A Unique Kind of Love (2 page)

I was never one to fear new beginnings considering this was the seventh home I lived in. In the span of four years, I had gone to seven different schools, met different kinds of people and lived in unique types of houses. I was aware of what was waiting for me tomorrow.

Pressure. 

Questions would be asked and answers would have to be given. I’d have to walk away from the spotlight and fade away from the minds of students who loved the 
new girl. I would go back into the turtle shell I built myself.

A particular star winked at me in the sky and it got me thinking about Dad.

I often wondered why life could be so fair, yet cruel. Growing up without a father for the past seven years was hard. I saw my mother cry on his birthdays and, of course, I also carried around the memory of my fellow 4th grade ‘friends’ practically engraving the idea that I
murdered
my dad in my mind. Mom often said that I wasn't to blame, that it was his fate to die. Still, it wasn’t something anyone can just forget. 

A shooting star shot through the sky, and I closed my eyes.

I wish that this year brings me happiness,
I thought.

♥♥♥♥♥

I forced a big smile as I looked at myself in the mirror, my reflection looking ecstatic. Letting go of the strain I was feeling, my lips fell into a straight line. I gave the rest of my features a cursory look. My long, dull chestnut brown hair flowed to my waist, and not even the sunlight hitting it could make it appear any more special than it was. 

I wrapped a silver bracelet around my wrist. "Let's do this," I murmured.

"LENA! YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE!" called Mom, disturbing the moment of peace I was having and making me jump in fright. I shook my head, chuckling absent-mindedly.

You'd think that after 17 years of living with her, I would've gotten used to her yelling that I was going to be late, which I never was, but I could swear that her screaming gets louder every time.  I slipped my comfy, soft jean jacket on and hopped down the stairs. 

I placed a kiss on her forehead. "Good morning," I said.

I mentally pinched my nose as I did so; I hated the smell of coffee. Mom gave me a small smile, sipping on her black, steaming drink. Her onyx black hair was in an elegant bun and she was in her business clothes, which meant that she was going to work.

 "Good morning sweetheart,” she said, checking something on her phone. She looked up at me and gave me a small smile. “You ready?”

I nodded, pouring myself a cup of apple juice.

“Oh, I just remembered,” said my mom, lifting her eyes from the magazine. “One of my co-workers’ daughter goes to this school. Look for her, Stacy Hennings. Okay?" I noticed the familiar kindness and worry in her gaze. Noticing my absence of response, she prodded: “Okay, Lena?”

I rolled my eyes. Mom always had a fear of me being friendless. But what she didn't understand was that sometimes, I wanted to be alone. I'd gladly choose re-reading
Looking for Alaska
on a Saturday night than partying with a bunch of stuck-up teenagers. I was just that kind of person.

Saluting like a soldier, I replied. "Yes, mother." She looked at me, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" I exclaimed, feeling self-conscious all of a sudden. She walked over to me and stuffed a waffle in my mouth. 

I immediately removed the oversized waffle from my mouth and glared at her, both of us extremely amused.

"I was just wondering what I've ever done to deserve a daughter like you," she winked, poking my nose.

I folded my arms over my chest and pouted. "Is that a compliment or an insult?" 

"A little bit of both," she answered, putting her now empty cup in the sink. She pointed at it and I nodded.

"Hey! And I'll do them, I know."

After a few minutes of the daily teasing and fighting, I walked out the door, blowing her a kiss. 

“Love you!" I exclaimed, taking a red apple and walking to our front door.

"Take care! Watch out for cars and don't forget to smile and be happy!" shouted Mom. I closed the door behind me and took a deep breath. I felt a smile appear on my face, making me feel just a little bit better.

Sure, it was autumn, but the weather was extraordinary. The sun was out, perfectly shining, but there was a breeze cooling the slight heat. The leaves of the trees surrounding my neighborhood were red, orange and yellow, making the view breathtaking. I wished I had my camera to capture this moment. My dream has always been to become a photographer, to save every moment of every sunrise, sunset and every scene that takes my breath away.

I began my route to my new school, Albany High School. During the summer, I had walked by the school so many times, I knew the way by heart. I plugged my earphones on and put them in my ears.
Lego House
was playing, and that was because it had been on replay for a few days. I hummed its tune softly as I walked to the high school in which I'd spend my senior year.

It was time to pick up the pieces and build a Lego house.

♥♥♥♥♥

After about 15 minutes, I arrived at my new high school. Unlike all those summer days when there was no one, it was now packed with teenagers. And seriously, it was chaos. As my eyes scanned the scene before me, all I could see were footballs being thrown around, making any path to the main entrance impossible.

Jocks these days.

There was a girl leaning her back against a giant tree, absent-mindedly smiling as she gently rocked her head. I could see ear buds in her ear and I figured she was listening to the music she loved.

A group of girls were gossiping about something, concentrating on that subject. I frowned upon seeing one of them dressed in underwear, or as they called them, short-shorts. It was autumn for God's sake! If you needed to get lustful gazes from guys, you should've done it during summer, instead of risking hypothermia.

I headed to the main entrance, eager to get my schedule. I muttered a few "Excuse me’s" along the way. Some students looked at me, as if analyzing me with their eyes.

Why wouldn't they?

I was the new girl. 

Out of nowhere, something hard hit the back of my head. Black spots clouded my vision and I felt my body fall to the ground as I lost consciousness. 

Well, gosh diddly darn, what a great start to the new school year!

2

Surprise and Meetings

“I’ve fallen for your eyes, but they don’t know me yet.”

~Ed Sheeran~

Lena Rose Winter

I felt reality come rushing back to my head, which ached painfully, by the way.

I opened my eyes. I blinked several times to clear the hazy view in front of me.

"Thank god!” exclaimed a worried-looking blonde, gorgeous girl. “You're okay. She's okay, everybody! Now, go away, shoo!"

Shockingly, every single person who was around me a second ago, dispersed like they were bees and the girl was their Queen.

Lifesaver Barbie extended her hand towards me. “Thanks,” I said, brushing whatever dirt there was on my pants. I momentarily felt relieved that I hadn’t chosen to wear white skinny jeans today.

"Hi, I'm Stacy, are you okay?" Lifesaver Barbie asked kindly.

Great.
My first potential friend’s initial impression of me was that I was a clumsy, fainting freak.

"Uh, hello! I'm Lena.” I said, giving her a smile. “Are you the Hennings' daughter? I think our parents work together.”  I clutched the back of my head, feeling a bump forming. The pain still thudded against my skull.

"Yeah, that's me! Sorry about that, Ryan and the rest of the boys can just be
so
stupid sometimes!” And she giggled. I mentally flinched. Giggles were like laughs sent from fairyland.

Then again, why would anyone deny Stacy Hennings a giggle? She was the epitome of beauty. She had long, cascading blonde hair that made her look as if she wore a golden cloak of silk over her head. She had bright blue eyes and simple, yet delicate features. She was wearing shorts and a blue t-shirt that showed a little too much cleavage.

I let out a small laugh. “It’s fine. After all, what’s a first day of school without a little bit of fainting?”

♥♥♥♥♥

Looking at my schedule, I felt content.

Pre-calculus 
Art
AP World History 
AP Biology 
(Lunch) 
French 4
AP English Literature

Stacy peeked at my schedule and let out a small squeal. A shudder ran through my body, but I hid it quite well. This was the fifth time she’d squealed so far in the day, and it was only 9:25 am.

Oh, god. This was going to be a long day.

“We have French together!” she exclaimed. “And it’s first period too!”

I took a deep breath and gave her a smile as I motioned for the heavy bag I carried. “I’ve gotta go put my stuff in my locker. I’ll see you in class!” I said, already walking away.

She furrowed her perfectly plucked eyebrows in confusion. “But you don’t know where it is?”

“I’ll figure it out!”

Breathing a sigh of relief, I walked towards the hall where my locker would be.

Okay, so here are the five hundreds.

After a bit of walking, I finally found mine. I put my bag on the ground and started emptying its contents into the locker. I was humming
Wonderwall
beneath my breath. My locker was right beside the drinking fountain and there appeared to be a small leak because there was a small puddle of water spreading on the ground beneath it.

I sang softly, not giving it further thought. I put the French book on one of the wooden portable shelves, I brought with me. “
’I said maybe you're going to be the one that saves me. And after all, you're my wonderwall
…
’
”

Suddenly, I mistakenly stumbled on the bag behind me and almost fell. My heart stopped for a second. I regained my balance by clutching on the locker door. “Oh, god.”

Apparently, I’d underestimated the ability of water expanding because at that moment, I slipped on the puddle of drinking water. I let out a scream and mentally braced myself to fall on the already wet ground.

Instead, a strong arm steadied my waist. I opened my eyes and met blue, ocean-like ones. They were unlike any other color I’d ever seen. They were soft, yet sharp at the same time. A boy, probably a senior as well, saved me from the fall.

He was extremely attractive. But not in the
hot
way, it was a simple, handsome attractiveness. He let go of my waist and gave me a small nod and walked away.

My eyes widened for a second. “Thank you!” I called out after him. I wasn’t even sure that he heard me. I looked down at my wet shoes and grimaced. My favorite red Converse was partly soaked. I could feel the water penetrating into my socks.

I let out a frustrated groan just as the bell rang, signaling that we had to go to class. I took my French book,
L’Apprentissage de La Vie.

Taking a look at my schedule, I headed to my first class with – Mme Lapointe. I suddenly remembered an old French quote I had read somewhere when I learned French in California. It reminded me of the boy who’d saved my life.