Chapter III

"When you go through deep waters, I'll be there."

-Isaiah 43:2

Andrea pulled on the gray shirt she was given. She was currently in the locker rooms getting changed into her gym uniform. She felt her sports bra slipping up, and she groaned before pulling her shirt off again and tightening it. She hated sports bras. She glanced up in the mirror covering one of the walls and looked at the shorts in disgust. If they were any shorter her butt would be hanging out. How it wasn't already was a mystery.

Sighing, she pulled the gray shirt on again and glanced over at some of the other girls who were huddled in corners as they pulled on their clothes. She pulled her brown hair back into a ponytail before walking out. When she got out there, the boys were already pushing each other around playfully. A few girls stood staring at them, clearly thinking they were all hot.

She rolled her eyes as she leaned against the wall. She saw no point in staring at boys who'd probably never pay attention to you anyways. She glanced up and saw Mitchel talking to three other boys.

One of them was the boy who had dropped off the papers. The second boy had lightly tanned skin with a strong jaw. He was built, and she could see why some girls were drooling over him. His mouth was twisted into a smirk as he spoke with Mitchel. He had a larger nose, but she didn't find it that bad. His gray eyes suddenly made contact with hers, and he ran a hand through his light brown spiked hair. He gave her a coy smile before fixing his attention back onto Mitchel.

The other boy looked was definitely someone Andrea could like if she wasn't already crushing on one of her best friends. He had stubble growing with a light mustache as well. His skin was tanned and his nose and lips were thick, much like the other boy. His dark brown eyes searched the crowd of girls as he eyed them, probably eye raping them. His hair was dark, much like his eyes. He was very muscular and looked like one of the boys every girl probably liked and wanted to have sex with.

The boy who dropped the papers off suddenly gestured to her, causing Mitchel to look over. She felt her face heat up quickly, so she turned away, not wanting to be stared at by them anymore. She heard a chorus of laughter from over where Mitchel and his friends were and knew they were laughing at her, so she walked over to the corner and sat down in it, waiting for class to start.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps and she glanced up to see Mitchel looking at her, concern etched onto his face. "Andrea? Are you alright?"

Andrea looked down. "Peachy, you know?"

Mitchel bit his bottom lip. "Look," he finally said "the boys over there are idiots. You don't have to worry about what they think."

"What makes you think I care?"

"The way you turned red when Aristide noticed you, and when we all looked at you. Plus, you left once they laughed."

"Sorry, I just felt like I needed to think of ways to complain to the school about these stupid outfits. If these shorts were any shorter, they'd be considered thongs and if this shirt hung any lower, I would have to wear an undershirt, or better yet, a sports bra only, since that covers up more."

She heard a warm laughter and looked up to see Mitchel laughing. Everyone suddenly looked over to see him laughing. "I've been telling my father that for years!" He said, breaking down even more. He had to sit on the ground just to support himself.

Andrea giggled a bit at his predicament, not wanting to unleash her terrible donkey laugh. She glanced up and saw the three boys walk over, and her laughter died.

Mitchel noticed she stopped, so he calmed down, and then looked to see why. When he saw his friends, he stood up. "Andrea, this is Aristide," he said, gesturing to the guy who brought her her papers, "this is Troy," she said, gesturing to the guy with gray eyes, "and this is Michal." He said, gesturing to the other guy.

Andrea mumbled hello to them before standing up. Troy grinned at her. "You know, that shirt really compliments you boobs."

Her face turned bright red. "I-I-"

Michal elbowed him. "Shut up, you perv!"

Troy grinned slyly. "Like you weren't thinking the same thing."

"At least I have the dignity not to say it out loud!"

Aristide rolled his eyes. "Stop talking, you'll lower the IQ of the whole street."

Andrea grinned. "I love that show."

"Really? Most people here can't bother to get out of each other's pants, much less pick up a remote and actually watch good television."

Mitchel smiled. He walked over and slung an arm around her. "See? It isn't so bad. And I told you, idiots."

"Hey!" All three of them shouted at the same time.

"I'll have you know I have the highest GPA here!" Aristide cried out.

"I so happen to be the captain of the football team." Michal growled.

"I so happen to have taken the virginity of practically every girl here!" Troy said, scoffing.

Andrea's jaw dropped. She then looked at Mitchel who was pinching the bridge of his nose. "Dude, seriously?"

"By here I mean in the gym." Troy said, looking around.

"No wonder every girl was eye raping you." Andrea muttered to herself as she made her way to the middle of the gym.

"Hey! Andrea! Where are you going?" Michal called out.

"Class is starting you idjit."

Andrea smiled. Aristide loved all the television programs she did.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

****

"Come one, it couldn't have been that bad!" Michal said as they were walking out.

Andrea stuck her nose in the air. "If you think that a group of boys wrapping their arms around you and attempting to pull your shirt off isn't bad, then you need to get a freakin' clue."

Mitchel threw his arm around her again. "Hey, I was there to help. I'll always be there to help you, alright?"

"Thanks, Mitchel."

"Great Lord, just kiss already." Troy grumbled as he threw his books into his locker.

Andrea's face turned bright red. Mitchel glared at him as he took his arm off from around Andrea. Immediately she felt vulnerable, so she wrapped her arms around herself and continued walking. Perhaps if she just ignored the stares it wouldn't be so bad.

Suddenly, someone threw an arm around her. It didn't feel like Mitchel's touch, so she immediately looked up to see who it was. Jacob stared down at her, his pristine teeth shining back at her. "Hey there, Andrea."

Andrea smiled at him. "Hey, Jacob."

"Want to sit with me at lunch?" He purred as he starting playing with the ends of her hair. Andrea felt her face heat up as she struggled to formulate a sentence.

"Sorry, she was already sitting with us." A voice hummed.

The familiar touch replaced Jacob's arm as he pulled away. "McCloud. Don't you have some place to be?"

"Yes, showing Andrea here around." Mitchel hummed.

Jacob scowled at him. "Well, don't hesitate to sit with me, alright?" Jacob said, leaning into speak into Andrea's ear. His hot breath fanned the area as he spoke, his words drowned out from her mind. He smiled at her before walking away, leaving Andrea rooted in place in the hallway, her face bright red. Mitchel was scowling in the direction Jacob had walked off to, while Troy, Aristide, and Michal stared at them.

Mitchel looked at her, a smiled back on his face. "Let's go to class, alright?"

Andrea nodded. "Which one?"

"Math."

Andrea grinned. She wasn't the best at math, but she loved it anyways. She had no idea why. Most people loved Gym and hated Math, while she was the exact opposite.

As they made their way to it, Andrea couldn't help but think of her pounding heart as she thought of how close Jacob had been to her.

****

Mrs. McCloud was a very nice woman. Mitchel had said to beware her, but how could he say that about his own mother? At least, she figured they were related. They looked nothing alike though, so perhaps she was a Step-Mother.

After Math, they made their way to Social Studies, where Aristide's father was the teacher. When she got inside, Mitchel grabbed her wrist and pulled her over to a seat, gesturing for her to sit down. She did as he told her to do and he sat next to her, pulling out his notebook and a pencil. Andrea pulled out her notebook and started writing down the stuff that was on the board. Suddenly, someone tapped her shoulder and she whirled around to see a girl staring at her.

"I'm sorry, but you seem to be in my seat." The girl said, her voice causing Andrea to grit her teeth. The girl smirked when she saw her expression, throwing her hair back over her shoulder. It was cut to reach her chest, and it was a light brown color, basically blonde. Her make-up was heavily done and her golden-hazel eyes held a fire in them, telling Andrea all she needed to know. This girl was popular and she liked Mitchel. She shouldn't get in the way. Andrea moved to get up, but Mitchel grabbed her arm, gently pulling her back down.

"Carmilla, this is Andrea. Andrea, Carmilla."

Carmilla twisted her mouth into a fake grin. "It's so nice to meet you!" She said, holding her hand out.

Andrea took it gently. "Nice to meet you as well."

"Mitchel, you know this is my seat." She purred, turning her eyes to him.

Mitchel waved her off. "Yes, but Andrea is my responsibility."

"B-"

"And yes, my father did tell me to choose where she sat in classes if seating charts weren't used. Take it up with him if you please."

Carmilla pursed her lips. "It's very hard for someone like me to get a word in edgewise to people such as him, I doubt it'd make much of a difference."

"Yes, yes. Now go find a seat." Mitchel grumbled.

Carmilla shot Andrea a death glare before walking away. She sat down next to Jacob who was staring at Andrea intently. Andrea blushed before looking back at the board, hurriedly writing it down.

After class was over, it was lunch. Mitchel guided her to the lunch room, showing her where he sat. When he sat down, he gestured to the chair next to him. Andrea remembered previous events and asked if someone already sat there.

"Well yeah, Aristide. He won't mind. Carmilla is just a confused b- sorry, demon who doesn't understand I don't want her."

Soon, Aristide, Troy, and Michal sat down in front of them. Before they could say anything else, Fai and Estal walked over. "Andrea? Oh my gosh!" Fai cried out as she hugged Andrea tightly. "I didn't know you'd be sitting here!"

Andrea chocked on the food that was in her mouth, causing Estal to quickly pry Fai off her and Mitchel to pat her back, attempting to get the food up. Once Andrea stopped dying, Fai apologized and sat down next to her, Estal taking the spot next to Mitchel. "Does anyone else sit here?" Andrea asked as she took a bite of the sandwich she purchased.

"Yeah, my B- Best Friend." Michal said.

"Yep, and two others. All three are girls, so you'll fit in fine." Estal said as he consumed his sandwich.

Fai nodded. "Leyna, Michal's friend, is pretty much what you'd expect a bad girl to act like, minus all the drugs, violence, and alcohol. Charlotte is brilliant, but kind of airy if you ask me. And lastly, Zoe: she is that one popular girl everyone loves. Not like that demon Carmilla." Fai said, taking a heaping bite of salad.

Andrea looked down at her lunch. She had a feeling things would be odd this year.

****

Word Count: 2046

Sup my friends! Longest chapter so far! What'd you think?

I had to add in Carmilla. I had many plans for her and I needed a girl like her, so I had to add her in. Of course I tweaked her a bit to fit more into the story line, but whatevs. She's played by Huntington Whitely, but tell me if you have a better actress for her.

Also, I have decided I would not have her parents have their original occupation, 'cause that's just a bit much, but I'll for sure have the two best characters in the book (that have their occupation)!

So yeah, that's all I have to say for now. Other than the fact I won't be updating Spirit today, (Wednesday 27, 2016) so I'll have the next chapter of this one going up!

Cheerio!

(I think that is what it is, but oh well, right?)

-Paige

soNor֌-