|10| The New Girl

The bell rang like a dismissal and a warning all at once.

Conversations resumed, louder than before, as if everyone had been holding their breath and finally remembered how to breathe again. Chairs scraped. Trays shifted. Laughter burst out in uneven pockets. Brianna Kendricks was already halfway across the dining hall, but her presence lingered behind her like a spicy fragrance.

Penny leaned toward me. “I don’t like her.”

“She might be a good person for all you know.” I murmured sweetly, ever the optimist.

“I don’t like people who insult my clothes without making eye contact.”

I almost smiled, but the knot in my chest refused to loosen.

Shirley checked her watch. “Come on. You’ll miss first period if we don’t move.”

As we stood, I felt it again. That strange awareness. As though something had been pressed into me and left a mark I couldn’t see. Brianna hadn’t raised her voice. She hadn’t sneered. She hadn’t even looked at us.

And somehow, it still felt deliberate.

We joined the sea of students pouring out of the dining hall. The hallway swallowed us whole. Voices echoed. Shoes struck marble. Lockers slammed shut with finality.

Penny bumped her shoulder lightly against mine. “You okay?”

“I think so,” I said, though my thoughts were slightly out of sync.

Shirley led us down a side corridor, quieter than the rest. Much like the administration office, the walls here were lined with framed photographs, alumni in perfect rows, generations of polished smiles and old money confidence staring back at us.

“You’ll get used to it,” Shirley said, glancing over her shoulder.

“Used to what?” Penny asked.

“The hierarchy,” she replied. “Everyone does. Even if they pretend they don’t.”

I didn’t respond. My reflection flickered briefly in the glass of a display case. My blazer suddenly felt thinner than it had minutes ago. I looked like a visitor who’d overstayed her welcome.

We stopped in front of a classroom with wide doors and opaque windows.  

“This is where you will be having your Advanced European Literature class.” Shirley said, pointing at me. “You’ll be fine.”

Penny had Algebra. She gave me a reassuring smile and squeezed my hand before peeling off in the opposite direction. “Don’t let anyone eat you alive.”

“I’ll try,” I said begrudgingly.

The door closed behind me with a soft, final click.

The classroom smelled faintly of old paper and lemon polish. Students were already seated, spaced apart, deliberate in their distance from one another.

I chose a desk at the far end. A girl with sleek dark hair turned and waved. "Hi, I'm Sally, and this is Shane." 

 I looked at the boy sitting next to her, and I immediately saw the resemblance. They had similar features. Striking yet beautiful. He tapped impatiently on his phone before shoving it into his blazer pocket.

"Shane, don't be a rude pansy, say hi to the new girl." Sally pulled the collar of his white shirt until the poor boy finally gave in.

"Hi," Shane said, frowning.

"Good boy," Sally cooed, and her cheeks dimpled. "What's your name, friend?"

"I'm Lisa,"

The teacher arrived exactly on time.

“Lucien Blackwood.” I whispered as he wrote his name on the board.

He wore his authority quietly. No raised voice. No dramatic entrance. Just a crisp nod as he set his leather bag down and surveyed the room with cool, assessing eyes.

“Good morning,” he said. “I’m tempted to say that I missed you all during the break.”

His gaze paused on me for half a second longer than the others. Not unkind. Curious.

“I can see some new faces in here.”

My shoulders stiffened.

“Don’t worry, introductions are unnecessary,” he continued. “Your names are on my list. Your reputations will arrive soon enough.”

A few students chuckled at that.

“We value excellence here,” he went on. “Not effort. Results. I’m banking on you all to achieve great results this semester.”

Something about the way he said it reminded me of Brianna.

I took notes carefully, my pen steady even as my thoughts wandered. Lines of poetry blurred with flashes of blonde hair and that empty smile. I wondered if Brianna ever sat in classrooms like this or if the world simply rearranged itself to accommodate her elsewhere.

When the bell rang again, I felt oddly relieved.

The hallway was louder this time. Less cautious. I spotted Penny immediately, waving like her life depended.

“How was your first class?” she asked.

“Intimidating,” I said honestly. “Yours?”

“A math geek sat next to me and argued with the teacher.”

I winced. “Bold.”

“Insufferable,” she agreed. “Also, someone asked if my shoes were last season.”

“Welcome to Newton Prep,” I laughed.

We were walking together toward our next class when we saw Ruby Steele leaning against a locker ahead of us. Her boots crossed at the ankle, and her dark eyes were sharp and unreadable. She wasn’t blocking the hallway. People just seemed to move around her. Their avoidance of her bordered on fear and reverence.

She glanced at us as we passed.

My skin prickled.

“Don’t look. Avoid eye contact.” Penny whispered.

That advice came a little too late. Ruby caught me staring at her. Her mouth curved slightly, then she turned away, lighting the butt of a cigarette with careless confidence before disappearing through a side door.

Penny exhaled shakily. “I think I just lost five years of my life.”

I didn’t respond. My thoughts were already racing ahead, mapping something I didn’t fully understand yet.

Three queens.

And somehow, without trying, I had already met two of them.

As we headed for class, one thought settled heavily in my chest, quiet but insistent.

Newton Prep wasn’t just a school. It was a game of chess. I was a pawn.

And whether I liked it or not, I had already been placed on the board.