Winter looked around the room, her eyes bright and piercing. As she focused on each person, her eyes changed color to match her feelings of them. They were mostly a stormy gray, or a blank dark brown. Each student squirmed under her gaze, looking left and right to avoid those frightening eyes.
When Winter finally turned to the last girl in the room, her eyes flashed a crisp clear blue. She looked to the teacher and nodded, her eyes once again dark.
Mr. Dowman jumped, startled. His mouth opened and closed a couple of times, until he finally got out some sound.
�Uh, class, meet your new classmate, Winter� uh�Mai. Would you like to say a few words, Winter?�
Winter�s eyes slowly turned a bright green, and then faded back to black. She turned to face the class.
�No,� she said, and quickly walked back to the only empty seat in the room � next to the girl. She pulled out the chair and sat down as the whole class let out a sigh of relief.
Everyone but Emily.
~Chapter 2 � Her Eyes~
Emily tried to stare straight ahead, but every once in a while she just had to steal a glance at the strange new girl sitting next to her. She just couldn�t get over her appearance.
She was tall, about six foot, but skinny. Her eyes were black. Her skin wasn�t pale, but it wasn�t quite tan, either. She wore all white, except black accessories, like her earrings, scarf, and shoes. But what astounded Emily the most was her hair.
It was pure white and perfectly straight. It was also so long that it touched her waist.
Emily just couldn�t get over the look of this girl. She didn�t notice when she began to stare until Winter turned to face Emily, her eyes gray. Emily jumped a foot and turned to face the front of the class.
***
When the bell rang for second period, everyone jumped up and ran out to socialize in the hall, except for Winter. She took her time gathering her things, and quickly walked out of the room. Emily suddenly felt the urge to talk to her. She grabbed her things quickly and ran out of the room after her.
When she finally caught up with Winter, she was out of breath. Emily had to walk quickly to keep up with her. Winter, however, paid her no mind.
�Hi,� Emily started. �I�m Emily. And you�re Winter, right?�
Winter didn�t even acknowledge her existence.
�Well, I could help you find your way around, if you�d like,� said Emily, annoyed. This girl walks so fast! she thought.
Winter suddenly stopped and turned to face her, her eyes bright blue, startling Emily.
�I know where to go,� she said. �You can� walk with me, if you have the same class.�
Emily smiled. She put her hand out and said, �Well, let me see your schedule.�
Winter reached into her purse � black, of course � and pulled out a piece of paper. She handed it to Emily wordlessly. Emily studied it for a moment, then said, �Well, it looks like you and I have all our classes together, except art. You�re in the really advanced one. You like to draw, am I right?�
Winter hinted a smile and nodded.
�Well, I�ll walk with you, if you don�t find me annoying. I�m not annoying, am I?� asked Emily.
Winter shook her head and started walking again. Emily followed her, struggling to keep up. She stopped one of the lockers at the end of the hall and opened it.
�This is my locker,� she said. �Where�s yours?�
Winter looked at her schedule, then back up. She looked to the locker next to Emily�s and nodded. Emily beamed.
�You have the locker next to mine!� she said excitedly. �That�s so neat!�
Winter rolled her eyes at the word �neat�. She watched Emily get her things out of her locker, then run over to meet a friend with an apologetic glance at Winter. Winter turned away, then looked over her shoulder and to the left and right. She turned back to her locker, which suddenly opened. She grabbed her books and slammed it shut, then walked back over to Emily and her friend. Emily turned to Winter and smiled.
�Ready for class?�
Winter nodded and began walking to her next class, trying to slow down for Emily. However, Emily still had to jog to keep up. Winter paid no mind and kept walking, until Emily was far behind. She stopped and waited for her to catch up.
�Don�t you ever walk slowly?� asked Emily, breathing hard.
Winter half-smiled and shook her head.
�Well, you might want to start!�
�You might want to walk more quickly,� Winter said loftily, her eyes bright green.
Emily blinked.
�I thought your eyes were black. Then they turned blue. Now they�re green. What�s going on?�
Winter closed her eyes and shook her head. When she opened them again, they were brown.
�There. Now they�re brown. Are they always like that?�
Winter nodded and started walking as slowly as she could while Emily walked normally next to her. They headed into class just before the teacher and rushed to their seats. Winter closed her eyes and sighed. This time, they were dark blue.
~Chapter 3 � A Nice Guy~
�Alright, class! Get out your textbooks and open to page 124!� shouted the teacher, Mrs. Loise. As everyone pulled out their books, Winter crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. Emily looked over to her and whispered, �Where�s your book?�
�They didn�t give me one,� Winter whispered back.
�Excuse me, am I interrupting something?� asked Mrs. Loise. She looked at Winter. �Young madam, it does not make a very good first impression when you don�t bring your materials to class, nor when you have conversations when you are not supposed to. Where is your book?�
Winter turned to look at the teacher, her eyes brown with anger. Mrs. Loise, startled at the intensity of Winter�s eyes, jumped and shook her head.
�Well, you need a book,� she said loftily. �Go down to the��
�She can share with me today, Mrs. Loise,� said a voice next to Winter. Shocked, Winter turned to face this person. He smiled at her, and pulled out his textbook.
Winter examined him closely, noting all of his features. He had short brown hair and brown eyes, and a pointed, ski-jump nose. His eyes were sort of squinted, like he was really happy. He had full lips, too, which Winter noted with approval. He was hot.
The boy squirmed under her gaze, and turned to look at her. He flashed a nervous smile.
�My name�s Josh. What�s yours?� he asked. �Are you new?�
�Winter,� she said. �My name�s Winter Mai, and yes, I�m new. Thanks for sharing your book.�
�No prob,� he said. �It would suck to have to get kicked out of class on the first day of a new school. But you might want to think about getting that book before tomorrow. Mrs. Loise is the dragon-lady around here.�
Winter half-smiled and peered down at the textbook. It was history class, and they were studying the ancient Egyptians. Winter already knew all this, and sighed, bored. She suddenly got an idea, and her eyes flashed bright green. She looked up at the blackboard at the front of the room.
The stick of chalk at the board suddenly lifted up into the air, and floated over Mrs. Loise�s head. All the students in the room gasped, and a few began to whisper.
�What�s going on? Is there something I should know about?� asked Mrs. Loise. Emily giggled and shook her head, looking at the chalk. Mrs. Loise turned to Emily, skeptical.
�Are you sure?� she asked.
As soon as she spoke these words, the chalk exploded into powder, covering Mrs. Loise. She shrieked, and the class exploded with laughter. Mrs. Loise began shrieking nonsense, then angrily pointed at the class.
�I will find out who did this!� she cried, and ran out of the room. All of the kids were shrieking with laughter by now, and one kid had fallen out of his chair and was rolling on the floor. Winter smiled to herself, and laid back, proud of herself.
***
When the bell rang, all of the kids flew out of their classrooms, laughing and talking. Winter slowly gathered her things and left the room. She met up with Emily at the door, and they began walking to their lockers.
Josh, amazed at what had just happened, watched Winter walk out of the room. He got the idea to follow her, and he quickly gathered his things and ran out the door. He caught sight of her about halfway down the hall, and ran to catch up.
�Hey! Wait for me!� he called. �Winter! Wait up!�
Winter stopped immediately and turned around. Emily stopped too.
�What, Winter?� she asked.
�Someone called my name,� she said. She watched Josh run to catch up with her and Emily. Emily, realizing who Winter was waiting for, gasped.
�Oh my God, Winter, that�s Josh Levigne!� she said. �He is so hot!�
Winter turned to face Emily with bright blue eyes and a smiling face. �I know, why do you think I�m waiting for him?� she whispered loudly. A few moments later, Josh caught up. Winter eyed him carefully. He was about two inches taller than her. He really was hot.
�Hi, Emily,� he said breathlessly. �Hi, Winter. I wanted to ask you something.� He bent down to catch his breath. He then looked up into Winter�s light blue eyes, and a confused look came over his face.
�Weren�t your eyes black?� he asked Winter.
Winter looked left and right, her eyes now turning a dark green. She closed them quickly, and they turned blue again.
�No,� she said. �No, they weren�t black.�
Emily looked up at Winter, confused. She had seen Winter�s eyes at least four different colors already, including black. Why was she lying?
�Oh,� Josh said, shrugging it off. �Okay. But I was wondering� do you want to hang out after school?�
Winter smiled, but shook her head. �I�m already going to Emily�s house after school today. How about tomorrow?� she said tentatively.
�No, I�ve only got today free,� Josh said sadly. He got an idea, and brightened. �How about I take you to the museum on Friday?� he asked. �They�ve got really cool exhibits, and a theater, too. How about it?�
Winter nodded happily. �Sure! Sounds great!�
Josh grinned. �Okay, I�ll pick you up at 6. Sound good?� Winter nodded.
�Well, I�ve got to get to class, I�ll see you later,� said Josh. He ran off in the opposite direction, and Emily and Winter continued to their lockers.
�Wow, Winter! You�ve already got a date, and it�s only third period! And with a really hot guy, too!� exclaimed Emily. Winter smiled, but didn�t say anything. They walked to their separate art classes.
Winter took a seat and smiled. Well done, Winter, she thought. Have fun on Friday!