Natalie

Chapter 13

Let's just start by pointing out that Natalie's first day did not go as planned. She had no one to drive her because Spencer had already left for a case, and of course, she missed the bus. Enduring a thirty minute walk to get to school was frustrating, but being called out for being late during first period was just icing on top of the cake.

Her first class was Calculus. It felt like Natalie was a part of Mean Girls cause she was the only Sophomore in that class. Glancing around the room, Natalie found one seat open in the back. It was to the left of a girl, who seemed normal at first glance.

Natalie sat down, being careful to put her bag on the floor next to the desk. She smiled to the girl sitting on the right of her, and quickly grabbed her notebook. Right now, Natalie only wanted to keep her head down, walking in late in front of everyone was embarrassing enough.

The girl smiled back, "I don't even think she realizes you're new," she whispered, nodding to the teacher. 

"She doesn't even know my name, and this is the second class I've taken with her," the guy in front of the girl turned around.

Natalie laughed, "Good to know,"

"I'm Britney by the way,"

"Liam,"

"Natalie."

The three didn't get much of a conversation after that because the teacher began lecturing. It was Ms. Caldwell who taught Calculus. She had blonde hair, and stood at about five foot five. Overall, she had a strict personality as a teacher. Understandable though considering some of the hooligans in that class.

After class finished, Britney stopped Natalie in the hallway. There was apparently a party going on that weekend, and Britney suggested that Natalie should go. Unlike Spencer, Natalie did like going out, and being social. Her only worry was that it was too soon to be going out partying. So, Natalie gave Britney a 'definite maybe'.

Natalie and Britney exchanged numbers, Britney claiming that she would text Natalie to convince her to come. The party was located at a warehouse, and some guys on the football team were apparently hosting it. Apparently everybody knew where that warehouse was, but Natalie being new, had no idea. She guessed that would be a good reason to text Britney.

The rest of the day went well for the most part. Even though the beginning was pretty rocky, she ended up meeting a few people in her classes. People were surprisingly nice at this school, but maybe that had more to do with the fact that she was new, and it seemed like no one wants to go to this school. It was weird for a public school, but Natalie assumed that would be something Spencer would bring up later.

Natalie did as Spencer said, and met Garcia in Quantico. In some ways, she felt bad that Garcia got stuck with her, but she didn't seem to mind. Today, Penelope was wearing a black dress with pink polkadots. It wasn't exactly FBI attire, but Natalie admired her willingness to break the dress code.

"So, first day at a new high school... how'd that go?" Garcia asked. She met Natalie on the first floor, and walked with her to the elevator, Natalie wouldn't have clearance otherwise.

"Not bad actually," Natalie replied.

Garcia smiled as the elevator doors opened, "Here we are,"

Natalie followed Penelope down the hallway where her office were located. There must of been at least forty people running around in the bullpen. It was't anything odd to Natalie, but apparently it was a pretty abnormal day at the bureau. At least, that's what Penelope said. Natalie didn't really know much about went on, but she could speculate.

As they entered Garcia's office, Natalie could here the faint sound of a man yelling, and then it was immediately cut off when the door closed behind them. Natalie pointed towards the door, and gave Garcia a look of confusion.

"Abnormal days happen more often than you think," Garcia stated.

"Right...," Natalie sat down.

"Do your homework," 

"It's already done."

Luckily for Natalie, being a genius gave her more time for a social life. Her desire to be popular was definitely one of her flaws, and Natalie was completely unaware of it. That was the main motivation behind her going back to high school, and she just played it off like she wanted to be 'normal'.

Judging by this, one can assume that Natalie might use her mind to take advantage of people. Even then, her life so far has never proved this. Back when her parents went missing, Natalie never tried to turn herself into a sob story, and that definitely would have caused a few people to sympathize for her. The worst she did was show up to the local precinct almost everyday for a month, and then it turned to every week for another three months, and then once a month, and so on.

Raymond Miller was the lead detective on that case. Every time she showed up at that precinct, Miller greeted her. He was the one who broke the news to Natalie that the investigation was being closed. Obviously, this wasn't something Natalie was ready to hear. Even now, she still wasn't ready to hear it. 

Miller was always patient, and kind to Natalie. There was not a bad bone in that man's body. He was just about her father's age, but never had any kids as much as he wanted them. After his wife died, he never wanted to see another woman again. It was a sad day for the community when she died, and Miller was never the same. He became moody, and just wasn't happy in general. When he saw Natalie, he never let that side of him show.

"What are you thinking about kiddo," Garcia asked, cutting Natalie's thoughts short.

Natalie looked up at Penelope, who was waiting for a fingerprint match to come up. 

"Oh, uh... nothing important,"

"Are you sure?" Penelope asked.

"Yeah, I was just thinking about an old... friend I guess you'd call him," Natalie said. Ray was definitely more than that to her. If anything, he was family.

"Him?" Garcia laughed, and nudged Natalie.

Natalie laughed, and shook her head, "It's not like that at all!"

Before Penelope had the chance to answer, one of the computers made a noise. Penelope swung around in her chair, and began typing. The fingerprint match came back empty. Apparently, no one in the system matched the prints they found.

"That's a bummer, looks like they're gonna be there longer than we thought," Garcia frowned.

"Like, how long?" 

Penelope began dialing the team, but before she pressed the call button she turned back to Natalie, "I'm not sure, could be a couple days. I don't even think they made a profile yet."

Natalie sighed, as she heard Garcia inform the team of the fingerprints coming up empty. Maybe she would text Britney about the details of the party after all. There wouldn't be much joy in Natalie's life if she didn't make any friends, and was on her own for the most part. She grabbed her phone and texted the number Britney gave her.

Hey Britney! It's Natalie, is that party still on the table?

After she sent the text, Natalie dialed Spencer's phone. She did promise him she would call him, but he didn't pickup the phone. Confused, Natalie sent him a quick text to call her, and then checked her other messages. She got a response from Britney.

So glad to hear from you! Of course it is, we'll talk about it tomorrow in class, see you then :)

It seemed like things were looking up for Natalie. Even with leaving so much behind, Natalie was happy to be where she was.