October 11th: Ravensway High
                  Opal Avery

Ravensway High looks just like it did two days ago. Starting school on a Thursday seemed pretty pointless to me, but I need to get a head of the game before the game gets a head of me and I'm laying on the bottom of Ridgeway Harps. No one would ever find me there, besides the animals that scurry in and out and who would they tell? No one.
  Because animals can't talk, despite what Elle had continued to think well into her teen years. She had the disposition of a flower child, a girl who had never faced hardships, a girl who was always putting forth positive things despite what the world was throwing at her, a girl who always had a smile on her face and a very giving and caring heart.
  A soft spirit, with an equally soft voice. She was never one to point out peoples flaws or throw someone under the bus. No, Elle was someone that everyone wanted to have in their corner.
Now no one would have her in their corner.
Because of me.

      The students of Ravensway High are nice enough, offering smiles and 'hellos' every time they encounter me. I have no one to sit by for lunch but I have faced far worse than high-schooler's during lunch period. I grab my tray of food and almost head to the back, almost. A guy at the middle table with at least seven people sitting around him, is staring at me with large brown eyes.
I smile and nod my head at him, which seems to be the only invitation he needs. He says something to the girl on his left-whose hair is pitch black with dark blue strands through it. He sidles away from the table and makes his way to me in quick and easy strides. He's tall. Standing over me by way over a head, if I had to guess i would say six foot three. Maybe even taller.
He smiles, "Hey, I'm Karsten. You're Opal, right?"
I nod.
"Right, do you want to join us for lunch? The kids at the middle table practically run this school, with out me, of course. The best way to meet new people is to simply join us for lunch and let them all railroad you with questions and ugly sneers." He laughs but I can't tell if it's a real laugh or simply one to make him more approachable. Either way, it made him look way more friendly. He didn't need to rely on the smile to make him look approachable, he seems to have the same easy going manner as Elle.
"I would like that very much, thanks." I respond and his smile grows.
   He walks slowly and calmly back over to the table, no more of his confident stride- not while he's approaching his friends table.
   The girl with the blue hair turns towards me and offers a sad smile.
"You can sit on this side of me." Karsten says and I slide onto the left side of the bench.
"Who is your friend?" A guy with blonde hair asks and then he shoots me a smile that seems too rehearsed to be real.
"Guys, this is Opal." Karsten says easily and the girl with the blue hair squints at him, a scowl on her face. She then turns to me and rakes over my face and clothes. Her gaze landing on the not so faint scar on my neck.
"Well Opal, you might as well meet the clan. I am Laura, that-."she points to a boy with dark hair and blue eyes that are surrounded by big circular glasses- who looks as if he hasn't slept in days, "Is Brendan."
  Brendan picks up a bite of his salad, raises his fork, smiles, and then shoves it in his mouth.
  She then moves on to a pretty blonde girl who is tapping an annoying rhythm on the table with her bright red nails, "That's Janette." Janette who doesn't so much as look at us, she's too busy staring at some guy that's getting his food.
"And that-." She lets out an exasperated sigh and points a dark navy nail at the blonde who talked to me when I first arrived, "Is Jay."
  Jay shoots me a smile,"Never fear, you won't be alone now that you have this group of well known and well loved teens."
  Laura makes a noise that sounds an awful lot like a growl. She is twisting the hoop of her nose ring, her gaze on Brendan who is still shoveling salad into his mouth.
"It's very nice to meet all of you." I say, hoping it is the right thing. I have never been good at small talk.
You have never been good at talking, let me do it. I'll make sure this goes out without a hitch.
The words below to Elle, she is standing on Mrs.Lortts front porch with the biggest smile on her face. A box of candles long ago abandoned by her feet. She had always been more for talking and getting to know people than actually selling her gifts for the school fundraisers, which led to mom and dad buying the majority of her stuff so she didn't get in trouble. They knew Elle just as well as I did, I like to think so anyways.
  I like to think that Elle was just as close with our parents as she was with me, was she though? I can't remember. I can't remember if we all sat down at family dinners and shared about our days or if mom and dad cared about Elle as much as I did. Which sounds a little cruel, even for me.
"So Opal, where you from?" The question is asked by Jay so he is who my eyes dart to but I feel Karsten tense next to me.
"All over." I swirl my fork in the mashed potatoes on my plate. "I have moved quite a bit." Not a lie. Not a complete one anyways.. I have moved quite a bit, by myself anyways.
"Aww neat. Travel the world?" Jay asks and I hesitate for a second. A hesitation that I know Laura notices, her eyes squint and a frown line appears between her brows.
"Pretty much just the States by Maine." Also not a complete truth but Jay seems happy with the answer.
"Do you travel because of your folks?" Karsten asks and I glance at him.
He looks like every other teenage guy but that doesn't mean much. He could very well be one of my shadows, any of them could be.
"Not anymore."
Laura slides her plate into the middle of the table and takes a long swig of iced tea before hitting me with a pointed glare.
"Tell us about yourself, Opal." Jay says.
"Better yet, we're all meeting for food and hanging tonight, why don't you come?" Laura says, she brings her knees up to her chest. She was small, even smaller than I originally thought.
The smaller they are, the feistier they be.
And Laura seems to be feisty enough for hundreds of people.
  "I wouldn't want to intrude." I say and for the first time Brendan talks.
  "It's not an intrusion if you're invited to it. At least Laura invited you this time, Jay invites whoever he wants- whenever he wants." He peels an orange and then tosses it to Laura.
"That's not true." Jay retorts and Laura laughs, a laugh that sounds a little too rough and a little too hard.

  I don't bother asking if it's true, their seems to be a tension between Jay and Laura and it's a tension I'd rather not be a part of.
  Karsten smiles at me, "We really would love to have you at our hangout tonight. It would give us all time to get to know each other."

  I figure they all probably know each other quite well so he means get to know me and I don't very much like that idea.

Would you stop being so cautious about everything, live a little.
  Living a little had cost Elle her life and if she were still here I would tell her that living a cautious life was better than living a dangerous and risky one, because even if living a cautious life wasn't classified as "fun" it was safe and that's something that we all need.
  Safety.
  The thing I was most concerned about, Elle had always been more concerned about helping people fit in or about loving the unloveable, hanging out with the underclass man that were frowned upon for not being as popular or rich.

  From the looks of things, Karstens group of friends were very high on the rich scale and on the popular scale.
All of them looks pretty well off. With that kind of money they could get lots of things, demand lots of things. Make lots of deals.
I shoot straight up and Karsten lifts an eyebrow. I ignore him and allow my mind to roll.
They could find lots of things out with the kind of money they have.
I glance around the table, Jay looks the richest besides maybe Janette but I figure she really isn't part of this friend group. Brendan is next best dressed. Laura looks like she spent a solid fifteen dollars on her outfit but that doesn't mean much. Authority and confidence rolls off her in waves so I'm guessing she is just as rich as the others.

"I'd love to come tonight if the offer is still on the table." I say.
Laura glances at me, "I thought you already agreed to it but yeah it's still there. I can give you a lift if you want?"

Riding with Laura could be dangerous, who knows who is in her pockets. Who knows if she is one of my shadows or if she hired them, but I can't get close with her if she doesn't think I trust her.
"That'd be great, thanks."
She shrugs a slender shoulder and then pulls on a maroon colored jacket. "See you after school, I'll meet you outside five after, don't be late or I'll leave without you." With that she trots away. Her black combat boots pounding on the floor.

  "If you were any one else, she would leave without you but since you're new I think she'll cut you a break." Karsten says and I glance at him, his dark brown eyes are the color of coffee grounds and are dancing with amusement.
  "Good to know but I'm not willing to take the chance." I shoot him a smile and he chuckles.
   "I'm sure Brendan would give you a ride if it came to it."
Brendan glances at us a small smile on his face, "If Marty let's me out of the house." He stands up and swipes at crumbs on his jeans. "Hopefully I'll see you all later, nice meeting you Opal." Then he jogs away before any of us can say anything.
  "Interesting guy, that one." Karsten says.
"How so?"
"He's a computer whizz and I'm quite surprised that he hasn't landed in jail. Not like he would be there long anyways, no way Marty would let him sit there for more than a few minutes."
"Marty?"
"Brendans mom." He explains and I nod.
The bell rings and I stand up, stopping short when Karsten's fingers wrap around my wrist.
My blood runs cold and I take a step back.
He drops his hand, "Sorry I- sorry." He clears his throat. "Do you have a phone?"
I nod.
"Here." He hands me a piece of paper with his number on it and I slide it into my pocket.
"Thanks. I really should get to class."
He nods, "See you around, Opal Ann."
I freeze for a split second before hurrying to my next class.

By the time I make it outside to the parking lot, Laura is standing with her back to the building, just staring at the busy parking lot and at the teenagers running around.
She has pulled her hair into a ponytail and I take a moment to really look at her.
She could easily pass as a fourteen year old that's trying to make themselves look older, even though I know she's nearly eighteen.
She's wearing black leggings, her signature black combat boots with a oversized navy blue sweatshirt that says Fear me or love me, it all is the same. I should ask her where she got it, I thoroughly enjoy it.
  "Am I late?" I ask and she glances at me.
"Only by twenty nine seconds but I guess I won't hold you to it." She starts walking and I follow after her.
  She's a couple inches shorter than me but I have to jog to keep up with her fast pace. She stops at a Jeep Compass and swings the door open.
  "Just throw your stuff over your seat." She instructs and I do as she say.
She starts the engine and pulls out of the parking space with a little too much speed. "There's snacks in the console if you want some. A lot of snacks because Karsten refuses to eat in here, I don't know if it's 'cause he's scared of dirtying the car or what but it's annoying. My parents could buy six more of these jeeps and not blink an eye. It's royally annoying." She rolls her eyes. "They're pieces of work and they know it."
  I think she's talking about her parents but I stay silent and let her continue.
"Real pains in my-." She hesitates, "If Karsten were here he would tell me to keep it PG. Anyways you'll have the great honor of meeting my mother when we make it to my house, feel free to ignore her. It's what I try my best to do."
  She pulls onto a street with houses that probably cost a fortune and takes a quick right turn. I barely manage to stop myself from flying into the door.
  Laura follows a long paved road up a hill, pine trees line both sides of the road making it look like a place out of a magazine.
There's a black chain link fence surrounding a huge pale blue house, a white wraparound porch is displayed beautifully.
I barely manage to keep my mouth shut.
  There's some guys sitting on a wooden porch swing.
  "Don't bother acknowledging Levi or Mark. Just follow me inside." Laura's says as she puts the Jeep in park.
  She's around the vehicle before I even get my door open.
  I follow her up the steps and onto the porch, the men glance our way but don't say anything.
Laura opens a cherry oak door and I follow her inside to a huge parlor that is painted a cheery yellow and that has gleaming wooden floors. There are a few family portraits on the wall, pictures of Laura before her nose ring and before the blue streaks in her hair, before her ears were completely covered in piercings.  She doesn't look happy in any of the pictures, she's smiling but it doesn't reach her eyes. A teenage boy is standing next to her, with a little lighter hair than her and with a much more cheery expression.
  "My step brother, Mark." She says and I nod.
There's another picture next to the picture of the siblings, a picture of a woman wearing a lilac colored pant suit and a man wearing a gray one. The woman has the same eyes as Laura but her hair is a light brown, her lips fuller, her face not nearly as thin. The man is an exact replica of Mark, just a couple decades older.
Someone swings open the door leading out of the parlor and Laura stiffens.
A woman bustles in, the same woman from the picture frames, but a much more realistic version of her, she doesn't look happy. She doesn't look happy at all, and she's glaring at Laura with such intensity that I take a step back.
Laura just rolls her eyes and glances at me, "Opal, meet my mother."
  The woman looks at me and then her expression softens.
I know her.
I know of her anyways.
And I know all her secrets.

Xoxo,
                                          Opal A.Avery.