CHAPTER 6: THEY MEET

It was Monday morning. The alarm went off, announcing to Christopher that it

was his first day at his new school. He groaned loudly, getting out of bed to take a

shower and get dressed.

“Are you ready for school?” Grace asked as she saw Christopher walk into the

kitchen, dragging his feet.

“Yes, I am. A little nervous, though,” Christopher replied, taking the bacon with

some eggs, “Some boys were making fun of me when we were in town, and I’m afraid

of seeing them at school. They might do the same.”

“Oh, Chris. Don’t pay them any mind. Remember, you have to ignore whatever

comments they say, or you will live in fear all your life. We’re starting fresh, and I want

you to think about it.”

Easier said than done.

Christopher finished his breakfast and headed to the bus stop in front of his

house, thinking of those words. Not long after, they picked him up and he sat on the last

seat at the back, staying away from everyone else. He could hear the other students

murmuring, and despite not hearing what they were saying, he knew they were talking

about him.

“Hey, new guy! Where did you come from, a dairy farm?” One student said,

making his friends laugh, but the rest of the bus was quiet. Christopher stayed silent for

the rest of the ride while the other kids chatted and laughed about random things. At

least he was glad they didn’t pay any mind to him for the rest of it.

The bus arrived, pulling over at the entrance before the driver opened the door.

Christopher waited for all of them to get off before he did the same.

“Hey, kid. Don’t pay them any mind. This place is a small, boring town, and they

have had nothing new to talk about for a while. Being the new student will get you a lot

of attention. Just ignore them,” the bus driver said and smiled at him before she let him

out of the bus and drove off. He stood there for a bit when he heard a pickup truck park

next to him.

“I swear, Gunner. Next time you decide to drive fast, I will not take a ride with

you,” he heard the girl yell. Did they seem to be friends, or maybe a couple? The way

they were fighting, he would have to be inclined to the first.

A compact car with a lady and another girl stopped right behind him, letting her

out.

“I’ll pick you up later, sweetie,” the lady said.

“Mom, I told you not to call me sweetie in front of my friends,” she whined, “I’ll

see you later. Love you!”

Palmer closed the car door, and suddenly he remembered where he had seen

them. They were the three friends who rode the horses to his house and tried to get him

to meet them.

Christopher didn’t waste time and hurried into the school before they noticed him.

He headed towards the principal’s office to get his class schedule. The secretary

motioned him to sit until she could print it out, and he did as told, bouncing his leg up

and down nervously while he looked around, interested in the art prints on the walls.

“Good morning, Miss Lowell,” Faith walked in with her usual cheery self and

greeted her. Miss Lowell rolled her eyes, and with a smile, she handed her the standard

mail for her teacher.

“Thank you,” Miss Lowell replied. When she turned around, she saw Christopher

sitting on the chair—looking at a book he picked up from the table next to him.

“Oh, my God! You must be Christopher!” She squealed, making both Christopher

and Miss Lowell jump in their seats. He stared at the secretary with a ‘help me’ look

while she shook her head.

“Miss Hilton, go to class,” she ordered. Nodding, Faith walked out of the office,

leaving Christopher wondering if she was as crazy as she seemed. Miss Lowell handed

him the schedule and wished him good luck on his first day of class.

Walking down the hallways until he found his first classroom, with a deep breath,

he opened the door and stepped inside. The students looked up to see who the

mysterious person had walked into class, and they all stared at him.

“You must be Christopher,” Mrs. Kay, his teacher, greeted him with a smile,

“Welcome to Stevensville High, please take an available seat so we can start our lesson

of the day.”

He looked around, and it didn’t go unnoticed that the other students were staring

at him while he was walking towards his seat. To his luck, he had to sit next to that

overexcited girl he met at the principal’s office.

No way, just my luck, he thought, looking at the floor until he sat down. Faith

couldn’t help but stare at him and leaned over to get his attention.

“Hi, I’m Faith. Nice to meet you,” she said, extending her hand for him to shake.

At first, he tried to ignore her, but she was very persistent and kept her hand in place.

“Christopher. I guess you already know that.” He replied, hesitantly shaking her

hand.

“It’s really nice to meet you. You have been the talk of the town. Oh, wait until my

friends meet you. Palmer has been dying to.”

He nodded his head, burying his face in the book, trying to tune her out and

focus on the class. Hoping the day would go by fast.

The classes were over; they all headed to the gym to watch the game and the

pep rally. Christopher sat in the first available spot, and it was right in the bottom middle

of the steel benches, just by the courtside.

He saw a few students perform, and at the end of the dance, the leading dancer

pointed in his direction and looked straight into his eyes, making him blush at her

random action. Embarrassed, he rushed out of the gym without looking back.

~~~~~~

It was finally time for the pep rally, and Palmer was getting dressed for the

performance, right after the basketball game.

“Are you ready, girls?” She asked, and they were all excited to go out there and

start the show. After they were all ready, they headed towards the boys’ locker rooms to

get them and walk to the gym where everyone was already sitting, watching the game

and waiting excitedly for the group to come in and perform.

They all knew Palmer as the most excellent dancer in school. In her small town, it

was easy to acknowledge her.

It was finally their turn to perform, and after great twists and moves to some

country and hip hop, everyone cheered and clapped.

“Palmer! Palmer! Palmer!” The students chanted her name. With a big smile,

Palmer bowed in gratitude.

When they were all about to walk back out, a boy with skin as pale as the

basketball court’s walls and hair as white as a seashell caught Palmer’s attention.

She turned over and looked at him, pointing the cane she was dancing within his

direction, but her action made him nervous and he hurried out of the gym. Palmer

watched him leave and followed him.

It might have seemed like she was stalking or harassing him, but her curiosity

and her eagerness to meet him made her run after him. She saw Christopher by the

lockers, trying to open it and take his belongings out. Without wasting time, she walked

over, approaching him before she leaned against the locker next to his.

“Hello, I’m Palmer. You must be Christopher. It’s so nice to meet you finally. I’ve

been trying to see you since that day at your house. Your mom said you were not

feeling well. Hopefully, you’re feeling better now, and we can...” she rambled, and he

looked at her with his eyebrows raised, checking out the nearest exit to get away from

her.

“I’m sorry for all my rambling. You must think I’m crazy. Anyway, it’s very nice to

meet you,” Palmer said, extending her hand, hoping he wasn’t too scared of her with all

her talking.

“Nice to meet you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my mom must be waiting for me at

the entrance. I missed my bus when I decided to stay here,” he mentioned, ignoring her

hand, but giving Palmer an idea.

“Why don’t I tell my mom to give you a ride? She takes me to the diner to get

some apple pie, and maybe I can invite you to join us. Wouldn’t that be a good idea to

get to know you?” She asked, crossing her fingers behind herself.

Christopher was silent as he made a run for the exit, making her follow him once

again. They made it to the parking lot, and luckily his mom was there, waiting. But so

was her mom.

Palmer ran towards Grace’s car and greeted her. “Hello, Mrs. Melbourne,

remember me?” She asked, and Grace, with a big smile, waved at her.

“Of course I remember you. But please, I have told you to call me Grace. Mrs.

Melbourne makes me feel old.”

“Okay, Grace. I was wondering if you could let Christopher join us at the diner for

some desserts. We’ll drop him off later. Is that okay?” She asked, eagerly. Grace looked

at Christopher, who seemed uncomfortable at the situation.

“Maybe another day. It must have been a long one for him, but I’m sure he’ll

accept next time,” she replied.

“Oh, okay. Until next time, Chris!” She said before walking away, disappointed.

Palmer saw him get in the car as she put her seatbelt on before her mom drove away,

ready to share the delicious pies she always enjoyed with her.