Sanctuary

"Do you want me to go in with you, hun?"

"Mum, are you kidding me?"

Mrs. Gaskarth chewed her lower lip apologetically, her weary brown eyes focused on the road with utmost caution.

Alex would never realize just how much of an effect his aspersions had on the already emotionally fragile woman. After losing one of her sons to suicide, and almost losing the other, her mental, physical, and emotional states were berated on almost a daily basis. Not long ago, the now forty-year-old woman was constantly full of vigor and looked not a day over thirty. But recently her dark brown locks were turning gray, and her face more often than not had a drained expression.

The car pulled into a long queue of vehicles lining the monumental brick building, and though he fought hard to keep his tough guy facade, Alex's hands were trembling, and his heart was lodged in his throat. If he was honest, he longed for his mother to come inside the school with him, to follow him around from class to class, holding his hand until he had the courage to be on his own. It took all of his effort to throw open the passenger door, don his old, rugged backpack, and make his way up towards the grand stone staircase that led up to the front doors of his new school.

St. Raphael High School was one of the oldest in the area, having opened its doors about eleven decades ago. It was one of those private schools that much resembled a castle, its main building a massive brick fortress standing three stories high. The school also consisted of two newer, more squat buildings, a gymnasium, and a field house. Basically, it was far too large for only 750 students.

Alex had been inside the walls of this place only once for orientation, but he had never experienced the institution during school hours. At first, he was genuinely concerned that he'd managed to enter through a wrong door, because the hospital-like, beige colored hallways through which he wandered had scarcely anyone in them; however, once he'd found the commons, a spacious central room with a glass ceiling and a dozen black and gold 'welcome back' posters, he knew that he had found where he needed to be. It was an ocean of teenagers both younger and older than he was, uproarious in excitement after seeing one another for the first time since May.

'Don't panic. You survived four years in a public school twice this size,' Alex told himself as he skirted the edges of the crowd. Though no one had even cast an eye his direction, he felt as though everyone in the room had their attention locked on him. He was going to go into shock from the size and commotion of the crowd. He was desperate to find a quieter place, somewhere he could be alone in his own thoughts.

At his previous school, they weren't allowed to leave the commons area before school began, so he was cautious as he entered the narrow hallway just off of the spacious room. There were no adults in sight this way. He slipped down the corridor, taking in his surroundings, but thinking on his feet. There were only three doors down this passage, and the other end seemed to lead to a more cavernous hallway, presumably one with classrooms.

Alex examined the three doors carefully. The two on his right appeared to be restrooms, and to his left was a door with a window fixed into it. Peering inside, the Brit found himself looking at the fanciest library he had ever seen. It, much like every other important room in this school, was expansive and had walls of off-white. It took up two floors, the second one being a balcony that wrapped around all four walls. By the looks of it, the first floor was where the majority of the bookshelves were, while the second floor had a few shelves but mostly couches and chairs.

The Brit walked in, glancing around for others to assure himself that he wasn't prohibited from being here. Thankfully, he heard light chatter and saw a few students who looked like freshmen meandering through the shelves. Now he just needed a place to sit. The only seats on the first floor were at tables in the center of the room. That would make him feel way too watched. He decided to climb the stairs and look up there, and soon enough found a large leather chair that he threw himself into.

From his backpack, Alex produced his Fujitsu tablet-computer. These miniature laptops were school issued and took the place of notebooks and pencils. He had to admit, this was one of the few pros he'd found in coming to this new place. While it was frightening to think just how much technology was taking over everyone's lives, it was convenient to have all of your notes in one place and neatly typed.

As he waited for his computer to load up, he took another look around the room to examine some of his new classmates. A few geeky looking boys sitting on a couch on the other side of the balcony were crowded around a single laptop, giggling like fools over who knew what. He rolled his eyes and took a look at the group of girls on another couch, sitting with their legs crossed in their white button-up shirts and uniform black and gold skirts which were definitely way shorter than what was probably allowed. Their hair was also perfectly straightened and went down to their narrow hips, their teeth seemed unnaturally white, their faces lacked a single blemish. Though Alex couldn't hear their conversation, he had a feeling it was of something obnoxious like boys or makeup or another girl. He hoped that not all girls here were this fake.

The laptop on his legs made a small noise, alerting him that it was now ready to use. First, he made it a priority to log onto the website on which the school posted grades, schedules, etc. Though he had to click around to find it, he finally managed to pull up his schedule, which he had yet to even look at.

First period: PE II (B) - Flyzik - Gymnasium
Second period: Biology I - Troy - science 4
Third period: Religion II - Dunn - main 202
Fourth period: English II - DeLeon - main 100
Fifth period: lunch - cafeteria
Sixth period: Civics - Smith - Main 104
Seventh period: Spanish II - Fuentes - arts 4
Eighth period: Geometry - Davis - Main 102

Alex rubbed his temple, wondering how on earth he'd find these classrooms on such a large campus. If he remembered correctly from orientation, one of the one-story buildings was called *some name he hadn't bothered learning* Science Hall, and the other was simply the Fine Arts Building. Surely that was what the "arts" and "science" was referring to. As for the elaborate main building… Jesus take the wheel.

Trying to dismiss the anxiety from his mind, Alex pulled up a word document and began typing up some lyrics. This was one of his favorite pastimes, writing and making music. Whenever he was upset, or anxious, or even happy, he immediately grabbed the nearest writing utensil and let his heart spill onto the paper.

That was another thing he hoped for, someone who shared his passion for music. Surely there was someone here that loved Fall Out Boy as much as he did. Or perhaps New Found Glory. Anything even remotely punk was alright with him.

Just as he'd managed to finish the first verse, a long, loud tone played from the speakers and everyone began shuffling around to grab their things. 'Was that the bell? That wasn't a bell, that was just a loud beep!' He wasn't sure why he was so disgruntled over the fact that they didn't even have a true bell, but he decided to dismiss it and began fumbling to get his things.

'Alright, I'm in the center of the main building. The gym is right behind the main building. So that means I should probably go through the door at the back of the library and hopefully it'll lead me in the right direction.' Alex thought to himself as he headed for a door on the back wall.

As he made his way through the bustling hallways, he made a point to observe everyone he passed. All of the guys here seemed either very athletic or very smart. Their faces showed little emotion, and a few of them wore letterman jackets that were decorated with a tacky amount of patches. All of the girls that passed, on the other hand, seemed very brainless and materialistic. Like the girls in the library, they wore either very revealing skirts or very revealing shorts, had long, board-flat hair, perfect white teeth, perfectly tanned skin, not a trace of pimples. They were like living, breathing Barbie dolls. It made Alex a little sick.

As a pair of double doors labeled "gymnasium" came into sight, Alex sighed with relief. He'd found where he needed to be with a few minutes to spare. For a brief moment he began to wonder what the (B) on his schedule meant. Maybe there were two different PE classes, A and B. 'Or maybe it's an all-boys class. Duh, Alex. Oh, God… what if they're all as muscular as the boys I've seen so far. What if I'm scrawny compared to them? I mean, I'm not /that/ scrawny, but… Shit. What if they see my scars in the locker room? Maybe I could change in a stall. No, they'll think I'm weird as hell.'

It was first period on Alex's first day at his new school and he already wanted to die.