Your Memory To Soothe Me
Chapter 2: 33 West
"First period US History. Periods, this is going to be different." She walked into the room and saw the teacher writing on the board. His graying hair left him with a bald spot the size of a CD on top of his head. Zoe slowly walked towards him. "Um� excuse me, I'm Zoe Startz, I just moved to town and I was put into this class." She showed the teacher the her class list and note from the office.
"Alright Ms. Startz, you may sit third row seat three. Dead center of the class room. The last student who sat there switched out of this class." The teacher pointed to the seat. Zoe nodded and took her seat. She pulled a notebook out of her bag as people filled in around her. She looked up to see Terry standing over her. She smiled politely at him before he sat down. Even after Zoe looked back to her note book she could feel Terry's eyes on her. It didn't help that she heard girls around her talking about something that sounding like "blah, blah Terry," and "Blah, blah new girl." Zoe gripped her pen tightly. The second bell rang. A few students ran in and took their seats. "Welcome back class. How was your weekend?" No one responded while the classroom smelled of fear. "Well, I see we're talkative today." He looked around the class. "As some of you have noticed, we have a new student to the class. Will you please introduce your self?"
Zoe stood slowly. Her hands fell into her jean pockets while she looked around the classroom. "If I must." She looked around the classroom and finally to the teacher. "I'm Zoe Startz." Some girls snickered off to her right. "Would you mind telling me what's so funny about my name?" The girls shut up quickly.
"I don't see anything funny about her name." A calm voice said from behind her. The voice was deep and collected. She looked to see Terry starring at the girls with the demon eye. Zoe sat down calmly. She tried not to look at the girls or Terry. The girls stayed quite.
"Thank you." Zoe wrote in the corner of her notebook. She looked up to see Terry starring at the board.
"Now class calm down. We still have some stuff to cover. This is United States History. We must not pause with the introductions of new students. Because if we do, you will just going to have more history to learn. I have to give you your new research project." A few kids groaned as the teacher passed back the sheets. Zoe read over her sheet.
Zoe looked up at her teacher after reading over the requirements. The girl on her right passed her a note at this point.
"Hey, why do you looks so confused." Zoe read and looked over at the girl next to her she wrote back quickly. It was the same girl from before, Alicia.
"I did this project right before I moved." She passed it back while the teacher had his back to the class. After a boring lesion about how the Japanese had the bombs coming for them the bell finally rung. Zoe has to give her teacher credit, he sure is passionate about dropping the Atomic Bomb.
"Remember class I want the project by Friday at the latest." The class started to leave. Zoe slowly gathered her books together before she turned to Terry.
She paused before she spoke just looking at him gathering his books. "Thank you, for earlier. You didn't have to." She finally spoke.
He turned to her. "Don't ever speak to me in public." He pushed past her.
"I'm sorry for thank you for backing me up earlier, maybe if you were a bit nicer, people wouldn't clear you a path for you to walk down the hallways. Its not like you're a god!" Flew from her mouth. She could not believe what she just said. He turned to her and stared her down. Zoe held strong. She couldn't help but have a smile on her face as she stared back into his blue eyes.
"You know nothing of how this school works." He said before he turned around.
"Your right, I don't, nor do I want to. This place is too damn stuck up for its own damn good if it elects three pretty boys to be its Gods." She threw her bag over her shoulder and started to leave. "Change never smelt so good." She pushed past him and went to her next class.
Zoe walked though the halls looking for her next class. She walked while reading her class list, once in a while looking up at the people around her and the class room numbers. As she looked down at her map she felt her self hit into someone. She looked up to see a buff blonde teenager looking down at her. "I'm sorry." She said looking at him and stepping back turning to go around him and the group of girls around him.
"Haven't seen you before." He said pulling her back to the group by pulling on her backpack. He looked her over. "Now who might you be?"
"Zoe." She looked down at her watch. "I've gotta get going to class. I'll see you later. Sorry for knocking into you again." She stepped back out of the way and kept walking. The next thing she noticed the guy who looked like Terry was walking next to her.
"I'm Andy." He looked over at her scual. "Looks like you could use some help."
Shaking her head Zoe disagreed. "I'm fine I can find my class easily."
"Then why are you going the long way to get to room 210."
"Because I fell like finding out where I'm going to be later." Zoe lied. Andy grabbed her backpack off her back and slung it over his shoulder. "Give it back!" She exclaimed.
"I'm gonna walk you two class if you like it or not." She tried to pull it off his shoulder. "I'm not going to go steal your shit. I'm gonna take you to class, now follow me." The bell rang as he finished the sentence. "Now your late for class."
"Thanks.' Sarcasum dripped from her voice.
He stepped up to a door and held out the green Jansport backpack that was decorated with random pins and patches sewn into the canvas. "English Honors." Zoe grabbed her back pack.
"Thank you." She swung the bag over her shoulder. The door was nestled between two rows of blue lockers.
"Why don't you meet me for lunch. I'll introduce you to my friend Joe and brother Terry.
"I'll think about it." She paused and looked at Andy before adjusting her backpack.
"Meet me out in the courtyard. You should be able to find me easily. I expect to see you there." He started walking off. "I've gotta get to Gym. I'll see ya later." He disappeared around the corner. Zoe stood there and checked the map. This was her classroom and Andy didn't steal anything so she shrugged it off and walked into the classroom seeing Alicia by the window and the guy who almost hit her in the back corner.
Later that day at lunch, Andy and the guy who almost hit her earlier were sitting at a table in the middle of the courtyard. Zoe started walking over but she decided to go over to eat under a tree when she heard the Andy call over to her. "Hey Zoe get over here." Zoe looked up to see him waving her over. After sighing she hung up her pride and walked over there. "I'd like you to meet Joe." Andy pointed over to the guy who almost hit her earlier that day.
"Umm I hate to sound rude but I kind of forgot if you mentioned your name earlier." Zoe asked forgetting if names were even exchanged between the one who stole her backpack and her earlier.
"Oh its Andy." He said smiling. Zoe nodded.
"So who are you listening to?" Joe pointed to the headphones around her neck. There was music streaming out while someone was singing.
"It's killing me, it's stuck inside, can't get you out. Even when I tried, it's all the same. It took a while, I can't complain. Now I know I hate your smile." The song sang while a mixture of Ska and Punk music met its match to the beats of power hungry guitars.
Zoe looked down to her MP3 player in her jacket pocket and saw the title. "17 by 33 West. Their a DC band." She smiled at the memory of the Warped Tour Band that saved her from dehydrating that summer. "Anyway, its nice too meet you Andy. Joe do you mind not trying to hit me with your car in the morning from here on out?" Ran from her mouth in a proud and annoyed.
Joe stepped closer to Zoe and pushed some hair out of her face. "You are the girl from earlier, where'd you learn to jump like that? It looked like you jumped in a fighting stance. Joe asked looking her over.
Zoe pulled on the sleeves of her jacket. "I studied Martial Arts since I was a kid, no big deal. It might have a front stance it a or something like that," she paused and looked past Joe and Andy to see Terry walking up and glaring at her.
Joe and Terry exchanged a complicated hand shake which ended with Terry punching Joes left and hand Joe punching Terry's left hand. "Terry I'd like you to meet Zoe. She just moved her from somewhere." Andy introduced the two of them. "Zoe where did you say you were from again."
"Didn't. Its Franklin Park." Zoe looked away from the three to the tree across the courtyard.
"So you went to Franklin Park High School." Joe tried to make friendly conversation feeling the tension between Terry and Zoe.
"No, I went to South Brunswick High. FPH wasn't in the best part of town. And South Brunswick was the next town over."
"I see, welcome to our own little piece of Hell." Joe welcomed.
"Uh, thanks. I think." Zoe said before she sneezed. Her braid flew over her head due to the snap action of her neck before settling on her shoulder.
"Bless you." Andy said after a minuet of uneasy silenced.
"Why is she over here Andy." Terry asked glaring over at Zoe.
"I invited her over here Terry. Be nice."
"You know what, I'll just go. Lunch isn't worth a fight." Zoe grabbed the lunch she put down on the table and her backpack. "It was nice meeting you Joe. Terry, I'll see you in class tomorrow. Andy thanks for helping me to class and inviting me to eat with your friends and you. Sorry it turned into drama." Zoe turned on her heals and walked off.
Terry, Joe and Andy were all sitting on the table at this point. "She likes you Terry." Joe told his best friend.
"No she doesn't." Terry said after he took a bit of his apple.
"Then whys she playing hard to get?"
"Even if I did like her, I wouldn't go for her. She's too wild."
"Jessica was just as wild. She called you a fuck face the day you two met!"
Turning around Terry pulled Joe to him "Don't ever say her name again." Terry hissed.
"Chill Terry." Andy told his brother. "We we're all thinking it and you know it." Andy turned to face Zoe who took a seat under a tree. It didn't take her long to finish her Snapple and sandwich. She ate it, threw away the wrappers in the garbage and left. Andy couldn't help but stair at her from across the yard.
"Andy are you alright, you've hardly touched your lunch." Joe said trying to steal Andy's cup cake. "You keep starring off into space."
"Don't even think about stealing it Joe!" Jeered out of Andy's mouth, he paused to regain his composure. "Its nothing Joe. I'm just thinking."
"Thought something was burning." His brother chimed in. Terry's voice was a bit calmer now that he was alone with his brother and best friend but it he was still troubled by the words Zoe spoke with such ease.
"I need to talk to you later Terry, are you going straight home?" Andy asked glancing over at him.
"Can't got to do a research project for history." Terry shook his head.
"Those good grades are going to be the end of you Terry." Joe joked.
"Its AP of course it's gonna kill me."
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