Chapter Four

*Deep breath in, deep breath out.*

Emily kept telling herself this as they got closer to the school. She didn't know why she was so nervous. She'd done this so many times before that she should be used to it.

Aunt Maureen turned off the highway road, went through some gates, and back a paved entranceway. Off to Emily’s right was a parking lot, maybe the student parking lot.

*Well no, duh, Em, that's what the sign said.*

Her aunt pulled up to the front of the building and parked in the visitor spot. The school was red brick and had massive windows in the front looking into the cafeteria.

Emily saw several students walking along the sidewalk and going in the front doors. There was already a group of kids congregating inside the front room.

*Great, now I have to walk past a whole bunch of kids. Why couldn't things be easy? *

"Well, here you are." Aunt Maureen turned off the car.

"Um, you don't have to go in with me. I'm sure I can find the office." Emily stepped out of the car.

"Don't be silly, Em. I'll at least walk you into the office. I do this every time on your first day." Aunt Maureen gracefully stepped out of her Escalade. Em followed with her head bowed down.

They went in through the front doors that led past the cafeteria. Emily glanced around at things as they move down the hall. It looked like an auditorium on the left side, and a trophy case was placed along the wall.

Of course, it was like every other time. All the boys stopped and stared at Aunt Maureen. Why wouldn't they? She was hot. Blond hair, blue eyes, and a killer body. They gawked at her like she was walking around in a thong instead of her business outfit. Emily wanted to wipe the drool off their mouths.

They finally made it past all the salivating boys and into the front office, which was only a little past the cafeteria. Aunt Maureen opened the door and motioned for Emily to go through. They both walked up to the desk where an older lady with short dark brown curly hair and glasses was seated.

"Hello, Ms. Dixon. This is Emily Beauford. She's a new transfer student this year." Aunt Maureen nudged Emily toward the desk.

"Hi, Emily. Welcome to West Lakes. How are you this morning?" Ms. Dixon asked in an overly friendly voice.

"Thanks. I'm doing fine," Emily replied in barely a whisper.

"Well, Emily can head over to the admissions office, which is right around the corner. Ms. Fredley should have her schedule," Ms. Dixon told them where to go as she got up to show them out the door.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Aunt Maureen asked as they left the office.

"Yeah, I should be." Emily watched as other kids moved in the direction of the office.

"Well, I'll see you after work. Meet me in the front." Aunt Maureen gave Emily a quick hug and walked back toward the entrance.

Emily went in the direction Ms. Dixon told her to go. A couple of kids passed her along the way. They kept glancing at her over their shoulders, looking her up and down. It was so hard being the new kid.

Emily glanced up and located the sign she was looking for.

*Well, that wasn't too hard to find.*

The admissions office was only around the corner and four doors down, like Ms. Dixon said it would be. That was easy. Emily hoped the rest of the day went by like this. She walked into the office and found the secretary speaking with three boys. They all turned around when the door opened.

"I'll be right with you," Ms. Fredley, the secretary, said as she glanced up from her desk at Emily.

The room was like any other office; desk, pictures, a little sofa, nothing too fancy, but it seemed much smaller at the moment with the boys in it. They were fairly big. All three were about six feet in height and full of muscle. They looked like young professional football players. One was blond with a shorter-cut hairstyle. The other was about the same size but had dark brown hair cut similarly.

Guess they either got it cut for school or had it cut short for summer.

The other who was still staring at Emily was larger than the others. He was cute.

No, let's rephrase that; he was freakin' hot. He had long, light brown hair with blond streaks, the natural ones, and piercing gray eyes. His stare could make anyone a little paranoid. Guess he was the school bad boy.

"Jacob, Anthony, and Will, why do you three have to start conflicts on the first day of school?" Ms. Fredley addressing the boys brought Emily out of her trance of staring at them. She quickly looked away. She felt her face heat, knowing it probably had a hint of red on it because of the bigger kid staring at her. "Jacob, turn around and look at me when I'm talking to you." Ms. Fredley snipped at the boy.

Without even looking, Emily felt his penetrating gaze.

"I can hear you without having to look at you," Jacob replied with a bit of sarcasm in his tone.

Ms. Fredley rolled her eyes and started to write something on a piece of paper.

"Ahhh, c'mon, Ms. F., you know people are drawn to conflict with me. It's my charm factor. I never start the fight. It's all a conspiracy." Jacob sat down on the sofa.

"Jacob, I don't have time for this all day. It’s the first day of school, and there's too much to do besides babysitting you," Ms. Fredley scolded him as she put away folders into her desk. "You three always seem to get yourselves in some type of circumstance." She shook her finger at all three. "Just take it easy for a while."

"So are we free to go?" Jacob got up from the small sofa and sauntered toward the door. The other two boys hurried ahead of him.

"Yes, you can go. I just don't want any of you back in my office the rest of the day." The secretary finished fixing the piles of paper on her desk.

Emily's eyes shifted away as the first two boys went past her. She sensed someone standing beside her. She peeked out of the corner of her eye and saw Jacob. He was staring at her like he was hungry and she was the main course.

He twisted away to walk past but then leaned in toward her and took a deep breath. "Fresh meat," his voice was a whisper that gave Emily chills. He walked out the door and vanished into the crowd of students in the hallway.

Emily glanced back over her shoulder at all the kids in the hall. She was looking for three in particular, but she couldn't locate them anywhere. It was like they just disappeared. Before looking away, she noticed three girls who were giving her the nastiest of looks.

*Wonderful! Been here fifteen minutes and it seems like I made tons of new friends...NOT! *

Emily avoided the staring confrontation and turned her attention back to the secretary. "Hi, my name is Emily Beauford, and this is my first day," she announced.