Chapter 5

“So, did you just transfer in?” Arrogant Boy asked Faith during lunch.

So far she had managed to disassociate herself from Alexander. Apparently no one had yet to catch on to the fact that they shared a last name. Luckily, all of the open seats in each class were well away from Alex’s desk. It seemed that in every class Alex was either flanked by his two henchmen or surrounded by gaggles of girls. Needless to say, it looked like the three musketeers were considered popular by everyone in the school, aside from her of course.

“Yeah,” Faith replied succinctly, hoping that Arrogant Boy would leave her alone.
“Oh. My name is Reese. Reese Godfrey. Where are you from?”
Rolling her eyes Faith replied, “Eastbrook, it’s on the shoreline.” Couldn’t this guy take a hint? She sat alone at this table because she didn’t want to be bothered and here he was trying to start a conversation. Ugh.

“You have a beach house? Sweet.”
“Um, no. I live about two blocks away from the beach.”
“That’s cool too. Hey, do you want to come and sit with me and my friends?”
“Actually...”
“Actually, she’s going to come and sit at my table.” Faith hadn’t realized it, but Alexander had walked up behind her.
“I am?”
“Yes. You can go back to your table Reese. Now.”
“What, you think you have a claim on every girl in this school Alex?”
“No, just this one. She’s my cousin. Now get lost.”
“You’re going to get what’s coming to you one day Alex.”
“Don’t you talk to him like that, you pompous jerk! And I can take care of myself Alex. Thanks.” Faith got up from the table with the remains of her lunch and walked out of the cafeteria. Maybe she could eat in the library if she promised not to make a mess. Unfortunately, her interfering cousin was hot on her heels.

“Faith, hold up.”
Exasperated, Faith turned around. “What?”
“Look, just don’t hang out with that guy, ok? He’s bad news. He and his friends are losers and have been known to treat girls like trash. And with you being new AND my cousin, they’ll definitely be looking to add you as a conquest.”
“Well, thanks for the warning, but like I said earlier, I can take care of myself.”
“Fine.”
“Fine,” Faith replied back and they both walked away in opposite directions.

****
The library provided the peace and quiet Faith needed to reflect on her first day at Chatwick. So far things weren’t too bad, but they weren’t too great either. Why did Alex have to break it to everyone so early that they were related? Sure, people were bound to find out anyhow, especially since they drove to school together and lived at the same house, but still. It would have been nice to find her own niche at the school. Now she’d have to live in his shadow once again.

She got up to throw away her lunch and noticed a poster up on the wall, a fancy glossy poster advertising the Fall Ball to be held in two weeks on October third. This place really was high class. At her old school there would have been a handmade construction paper and marker poster that would be somewhat shabbier, but equally as effective. She started heading toward her next class thinking it might be nice to go to a dance. Who would I even go with?, she thought to herself. The list of boys she knew at Chatwick was rather short. Chase was definitely out of the question. Maybe Nick? But then an idea popped into her head. She had the perfect way to prove to Alex she could take care of herself, and maybe make some friends of her own as well. With a smile on her face she walked out into the hall as the bell rang signaling the start of her next class.

Faith scanned the classroom looking for an open seat. As fate would have it, the only open seat was one right next to Arrogant Boy/Reese. Perfect.

“Are you sure it’s okay with your cousin if you sit here?” Reese asked sarcastically.
“Last time I checked, Alexander wasn’t my bodyguard. Why? Are you afraid of my cousin?”
“Hell no.”
“I didn’t think so.”
Reese smiled wolfishly and with a glare in Alex’s direction, he pulled the chair out for Faith to take a seat.
“Thank you,” she said coyly and sat down at the desk.

The teacher, Mr. Kovacs, started class.
“Today we are going to be starting a unit on the Salem witch trials.”
The whole class started muttering in excited interest.
“As you may or may not know, the name Salem comes from Jerusalem. In fact, some of the first people to settle New Jerusalem were former land owners in Salem.”
“Yeah, we know that already,” a friend of Reese’s mockingly told the teacher.
“Of course, Luke, but did you know why they came to be settled here?”
“Sure, it’s because they were rich and didn’t want to be accused of witchcraft just so that their land could be taken away.”
“Perfect answer, Nick. That’s right. Some theorize that the real motive behind the Salem witch trials was greed. However, many theories exist out there pertaining to hysteria and fear. There are those who still believe that dark powers truly were possessing the young women of Salem. In order to come to our own conclusions we will be taking a field trip to Salem to tour the town and its various museums in the middle of next month. October 10th to be exact.”
Mr. Kovacs went to his desk and picked up a pile of papers and began to hand them out.
“On this sheet you will see the details for your assignment—an eight paged paper on your theory on what could have caused the Salem witch trials that uses at least five different sources of information…and I’m not talking about your Aunt Mabel’s opinion. I want REAL scholarly sources. The paper is due on October 20th.” Groans were heard throughout the room.
“On the bottom of the sheet you will see the permission slip. Please have it signed and returned to me by the Friday after next.”
“But that’s the Fall Ball!” exclaimed one girl.
“I’m well aware of that. However, I’m unsure as to why that’s going to be a problem with handing your permission slip in on time.”
“Well.. I…” she stammered.
“Wonderful. Well, that’s that. Now open your books to page 43….”

****
After class, Faith was stopped by Reese.
“As you heard Layla mention, the Fall Ball is the Friday after next. I was thinking that it might be fun if we went together.”
“Together? As in - you pick me up at my aunt’s house - together?”
“Yeah.”
“Sure. It’s a date.”
“Fabulous,” Reese replied with a gloating grin flashed in Alex’s direction. To add fuel to the fire Reese grabbed Faith’s hand and gave it a quick kiss. Faith giggled in response. “See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, tomorrow.” Faith replied back demurely.

Alex waited for Faith to get to the door before he pounced. “What the heck was that all about? I thought I told you to stay away from him.”
“I’ll do as I please Alex,” she replied with a dismissing wave of her hand.
As she walked down the hall Alex and Chase followed in her wake. “Like I said, Alex, she’s just as snobby as ever.”
“Shut up Chase. She could really be getting herself into trouble.”
“If she thinks she can handle it, let her. You can step in and play hero later.”

Not quite understanding why, Chase felt just as angry as Alex did. Why should he feel possessive over Faith? She was just a stuck up brat who deserved what was coming to her. Right? Shaking the thoughts from his head he scowled and walked toward his next class. At least he had this class without Nick or Alex. And no Alex meant no Faith. Feeling a little less tense he quickened his step just enough so that he’d make it into the room just before the bell.

****
At the end of the day Faith found herself sitting on the bleachers near the lacrosse field. Unbeknownst to her, Alex, Nick and Chase were all on the lacrosse team and had to practice after school. Faith could have driven herself home in Alex’s Mercedes, but that would mean she’d have to pick him up later. So, to save herself the extra trip, she opted to do her homework on the bleachers until the end of practice. Unfortunately, her plans didn’t quite work out that way.

“You’re Alexander’s cousin?” Buxom Blonde Girl asked with a bevy of girls behind her.
“That would be correct.”
“And you’re living at his house.”
“Yep.”
“Why did you transfer up here?”
“It seemed like a good idea at the time,” Faith replied with an inward sigh.
“Oh. So you’ve known The Three for a long time then.”
“The Three?”
“Yeah, that’s how we refer to Alex, Nick and Chase. The Three. It’s, like, a shortened form of The Three Musketeers,” one of the sidekicks chimed.
“How…original.”
“So, have you known them for a long time?” Buxom Blonde Girl asked again.
“I suppose. I used to visit my cousin every summer and they’d always be hanging around. But we’re not super close if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Well then. It was nice meeting you.”
“Yeah, you too.”

As the girls walked away she could hear them murmuring, “Well, she definitely isn’t going to help us with getting The Three to ask us to the dance. That’s for sure. Anyhow, she’s totally anti-social. No wonder she’s not close with The Three. Who’d want to go out with her?” Buxom Blonde Girl said with a laugh.

Not feeling guilty in the least, Faith called to the wind in a whisper:

I call the wind, I summon the air,
Move the breeze from here to there.
Repay her the ‘kindness’ she showed me,
As I will, so mote it be.

As she finished the spell a gust breezed by her and lifted up the skirts of the girls’ uniforms and mussed their perfectly coiffed hair. How embarrassing for them, thought Faith as she looked back toward the field. She saw Chase give her a funny look, so she looked down and continued to try and work on her homework.