Safer Outside (A Mature YA Romance) (The Outside Series) (2 page)

Chapter Three

Fresh Start

When I stepped off the bus, there were three other kids my age that got off with me. I didn’t recognize any of them but they obviously knew each other because they quickly grouped up and started talking. I pretended to look for something in my bag to put some space between us. Walking alone was better than tagging along behind them like I was trying to butt into their conversation.

“Liz,” Kim called out
as soon as I stepped past the gym building. God bless her for remembering not to call me Beth.

“Hey.” I walked up to her and scoped out the area. “So, have you seen anyone else yet?”

“I saw Jen and Allie but they’re at their lockers. I’d say we should find them but there are too many hot guys to be seen. Do you remember Austin Walker? He’s like 6 foot now and gorgeous.”

“Wasn’t he kinda scrawny?
The guy with the weird hair?” As if I was one to talk about looks in middle school. But Austin always had big, blond curls that looked like a loose afro. It was kinda cute in a way but he was always the class clown so it was hard to imagine him as anything but dorky.

“Well, ma’am, he’s all growed up and lookin’ fine.” She shifted her body so she could see everyone coming in from the parking lot. “He was by his car earlier. You’ll notice him when you see him. Trust me.”

The people watching lasted another fifteen minutes before the warning bell rang and we separated for our first period classes. “Meet me at my locker at break. I’m D75,” Kim said as she headed to class.

I was less enthusiastic as I walked
straight to geometry without stopping at my locker. When I got into the classroom, there were only a few other students inside. I took a seat toward the back, hoping to keep a low profile until I could feel out the reaction to my new look. As the room filled up, I noticed several familiar faces. Kids I’d known since kindergarten as well as others I saw in middle school but didn’t really know well. Of the thirty students in the room, only four or five were new to me.

The balding man at the front of the room stood up and waited for the chatter to die down. As everyone settled in, he introduced himself and began taking roll. After about ten names, I knew I was coming up. It was the first test of my pretend confidence
in taking on a new identity.

“Elizabeth Martin,” Mr. Ferry said.

“Present. And it’s Liz.” About twenty heads turned in my direction when I announced my new name. I didn’t make eye contact with anyone but Mr. Ferry, but I could see the strange looks in my periphery. They were trying to place me. Either that or they were amused at my attempt to rebrand myself. Only time would tell if it was a worthwhile effort.

“Liz it is,” he mumbled as he made a note in his grade book.

The glances continued throughout class. When the bell finally rang, I hightailed it out of there before I could get stopped for questioning.

My second class was
film and there were more upperclassmen than I expected. Film was one of the electives that was a good filler for graduation credits when you wanted an easy course load. I was probably one of the few people that took the class because I was actually interested in the subject. Having stopped at my locker to drop off my ginormous geometry book, I walked into the room with just a few seconds to spare. It was full and the only open seat was in the middle of the front row. Awesome.

Mrs. Zimmerman was a sweet older woman that insisted we each offer a ‘fun fact’ about ourselves during her roll call. Okay, test number two. Not only did I have to introduce myself to a room full of complete strangers, I had to tell them something that would leave a good impression. I racked my brain as she worked her way from A to L. By the time she called me, I wanted to vomit. But, generally a quick thinker under pressure, I rallied.

“Hi. My name is Liz and I’m a sophomore. The only interesting thing I can think of about myself is that when I was little, my mom and I missed a plane that was hijacked.”

The chuckles that followed most of the other introductions, and that I expected to hear after mine, never came. With an awkward giggle of my own, I tucked my chin and let my
long hair hide the burn I felt in my cheeks. I didn’t even hear the name that was called after mine. I would have kept my eyes locked on my bloody cuticles for the rest of the class if a deep voice next to me didn’t grab my attention.

“
I’m Adam Fischer and I am very happy Liz and her mom missed that flight.” The room filled with laughter. I glanced up into deep blue eyes and recognized him immediately. Adam was Allie’s older brother. I hadn’t seen him in several years and he’d definitely filled out since the last time we went swimming together at the Fischers’ house. His sweet smile elicited a smile of my own. Thank god for a friendly face. Although I did wonder if he called me Liz out of respect for my wishes, or if he didn’t remember my name so it was easier to just latch onto the new moniker. Whatever. He did exactly what I wanted so I wasn’t about to question it.

“I think we all agree with that sentiment, Adam. But, can you share a fun fact of your own?” Mrs. Zimmerman wasn’t mean about it but she definitely wasn’t going to let him get away without his own share moment.

“Oh, um, I guess the most interesting thing about me is that I wrote a book when I was fourteen. It’s not published or anything but hopefully it will be someday.” Adam was speaking to the class but his quick glance my way made me feel like he was saying it directly to me. A book? That was pretty impressive
and
interesting. I really needed to step up my game if Liz was going to have any chance at popularity.

When we were finally released for
break, Adam walked out with me. “So, is that true? You were almost hijacked?”

“Supposedly
. Crazy, huh?” I don’t know what happened to the people on that plane but my mom has had a thing against flying ever since.

“Definitely.
Did you move away and move back or something?”

So he did remember me. Cool.

“We did move away but I hated my new school so I was able to transfer back here. Hopefully, I’ll be here through graduation.” He walked with me all the way to the bank of D lockers but when we saw Allie at Kim’s locker, he stopped short.

“Well, welcome back. It’s good to see you.” He squeezed my shoulder and turned back in the direction we came from.

“Thanks. You too,” I said loudly over my shoulder as he disappeared into the crowd.

“Beth!” Allie cried out as soon as she saw me approach. “I’m so happy to see you.”

Test number three. Would the few people that truly remembered me be able to keep up the charade? “I go by Liz now.”

“Oh, I love that name. Okay,
Liz
, welcome back!” She was a sweet blonde that never had an unkind word to say about anyone, which was ironic because her bible-thumping parents passed judgment on people every chance they got. It was amazing that she and Adam had turned out so well.

“Thanks. Hey, I just saw Adam. He’s like…hot. When did that happen?” I laughed. He was always a good looking kid but he’d definitely come into his own over the past few years.

“Uh, yeah. I don’t know. I hardly ever see him. He lives with my mom and I mostly stay at my dad’s.”

I glanced at Kim for help. She gave me a shrug and pulled a Clif bar from her purse.

“You live with your dad? Did your parents get divorced or something?” I felt like a shitty friend for not knowing her parents separated.

“Yeah.
Last year. It’s fine. They weren’t happy so it’s probably for the best. The weirder part is that Adam and I don’t live together. I’ve barely seen him all summer. I think he’s avoiding me.” She looked sad but it didn’t seem like the right time to go into a deep conversation. We only had a few minutes and I had to pee.

“I’m sorry to hear that. But, I just saw Adam and he seemed great. Maybe he’s got girl problems or something.” I was trying to lighten the mood but it was clear that he wouldn’t have any problem getting girls. If anything, he probably had too many to choose from.

“Uh, I don’t think girls are the problem,” Kim said snidely. There was definitely more to the story but she had been left out for too long. I loved that girl but she always needed to be the center of every conversation.

“So, did you meet any cute guys yet?
” She waited about a second for me to answer then jumped back in. “Oh, have you seen Austin? He’s like a god. Let’s try to find him at lunch and see if we can get his attention.”

Having always been thin and blonde and rich, Kim never had to try to get a guy’s attention. But, for my sake, she liked to act as if she had to work for it. It was sweet but completely unnecessary. I knew that she was the hot girl and I was the hot girl’s friend. That was how it had always been
, and I had no illusions that a new name and smaller dress size would change anything.

“Not yet but we’ll find him at lunch. I’m sure he’ll be looking for you too,” I teased, even though it was probably true.

“Well, I have P.E. with Jen right before lunch so we’ll find you guys.” Allie waved as she walked down the hall.

“I need to run to the restroom so I’ll see you later. Text me if you find them before I find you so I’m not wandering around like a loser.”

~**~

My next two classes were similarly uneventful as the first two. I saw a lot of people I knew and only a few called me Beth. That wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected. When I walked into the cafeteria to pick up a salad and diet Coke, I found Allie and
Jen already in line. Jumping in with them, we quickly paid for our food and went in search of Kim…and Austin.

It didn’t take long for us to find her at the front of the school. She was sitting on a retaining wall near the flagpole with a group of older guys around her.
Of course. I didn’t recognize Austin but when I walked up to her, he stepped in front of me to introduce himself.

“Liz, right?
We have French together. I thought I recognized you.” He gave me a hug that I wasn’t expecting. My arms instinctively wrapped around him and brushed against his muscular back. He was tall and slim but had a country boy style that we didn’t see very often in the burbs. Kim wasn’t kidding when she said he’d grown up. He still seemed goofy, with a toothy grin on his face, but he was less awkward that I remembered. And his hair was now cut very short with just some wavy curls on the top of his head. It was  good look.

“Hey, Austin.
It’s great to see you. I didn’t even realize you were in my class. I was just trying not to sound like an idiot when I introduced myself en français.” I laughed awkwardly because he was still holding me even though we weren’t really hugging anymore.

Allie and Jen also said hi and that broke the spell that had Austin holding my
biceps like I was about to keel over. Maybe I was. I was definitely in shock at his overly warm welcome.

While they talked about their summer and the classes they had that morning, I glanced around at the other people in the group. There were about six guys that I didn’t recognize that had obviously been with Austin before he started talking to us. They were all older, juniors or seniors, and seemed to be checking us out. Well, they were mos
tly checking out Kim but one guy was staring at me.

He had dark brown hair and deep
hunter green eyes that seemed to be glued to me every time I glanced in his direction. His strong jaw line was perfectly kissable and made me wonder what it would feel like under my fingertips. Or my lips. His straight hair hung down over his eyes a little and matched the super model vibe he was giving off. And there was something about his intense stare that gave me chills. I couldn’t tell if they were the good kind or the bad kind but his cool and confident demeanor made me feel even more insecure under his gaze.

His tan skin looked like he’d just stepped off the beach and I wondered why he was watching me.
I couldn’t help rubbing my nose and running my tongue over my teeth to make sure I didn’t have something green in either spot. When I couldn’t stand it anymore, I turned my back to the group and pulled a small mirror out of my purse to check my face. Nothing seemed wrong.

When I turned back around, the guy that had been watching me and one of his friends were standing right beside Austin.
Without breaking eye contact with me, he nudged Austin.

“Hey, Auz, who are your friends?” Austin looked up and realized he was
staring at me so I was his first introduction.

“This is Liz. She didn’t go here last year but I knew her in middle school. You probably remember Kim from last year. She’s a sophomore now. And these two are Jen and Allie.” Jen and Allie were definitely the
shy types. Both were pretty and very smart but preferred to get attention for their high grades rather than their fashion sense. I could appreciate that. When your best friend is god’s gift to men, you get used to being a wing woman and not relying on your looks. It was a life lesson I was glad I learned early in life. I only wish my mom would have learned it at some point. “Ladies, this is Logan Cooper and that’s Randy Thompson hiding behind him.”