The Story of Our Eyes

-Chapter 2-

(2 years before meeting Jakob)

My first day at a new school... I don't know how to feel about this, but I'm going to give it a try, and if I don't like it... Well, I'll just have to deal with it until something good happens.

This stupid 'curse' of mine is like something that people just can't stand. It's just my eyes, I mean... What's wrong with having different colored eyes? I don't understand!

Oh well... First day of eighth grade year, here I go...

I stood outside of the school, hesitating a little too much before entering the large building.

I set foot inside of the building, looking around at everyone but still attempting to keep myself from making eye contact. It was difficult, but it was working. Working long enough for me to make it to lunch, four hours later, before someone finally noticed.

I sat at a table with nearly no one sitting, placing my tray down on the large table. I looked around at everyone sitting down the the table, still trying to avoid eye contact.

Everyone seemed perfectly fine with me sitting with them up until the point when one of them tried to speak to me.

"Hey, you. What's your name? You're new here, right?" The boy asked.

"Y-yeah, I came here today." I replied, still not looking at the boy for fear of rejection from him and everyone at the school.

"Why don't you look up at me when you talk? It's hard to hear you." The boy looked at me, lowering his body to look at my face from his side of the table.

"J-just cause I... I don't want to be..." I couldn't explain why I wouldn't look at him. I just wanted to keep this conversation going fro as long as possible without ruining my chances of getting a friend.

"You don't want to be what? I'm not going to hurt you... Just look up at me." He persuaded, and I suddenly wanted to obey him. It became a sudden urge to do what he had asked.

"O-okay, if you say so..." I trailed off, bracing myself for the hate that I knew I would be receiving.

I looked up with hesitation at the boy across from me, his eyes widening when he saw my different colored ones.

"Y-you're..." He whispered, pointing at me before standing up and yelling to the whole cafeteria.

"This boy! Hr's cursed! He has the different colored eyes!"

I started to panic, looking around at everyone who was now standing up, looking around to find the source of the sudden shout.

The boy pointed to me again, yelling throughout the cafeteria.

"He's cursed! The new kid is cursed!"

The phrase was repeated multiple times before I finally had enough. I ran out of the large cafeteria, entering a much smaller hallway.

I looked for anyone that would help me with the issue that I still wasn't completely familiar with. I hid in a classroom after checking it for any students or teachers, moving myself towards a window near one corner of the small classroom.

I sat against the wall, my knees pulled up to my chest and my head lying atop them. I sobbed quietly, not noticing someone entering the room.

"Hey, are you alright? What's wrong?" She asked

"Please... Leave. I don't want any bad things to happen to you or me. I tried to keep them hidden, but I might as well let everyone know that I have the curse." I sobbed even harder at my own words, hearing nothing but silence from the girl that had approached me.

I heard footsteps moving towards the door, slowly but speeding up after there was some distance.

There was silence as the door slammed shut behind the girl, leaving me alone again in the small classroom that only echoed my gasps and sobs.

'I knew something like this would happen... I just didn't know when. I knew it would happen soon...' I thought, burying my head even farther down into my knees, if possible.

After a while of sitting in the nearly quiet room, I had finally regained all of my nerves that I had lost in the instant I heard the work 'cursed'. I stood up in the empty room, moving around the few desks that were seemingly scattered across the room, and exiting into the hallway.

I didn't know where I was going, but I just wanted to be somewhere else. I had no idea where that somewhere was, but... It would just be anywhere but here in this moment.

"Riley!" I heard someone yell from behind me. I jumped and stopped in my tracks.

I turned around hesitantly, fearing that it was the kid from before.

When I turned around completely, facing a teacher, I couldn't control the returning tears, putting my head down to the teacher didn't see my eyes or my tears.

"Riley, what's wrong? Class has started, why are you wondering the halls?" The teacher asked, trying to force my head up to look at her. Her voice was gentle, but I was still trying my hardest to keep my head down.

"Nothing's wrong, I'm alright, I was just... Trying to find where my next class would be so I wouldn't have to..." I trailed off, unable to continue my words without a voice crack or a stutter.

"Riley, you should come to class, since it's your first day, you should get to know some people so you can make friends." The teacher explained, but I shook my head at her, looking up more, but still trying to hide my eyes.

"No one likes me.. I've already tried. I was so close to making some new friends, but they saw my eyes, and now everyone will avoid me." I replied, my voice filling with anger and even more sadness.

"What do you mean? Your eyes are just fine, Riley." She said, trying to get me to look at her.

"If that's the case, then why is everyone saying that I'm cursed? My eyes are different from everyone else's!" I yelled, looking up at her to show the proof of my eyes.

She let go of the shoulder that she had been holding onto, looking into my eyes before starting to back away from me.

"Riley..." She mumbled, but I didn't care. I started to walk away from her, not looking back at her face that held fear.

I continued walking down the hallway, forgetting that the encounter had ever happened.

'I really wish I hadn't let anyone see my eyes...' I thought before sitting down against a wall on one side of the hallway.

'I don't want to be here. I want to go home. I want to go back to my old house. I don't like it here... Please, just take this curse away.'