Rumours

The halls were fit to burst. Students were pouring out of classrooms as quickly as possible, ready to join the sea of teenagers that had accumulated in the corridors. It seemed that the weight of education had been firmly placed on each student within the building. That summery feeling had quickly evaporated, leaving behind a bittersweet taste. The beginning of a new school year had been a shock to the system to almost everyone.

"The first day is always the hardest," Rian announced.

Cass nodded, her eyes rolling slightly. "You say that every single year."

"Ah, yeah, but this is the last time I'm going to get to say it."

She smiled and shook her head. That was true. It seemed she shared most of her classes with Rian, and at the end of every first day back after a long, lazy summer he always reminded her that the worst was over. In a way, it comforted her, things would only become easier as she slipped back into a routine. Only, this was the first time it wasn't comforting. She still had those feelings, snapping, biting, scratching at her insides. Something was going to go wrong this year, she just knew it.

And Cass vowed to do whatever she could to prevent it.

The pair of them had reached their usual after school meeting point to find Alex was the only one there. He was busy pushing text books into his locker, making his bag much lighter.

"Thank god it's over," he grumbled, slamming his locker shut and leaning against it, closing his eyes.

"The first day is - "

"Always the hardest, yeah I know."

Cass smiled shaking her head. The corridors had begun to empty, students heading for the nearest possible exit in their bid to make their great escape. She looked past Alex to see something she hadn't hoped to see, her smile faded quickly and her breath caught in her throat. "You've got to be kidding me."

Alex's eyelids shot open in alarm and he looked at Cass, following her line of sight. He scoffed and folded his arms across his chest. "What do you think she wants?"

"I don't know, but I'm not liking the look of this."

Walking towards them was Ashton. She had a huge smile plastered to her face and she was nodding her head along in agreement to what Audrey Cooper, who was walking beside her, was saying. Her curls bounced as she walked, and her heels clicked against the floor beneath them. It was the sound the fifteen year old girls in the school dreaded to hear. It was the sound of the devil.

"It's like flies round shit, isn't it?" Alex asked, wrinkling his nose in distaste as the two girls approached them.

"Where's Jack?" Cass asked, directing her question to her best friend. She was trying her hardest to pretend Audrey wasn't there, but it was difficult, her perfume wafted in Cass' direction and the scent was suffocating.

Ashton smiled brightly at her three friends all standing around her locker. "I told him to go home. I don't need a ride today, my mom's picking me up."

"Um, why is your mom picking you up, isn't she at work?" Alex asked, curiously.

Ashton shot her oldest friend a glare. "Not this afternoon. She's taking me and Cole to the dentist."

Alex shrugged. "Whatever you say. Come on guys, let's get out of this hell hole." He started heading towards the nearest exit. Rian quickly followed him, choosing to stay out of the bitchy exchange that was coming.

Cass chewed her lip, watching Ashton open her locker and place a couple of text books inside it. She could think of a million things she wanted to say. None of which she wanted to let spill in front of Audrey, who was still hanging around like a bad smell.

Ashton slammed her locker shut and looked expectantly at Cass. "Shouldn't you go? Alex might leave without you." Her tone was harsh.

Cass shook her head. She was slightly taken aback at how horrible Ashton sounded. "I know when you're lying, Ash, and I know you just fed Alex a lie." She glanced at Audrey to see her smirking. Shaking her head one last time, she pushed past her best friend and walked quickly to the nearest exit.

As she walked, her mind raced. Too many horrific scenarios ran through her mind, all of which revolved around Audrey Cooper. She was the root to too many problems, and the last thing Cass wanted was her to be the cause of her own problems.

She ran across the car park, allowing the cool afternoon air refresh and cleanse her skin. She needed to wash away all trace of Audrey Cooper from her mind. There were more important things to think about. Ashton's strange mood's were at the top of her list.

Reaching Alex's car, she wrenched the door open and threw her bag on the backseat, before sitting down in the passenger seat.

"You okay?" Alex asked, concern smothering his words.

Cass nodded, pulling her seat belt across her body and clicking it into place.

"But you're crying, Cass, are you sure everything's alright?"

She adjusted the rear view mirror to see her face streaked with her dark eye make up, her skin itchy from hot salty tears. She hadn't even realised she'd been crying. She furiously wiped her cheeks, annoyed that she'd be upset over something so trivial.

"I'm fine, Alex, can we just go, please?"

He nodded, shooting her one last concerned glance, before pushing his keys into the ignition and pulling the car out of the car park.

Cass knew deep down that the upside down loop in the rollercoaster was Audrey Cooper's fault, and this was the calm before the storm.

Let the games begin.