The Richardson List

Carter absorbed the boy in front of her, scrutinizing his every move, every breath. A silence pregnant with tension was floating in the air, the thoughts of all the students clear. She wasn’t the only one who felt odd; it seemed everyone was sure of one simple, preconceived notion: he was different.

The uniform he wore was like the rest of them, which couldn’t have made him to appear weird. The shoes on his feet were a combination of neon colours, but so were many others, and his left pierced ear wasn’t anything unique. Carter couldn’t identify the peculiarity of him until her eyes fell upon his.

His honey coloured hair fell roughly into the conniving gaze that was inspecting the surroundings, slight amusement compressed in his emerald eyes. The smirk twisted upon his lips was confident, reassured.

Unlike many other guests to the school, he didn’t display the familiar expression resembling a lost child. No, his conceited manner was clear. Maybe, Carter contemplated, that was the reason she didn’t feel quite right in his presence.

Still, she could do without the unsettling flips that her stomach executed every few moments.

Mr. Wyler, her teacher, cleared his throat. The sound snapped Carter from her train of thought and she was suddenly aware once again of the abnormal quiet.

“Mr. Richardson,” the teacher addressed the boy up at the front, his expression anything but inviting. “Your seat will be beside Ms. Rousseau.” He pointed to the vacant seat beside Carter, much to her dismay.

Skye, as the teacher had deemed him, lifted his eyes from the students and fixated them on Carter, who averted her gaze quickly. His stare never lifted from her awkward figure as he strolled down to his assigned seat, the accessorizing smirk also never falling from his lips.

Once he slid into the chair murmurs instantaneously burst into the air, everyone whispering to their neighbours about the new kid.

Carter’s eyes remained on the text in her book, attempting to concentrate on Mr. Wyler’s monotonous voice. However, Skye’s mere presence denied her that peace, and glancing around the class it seems others also struggled with similar problems.

A few didn’t seem to concern their dignity at all and generously gawked, their curiosity consuming them easily. Audrey was one of those few.

“What’s your name?” a whisper sounded in Carter’s ear, the sudden breath washing over her neck causing for her to jump slightly in her seat. Turning her head she saw Skye’s lips form into a smile at her reaction.

Her gaze immediately diverted onto her sheet, attempting to relax the pounding of her heart. “Carter,” she mumbled in response.

“Carter Rousseau.” The name effortlessly rolled off his tongue, almost as if he were seeing how his lips formed around the title.

She turned to nod at him, confirming that he was correct. Her stomach still continued on performing its exasperating tossing.

“My name’s Skye Richardson,” he introduced himself again, an undertone of confidence in his voice.

The girl continued to write her sentence, her gaze never leaving her sheet. “I know,” she mumbled. “Mr. Wyler just said that.” She lifted her head and pointed to the aforementioned man with her pen, proving her point.

That was the extent of their conversation, any other words left for dead. However, thankfully because of this, Carter was able to focus fairly well on the page in front of her. In fact, she had been so entranced with her work that she had even somewhat forgotten about the boy seated beside her.

But, as usual, when the shrill bell assaulted her ears she was ripped back into reality and with reality came the presence of Skye. Attempting to ignore the intent stare fixated on her being, she gathered her book in a rather quick pace.

Her eyes never met his as she was in front of Audrey’s desk in a matter of seconds, tapping her foot impatiently. “Come on, Audrey,” she urged, eyes at her feet.

The blonde nodded her head and grabbed her bag, slinging it over her shoulder. Eyes were inconspicuously glancing in a certain boy’s direction.

Once she was up on her feet, Carter bolted towards the door, the sweet taste of escape on the tip of her tongue.

“Wait, Carter.” A voice refused her of that relief and with her grip tight on her books she turned to face him.

When he had successfully captured her attention, Skye offered her a familiar blue pen with a smirk on his lips. “This is yours?”

Carter accepted the pen gingerly, muttering a quiet “thanks” while not daring to meet his gaze. Audrey was eyeing the pair with a mischievous fire present in her eyes, a smile twisting onto her mouth as Carter grabbed her arm and began leading her out the door.

It was no surprise that she had forgotten the pen that Cole had given her that morning; Carter was always losing items as such. However, she cursed herself for forgetting it on that particular day.

With her petite figure, Audrey easily towered over the girl; however Carter continued to tug her down the hall. She was thankful that the blonde didn’t put up a fight, knowing the hidden strength concealed under her skin.

Audrey’s eyes lingered on Skye before she was roughly pulled out of sight. Once they were out of hearing distance she instantly erupted into giggles, wrenching her arm from Carter’s grasp. “Well then, what was that all about Rousseau?”

Her eyes trailed over to Carter’s suspiciously, and the raven haired girl quickly caught on to what she was implying.

“You’re crazy,” she dismissed Audrey’s deluded thoughts with a wave of her hand, rolling her eyes at the girl before setting off to class.

Audrey was crazy, and that’s what Carter kept trying to convince herself.



Carter stared down at her poor excuse for a salad that consisted of a few leaves of lettuce with a couple shredded carrots and unbreakable croutons, doused in dressing to make it look believable. She was slightly envious when Cole slid up next to her, a delicious grilled cheese sandwich in hand and an apple juice to wash it down.

He glanced down at her lunch and chuckled. “Why’d you get the salad again?” he asked, noting the revolted expression occupying her face.

She turned her head and smiled. “In hopes that one day it may be edible.”

Carter severely doubted that day would ever come as she sighed and dumped the salad into the adjacent garbage can. When she returned back to her seat, Cole generously offered half of his sandwich knowing that it was inevitable she would ask for some. She smiled and graciously accepted it.

“Calm down, no one’s going to steal it from you,” he chided with a chuckle as Carter wasted no time to chow down on her newly acquired food. Cole gestured to the field of oblivious teens, none of them appearing to be tempted to steal her sandwich. She ignored this and continued to binge.

Swallowing, she giggled slightly while setting down her sandwich on a napkin, pointing over Cole’s shoulder. “She, my friend, may.”

Throwing a glance over his shoulder, he saw Audrey pacing towards them, eyes fixated on the sandwich. When noticing this, Cole grabbed his lunch protectively, glaring in her general direction while taking a bite.

While taking a seat Audrey detected Cole’s vigilant attitude and threw her arms up in defence. “I’m not here to steal your food,” she assured him, rummaging in her bag and producing a piece of gum to prove her point.

Cole visibly relaxed when she popped the green stick in her mouth, setting down his food.

“Anyways,” she continued, interest flicking her in her eyes. “I was wondering if I’m the only one who noticed the sky-rocketed popularity of that Skye guy?”

All of their eyes glided in the boy’s direction who was laughing obnoxiously with a group of friends, all seeming to find something upright hilarious. For a moment they all stared, somewhat in a daze.

The sound of Audrey popping her gum caused both Cole and Carter’s attention to immediately snap back to her.

Carter tapped her fingers on the wood, also pondering on Skye’s abrupt recognition. “Maybe he’s just a people person?” the girl offered, considering the idea to be easily true. She noted that the moment he sat down he tried for conversation, and even though their conversation fell comatose it could be she was simply dead company.

Cole nodded his head in agreement, finding her guess to be as good as his. It was clear he didn’t care much for the boy, and it wasn’t strange because it didn’t seem like he needed to.

“Maybe it’s because he’s hot?” Audrey suggested, popping her gum and having a smile bloom across her face when Cole rolled his eyes at her. “It’s true!” she defended herself.

The blonde pitched a glance in Carter direction, hoping for some assistance in the matter. In return the raven-haired girl shrugged, continuing to munch on her food.

“Ha!” Cole’s voice was laced with triumph as an arrogant grin crossed his face.

“That’s no fair!” Audrey whined in defeat, slumping in her seat. “Carter doesn’t think anyone’s hot.”

When exasperation filled Carter’s features Audrey grinned. The blonde had repetitively informed her of this fact, and even though Carter disagreed she would not budge from her verdict. However, she remained silent, avoiding any argument on the matter.

Cole pressed his palms against the nape of his neck loosely, smiling with a cocky edge. “Carter thinks I’m hot.”

“You know it,” the aforementioned girl mumbled with sarcasm contaminating her words, the edges of her lips twisting upwards slightly.

In her peripheral vision Carter was able to identify a few figures, one of them being Skye himself. His friends were all familiar faces as well since she shared a few classes with them and they made a job of making their voices heard.

Audrey pushed Carter lightly, laughter tumbling passed her lips. “Drooling over Skye I see. And who was right?” Amusement tied into her words, her gaze teasingly accusing.

Carter shifted back into her seat, shaking her head. “Am not,” she whined as she crossed her arms over chest. Both Cole and Audrey gave her a look before bursting out into laughter.

She joined in with them afterward, surrendering her irritation. However, she still noticed Skye’s eyes candidly focused on her for some reason.