Scarlett

One thing I hated most about school was waking up early. Why did school have to start so early? I loved to sleep in and I rarely got out of bed before eleven most mornings when I didn't have to wake up for school.

I yawned when my snooze time ran out and my alarm began to buzz again. I sat up and rubbed my face. I'd set my alarm for earlier than normal so I would have the extra time to get my schedule and find my locker.

I kept promising myself once school was finished, I'd make sure I never had to wake up early again.

Unlike most girls my age, I wasn't interested in fashion and what the latest trend was. I dressed in what I liked irrespective of whether it was considered fashionable or not.

I pulled on a pair of black hipster jeans and a button-up dark blue shirt, then I finished off my outfit with a pair of black, flat, strappy sandals. The only makeup I wore was some lip-gloss. These days I never bothered with jackets or a jersey because I never got cold anymore.

When my senses had grown stronger, my internal body heat had increased as well.

Gary had suggested I get some tests run to discover why I'd suddenly developed changes when I'd turned sixteen, but I'd refused. Physically, I felt fine. I didn't see any reason to get tests done, and I'd learned to live with the new changes in my body.

The smell of fresh coffee caught me as I descended the stairs and I followed it into the kitchen. Most mornings I couldn't function until I had my first cup of coffee.

"You're up," I heard Gary say as I entered the room.

"Yeah, I'm up," I muttered as I went straight for the coffee. I poured some of it into a cup and took a sip.

"Mmm," I murmured as I took another sip and felt the caffeine begin to take effect in my body. Gary just shook his head at me and laughed. He knew better than to try and interact with me before I finished my first cup.

"Are you taking your new car or do you want the driver to take you to school?" Gary asked, sitting at the kitchen table as I finished my coffee.

"I'm taking my new baby," I answered.

"I've installed a tracker on the car," he notified me. I nodded my head. It was something I was used to and it was his way of keeping me safe. If I let him put a tracker on the vehicle I was using, then he wouldn't have to send a bodyguard with me. There was no way I was going to school with a massive bodyguard following me around. If Gary could, he'd keep me locked up at home. I wasn't going to live my life in fear of what could happen, though.

My parents' deaths had been tragic, but there was no proof that their murderers were out to get me, too.

I was running late so I skipped breakfast and I grabbed a protein bar, which I shoved into my school bag.

I bent down and gave Gary a quick kiss on his cheek.

"I'll see you later," I said as I dashed out of the kitchen.

My new baby was parked in the driveway, ready for me, when I opened the front door. Gary knew me too well, so he'd made sure she was parked outside for me.

I got into the car and programmed the address of the school into the car's GPS. I hummed along to the song on the radio as I started the drive to my new school for the next year.

The parking lot of the school was starting to fill up when I pulled in. I found a parking space in the front row of the parking lot. I grabbed my schoolbag and got out of the car.

As I walked away, I pressed a button on the remote of the car and I heard the door click closed. There weren't many students at school yet but I did get a couple of curious looks as I made my way to the entrance.

The school wasn't exactly as big as the schools I'd been used to. It was a fair size, but I wasn't in the city anymore and the thick forest that surrounded the school reminded me of that.

The single-story brick building with large windows had a sign above the entrance that read "Parkland High School". A large double entrance to the school was preceded with a small set of stairs that led straight to parking.

Once I entered the school, I passed a couple of students. A smell hit me and I faltered for a minute, trying to figure out what the smell was. It smelled like fresh rain.

Two students standing close by turned to look at me with curiosity as I pushed myself past the smell to the reception room. Behind the counter in reception sat an old, plump lady with a pair of glasses on the edge of her nose.

"Hi," I greeted her.

"Hello," she greeted me back with a warm smile. "How can I help you?"

"I'm a new student and I've come to collect my schedule and locker number," I answered.

"What's your name, dear?" she asked as she began to sift through some of the papers on her desk.

"Scarlett Hayes."

"Here you go," she said as she handed me my schedule. On the top of the sheet was my locker number and she also handed me a map of the school.

"Thank you," I said with a friendly smile as I walked out of reception and began the hunt for my locker.

I rotated the map around a couple of times, trying to figure out which direction I was headed in. Someone had told me once that women were supposed to be good at reading maps, but I wasn't convinced that was true.

After twenty minutes, I was still walking up and down the hallways trying to find my stupid locker. That distinctive smell that had hit me when I first entered the school seemed to be all over this place. I couldn't explain why. Fresh rain intermingled with the distinctive smell of a forest.

The strange smells kept hitting my nostrils randomly as I walked around, trying to find my locker.

"Do you need some help?" I heard a voice ask, taking me by surprise.

"You scared me," I said as I tried to catch my breath. My heart hammered in my chest.

"Sorry," the stranger said, standing in front of me and watching me with amusement. He was a good-looking guy.

He was a little taller than me. His light brown hair was long enough to fall across his green eyes as he studied me with a smile.

Yeah, scratch that. The confidence this guy oozed kicked him up a level to gorgeous. His confidence also screamed player, which was the type I avoided at all costs. Players were normally male whores who thought they were God's gift to women.

The distinct smell of a forest hit me again as he stepped closer to me and took the map from my hands.

"What are you looking for?" he asked as he studied the map and his eyes flickered back to me.

"My locker," I mumbled. I wasn't used to asking for help; in fact, I hated it. I normally persevered until I figured it out on my own.

"I'll show you where it is," he offered as he folded the map and handed it back to me.

"Sure," I forced myself to say. I'd wasted enough time looking for my stupid locker and, as much as I hated help, I didn't want to spend the next twenty minutes still searching for it.

"I'm Blake," the stranger offered as he headed down the hallway and I followed behind him. A couple of the students turned to stare at the two of us as we walked past.

"Scarlett," I muttered.

"So where did you move from?" he said, trying to start up a conversation, but I wasn't interested in small talk.

"None of your business," I shot back. I wasn't one to open up to strangers.

"Aren't you just a nice warm teddy bear," he teased with a devilish smile and I just glared at him.

"Here's your locker," he said as he pointed to it. It was a dull gray color and had seen better days.

"Thanks," I muttered as I stepped around him to my locker and opened it.

"You're welcome, Scarlett. See you around," he said as he began to walk away from me and hitched his schoolbag over his shoulder.

"Not if I can help it," I muttered under my breath as I shoved a couple of my schoolbooks into my locker.

"I heard you," Blake chuckled, almost halfway down the hallway already. Geez, he had good hearing. It was nearly as good as mine.