"As long as you live, you will stay hidden." Alina's father's voice rang through her head as she sat inside the car that Ramona had brought for her. She wondered if it was really fine for her to go. It was quarter to eight o'clock and Ramona said Alina had to be there in fifteen minutes.
Two days ago, Ramona taught her how to drive and she just got the hand of it yesterday. At first, Alina asked if it was really alright for her to interact with others, which Ramona confirmed it was fine. Alina told her about her father's words, to which she answered "Well, you are still hidden there. The kids there are also away from most of the world."
They practiced going to school and Alina was grateful she only had to drive towards the east. They did not go inside the school yet, Ramona said Alina has plenty of time for it tomorrow.
Alina reached down to her pocket to touch her father's letter. Last night, she realized that having it with her calmed her nerves. She felt like having a part of her father. She sighed, finally ready to go. She has already been in there for ten minutes. She will definitely be late, she thought. It takes fifteen minutes to go and now there's only five left. If only the road was straight, she'd be there in five minutes tops.
She started the car and started driving like Ramona taught her to. The quiet hum made her smile. She slid her window down to hear the forest. She was glad the car drove silently on the road. She went past the trees which all seemed the same. Tall, dark and ominous.
In fifteen minutes, Alina arrived in front of the school and found Ramona waiting for her out front. The building was just about the side of Alina's home. The walls were brown with a red tinge, lined with white. The windows were also white. Alina immediately felt nervous again. Ramona approached Alina, who parked where the other cars seemed to be.
"Good morning, Alina." Ramona greeted her with a cheek kiss again. Alina smiled at her, beginning to adjust to Ramona's personality. Ramona handed her a small white backpack. It had stuff inside it which made Alina curious, but she decided to look at them later instead.
"Good morning, I am sorry for arriving late." Alina apologized.
"It's quite alright, classes has started but it's only been five minutes. Follow me." Ramona replied as Alina pocketed her car key. She followed Ramona with her bag on her hand, which Ramona noticed. "You put that on your back." She said, helping Alina to wear it. Ramona couldn't help but think she was taking care of a younger kid.
Alina gulped as they walk further down the halls. She touched the letter again to calm down but they already arrived at what seems to be her class. Alina made sure to memorize their way. Ramona knocked on the door and opened it, revealing about 20 people with different faces. Making Alina even more nervous, all of them gave her the same kind of stares.
Hostility.
As Ramona and Alina walked towards the front, Alina noticed Ramona's aura surge. The students' faces suddenly softened, but still tense. Alina wondered if it was Ramona's presence. Ramona cleared her throat to speak, its sound ringing through the silent room.
"This is Alina Imenand. From now on, under my care, she will be staying here." Ramona introduced the girl. Alina wondered why she detected a warning tone as Ramona said she was under her care. The teacher, a blond young man in his 30s, grabbed Alina's attention.
"You can sit there," he pointed to a chair by the window on the left side of the room. "Beside Mr. Shaw." Alina's eyes fleeted to a boy with dark hair and brown complexion. He was bent over his desk, covering his face. She immediately wondered if he was related to Ramona. He did not seem look anything like her.
"Carter Shaw is my cousin," Ramona read her expression. "I instructed him to accompany you at all times." Ramona lightly pushed Alina towards the seat, startling Carter awake. With wide eyes, he looked at Ramona like he was in trouble. Ramona gave him a smug look as he sighed in defeat. His cousin being principal hadn't let him slept all he wanted through these boring classes. His eyes travelled towards the new girl now walking to his direction.
His shock was an understatement. He was completely and utterly smitten by the girl's beauty. He especially noticed her bright blue eyes and her soft looking hair that swayed with the wind that entered through the window. "Wow." Carter voiced out and he immediately felt his cousin's threatening stare. Carter cleared his throat, letting his eyes go back to the new girl.
"I'm Carter. You are?" Carter asked as Alina sat on her chair. He turned to Alina's side. Ramona quietly left the room to let the teacher do his job. Just as Alina was going to answer, "Wanna go somewhere later?" Carter continued.
Alina recognized this from one of the romance novels she had read. Flirting is the term, she thought. Alina smiled softly at Carter, to which he immediately took as a good sign. "I am Alina, nice to meet you." She held out her hand to shake his. Carter shook his crush's hand. Just as he was about to ask her again, Mr. Reed spoke.
"Keep your chatter until later, Carter." The man spoke with a deep voice. Carter turned back to the front, unable to get the look of disappointment in his eyes. He was excited though. "Ms. Imenand, I'm Mr. Reed, your mathematics teacher."
Alina simply nodded with a small smile, urging the man to continue with his lesson. For a moment, he found himself staring at her. Luckily, he caught himself and sighed. The girl is too beautiful, he thought as he began writing equations on the board.
As the minutes passed, Alina felt her classmates' stare burning into the back of her head. She broke a sweat and wondered why she was being stared down. She slightly glanced behind, finding all of the women glaring at her. Some men were looking at her with strange admiration, while some looked with the same hostility as the girls. She bit her lip lightly as she wrote in the yellow notebook Ramona place in the white bag she gave. She read in a book that students were supposed to take notes to make sure the information sticks in their heads. Not that Alina needed it, for she already knew about the topic Mr. Reed was discussing. She had read it in a book and asked her father to teach her. She just wanted to follow what she read to be normal.
At the corner of her eye, she noticed that Carter had turned his face towards her. He was blatantly staring at her and it made Alina uncomfortable. She shifted in her seat, glancing at Carter. Carter replied to her with an amused smile. Alina immediately looked away. Why was he being like that? She thought. Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to concentrate, until Mr. Reed mentioned her name.
"Ms. Imenand." He called out.
"Yes?" Alina replied softly, standing up quietly. Everyone in the room was attracted to her gracefulness. The girls quickly turned it into jealousy. All of them thought she was too beautiful, attracting too much attention although she had done nothing yet.
"Come up here and try to answer this." Mr. Reed pointed to an equation. Alina quietly walked around her mahogany desk and towards the board, trying not to mind the stares she was getting. She began writing her solution. By the time she finished, she noticed that what she did was different from the examples Mr. Reed had explained. She realized she did the shortcut that she knew.
She worried that what she did was wrong since the teacher had not taught it yet. Just as she was about to erase and repeat it, Mr. Reed stopped her. "Go back to your seat, Ms. Imenand." He told her with a neutral voice and some of the students snickered. She sighed in disappointment with herself. Mr. Reed loudly hit the board to silence the students.
"Thank you, Ms. Imenand. You just shortened my work for a bit." Mr. Reed smiled. Alina and her classmates were shocked. Alina thought she was going to be reprimanded. The students were shocked that Mr. Reed smiled. As far as they knew, he was always angry at every student. "This solution is a shortcut of what I was teaching you."
With that, Alina got even harder stares. The class began to whisper to each other, but making sure Alina did not hear any statement. Alina sighed, hating the attention she was getting. She just wasn't used to this kind of environment. Her thoughts began to float towards her father again. She felt tired of thinking, the change was taking a toll on her mental health.
"You're so smart, Alina!" Carter whisper shouted at her side. She almost completely forgot about him. She turned to her and muttered a soft 'thank you'. "You know, Mr. Reed is one of those terror teachers. But you made him smile!" Carter whispered again, making Alina glance at Mr. Reed who was writing on the board again.
"Really?" She just asked curiously, she didn't think Mr. Reed was such a scary man. Though that would explain why the class were mostly quiet. She faced Carter who wore an amused smile.
"You're so beautiful and smart. Let's go on a date!"
YOU ARE READING
Ethereal Mortal {DISCONTINUED}
Werewolf"As long as you live, you will stay hidden." The words constantly rang into Alina's mind. She was not against it since it was her father who said it. It seemed like a last will. For as long as she remembers, she has always been at their huge home. T...
