Zach and Danny entered the student parking lot after eight. They still had time to meet up with everyone and get their schedules. Zach always tried to avoid the crowds. He hated when everyone stared wherever they went. It was like take a picture; it'll last a lot longer. Come to think of it; some girls had done that already when he and Jacob were together.
Walking up from the parking lot, they ran into a few kids they had in some of their classes last year.
"Hey, Zach and Dan, what's up?" It was a kid they had in their honors English the previous year.
"Not much," Danny replied as they walked by. Such a man of many words.
*Opening the front doors is like opening a jail cell. You know you're gonna be here a long time. *
Zach opened the front doors of the school for him and Danny to go in. He glanced around and saw Alex and Madison hanging out, talking to several guys but probably waiting for the two of them. The girls looked pretty good today, not that he had any romantic interest in either of them. Yeah, they were girls, and he guessed they could be hot to someone, but they were like sisters to him.
"Hey," Danny nudged Zach in the side, "there's Alex and Madison. Alex is looking good today. Who's she trying to impress?"
Zach glanced back and forth at Danny and Alex. They were both making eyes at one another. "Something going on between you two? You jealous,"
"Uh...no, man. Why would you say that?" Danny stuttered while trying to keep his eyes off Alex.
Zach nudged Danny's side and motioned for him to follow. They pushed their way through the crowd heading towards Madison and Alex.
"Hey," Alex said as the boys came up beside them. "Didn't think you guys were coming over here, took you long enough."
"These guys get lost in the simplest of situations," Madison commented as she turned away from talking to the guys on the other side of her. "We've had to direct them in everything they've done for the past couple of years." She winked at Alex. "They would be so lost without us."
Zach shook his head. He glanced around the cafeteria, looking to see if Jacob had made it yet. So far, there wasn't any sign of him.
"Hey, Zach, did you get your schedule yet?" Madison looked up from her printout sheet.
"Not yet. I'm gonna head over to the table now." He turned to walk toward the Senior Table. West Lakes had such a weird set-up. Every grade had a table where everyone in that grade waited in line for their class schedule.
*Why couldn't they email these stupid things out so we don't have to waste all of our morning? But hey, who am I to wanna change their whole system*.
Zach moved in and around the groups of kids. As he walked past the junior table, he had to listen to *' where's Jacob?*' from almost everyone. Guess the legend' hadn't made it to school yet. They would all know when he arrived. There would be a moment of silence as he walked through the door, and a fuckin' trumpet sound would go off, signaling the arrival of the king.
No, not that it actually happened. But knowing Jacob, he would gladly accept the honor.
Zach stood in line with about twenty other kids. Most he knew, but not on talking terms. Almost five minutes later, he heard his name.
"Zachary Lovell!" echoed through the crowd.
Zach cringed. It was Paige Ward. Shit, she must be volunteering today. She had a crush on Zach all last year. Sometimes it was to the borderline of obsession. Paige wasn't bad to look at, your basic blonde cheerleader type. She went out with Jacob once, but then again, who hadn't. But Paige definitely wasn't Zach's style. She was going through the stack of schedules that were in front of her. C'mon, it didn't take a genius to find.
"Is there an issue?" Zach's impatience with this shitshow was displayed in his tone.
Paige glanced up at him with frustration written all over her face. "I...I can't seem to find yours anywhere." Her voice trembled. "You, um, you might have to go down to the office."
Zach was trying to control his anger. He should be freaking out right now. After coming in early, standing in line, now they didn't have his schedule. Whatever! "Hey, no problem. I'll go now." He had to keep up the nice guy image. He walked back over to where his group once stood.
Madison threw her arm around his waist. "So, what's your schedule like?"
"Didn't get it yet. You know how this place works. On second thought, they don't," irritation resonated in Zach’s tone. "I have to head over to the front office, maybe they'll have it. I'll see you in a bit unless they keep me waiting."
Madison reached up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. She was affectionate like that. "Okay, sweetie, I'll tell Danny and Alex."
"Where are those two anyway?" Zach called out to her as she was walking away. Madison shrugged and gave him a sly grin of *' I know, but I can't tell,'* then continued on her way.
*Deep breath in, deep breath out.*Emily kept telling herself this as they got closer to the school. She didn't know why she was so nervous. She'd done this so many times before that she should be used to it.Aunt Maureen turned off the highway road, went through some gates, and back a paved entranceway. Off to Emily’s right was a parking lot, maybe the student parking lot.*Well no, duh, Em, that's what the sign said.*Her aunt pulled up to the front of the building and parked in the visitor spot. The school was red brick and had massive windows in the front looking into the cafeteria. Emily saw several students walking along the sidewalk and going in the front doors. There was already a group of kids congregating inside the front room.*Great, now I have to walk past a whole bunch of kids. Why couldn't things be easy? *"Well, here you are." Aunt Maureen turned off the car."Um, you don't have
Zach opened the door to Ms. Fredley's office and noticed a girl the secretary was helping. She had long brown hair that hung down her back in waves. A nice body from what he could tell from the back. She looked to be a little bit taller than five feet, with a slender build. He noted the girl was looking over the papers Ms. Fredley had given her.*C'mon, turn around so I can see your face. *Ms. Fredley glanced up after Zach got done checking out the new girl, and he cleared his throat to alert her someone had come in. "Zachary, how are you? I just had the privilege of having your brother in here a few moments ago." She grimaced about having to deal with Jacob so early on in the day. "So, what can I do for you?"The call of his name again pulled Zach out of thought. "Um, Paige said she didn't have my schedule and to check with you." He kept his focus on the girl ahead of him.The girl turned at the sound of his voice and smiled.*'Ours'
That was weird. What the heck was that guy, Zach's, problem? Didn't he ever hear of common courtesy? Someone smiles at you, and you smile back.Emily took one step at a time, looking over her schedule and trying not to bump into anyone running up or down the stairwell. Her thoughts filtered back to the guy, she'd seen in the registration office.There was something about him. Like I'd seen him before. Like there was some type of connection. Maybe he resembles someone from my last school? "Oh, sorry." Emily reached out and touched the arm of the girl she almost accidentally smacked into on the second landing. The girl gave a brief nod, then continued walking.Nah, someone like Zach, I would definitely remember. But, what was it about him that made my whole body tingle. OMG, Em, you're thinking way too much into this. He was just a boy, and now he's gone.Emily opened up the door leading to
Emily followed Zach as weaved his way through the science center. She could see into the classrooms as each door was a glassed entryway, most were filled with students which made her stomach spin even more. Instead of focusing on the attention she would get arriving at her first class as the new student, Em concentrated on the guy walking two steps ahead of her.What did I do to this guy that would make him act this way? We don't even know each other.He is either stuck-up, shy, or not freakin' interested in talking to me.Good thing he's taking me to this class because the science department is a maze of classrooms, labs, and teacher's offices.At the end of one of the halls, Zach stopped and opened the door for her to enter.Emily noted the classroom was quiet when they entered. Everyone turned to watch them, well, mainly her. There were only about fifteen other kids, but it felt like hundreds when all
Why didn't I find a place she could sit beside me?What the hell is wrong with me?Why am I running from my 'supposed' mate?I didn't hear one word Mr. Warner has said since I walked in here. Doesn't every teacher use the same freakin' spill on the first day? Welcome to blah...blah...blah, this year we are going to learn about blah...blah...blah.Zach was trying not to look back at Emily or Paige.There's just something about her.'She's our mate,' his wolf said once again.'Yeah. Yeah. I get it. You said this before.Zach was once again having an internal conflict with his other-self. If he didn't know he was a shifter, he would begin to suspect he was going insane with having a wolf talking inside of him. He knew he had to speak with his older brother Adam or his father if he returned soon. There hadn't been any other girl who had made him feel and
Danny, Alex, Madison, and Zach were all in PE class together right before lunch. It was always an experience when they were all together. Today they played a quick game of B-ball. Zach and Dan liked to show off their skills in sports. It was the wolf in them that wanted the competition.The girls tried to keep up, but the guys knew they wouldn't be able to. Madison bitched, and Alex kept looking at Danny as if she was in awe of everything he did. After they changed their clothes from PE, they met back in the gym to head down to lunch."Hey, where did Alex go?" Zach noticed her abrupt disappearance.Madison smirked like she knew something was going on. "Oh, I think she had to head back to our locker for something." Zach started to walk away, but Madison tugged on his arm. "C'mon, let's get a table before they are all taken."Like they had to worry. They'd sat in the same spot for the past three years. Nothing ever changed here, well, until this year. The t
Zach dropped Danny off at his house, which was like five minutes from his own. Now he had the task of pulling up their never-ending driveway. His father wanted a piece of property that was way off the beaten path. So, he bought a house with a mile-long driveway that weaved in and out through the trees. The house sat on one hundred and fifty acres of woodland. So yep, you could say they were pretty secluded from the world.As Zach got to the driveway's end portion, he noticed Adam showed up on time. He wasn't outside, so he must have already let himself into the house. The front door was unlocked, so he must have gone through this way instead of the garage. Although technically Adam still lived at home, he didn't sleep or hang out there much. He was usually with the rest of their pack, the ones around his age. But he had full access to the house whenever he wanted."Anybody here?" Zach yelled into the empty hallway when he walked in. There was no answer, so the next bes
It seemed the rest of the younger pack members, Jacob and his crew, were on high alert on the day of the alpha's arrival. They appeared to be more wired and less tolerant of other students, which could be a good thing since they had a big football game coming up.Zach felt things with Emily was going okay. He listened to Adam and allowed his wolf to have his way. Even though she showed no genuine mate interest in him, he still felt the need to watch over her. He hoped he didn't look like some stalker type and scare her off. He kept his distance but yet tried to appear friendlier than he was the first couple of days.***Although she'd been at her new school only a week or so, Emily felt content with how everything was going. She, Alex, and Madison were getting along well, and she was excited to be included in things they were doing, like shopping and planning on going to the football game on Friday. She was on her way to her first class, not minding anything tha