Strange Encounters

I stare at the two big slabs of metal that make up the entrance, terrified because they're the only thing separating me from my new and terrifying life. I debate on just leaving and pretending that this place never existed. My mom would kill me, and my sister. I let out a strangled breath and placed my palm upon the door, mentally preparing myself for this dreadful journey. 

I break the spell as I push the door open with little force. A high-pitched sound rings from the door as it moves on its old rusting hinges. A sound, almost as if the door was warning me, telling me to turn around and book it out of there. For a second I almost listened, but I couldn't get away fast enough, a bright and beaming boy hops his way to me with an outstretched hand and a million dollar smile slapped onto his face. 

“Hello, my name is Gianni. Gianni Travis!” HI's hand remains pushed out between us as I take a hesitant second to take it all in. He also takes a second to trace my bing with his eyes and my face glows a faint red as I blush unknowingly. There was this tension in the air, an awkward, strangling tension. He shakes off the feeling, as do I, and he beams impossibly brighter.

“I’ll be your personal tour guide, chauffeur, and best friend for the next million years.” I let out a light chuckle and finally placed my hand in his, shaking firmly. He sauces up another dazzling smile as he shifts to my left and links our arms together. We push forward, shuffling our feet as we make our way through the perplexing hallways. Gianni’s voice faintly mumbling something about the soccer team's last match and pointing different things out as we make our way around the school. I risk a glance at the clock on my phone to see that he has about 12 minutes till classes start. Gianni, having seen me glance at my phone, took the hint and went on to ask about my schedule. I pull the bright yellow colored paper and hand it to him to skim over. I stumble a little as we continue walking, causing me to tumble forward and crash into an unsuspecting figure. 

I feel Gianni's arm let go of me and I also feel a cold stone-like arm reach behind me, placing itself roughly on my lower back. I let out a tiny pained noise and the hold on my back instantly loosens and is now as gentle as can be. I cling slightly to the mystery person to stop myself from colliding with the floor. Smells nice. Lavender and something else, a faint smell that seemed so familiar, as if I'd seen it many times during my lifetime. I’d have to think about it later. 

Gianni lets out a gasp and crushingly pulls me away from the person before I could even look at their face. I squeak out a tiny apology and lower my head to the ground before continuing to walk with Gianni. Before I can ask about the encounter, Gianni starts rambling about schedules. 

“So we have all classes together except the one right before lunch”, He says more to himself than to me. I think about that wonderful smell that had hit my nose when I was near that person and got lost in my head. I glare jokingly at Gianni from the corner of my eye as he laughs at my dazed expression. We head toward a class and as we are about to enter, Gianni steps back, so I can go first, with his hand raised and his head bowed. I smacked the side of his head lightly, getting just what he was getting at. My face collides with something hard and the only thing that crosses my mind as I go barreling towards the floor is, ‘Is this really happening again?’ The same soothing smell from earlier hits my nose and I again clutch embarrassingly at the figure to avoid getting too close to the floor. My eyes drop into my shoes instantly as I regain my balance and release my grip, I let out a breathy giggle and step aside yet again, voicing a small apology. 

Gianni just looks over my shoulder at the stranger that I’d made a show of running into multiple times. It takes all I’ve got to not turn and take a good look at the stranger. I turn my head to the right to see if maybe their features can be seen from the corner of my eyes, but all I can tell is that they are tall and moderately muscular. I curse silently at myself. I would have turned to see who the person was, but my pride got in the way. I didn't want to seem like a creep, not on my first day here. I turn my body to face Gianni's direction and I pull at his arm to get him to sit down on the empty desk in front of us. By the time we got seated the stranger was long gone as they had speed walked away from the class, probably desperately wanting to escape the second awkward encounter with me. 

All the possibilities skim my mind as the teacher gets the class started. Eyes unfocused as I think about the stranger instead of the lesson. Gianni notices the haze and shakes my arm lightly, pulling my attention to the board. I wrote down the notes on the board in a rush, Thankfully the teacher kept nagging, so I had loads of time before the next page of notes. The class flew by so fast, I barely noticed though because my head was filled with a certain stranger. The bell rang, loud and annoying. At the sound, students came flying out of the classroom, storming off to their next class. I get out of my seat after the stampede subsides. Gianni waits for me next to my desk. 

Gianni being the amazing tour guide he is kept rambling about the school history, I got to know every single thing about this school talking to Gianni for an hour than I could have by myself in a year. I mock him jokingly and let out a loud short laugh as he shoves my shoulder with some force. My body was leaning to the right a bit from the push. My shoulder collides with someone else and I stumble forward. Before I could even catch myself, Gianni had his hands wrapped around my arm, hoisting me up into a full standing position. I glow a hue of red and cough to try to cover the awkward moment. I looked at Gianni, and I both burst, we couldn't contain our laughter. 

I couldn't help but notice the figure retreating from the scene. I study the people, turning away from us as they rush away from us. I remember the shape of the person, I guess I just had the third encounter with them. I hope I'm not making them mad. I don't mean to run into them, I'm not usually a clumsy person. A frown paints its way onto my face. Why couldn't we just meet officially on normal terms? Gianni and I made our way to our next class just in time for the bell to make another loud ring. 

I'm too busy shoving myself into the nearest seat and dragging Gianni to our seats near the front to notice the gloomy figure in the corner of the classroom.  I let out a breathless laugh as we settled down waiting for the teacher. My eyes scan the classroom, all the anxious teenagers. A group of girls stood huddled together talking, blocking my view of the back of the class. As I take in the layout of the class, I feel Gianni's arm shove into my side and I let out a hiss as I watch him tumble from his chair and land on the waxed but dirty floor. I roll my eyes playfully and help him get off the floor and back into his chair again. 

The class goes on and chills roll down my spine as an unsettling feeling flows through my body. Eyes. I could feel but not see the pair of eyes burning holes into the side of my face. I rolled back my shoulders slightly, shaking off the creepy feeling and focused on the lesson. Finally, after about half an hour later, the annoying but wonderful bell ran out and students then again rushed out all at once. Gianni and I made our way to the lunchroom and settled down at a plain table.

The unsettling feeling doesn't leave my head as I still feel eyes on me, this time it feels more like multiple pairs.  I hesitantly scan the cafeteria, moving my head but my body stays stiff. I look at all the strange faces, a frown graces my face as I face Gianni. He's distracted by something and it only deepens my frown as I study the distressed look he holds. I followed his gaze and saw just what he was looking at that got him so upset. A teasing manner runs through me as I turn to him, jabbing his side with my elbow.

“So, why didn't you tell me, your ‘best friend for the next million years, that you were in love?” I exclaimed loudly. He shoves me violently but playfully for the second time today and attempts to cover my mouth with his rough palm.  I let out a very girly shriek while I tumbled to the floor in a laughing heap. I get up and place my hand on someone's shoulder as I get off the floor. I didn't stop to think about who’s shoulder I laid my hand on, I just slowly lifted myself off the floor. Gianni’s face twists up in shock then fear and confusion flows through me. My hand still rests on the mystery person, a wave of gasps flows through the room and a lot of bodies shuffle to face me. My hands lift off the person's shoulder shakingly.

I turn to walk to Gianni, who looks like his heart is about to stop. A breathless gasp leaves my mouth when I feel a large hand grip my wrist, stopping me dead in my tracks. I had no idea who it was at first, but the sweet alluring scent hit my nose and I then had a good idea who was holding my hand hostage. His grip wasn't harsh, but it was not gentle. I didn't want to seem weak, I couldn't be labeled as an easy target on my first day. I very pointedly don't turn around and squeeze my hand out of his. Another wave of gasps. I turn my head a little to the right and glare around the room. I tried to recreate the scary look I had seen someone else use before. 

It had seemed to work, all the prying eyes had left him and everyone was minding their own business. I take a wild guess and speak out, hoping that the strange guy I had been running into all day was still paying attention.

“I don’t feel like I have to say sorry again, I’ve said it enough today dont you think?” I don't wait for a response, I walk to Gianni whose mouth was open and his eyes wide. I swipe my bag off the floor and continue walking away. I hear running feet and voices behind me.  My head stays angled at the floor, feet marching forward. I thought Gianni was walking next to me, maybe he caught up from his frozen spot. I don't know what happened exactly, but I got so fed up with everything today and maybe that's why I snapped. 

Another girly sound rips from my throat as a figure suddenly makes its way in front of me, causing me to run into them. I fell onto my backside hard, it was definitely going to bruise. After a big battle in my head I look up,  I'm suddenly met with penetrating eyes peering down at me. My eyes fill with confusion then hurt and anger. I knew that Stranger all too well.