. Maybe I should strike up a conversation. I mean, the girl searched the woods for me in the middle of a blizzard. That surely makes two people acquire a certain level of intimacy, right?  Maybe her apprehension towards me has thawed a bit since then. 

"Hey Selene," I give her smile. Fake it 'til you make it, sister. The smile was forced but the intention's what matters. 

She looks up from her phone, her eyes almost too  bright, the orbs bordering on a shade of golden-brown that seems too intense to be real. She tilts her head to one side and her gaze moves slowly over my eyes, my forehead, my nose. She takes her sweet time scrutinizing my face, fully aware of how uncomfortable that made me. 

Her gaze finally landed on my eyes again and she frowned minimally, like I'm a puzzle she can't figure out  but doesn't really care enough to try.

"Lux," she tilts her head in acknowledgment and goes back to her phone, her jet-black hair shining under the lights.

At least she said my name, though. Let's face it, the whole forest thing didn't me any extra points with the girl.

I decide that it's her and not me, and I try to ignore her for the rest of the period even though felt the tiniest bit hurt. She didn't have to try to find me along with the others. I bet that she wasn't forced to do it. I doubt that anybody can make her do anything that she doesn't want to do.