Chapter 1
Shadow fumbles with her new ID lanyard as the principal of Bayville High School faces her tall window overlooking the front schoolyard.
"So Miss Williams, it is unfortunate to hear about your recent expellment, but you are very welcome here and I will make sure of it. If anyone is rude to you, please let me know and I'll take care of them." The woman clasps her hands together. "Here is your schedule. I assume you know where your classes are?"
"Yes, ma'am." Shadow nods.
"Good. Now run along and have a good day." She opens the door for the new girl and glares at the waiting boy outside.
Shadow walks past the boy dancing his feet across the floor with untied laces and instantly gags at the smell coming from him.
She hunkers down into her hoodie, pulling the hood over her head and trudges out into the hallway filled with students heading to the cafeteria. She follows the hoard of high school students and watches each individual disperse into their own cliques.
Shadow finds an empty table and takes out her small bagged lunch, silently munching away at her PB&J sanwhich.
The boy from the principal's office crouches on the other side of the table, green slime falling from his mouth.
She continues eating her lunch and lays her head down to avoid the stares of her peers.
The strange boy taps her arm and nudges her.
"Leave me alone." She groans, reaching for the hem of her glove.
"You're new, aren't you?" He pokes her again.
"Didn't I tell you to leave me alone?" She growls, ready to tug her glove off and give this a boy a piece of her mind.
"I'd leave her alone, Toad." Another voice warns, this one warning the other away.
"Please just leave me be. It's my first day here and I don't want any trouble." Shadow looks at him and puts her glove back on.
"Tell me your name and I'll go." He gives her a small smile.
Shadow notices that he's wearing a pair of red night shades which she thinks is odd, especially during the daytime, but she doesn't say anything, not wanting drama her first day.
"It's Shay, but....nevermind, just call me that." She mumbles, barely making eye-contact with the guy.
"Nice name. Is it short for anything?" He asks.
"No. Now go away." She turns away from him and he walks away toward the phones mounted on the wall. She watches him make a call and set the phone down a few minutes later.
Shadow sighs and stands to exit the cafeteria with her black backpack carrying her books and small defense staff, but a student at the exit blocks her path.
"So, it's Shay. Got it." He whispers. "Pleasure."
Shadow pushes past him and disappears into the hallway, heading for her next class.
~W~
At the end of the day, Shadow takes her favorite shortcut home and steps inside, the house unusually quiet, just how she liked it.
The girl sets her homework on the kitchen table and reheats last night's leftovers before working at her algebra questions.
Over the course of the evening, Shadow finishes her three hours of homework and chores to avoid any choice words from the ghost of her parents.
And she falls asleep with the lights still on as a thunderstorm rages in the background.
Lightning nearly strikes the tree outside her room and it scares her away from the far side of her room. But somehow she falls aslpee.
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