In The Shadow Of Her Smile

Chapter 1 - Face Full of Scars

Today was the first day of school again. But this time a new school, new people, new everything. The only good thing was that it would all be new for all of us, not just me.

The school is newly built, and this year is it's opening so a lot of people from the area, who used to travel long to their schools, transferred here.

I got into my classroom and sat by the window. That is my favourite seat, that way I don't feel trapped so much.

I didn't have anything to do so I just sat there and watched the people who walked in. Some of them were already in groups. Well, maybe I was wrong, and a lot of people DO know each other. But that didn't bother me much, it wasn't that important.

A lot of people already came in, but sadly I didn't find anyone who seemed interasting enough to approach, and those who did were already in groups. I heard a loud noise and a large group of people came in through the door, but that wasn't what caught my sight.

A girl with coal black hair and sapphire eyes came through the door. Her hair was straight and cut in an uneven matter just above her shoulders.

But her eyes were piercing.

And when our eyes locked I was only able to hold her stare for a few seconds before I had to look away, not able to endure it any longer.

And what I saw in her eyes that day was something I'd never forget. Such heavy sadness, a kind you don't except in a seventeen-year-old. It reminded me of something I've seen before... But no, it's not like that. Stop it, I can't continue thinking about it.

I brought my eyes back on her, observing her more. She walked elegantly and gave away a dreemy feeling. As if she lived in a different world entirely.

The room was almost full and the only desk that was completely empty was the one in front of me. She sat there and looked through the window.

She put her head on her hand and just gazed outside, with the same look engraved in her eyes. She was looking at the sky with such melancony, but even when I gazed outside too, I couldn't find anything that might have been the cause.

And it made me wonder... Wonder what was on her mind that caused her to have that look, one I couldn't have easily explained, for I myself didn't quite understood what it really was.

At that moment, though, even if I could not figure her out, I got a close look at her face. Well, at least half of it.

It was covered in scars, some big some small, but a lot of them. It didn't look as if she tried to cover them in any way, but opposite, as if she wanted them to be seen. Her ear was pierced quite a bit and had black and silver rings hanging from it. Her hair was messy, left to just fall there, as if she hadn't brushed it in days. She probably didn't.

As she was looking through the window, it seemed she was lost in her mind somewhere, in a story of her own. And for a moment, her eyes were a little less sad.

"Hey." - I didn't know what I was doing, I just had the urge to do it.

No reaction.

Just when I leaned towards her to try again, someone noisy entered the room and shouted - "Aly!!"

I looked at her again. She blinked a few times and suddenly the sadness was gone. She shook her head and smiled in the process, and then she turned her head to the loud person and laughed.

"Gods, Ellie, you're so loud!" - by the end of the sentence her head was leaning on her hand, covering her eyes, as if she was embarrased.

But she was still laughing.

That sudden change got me unprepared. How in the world was she able to shift from such mood to a completely opposite one??

The girl-Ellie-sat beside her and they started to talk and laugh together, but I just sat there, not understanding this sudden change a single bit. I was just staring at my desk, wondering how, why...

The bell rang, the class started, but I still wondered, I couldn't stop looking at her, it simply didn't seem right, not a single bit. She seems so... happy... right now, what was with the look earlier?

The class passed in a moment, my mind focused on her, and before I knew it, the bell rang. The class was over and everyone headed out.

I glanced at her for the last time, and saw her looking at her friend running after someone out of the door, her look growing sadder and sadder as she went away, a faint smile still on her face.

This didn't make sense. None of this made any sense, but one thing was for sure, this wasn't right. It's okay, I won't fail this time. I looked at the stars for one last time before walking out of the classroom. I saw the back of her head, heard her laughter, so unnaturally sincere.

A weak smile appeared on my face.

"It won't happen, not this time." - I wasn't sure if those words were just inside my mind, or if I whispered them to myself, but one thing I knew, I wanted to know more about her.

She captivated my interest with a single look, a single change, and I was already determined to try to get close to her.

And I didn't even know her name...