Jar of Hearts

It was a while before I saw Whatshisname again. I was thanking my lucky stars while befriending people here. I was new, but no one really seemed to notice me except Dane. It was like every shy story girl's dream. Too bad I actually cared about making new friends.

As I walked into my chemistry classroom I was drawn to the boy I had seen sitting alone for the past few days. I wanted to befriend him, seeing as he seemed so lonely. I had no interest in a relationship because of past experiences, but he was very handsome. I didn't really want to seem as if I was coming on to him. But at the same time I had no one to spend time with and was tired of waiting for Don to pop out around any corner.

"Hey, I'm Sage."

"I know," he murmured, not bothering to look up from the floor.

"And you are?"

"Jacob. Jacob Grant."

He looked up at me and stared with his bloodshot eyes. I had noticed his bedraggled appearance on the first day but had simply written it off as teenage unawareness of hygiene. But when I saw his face full on for the first time I realized it was something else. His face was pale and hallow and bags took harbor underneath his eyes. It was clear that he was either extremely tired or taking something, if you know what I mean.

Other people coming into the classroom seemed as if to flinch when they passed the desk. Almost all of them glared at my attempts to even talk to Jacob. It made me think that he really was a druggie like my earlier suspicions had suggested. But there was no reason for me not to talk to him even if he was into stuff like that so I continued to sit next to him. It was slightly awkward seeing as I had ceased my attempts of conversation and he was definitely not trying to talk to me.

I was starting to wonder if any of the people here were normal. Or at least decent enough to talk to. It seemed like everyone was raised to never talk to new people unless it was to harass them.

It was kind of strange that I couldn't find any welcoming people around. You'd think that in eight classes of the day there would have been one decent person to approach me or one approachable person. But it seemed like my search for someone nice was left empty.

That is until I got into English. There was a girl sitting there that I hadn't seen before. No one was next to her so I was frightened of a Jacob replay, but she looked groomed from what I could see. I knew that wasn't always a given symptom, but it was a helpful one.

Slipping into the seat next to her I decided to wait a few minutes to see if she would talk first. I didn't want it to be another replay of this morning, but I was talking to her no matter what. It was set into my mind. People weren't very friendly here and I needed someone to talk to.

The first few minutes were sat in lingering silence and I almost thought she wasn't going to say anything.

"How new are you? Not more than this year right?" she asked quietly.

I thought it was a strange question. She must be new too if I haven't seen her, so there was no way for her to know that I was new. Unless she had actually managed the impossible of making friends and they told her about me. That hardly seemed like a possibility though.

"This is my first year," I stated.

"Good. I didn't think I missed so much school that I wouldn't recognize you...Oh, by the way, I'm Tressa."

She seemed slightly absent-minded, and apparently she wasn't in school much.

"I'm Sage..."

Tressa almost mulled over my name for a moment, before diverting her attention from me. A drop dead gorgeous girl had walked into the room with a less beautiful, but still pretty girl by her side. I recognized her slightly from the hallways, she was always surrounded by other people.

Tressa seemed to sense that I noticed her averted train of thought.

"Anyway, you'll be my friend. I don't have any, and if you had any you wouldn't have sat next to me. Besides, everyone here is evil."

I found it odd how she just decided that I was her friend, but she seemed nice enough. Maybe a little odd, but I wasn't in the position to be choosy. Besides, I like people who are different.

After class was over I asked Tressa to show me where the gym was. I had already forgotten from two days ago. As we walked down the hallways I made eye contact with Dill. The asshole looked like he wanted to swallow me up, but more likely wanted it to be the other way around.

I hope that he won't become more of a problem than he already is...