Solace smiled and nodded faintly at a girl who passed him with a slightly interested look, not minding the gaze since he was new to town.
"Solace, grab the shelf for me. I need a place to set the books down." A pretty woman with short hair and a motherly aura hollered from inside the two story house.
"Coming mom." Turning his gaze away from the people moving about and climbed into the cluttered U-Haul and started fishing the shelf out of the pile of things.
Making a trip inside the clean and tidy house, Solace set the desk down and stretched his muscles, feeling a bit tired.
"I'll get the rest of the stuff out of the truck." Half shouting upstairs, he turned and started to unload the U-Haul, wishing he could finish in time to read the new release of his favorite novel.
Time passed and after taking a short break, his mother demanded he take one, he managed to empty the U-Haul and pulled the door shut.
Dusting the accumulated dust and cobwebs from his hands, Solace jogged inside and washed his hands to avoid leaving dirty handprints everywhere.
"Are you done sweetie? Do you want me to warm up some food? We have a bit of spaghetti left from yesterday."
"I'm good for now, if anything, I'll just make a sandwich later." Solace headed up the stairs, excited to explore his new room.
"Don't forget and starve yourself." Nodding in acceptance, he missed the helpless smile Sophia gave him as she knew his habits.
Leaving the door halfway open, Solace walked over to his well made bed and plopped down, only to get up a few seconds later because he remembered his clothes were dirty.
After a quick shower, Solace climbed into bed and turned on his phone. A notification chimed and he smiled in anticipation.
"It's finally out. I wonder what Damien will do..." After a few minutes, he put his phone aside and sighed in annoyance.
"Damn the author! Leaving us with another cliff hanger!" Muttering indignantly, Solace pulled his pillow over and rested his head on it.
Soon, the world faded away as he fell into the land of dreams. An hour later, Sophia climbed up the stairs and peeked into his room.
"And I told him to make sure to eat..." Sophia shook her head and went to her room, closing the door softly behind her.
...
The sun rays coming through the window made Solace squint due to the brightness. Rolling on to his side, he tried to fall back asleep, but his phone's alarm went off.
"Another day has begun..." Looking at the ceiling, Solace got up and went to brush his teeth, looking at his above average face in the mirror.
"I'm not ugly, but I'm not handsome either. I might be able to become a side character in a novel with my looks." Smiling wryly, he rinsed his mouth and put his toothbrush aside.
"Solace are you awake? I made breakfast!" Sophia's voice came from downstairs. After putting on a simple jeans and a black hoodie, he headed downstairs.
"Well, look who finally woke up. I thought you'd be late to your first day of school." Laughing gently to herself, she watched as Solace helped himself to some waffles and eggs.
"It's not like I haven't missed the first day of school before." Rolling his eyes, he took a bite out of his chocolate chip waffle drenched in maple syrup.
"This time, we're starting fresh. Go to school and make friends, put your past behind you and embrace the future." Sophia placed another waffle on his plate.
"Have a good day at work mom." Solace gobbled down the last bit of eggs and took the waffle to go, layering syrup on it until it was thoroughly soaked.
"Stay safe." She walked around the counter and hugged Solace tightly. Feeling the warmth of the hug, Solace patted her back and then broke the hug.
"I should go." Solace grabbed his bag laying near the door and left the house, heading in the direction of his new school.
...
The halls were empty when Solace arrived, mostly because of him taking his time on the walk over to school. Not wanting to be the center of attention, he chose to come late.
The halls were lined with lockers, like a typical school. Aside from the occasional student who was out of class, no one stopped Solace.
Fishing a paper out of his bag, he looked at the room number and wandered around until he found his classroom. After composing himself, he knocked lightly on the door.
"Who is it?" The door knob turned and the door opened, revealing a mature beauty wearing casual clothes that only enhanced her beauty.
"Oh? You must be Solace right?" Hearing her words, Solace nodded, feeling a bit nervous and shy, but his face was expressionless on the outside.
"Come on in. Pick a seat." Opening the door, Solace walked into the classroom and scanned it briefly, his eyes stopping on an unoccupied desk at the back.
"Hi." A handsome young man waved enthusiastically at Solace, making his mouth twitch. It was fine if he was a beauty, but he was a guy, must he look so excited?
"Hello." Keeping his words short, Solace ignored the gazes he knew were focused on him and slid down into his seat. The desk wasn't too big, but having been to a school before, Solace didn't fret much.
"We didn't do introductions because you're late. Miss Alice might be nice, but she's a stickler to the rules." Whispering loudly, Solace couldn't ignore the guy even if he wanted to.
"What's your name? I heard you moved here from out of state right?" Solace wondered who gave them so much information, but he just shrugged slightly, keeping his internal emotions within.
"I'm Solace. I moved here from Texas." The handsome young man tilted his head in confusion. It wasn't his business so he didn't continue to pry.
"Well, that's a first. I never thought someone would intentionally move here, but it's also good. I can get to make a new friend."
Solace just nodded, not paying much attention to the boy as he didn't want his teacher to think he was chatting in class on the first day.
Time passed and soon it was time for lunch break. Grabbing his bag, Solace waited for the class to empty before moving to leave.
The handsome guy who was talking nonstop yet the teacher never saw him followed Solace like a tail, constantly talking about different things.
"You want to go to the cafeteria? I can bring you there." Puffing out his chest, Samuel led Solace to the cafeteria after making a few turns.
"You don't talk much do you?" Samuel asked as he pushed the door open and revealed a noisy room with tables filled with people.
"I talk a bit too much actually. I just stay quiet because I was listening today." Finding an excuse that sounded believable, Solace walked towards the line of students waiting to eat.
"You don't have to pay for your food. Just waiting in line is bad enough as is. Luckily, the food is pretty good." Samuel looked at the plates of a few passing students and spoke.
"My old school made us pay for lunch that was really crappy." Solace shook his head thinking of the nasty mush that his previous school called food.
After getting his food, Solace walked towards an empty table in the corner, but Samuel grabbed his shoulder and shook his head.
"Not there man. That table is reserved for Them." Samuel looked more serious than Solace had seen all day, making him wonder who he was talking about.
"You'll see. I wish I could hang out with Them, but I guess I'm not cool enough." Samuel led Solace to a table nearby and sat down, sipping on a soda.
Solace had to admit, the food was pretty good, and just as he was getting into eating, the cafeteria door opened and everyone fell silent.
Samuel looked at the door and tapped Solace's shoulder excitedly. Seeing the excitement on his face, Solace wondered if he were mentally stable.
"They're here!" Solace watched as two guys and two girls walked over to the empty table and sat down gracefully.
Solace wasn't very shocked until he looked at their faces. All of them were at least a 10 of of 10 just based on appearances alone.
They each wore different clothing, but they all seemed close, forming an atmosphere that was both enchanting and forbidding at the same time.
"They're the cool kids. Well, that's what I call them, they're really popular with everyone too." Samuel pointed out as Solace watched them while eating.
