Chapter One: Transfer Student

“Did you hear? A new student is transferring here.” “I heard that he got kicked out of school.” “I heard that he has no parents and that he lives by himself.” The gossip filled the halls of Smallwood Falls High. Tania wondered who this new guest could be. She tucked a strand of her straight, blonde hair behind one of her ears as she made way to her locker. Turning the dial, the door swung open and she placed her books inside, taking out her Biology binder and pencil and slammed the door shut, setting the lock at 0.
As her willowy form entered into the classroom her eyes, blue as the sea, swept over at the kids, none of them looking new. She shrugged and took her seat near the window. Tania looked up at the sky, waiting for class to begin. A light breeze blew in, causing her hair to flutter slightly. How she wished she could fly, the freedom she would experience the feeling of the air underneath her body, helping her glide along the ocean of the sky.
Suddenly, Mr. Dean spoke up, breaking Tania’s thoughts. “Class, we have a new student coming in so I expect you to make him feel comfortable in his new environment.” Then, a boy with ear-length black hair and a black t-shirt came in through the door. His wild, bright-green eyes scanned the class room and settled on Tania. She felt a slight shiver going through her. After a while, the boy took her eyes off of her and met with Mr. Dean. “This is Owden Witherfield, please show respect and help him out when needed. Ok, Owden, you may take your seat next to Tania there.” He said, gesturing to Tania.
Owden made his way to his table and sat down, dropping his bag with a thud. “Now, let’s start off class with…” Mr. Dean droned. However, the rest to Tania just seemed mumbles and gibberish. She tried to focus on what he was saying, but found it very difficult to concentrate. She kept feeling eyes on her. Reluctantly, she looked beside her and there Owden was, looking at her. His eyes full of mystery but also question.
As if he wanted to ask her something. “Tania.” Mr. Dean called out. “Y-yes!?” She said, as she whipped her head to the front of the class. “Would you care to explain to the class what the evolutionary theory is?” Tania was dumbfounded. She hadn’t heard anything he said, and now he called on her! “I-…uh…T-the…um…I don’t...know?” She stammered. “Next time Tania, try to pay attention instead of looking at boys.” Mr. Dean said, turning back to the black board as a few giggles could be heard.
Soon, the cafeteria was teaming with life as third lunch began. Tania ate her cardboard flavored mashed potatoes and looked out the window, thinking about the new boy Owden. She just can’t shake the feeling that she has seen him before, or knew him from somewhere. Just then, she heard a tray slide on her table. She looked and as if by some more-than-coincidental situation, there he was, all in black eyeing her. Tania shifted uneasily, but she figured that she needs to be polite to the new kid. “Hi, I don’t think we’ve officially met, I’m Tania.” Tania introduced. “I know,” Owden began. “Uh…excuse me?” Tania asked. “We have Bio together.” Owden said matter-of-factly. “Oh yeah, what was I thinking.” Tania said embarrassingly.
After a while of awkward silence, Tania asks, “So, uh…what do you like to do?” “I like archery, as well as hanging around woodsy areas.” Owden said flatly. “Ah, archery, that’s cool, I’m sure you’ll like gym then, there’s archery during the spring.” Tania chatted. Owden nodded as if considering this and then looked like he was desperately trying to tell her something, but soon the lunch bell rang. Owden got up and noticed that Tania was kind of frozen. “You ok?” He asked. “Y-yeah, it’s just….I’m sorry but, you look familiar…” Tania began. Owden lifted his eyebrows and a spark flared in his wild eyes. But then quickly shrugged and said, “I must have one of those faces.” “Hey, are you two going to class?” The teacher that was on lunch duty asked. “Yeah, we’re leaving now.” Tania said as she got up with her tray.

Chapter Two: Mystery

As Tania was walking home, she saw Owden standing behind a tree, talking to someone who was hidden behind the trunk. She decided to walk over and say hi and as she did so, she started hearing voices and suddenly stopped, not wanting to draw attention. “…I tell you, she’s starting to remember. She recognized me from her birth, though she doesn’t know specifically from then.” A gruff voice of what Tania guessed to be a broad man replied, “Hm…I shall report it, but I think we should probably let it wear off. Aladorn is causing us much grievance and we must take action.” “You’re right Sedrel, I’m just not sure if she’s matured yet…So far, she hasn’t shown signs of it, but a lot can change in 15 years…” Owden said. “Annabel will definitely be overjoyed to her return. Soon…the light will be rekindled.”
Suddenly, Tania accidentally stepped on a twig, causing Owden to look up suddenly. “Tania.” He said surprisingly. “Hey, Owden, I just stopped by to say hi. Who was that you talking to just now?” Tania asked. “Oh, I was just talking to myself…” Owden replied. “It sounded like you were talking to someone.” Tania said as he walked up to her. “No, I was just…rehearsing for a play is all.” Owden lied. “Oh, you’re in a play?” Tania asked. “Yeah, so what if I am!?” Owden snapped, getting defensive. “Nothing, I just didn’t know you were into that.” Tania said. Then after a while of silence, Tania asks “So, this is where you live?” “Yep, there’s the house, and stuff…” Owden said in his usual bored tone. “Cool, not too far from my house. It’s right on Oak Street.” Then Tania realized that her mom is probably wondering where she was. “Oh! Speaking of which, I should probably be getting back.” Tania waved. “See ya.” Owden nodded.
That night, Tania lays awake and is staring up at the ceiling restlessly. It was strange that Owden was defensive about being in a play…Of course that could just be his personality. But he’s so mysterious, he’s so reserved, but those wild, cat-like eyes seem to want to say so much. She’s sure of it now, it was her that Owden and Sedrel, whoever he is, was talking about.
But so many questions remains unanswered…Who was Annabel? What do they mean by a light being rekindled? And what’s more, who was Aladorn? The name sounds so sinister, yet, so familiar. Soon, Tania feels drowsiness weighing down on her eyelids and before she could think even more about the situation, Tania falls in a deep sleep.
During 5th period the next day, Tania stares at Owden's back, wondering what he's thinking about. He seemed laid back, but because of this attitude, it's really hard to tell if that's how he's actually feeling. When lunch came around, Tania decides to break the silence "So, what's the play about?" "Nothing you'd be interested in." Owden said aloofly. "I heard you mentioning a man....Aladorn...what's his part?" Tania pressed on. Owden shot his head up at her, causing Tania to jump. "Okay, okay, you don't want to talk about it." Tania said defensively. Owden muttered something, but it was a little incomprehensible. "I'm sorry, what was that?" "It's nothing. Don't worry about it, Tania." He said. He then got up with everyone else as the lunch break ended. Tania remained puzzled as she made her way to her next class, because what Owden muttered sounded like "It's not the right time, yet."
As she walked home, she looked over to Owden's house, but he wasn't behind the tree. In fact, he was no where to be found outside. "Maybe he's already inside." Tania wondered out loud before continuing on home. Evening came and Tania was still busily working on her homework when she placed her hand against her head, pencil in hand motionless once again. She then stares out the window ahead of her and up into the sky, thinking about the mysterious teen. 'He has such a hard shell, it's like I can't get through to him. Maybe he likes pushing people away, and I'm just bothering him.'

She then snaps out of her daydream and continues to work until her eyes could stand no more. Turning off the lamp on her desk, she makes her way to her bed where she slips into a deep slumber.
Suddenly, flashes of a dream creeps up on Tania. She is in a room of marble walls, and a woman with mahogany colored hair makes her way to a crib and picks up a baby girl. The woman seems to be crying, tears spilling down her cheeks and onto the baby's forehead. She then sees the mother place the baby in a basket and handing it to a boy no more of the age of five with short black hair and then she seems to be laying on her back, looking at a night sky as trees fly by. Then the basket with the baby in it was placed on a doorstep when suddenly, a sinister face of an old man popped out like in a screamer video. Tania shot up in her bed, panting. 'What an awful dream....'

She then laid back down and stared at the ceiling for what seemed like a half an hour before her eyes closed once more.
The next day, Owden did something suprising--he approached Tania of his own will. "Hi..." Tania said taken aback at the sudden change in character. "Hi." He replies. Tania feels a little creeped out, he was just standing there staring at her! "Uhm...can I...help you?" Tania shifted nervously. "Are you alright?" Owden asked. Tania gave a twisted look. "Other than being weirded out by you getting into my personal space, I'm fine." Owden stepped back a couple of steps mumbling an apology before saying, "It's just that I could tell something's bothering you." "It's nothing...just a reoccuring dream I've had since I was little." Tania shook her head. "Maybe if you told me about it, it would make you feel better." Owden said. "I'll tell you about it during lunch, right now we're about to be late for class."
The day dragged on slowly until it was finally lunch period. Owden sat across from Tania as she starts relaying the dream to him. "I see...Can you remember how far back that dream started?" Owden asked. Tania shrugged. "Since I was very very young. When I was 2 years old I remember seeing that woman with brunette hair smiling at me. But then when I was four, that's when I started dreaming about the woman crying and then just as she started handing me to someone that scary old man would pop up. As years grew on, the dreams would get more and more detailed until it just stuck with what I told you now." Owden grew distant then, a tense silence drew on until Owden said, "I wouldn't worry about it. It's just a dream, right?" Tania looked at him in shock. Was he...smiling? Tania leaned over. "What are you doing!?" Owden snapped causing Tania to flinch back. "I was just about to feel your head for a temperature, are you feeling okay, Owden? Seriously, you haven't really been acting yourself today." Owden rolled his eyes. "I'm trying to be friends with you, I'm at least meeting you half way, aren't I?" Tania wasn't sure how to reply, "Oh...Well, I guess we're friends then." She smiled. Suddenly the bell rang for classes to begin again.
"Ugh...second day of school and they're already bogging us down with tons of homework plus a quiz on top of it!" Tania groaned then she sees Owden talking to himself again, most likely rehearsing for the play he's in. Whatever he was saying, Tania cut him off. "Hey, Owden!" she waved. He looked over at her with a slightly annoyed look but came over and greeted her. "Would you like to come over to my place? I mean, I figured since we're friends now we could help each other study and maybe get the crap load of work done quicker." Owden nodded with a smile. "Show the way-." Tania turned and headed home, not knowing that Owden was about to say something but then decided to end the sentence awkwardly.
"Mom, I'm home!" Tania called. Soon, a woman with wavy blonde hair turned around from the kitchen. "Mom, this is Owden. I hope you don't mind, but I brought a friend with me to help me with homework." "Hi, I'm Tania's mom. Now if you need anything, just call." She smiled. Owden nodded as they headed up to Tania's room.
"Okay, so if X equals the square root of sixty-six plus two hundred and fourty-three, divided by twenty-five...times one hundred and eighty nine...divided by nintey four...then x equals...?" Tania took her head in her hand. "Thirty-Eight point Sixty-Four," Owden said. "You must've gotten confused and entered the Nintey-Four in first when you should've entered twenty-five." "Yeah, I see it now." Tania sighed moving onto the next problem. Suddenly, her calculator slipped and landed on the floor with a thud. "I'll get it." She said as she bent down to pick it up. Just as she sat back up she suddenly felt fingertips between her shoulder blades causing her to jump before shuddering. "What the heck!?" Tania snapped, she hated getting jumped like that. "Sorry, I saw a bug on you and I was about to brush it off, but then you started getting up." Owden apologized. Tania teased, "Just don't even think about making a move on me, we came here to do homework." Owden blushed as he looked down on his papers.
"Still, you really seemed to like it." He said after a while. "Hm?" Tania looked over her shoulder. "When I brushed your shoulders...You looked like you really enjoyed that." He said. Tanya shrugged. "My shoulders have always been sensitive. While mom was feeding me when I was a baby, she said she would rub my shoulders to make me burp because patting my back wouldn't work and would make me cry." Owden smiled as he resumed his work. "...Your mom has taken good care of you, hasn't she?" Tanya nods. "We've had our moments, but over all she treats me well. She raised me all by herself and sacrificed almost everything to make sure I was raised right." "I'm glad..." Owden said. Tania looked over at him. "Truth is...I live alone. You see, my parents were killed." Tania gasped in shock. "I'm so sorry..." "Don't worry about it." Owden shrugged. "How did they-...I mean, if you don't want to say that's fine." Tanya said quickly. "Drunk driver. T-boned right into them." He said. "...Could you help me with this one?" Tania asks, showing him the paper. Owden took it and examined it. "Just divide this by this and add seventeen to the answer. Then you take the new answer and multiply that by thirty-nine. You should get Seventy-Eight." Owden said. "I see, thanks." Tania smiled.
"Well, it's getting late, I should be going." Owden said. "Okay, thank you for the help." Tania said. "Don't mention it." Then suddenly he freezes. "Tonight's a half moon, isn't it?" Tania looks at him with a puzzled glance. "According to the calendar. Why?" Owden just shook his head, "No reason. See you later." He waved.
That night Tania stared up at the ceiling once more. 'Just when I thought Owden couldn't get any weirder...' She then turns over and gazed across the room up at the sky. She suddenly makes her way to the window bench and sits as she tilts her head up to gaze at the half moon. 'I just wish I could figure him out...he wants to reach out, but he doesn't want to look weak so he tries to act so cold and distant. Then again, he did open up a little and became a friend so I must be doing something right.'
The next morning, Tania gets up from the window bench. Her legs and arms stiff from falling asleep in such a cramped place, she groans as she gets up and stretches. "I can't believe I fell asleep at the window..." she mutters to herself.

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Texte: H.L. Dyer
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 03.04.2012

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