Black Hill High

Chapter 3

Amelia gazes out the window, oblivious to the world around her. She glances at the outdoors with vast interest as the tar-black clouds steadily approach the school until they're hovering right above. The inkling of sunshine is hidden behind the heavy clouds and the pitter-patter of tender raindrops taps against the window. The clouds burst open further and she can hear the murmuring of rain through the window like a swarm of vengeful bees. She takes her eyes off the falling drops of water to gaze around the classroom. Mrs. Carmichael's voice is nothing but background noise to her. Her gaze falls on Ethan seated in the opposite row, two seats in front of her. He's casually slouched in his seat with his leather jacket carelessly draped over the back. His left elbow is placed on his desk to support his head as he doodles in his notebook. Amelia gazes on in fascination. Ever since she moved to Black Hill, she'd had a crush on Ethan. There was something that she found undeniably fascinating about him, but she never had the opportunity to talk to him. Ethan Crawford doesn't do chit-chat. Or friends.

The ding of the bell vibrates in her ears instantly snapping her back into reality. She hurriedly gathers her books before joining the row of eager students in a haste to escape the torturous lesson on photosynthesis. She keeps her gaze on the back of Ethan's head until she collides with another person. She groans at the brutal impact.

"I'm so sorry." The husky voice replies and her eyes meet the emerald ones of Seth Gallagher.

"It's my fault." She timidly replies before bending down to pick up her already tattered textbook.

"You're Amelia Beckett." He states and she nods her head. "We have English together."

If only Lillian were here right now. Amelia muses.

"I was wondering if you could help me with the Lit homework." He awkwardly scratches the back of his neck. "I know you're one of the best in the class and I need the grades to stay on the team."

Lillian would die if she were to overhear this conversation.

"Sure," Amelia replies with a shrug. "Today after school?"

He awkwardly scratches the back of his neck as his eyes dart down the hallway.

"I have practice after school." He mumbles like a child afraid of getting scolded.

She nods her head in thought.

"I can help after practice." She pipes up. "I usually do homework in the library before going home."

She winced at how nerdy her reply sounded. Seth, however, didn't have the same thought, instead, he smiled at her gratefully.

"That would be awesome, thank you." His smile is as wide as a Cheshire cat. "See you then." She watched as he walked off to his group of friends.

She bites her lip to stop her mischievous smile from appearing before hurriedly searching for Lillian. As she's about to turn the corner, the sound of hushed voices stops her in her tracks. She peers around the corner and notices Tiffany and Josh in the middle of a heated conversation. Tiffany's arms flail as she frowns at her boyfriend. His words are incoherent to Amelia but they seem to frustrate Tiffany as she roughly shoves his chest. The action takes him by surprise and he momentarily loses his footing before glaring at her.

"How could you?" Tiffany shrieks forgetting to keep her voice low. "I hate you!" She exclaims before stomping down the hallway with Josh hot on her tail pleading for her to let him explain.

Amelia waits until they round the corner before she steps out of her hiding place. She bites her lip as she takes a moment to register what she just saw. What could Josh possibly have done to garner such a reaction out of Tiffany?