Naomi Grim (2 page)

My next class, Biology, was uneventful.
The whole time I thought about how much Dorian would love that class. I had one
more period before lunch, Physical Education. I had been dreading this one.

I found the gymnasium and followed the
other girls to the locker room. Some girls were already changing. They took off
their shirts and pants, revealing their underwear, all without a care. I didn't
think I could do that. I reached into my backpack and pulled out the T-shirt
and shorts I had brought until I was given an official PE uniform.

"Better hurry up, Casper,"
said a girl with red hair. "Coach makes us run laps if anyone's
late."

She was looking at me, but I didn't know
who this Casper was. Was she talking to me or not? Still, I went into a stall
and changed as fast as I could. When I stepped out, I felt cold and naked. This
was new for me. In Nowhere, we were always covered. I looked down at my legs.
They looked strange. I slid my boots back on.

"You're going to PE in boots?"
asked a brown-haired girl with a multitude of freckles.

I looked down at my feet. The other
girls were wearing sneakers. "I guess. It's all I have. Today's my first
day."

"I know," the girl said.
"I was in Mr. Bertelli's class."

A sharp whistle summoned us from the
direction of the gym.

"Come on, guys," yelled the
red-headed girl.

I followed everyone out into the gym
floor, feeling extremely awkward and out of place. I longed for my jeans and
hoodie.

The woman with the whistle was named
Coach Bayne. "Kailey, lead the warm-up exercises, please."

A husky girl with thick, bushy brown
hair ran to the front of the group. Everyone else spread out, forming four
straight lines.

I was between the red
-
head
and the freckle-faced girl. Kailey instructed us to sit on the floor and extend
our left leg out as much as possible.

"The new guy Ashley was talking
about is a senior. I saw him. He's smokin'," said the redhead. I realized
she was speaking to Freckles on the other side of me.

"You have to point him out to
me," Freckles said.

"Ashley already called dibs."

Freckles rolled her eyes. "We've
been through this. You can't just call dibs on a guy. He might not even be
interested in her. If she wants him, she better move faster than me."

Kailey told us to stretch the other leg.

"You haven't even seen him."

"I know, but he sounds like my
type."

Please, don’t be talking about Bram. I
hoped another
 senior who was making girls drool
had enrolled this morning.

"Where is Ash, anyway?" asked
the one with freckles.

"Cutting. She said she had
something to do. You know what that means."

The freckled girl rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, she has
someone
to do. Slut."

The redhead giggled, and I tried to
figure out whether they were friends with Ashley or not.

After stretching, we played a game
called volleyball. I remember reading about it when we researched sports in
Human Studies. It sounded fun in theory, but I didn't like it very much. I only
hit the ball once and that one time hurt my hand.

When PE was over, I drifted into the
locker room, completely depressed that I had to be subjected to this torture
every day. At least it was right before lunch, and I was starving.

I was happy to change back into my
comfortable clothes. In front of the mirror, I ran a brush through my hair.
When I was done, I sat on the bench to stuff my gym clothes in my backpack.

"Have fun, Casper?" Red
-
head
asked.

"Why are you calling me
Casper?"

"Because you're so white.
Casper
the Ghost
?"

I shook my head. I had no idea what she
was talking about.

Freckles laughed. "It's a
cartoon."

"Oh. I don't watch TV," I
answered.

Red
-
head
nodded. "That explains a lot."

That explained what?

Red
-
head
and Freckles left the locker room giggling. The door shut behind them. A second
later, Redhead opened it back up. "Come on, Casper!"

I grabbed my backpack and followed them
out of the locker room and to the cafeteria.

"You're new here, but I'm sure
cafeteria food is all the same. Buy the packaged stuff and you'll be
safe," Freckles told me.

The cafeteria was loud and hectic. It
felt like a thousand kids were crammed into one room. We grabbed trays and
stood in line. Mashed potatoes and chicken nuggets were on  the menu. It looked
good, but I got the same thing the other girls got—a can of Coke, a bag of Cool
Ranch Doritos, and a brownie wrapped in plastic wrap. Not the healthiest meal,
but I was trying to fit in.

The other girls were in front of me, so
they paid first. "We'll be at the table over there," Freckles said,
pointing.

I pulled my backpack off and unzipped
the front pouch. I reached inside and pulled out my wad of money.

"Whoa!" said a boy waiting in
line behind me. He shoved my hand back into the pocket of my backpack. I wasn't
sure what to make of it. His hand was warm, but my inner alarm was going
off—this boy wasn't supposed to be touching me. Thankfully, he removed his
hand.

"Don’t pull cash out like that for
everyone to see. You want to get jacked?"

I wasn't sure what jacked meant, but I
figured he was only looking out for me.

Discreetly, I pulled three singles out
and handed them to the woman at the register. Taking my tray, I made my way to
the girls' table.

They made room for me and finally
introduced themselves. Red
-
head was Roxanne, who went by Roxy.
Freckles was Paige, and there was a blonde girl named Ashley—the girl they had
talked about in PE.

"Dude, you are pale, like
ghost-white," Ashley said by way of greeting. I didn't know whether that
was an insult or a compliment, so I just nodded.

Roxy giggled. "That's what I told her.
We call her Casper."

Ashley frowned. "It's strange that
someone from California is so pale." How did she know I was from—or
pretended to be from—California? I didn't remember her being in Bertelli's
class. "You definitely need to tan with us the next time we go."

Okay, so it wasn't a compliment.

The boy who had been behind me in line
sat at the end of the table next to me. "Hey, I'm Hunter."

"Hi. I'm Naomi."

Roxy opened her bag of chips.
"Naomi. That's pretty, but I like Casper better."

Hunter laughed. "Casper, huh?"

"What school did you used to go to
back in Sacramento?" Ashley asked.

"None. I was homeschooled."

"Oh," all three girls said at
the same time.

"What?" I asked.

Paige shrugged. "It's just that . .
. you seem a little different. Like this is all new to you. Being homeschooled
explains it."

I guessed I wasn't fitting in as well as
I'd hoped.

Ashley grabbed Paige's arm. "There
he is."

I turned to see where she was looking.
Bram entered the doors of the cafeteria. He didn't look like I felt, out of
place. He looked around the cafeteria confidently with his hands stuffed in his
pockets.

"That's my brother," I
muttered before they could say anything inappropriate.

Ashley gasped. "No way. I guess I
see the resemblance. Call him over."

I didn't really want to do that, but I
did. "Bram!" I yelled, waving.

He saw me and walked over. "What's
up, sis?"

"Nothing. Just eating," I
answered. Roxy cleared her throat. "Oh, this is Roxy, Ashley, Paige, and
Hunter."

Bram nodded at them. "Nice to meet
you guys."

The girls stared at my brother like he
was some kind of celebrity. I couldn't believe it. Even here, Bram still had
the touch.

Hunter was too busy shoveling mashed
potatoes in his mouth to notice.

"Nay, have you seen Dorian?"
Bram asked. That was a good question. I should have been looking for my little
brother, making sure he was adjusting well, instead of eating and making
friends.

I looked around the cafeteria.
"There he is." He and Josh were huddled over trays of food at a table
in the back.

"See you guys around," Bram
said, heading in Dorian's direction.

I spent the rest of lunchtime listening
to the girls talk about people at school I knew nothing about. I didn't want to
know anything about them. It would be easier not to know.

The bell rang. "Do you know where
your next class is?" Hunter asked. I didn't. "I'll walk you." I
had Language Arts next with Mr. Mayer. I followed Hunter as he led me down a
hallway to a room at the end. "Here you are, Snowflake."

"Snowflake?"

"Yeah, I think I'll call you that.
It fits."

Hunter had dimples that reminded me of
Chase, but Hunter had blond hair and hazel eyes as opposed to Chase's dark
features. Chase was one of my best friends back in Nowhere and I already missed
him dearly.

"Why does Snowflake fit?"

"Because snowflakes are . . ."

I waited for the beautiful thing he was
going to say. They were beautiful. They were unique. They were delicate.

"Because snowflakes are white.
Enjoy your class."

I sighed and entered the classroom to
endure another meaningless class.

We were supposed to meet Bram at the
vehicle after school. Dorian was babbling about some Chemistry class. He said
that was the only thing good about his first day.

The air was humid and muggy, making me
miss the constant chill of Nowhere. I put my shades on and pulled my hood over
my head. We were outside, so I figured it was okay. If Bram was going to have
us waiting in the searing sun, it couldn't be helped. We could have used our
Grimbilities—which would allow us to transport ourselves inside the vehicle—but
it was too risky with so many kids around. Finally, he came strolling out of
the main building with a satisfied smirk on his face. No backpack, no books,
just his keys, which he tossed from side to side.

"Where've you been?" I
demanded as he approached. "We've been waiting here for like twenty
minutes."

"Hey, I had to pry the ladies off
of me. I can't help that I have a magnetic personality." He unlocked the
car and we climbed inside. I was thankful for the tinted windows.

The ride home was just as bumpy as the
ride to school. I was happy I hadn't eaten a huge lunch or I would have gotten
carsick. We had no idea where we were going. The GPS provided instructions to
our temporary home. We rode through typical suburban neighborhoods into an area
that was unpopulated. There were a few houses, but they were separated by large
portions of empty land. I calculated that we were about thirty-five minutes
away from the school.

As we drove, the houses got further and
further apart. After a while, there was nothing. The GPS told us to make a
right, and we turned into the driveway of a nice looking red-bricked house
hidden among tall trees. A black sedan sat in the driveway. Keira and Josh were
already there. Keira had been provided with her own transportation. I hoped she
was a better driver than Bram.

We pulled our luggage from the back
compartment and headed inside. Josh greeted us at the door. "Welcome to
our humble abode."

The place was nice. It was smaller than
our home in Nowhere, but it was cute and cozy, and free of adults. The living
room was spacious, decorated with brown leather furniture and tan and orange
accessories.

Keira came down the carpeted stairs. Her
hoodie was gone; she only wore a tank top, revealing how well-endowed she was.
I zipped up my hoodie, despite the heat. "It's a little warm," Keira
said, "but I've turned the air down as far as it could go."

We Grims were accustomed to coolness.
School had been fine, but the house was hot and stuffy, as if no one had lived
here for a long time. "There are three bedrooms upstairs. I figured Josh
and Dorian could share, I could share with Naomi, and Bram could have his own
room because . . . who would want to room with Bram?"

Bram rolled his eyes. "I call the
single room since I'm the oldest and in charge," Bram declared as if
someone was challenging him.

"What about dinner?" Keira
asked him.

"What about it? That's you and
Nay's department."

Putting my insecurities aside, I removed
my hoodie. The air was taking a while to kick in. "Excuse me. Why is that
our department?"

"Because you're women," Bram
answered, as if I'd asked the stupidest question in the world.

Keira put her hands on her hips, which
was not a good sign for Bram. "Listen, this is how this is going to
happen. We're
all
going to take turns cooking. We're all going to share
the cleaning, dishes, laundry, everything. There's no food in this house.
You're in charge, so get to the grocery store."

"B-but," Bram stammered.
"I don't know how to grocery shop."

Keira folded her arms across her chest.
"Figure it out. You want to be in charge, you get all the responsibility
that comes with it. Now get going."

Frowning, Bram backed up. I admired
Keira for being the only one who could make Bram do anything. He listened to
her better than he listened to Father. "Where's the grocery store?"

Keira turned Bram around and pushed him
gently toward the door. "The GPS will take you wherever you need to go.
Buh-bye."

I couldn't help but chuckle. With Bram
gone, we chose our bedrooms and began to unpack. We let the boys have the room
with the twin beds. We left Bram the small bedroom off the right of the
staircase, and Keira and I claimed the master bedroom.

The room wasn't our style at all.
Everything was white and lavender and way too bright, but it would do
temporarily. A small desk sat in front of the window. Two matching dressers
stood against either wall and identical nightstands sat at both sides of the
bed. A flat-screened television was mounted on the wall. We hung the few
clothes we had in the closet and stuffed the drawers with tank tops and
underwear. Since we hadn't packed much, it was more than enough room.

"We need to shop for some
clothes," I said.

"Yeah," Keira agreed. "We
can go tomorrow after school."

Bram came back an hour later and it
turned out he wasn't lying about not knowing how to grocery shop. He brought
back bags filled with bagels, Twinkies, Dr. Pepper, Twizzlers, crackers, Oreos,
five different kinds of cheeses, pita bread, and tomato sauce. At least he had
remembered some necessities like soap and dishwashing liquid.

"Not one vegetable. How do you
expect us to live off of this junk?" Keira asked as we unpacked the bags.

"Hey, I warned you," Bram said
as he settled on the living room couch and turned the television on.

Keira said she could figure out
something to do with the cheese, pita, and tomato sauce, but made it known that
she would not be cooking for the next few days.

Josh and Dorian joined Bram in front of
the television and quickly became engrossed in some show about vampires. I
stood at the kitchen counter helping Keira slice the cheese.

Keira opened the jar of tomato sauce.
"See, this is exactly what I don't want to happen. I'm not going to be
waiting on them hand and foot."

"Don't you guys have
homework?" I called into the living room. This was new to us. In Nowhere,
we did our studies and then the rest of the day was ours. In Human high school,
students did their studies and then came home and did more work. It didn't seem
fair.

"Who cares about homework?"
Josh yelled. "What are they going to do? Flunk us?"

I sighed. He had a point.

After twenty minutes, dinner was ready,
if you can call pizza pitas dinner. Keira had done a great job considering what
she had to work with. It took almost another twenty minutes to pry the boys
away from the television. It was easy to see how humans got addicted to the
device.

Finally, the five of us sat around the
small dining room table. Silently, we munched on the pita pizzas that we washed
down with Dr. Pepper.

 I tried to think of what Mother would
do in this situation. "So, let's go around the table and everyone will
talk about their first day. I'll go first. I was pretty nervous in the
beginning, but everything was okay. Keira and I have a class together. I met a
few nice kids. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. How about you,
Josh?"

Josh shrugged. "It was okay, I
guess. The kids ignored me. I don’t know if that was a good thing or not. A
couple of the classes were interesting. That's it."

"Don't worry, man," Bram said.
"You don't need friends. You got us."

"Bram, how was your day?"
Keira asked.

"It was awesome, actually. I'm like
the mysterious, dangerous guy. Girls were practically throwing themselves at
me."

I noticed Keira shift in her seat.

"If I was human, I could have any
girl I chose."

"But you're not human," Keira
said bitterly. "So be careful."

"I'm not an idiot—" Bram was
cut off by the tinkling sound of his cell. "It's a text from Doyle."
He paused to read it. "He's coming by tonight to see how our first day was
and how we're settling in."

We cleaned the kitchen, showered, and
prepared for bed. I had just slid into a black night shirt when the doorbell
rang. I heard Dorian let Doyle in so the rest of us ran down and gathered in
the living room.

"How do you all like the
place?" Doyle asked.

"It's adequate," Bram
answered.

"Remember, no humans are
allowed," Doyle reminded us.

Dorian flipped through his chemistry
book. "What would happen if a human came here?"

Doyle took out his tablet. "Just
don't bring them here, that's all you need to know. How was your first
day?"

We told him the mundane things about
school, but Keira and I had left out an important detail during dinner.

"After one of our classes, Naomi
and I saw a girl with the glow," Keira said.

Doyle stroked his chin and smiled slyly.
"Is that so? That's means it will happen soon."

"Good, then we can go home."
Dorian muttered, making me believe something had happened that he had left out.

"I know it's only been one day, but
has anyone made connections with someone who could be involved in the upcoming
attack?" Doyle asked.

The five of us shook our heads.

Doyle made a note of that on his tablet.
"Well, it seems as if all is well and you have settled in nicely. Remember
the rules and keep your eyes open." He stood with his briefcase.
"Call me anytime you need to."

Bram walked him to the door.

"All right kids, time to hit the
sack," Bram said when he returned, sounding like Father.

Obediently, we headed upstairs. I think
we were all too exhausted to fight with him. At the top of the stairs, I turned
around to see what he was doing. He had turned the TV on and laid across the
couch.