Single post in Shifting Fates

The girl turned, her hair whipping around like she’d just stepped out of a shampoo commercial. Still, the dark narrow eyes, small round nose, and thin lips made him wonder why he didn’t detect the slightest Asian accent to match her features. “It could be worse,” she said, making him realize her words were wrapped in sadness although her face barely showed it. He didn’t realize the desire to attend school could infect a teenager. It was a depressing thought. She spared him the smallest glance. “Don’t take it for granted.” Nodding slowly, he responded, “Riiiiiight…” He adjusted his backpack, thinking it would be best to leave the crazy girl alone before she started spouting nonsense he had no patience for. Walking around her, he hoped she’d remain silent. However, as soon as he passed, a strange chilly breeze brushed the back of his neck and sent a severe shiver down his spine. He glanced back, half expecting the girl to have disappeared like a ninja in the movies. No such luck. She still stood motionless, staring at the west hall as if something spectacular was about to happen. After a second, he shook his head and continued inside the north hall. A number of stragglers still walked the hall, heading for the courtyard beyond the east exit. After a quick scan, Rondrio realized he didn’t recognize any of them. He sighed lowly and casually followed behind them. Making the transition from middle to high school was not off to a good start. Not only was he forced to be surrounded by a bunch of unfamiliar faces, but he didn’t have a single class with any of his friends. At least two of his teachers probably already assumed he was anti-social or something, not that it really mattered. As long as he stayed focused on schoolwork he could stay off everyone’s radar. Of course, that hadn’t worked with Reneé yet. That girl had kicked off the first day by sitting in his lap and introducing herself. Part of him had wanted to shove her onto the floor, but that would’ve caused a scene he didn’t want. He’d chosen to act only mildly interested, and that had worked… for the most part. Reneé had eventually left him alone until this morning when she chose to go on a cupid kick. Rondrio stopped at room five and peered inside to find his mother organizing papers on her desk before slipping them into a thick, blue folder. The slightly graying haired lady looked up at him with a smile. “Hey, honey. How were your classes?” “Bleh…” He dropped his backpack on the floor near the closest desk and fell into its seat. “I’m just gonna read until your meeting’s over.” “That bad, huh?” Mrs. McMillan grabbed her black, leather purse from the back of her chair and shouldered it. “A guy is supposed to bring a new computer in here. Tell him I want it set up in the back.” She gestured toward a cleared spot on a long, narrow table against the back wall. The space was between a stack of unissued textbooks and a row of neatly arranged government reference books. “And can you check it out when he’s done? Make sure it’s running everything it’s supposed to.” Rondrio nodded before reaching down to unzip his backpack. With her hurrying out of the room, he figured he had nearly a half-hour of undisturbed reading. Pulling out his World History text, he flipped to the beginning of the first chapter and forced his attention onto the page. It didn’t take as long as he’d thought to remain focused on the mildly interesting reading. The halls had fallen almost completely silent until the last bell rang, signaling the last bus leaving the campus. It broke his attention briefly and caused him to glance at the clock high on the wall behind his mother’s desk. Before he could read its hands properly, he heard a loud electrical bang in the hall, followed by someone shouting and the clanging of metal against the floor.