The "Good" Girl's Secret

Snow looked out the window and watched as students rushed into the building before the late bell rang. She had dirty blonde hair that stopped at her chest and was braided. She had blue eyes that would put the ocean to shame and make the sky jealous. She wore a white button up shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans. Her skin was lightly tanned from the summer sun. She was 5’5” and was one of the nicest people you could meet, if you were on her good side.

Snow just started her junior year in high school and she was already dreading it. There were a bunch of new students who, along with the freshman, thought that they were the kings and queens of high school. It annoyed Snow to no end. However, she didn’t let anyone know that. Everyone saw her as the good girl with good grades, follows the rules, generous to others, and nice personality. That’s how Snow was viewed and she planned to keep it that way. Snow didn’t want any of her peers or teachers finding out how she really was, who she really was.

Currently, she was listening to music and waiting for the day to start. She always hated the first day of school. Freshman going to the wrong rooms and walking up and down the wrong set of stairs, people looking for their classes, people blocking hallways, and bullies looking for new victims. Even the student parking lot was a hazard on the first day, or any day for that matter. There was already three fights planned for today and it hadn’t even started yet.

‘The first day is always the absolute worst,’ Snow thought, keeping her gaze out the window.

Students were filing into the classroom and picking seats next to their friends. Snow scanned the room. She could easily identify all the different social groups in the class. The nerds sat at the front of the classroom, in the corner farthest from the door. The jocks sat next to them, sitting the closest to the door. The popular girls sat in the middle of the room, gossiping about boys and the latest fashion trend. The punk and gothic kids sat in the back corner closest to the door, as they hate sitting near the windows. The corner closest to the window was always free for grabs and were usually the last desks to be taken. Snow sat in that corner, completely alone. She didn’t belong to any group or cliques, another thing she planned to keep the same as well. She disliked being identified in any groups because she didn’t fit in with any of them.

Snow heard the late bell ring and sighed quietly. She was relieved and also disappointed the day started. Three more students ran into that classroom and quickly went to their friend groups. The announcements soon came on, starting with the Pledge of Allegiance. After the announcements finished, the teacher almost started roll call when another student walked in. Many students gasped, causing Snow to look at who they were gasping at. Standing in the doorway was a boy. He had jet black hair and had pale skin. He was about 5’9” to 6’0” and had tattoos on his left arm. He wore a dark red flannel and black, ripped jeans. He looked around the room, not skipping over any other student in the room. When his gaze landed on Snow, they locked eyes. Snow looked at him in slight surprise. His eyes were a bright and stunning green, so much so that they made emeralds look dull. The boy looked away from Snow and looked at the teacher.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said.

His voice was deep and almost dark. He didn’t sound like he cared about being late at all, but he apologized anyway.

“It’s fine,” the teacher replied, “Go ahead and take a seat anywhere.”

The boy nodded and looked at Snow. She stared back before turning her gaze out the window. She heard the boy walk through the classroom and stop at the desk in front of her. Snow looked up at the boy. He looked back at her, his eyes even more stunning up close. Snow heard a few girls giggle before the boy could sit down. The two looked at the group of girls. Hope Stevens was sitting in the middle of the group.

“I wouldn’t sit with her. She’s pretty boring,” Hope said, looking at the boy over.

She was staring at him like he was a piece of meat she could have. The boy placed his bag down and sat in front of Snow. Hope clicked her tongue in annoyance before facing forward. The teacher did roll call and then explained what the students should expect out of the class. Snow drowned out half of what the teacher was saying. Her gaze went back out the window and she rested her head on her hand. Soon, the teacher finished talking and the rest of the period was free. Immediately, everyone started talking to each other. Most of them were on their phones as well. The boy sitting in front of Snow turned around. She wasn’t paying attention and completely missed his name during roll call. Snow turned her gaze toward him. He stared at her, causing her to become slightly annoyed by it.

“Draw a picture, I’m going to be here for the rest of the year,” she whispered.

“Draw,” the boy asked.

Snow shrugged in response. She was tired and didn’t really want to deal with anything today.

“I like it,” he said.

Snow raised her eyebrows before nodding. Silence filled the air between the two. Hope and another girl jumped over to the desks next to the pair and Snow turned her gaze back out the window.

“Hey, I didn’t catch your name. What was it,” Hope asked.

“Why should I tell you,” he replied.

The girls’ smiles faltered slightly, but they decided to keep going anyway.

“I’m Hope, this is Terra,” Hope said.

Terra waved slightly and then remembered Snow was sitting next to her. She looked at Snow then looked at the boy again.

“The girl sitting behind you is Snow,” Terra said.

“Don’t worry about her though. We’re more fun,” Hope said, glaring at Terra slightly.

“I don’t care,” the boy said.

Snow rolled her eyes as the girls both looked at him in shock. Snow put her earbuds back in as Hope and Terra left. The boy turned his gaze back to Snow. She just continued to stare out the window. The boy reached around and grabbed Snow’s left earbud. Snow turned and almost glared at the boy. He gave her a bored look, but Snow could slightly see plea in his eyes, as if he wanted her to let him listen. Snow paused, but subtly nodded. He put the earbud in his ear. He turned his gaze out the window. Snow looked at him for a moment before looking out the window as well. They sat in silence and listened to Snow’s music.

“Tanner,” he whispered.

Snow looked at him and he glanced at her.

“I’m Tanner Foss,” he said.

“Snow Walker,” Snow whispered, earning a nod from him.

Silence filled the air again as they looked back out the window. After a few minutes, the bell rang. Snow turned and watched the jocks run out of the room. She pulled her earbud out of Tanner’s ear and grabbed her stuff. Tanner stood up, grabbed his bag and left the room. Snow walked out of the room and looked down at her schedule. She walked down the hall to her next class. Suddenly, someone grabbed her arm, pulling her toward them. She looked back in slight shock. Tanner held her arm. He seemed to always have a bored look on his face, never really showing any other emotion. He looked down at her before looking at the other students in the hall. He turned his gaze back to her and sighed.

“Can you help me find my next class,” he asked.

He sounded reluctant to ask for help. Snow raised her eyebrows and then placed her free hand out to him. He looked down at her hand, his features mixed with confusion and slight irritation.

“Schedule,” Snow said.

Tanner placed his schedule in her hand and she looked it over.

‘Okay, so he has almost all the same classes as me except fifth and sixth. This is going to be interesting,’ Snow thought.

“Follow me,” she said, handing him his schedule.

“Look, I don’t need an escort. Just tell me where to go,” Tanner said, irritation clear in his voice.

Snow looked up at him and gave him a fake, sweet smile. The smile threw Tanner off and he almost glared at Snow.

“I’m not escorting you to class. We have the same classes until fifth and sixth,” Snow said.

Tanner gave her a surprised look before Snow turned around and walked away. She glanced over her shoulder and looked at him. He wasn’t following her. She paused and turned around.

“You coming,” she asked.

Tanner blinked and his features returned to a bored expression. He walked over to her and walked alongside her. Snow smiled and led the way to class. Their next class was art. Instead of desks, there were tables with two chairs per table. Once they got to class, Snow took her usual seat in the back right corner of the room. Tanner paused at the front of the room for a moment. He then joined Snow at the back of the class, this time sitting in the seat next to her. She gave him a small smile before pulling her sketchbook out of her backpack. Soon enough, the classroom filled with students and the second bell rang. The teacher walked in and took attendance quickly. He stood in the front of the class and looked over the students.

“Before we begin, does anyone want to change seats at all,” he asked.

When no one moved, he nodded and went to his computer. After a few moments, he cleared his throat and looked at the students.

“I hope you’re all happy with who you’re sitting with because they are your partner for the rest of the school year, no exceptions,” the teacher announced.

Immediately, students started questioning what he had said and started to complain slightly. Snow and Tanner looked at each other for a moment before looking at the teacher again.

'This is definitely going to be interesting,’ Snow thought.