CHAPTER TWO

 She squinted at her class schedule. It was soaked, ruined, dropping it in a puddle as she had got out of her dad's truck was a true testament to her lethargic being. Between having no cars outside her window, sirens, yelling and the lack of cell phone reception, any possible sleep had been robbed from her.

The number three or what she thought was a three – sort of looked like a nine or even an eight...

Grinding her back molars, she walked forward, looking aimlessly for some sort of life in the halls. She couldn't believe how dead it was and a tiny building at that.

“Hey!” A small brunette jumped out at her.

Chloe stumbled back, tripping and landing on her bottom. Her annoyance etched as she stared the girl down, “Hi..”

The girl bustled forward, “Sorry!” Helping her up.

“It's fine. Don't sweat it.” Chloe breathed, brushing off her leggings.

“I'm Annie Elk.”

“Chloe...” Is all she got out, before the ball of energy cut her off.

“Yeah, I know! You're supposed to be in my English class right now. I was sent down to the office to see where you were!”

“Umm...” Chloe made a face, “Huh?”

“Come on.” Annie wrapped her arms around her's, tugging her forward, “So, you just got here?”

Chloe nodded, “Fresh off the tarmac.”

“From where? I heard you're from Texas!”
“No, err...” Chloe made a face, “I'm from California.”

“Cool!” Annie drooled, “Wow...”

“How'd you know I was coming?”

“You're dad came and registered you the other day.”

“How'd you know that!” Confused and then the word stalker came to her mind.

“You moved to Alaska. To a small town... plus, your dad is one of the town's Troopers. So, pretty much wildfire news when his daughter was coming to live with him.”

Chloe blanched, “Jeez.”

“So, why did you move here?”

Chloe rolled her eyes, “Forced extermination.”

Annie blinked at her and said nothing.

“I killed my mother's dog.” Chloe admitted, “Sorta...”

Annie let out an abrupt laugh then paused, “Wait, seriously?”

She was aware it sounded ridiculous, “Yeah... Seriously, but it wasn't my fault. It's was a stupid dog and I may or may not have left the balcony door open... by accident! What dog – in its right mind – jumps off a balcony!” Her anger and defensiveness hit her – just like when she'd begged her mother forgiveness.
“Oh, man...” She pulled her to the left and Chloe didn't have much time to prepare, “This is our English class! Welcome to our School. We don't have dog's that jump off balconies, just wolves.” She giggled.

“Wait, what...” Chloe stumbled inside and the chatter in the room dropped off. She looked around, twenty – maybe twenty five students. She was used to stuffed classes and no elbow room; this would be a definite change of pace.

“Miss. Pryce! Annie found you,” the middle-aged balding teacher came towards her. Pencil behind his ear and an awful sweater vest that screamed burn me.

Chloe tried to sound chipper, “Hi, I'm Chloe.”
“Yes, yes... please sit.” He motioned to the many empty chairs and desks.

“Sit with me.” Annie ripped her across the room.

Chloe looked up, her eyes pulling her to the back of the class, where the monster of a boy from the day before sat. She stopped dead, even with Annie tugging at her.

He made brief eye contact with her and looked to his left where a bleach blonde boy sat, talking to him. She watched him pull at the collar on his white shirt.

“Chloe, sit!” Annie coaxed her and she sat, which led to her being introduce to three others.

The first, another giddy brunette.

“This is Dayna.” Annie bubbled.

Chloe nodded to Dayna, “Hey.”

Annie continued, “And Bruce and Scott...” The other two were decent looking boys – who beamed at her. They seemed fairly welcoming and not agitated, like some people in that room.

Bruce stuck his hand out first, “You're tanned.”

Chloe smiled, “You're pale.”

He laughed, “You'll soon be pale too, don't make fun.”

The teacher dropped a novel in front of her and tapped it, “We're on page fifty seven, Miss. Pryce. Chapter eight!” He headed back to the front and turned on the over-head projector.
Chloe flipped the book open; looking over her shoulder to him.

Still, he kept a conversation with the blonde and she wanted to know what they were so deep in conversation about, but then again, she didn't.

His eyes snapped to Chloe and she shot around, telling herself not to look at him anymore.

Annie chatted up Dayna as Chloe tried to focus on the book, her stomach knotting.

She wrapped her arms around her upset stomach and spent the next forty minutes listening to the frazzled English teacher drone on about the point of character motive and how it drove plot forward.

Of course, she hardly paid attention, convinced she was about to spew her guts.

The shrill bell for class to end rang.

“What's your next class?” Annie asked as the teacher yelled out a homework assignment.

“Umm...” Chloe scribbled down the note and rummaged for the now crumpled and still damp class schedule through her pain.

Luckily, she could make out her next class, “It's gym...” She threw it back in her purse, it would be in pieces by the end of the day.
“Morning, Chloe.”

Chloe shot up from the desk, staring at the brown khakis in front of her. Her eyes travelled his form fitted white shirt to his stubbled defined chin and greener than green eyes.

Annie appeared stunned, “H-Hi, Grayson!”

The boy kept his gaze on Chloe, “How was your first night in Polar, Alaska?” Amusement caught his mouth.

“It was fine,” she lied, needing to get herself away from him. She grabbed the novel off the desk and went to exit the room.

He stepped in front of her, “What's your next class?”

She looked to him, “Gym. Why?”

He smiled, “No reason. It's down the stairs to the left, there's a sign; Gymnasium.”

She snorted, “That's impressive. I didn't expect schools in the middle of no-where to have room signs.”

He stayed quiet.

Annie grabbed her arm, “We're gonna be late. Let's go.”

Chloe glanced at Grayson once more, “Thanks for the help.”

He smiled this time, but it was quick to fade.

Chloe creased her brow and stepped back, almost into Annie. The girl hauled her away fast – attached to her like a bug on flypaper.

“I can't believe Grayson talked to you.”
“Why?” Chloe snapped as they walked.

Dayna pounced on her other side, “Annie loves Grayson.”
“What!” Annie flushed, “I do not!”
“Really?” Dayna cocked her head, “Because at the last party you told me you were gonna ask him out and then you failed!” She laughed at her friend.

Annie sneered, trying to ignore her friend, “Ready for our version of gym? It consists of nothing in particular and usually dodge ball.”

Chloe shrugged, “Sounds, alright.” Her mind flipped back to California. That's where she wanted to be. Warm sun and no looming, thick headed gigantic boys.

Annie led them to the tiny change room, it had a few girls running around but otherwise it was quiet. Dayna and Annie pulled out their gym attire and stripped quickly.

Chloe hadn't brought a change of clothes, so she waited, looking down at the weaved leather bracelet on her wrist.

“Do you have a boyfriend?” Annie asked, now dressed in skimpy shorts and a racer back tank.

Chloe looked to her, “No. Not really.”

Dayna smiled, “What's that mean?”

“There was a guy, kind of. Doesn’t matter.” She didn't want to think about Dodge or his pitiful face when she'd told him she was leaving California, to move to a state that was separated by another country.

Annie gripped her again, “Well, do you like to party? Cause we like to have a good time every now and then! We're not totally boring.”
Chloe shrugged, “Sounds alright.” She did like a good party, though her parents – particularly her mother, had never really been that keen. It had been part of the reason for her forced extermination.

The girls dragged her out of the change room, giggling about what was happening that weekend but Chloe wasn't listening.

She stopped on the side lines, twisting her bracelet over her wrist. The slap of a rubber ball beside her, broke her trance.

“Like Dodge ball, Chloe?”

Her eyes peeled to him, “What are you doing in here?”

Grayson played with the ball between his hands, “Uh... gym?”

“It's co-ed?” She hissed at him.

“Welcome to Polar, Alaska.” He laughed and tossed her the ball, “Boys against girls.”

She jumped forward and caught it as he jogged away. All she wanted to do was throw it at his head and she set her sights on doing so, once the game commenced.

“Chloe!”

She turned and walked to Annie and Dayna, gripping the ball, “Let's do this.”