Chapter 7 - Another Day

When Samantha first woke up, she laid in bed for a moment. The quilt was wrapped around her body and she could feel in it was going to be a cold day. Outside the window the clouds were hanging low. It was the perfect weather to stay indoors with a sweater and cup of hot tea. October was one of Samantha's favorite times of the year. Her and Chase were originally from north Georgia. She wasn't used to such cold fall temperatures this early, but it was a refreshing change. The heat and short cold seasons grows old quickly. She could still remember a couple of years ago when it hit 85 F in October. It's kind of hard to get into the Halloween spirit when you can wear shorts and sandals. They lived in a house that hugged Blue Ridge Lake and went to the best school in the surrounding area. Her adoptive parents were well off since her father was a lawyer and her mother was a doctor at the local hospital.

She threw off her covers and sat up in bed to rub her eyes sleepily. Like the night before, Samantha didn't dream. However, this time she felt somewhat rested. She could tell that she didn't sleep as well as she hoped for. Most of her muscles and head were still sore from the fall. Her finger brushed over the cut on the line of her hair as Reid's voice echoed in her memories. "What happened to your head? And your hands?" Chewing at her bottom lip, she wondered if she could go to Reid and ask about the figure in the woods. What if they were the ones that sent the ghost to follow her? Is that possible? They're warlocks after all… Could she truly trust them though? Like she had told Reid, Samantha hasn't been here long enough to know if they could truly be trusted. Then again, now that she knew their secret, Reid and Tyler were blindly trusting Samantha not to go blabbing her mouth to anyone. Not that anyone would probably believe her… For now it was probably just best to keep her head low while she still adjusted to her new life. The last four days had been a chaotic blur. She really didn't need all of this extra stress on top of the fact that she was still processing the loss of her parents in a terrible car accident. Her father had lost control in the rain and they went head on into a tree.

Letting out a tired sigh, she pushed herself off the bed and began to get ready for class. She slipped on the school's dark gray skirt, navy sweater vest, and white button up. The last school she went to also had a similar uniform style. To keep herself warm as possible, Samantha put on wool black knee-high socks and a dark blazer the school provided. She tied back half of her brown hair up, like she did on the first day of school, and she threw on some blush on her fair skin. Samantha wasn't the type to get overly dressed up and do her make up. She didn't mind fading into the background of people. Looking in the mirror, she noticed how curly her hair had actually become. She knew it was because of living so close the sea now. Samantha never realized how much it could have had an affect on her hair.

When Samantha exited the girl's dorm, the cold made her smile as she gazed over the orange and yellow foliage. In a way, it reminded her of the mountains she once roamed with her family. Her mother would have loved to see these colors. She adjusted the leather shoulder bag and walked to the community hall where she could grab a muffin and a cup of coffee before class. Taking a seat on a bench outside, she silently ate away at the blueberry pastry. The sun was just peaking over the horizon, slowly lightening up the blue hue from the night. Her coffee had a little bit of cream and cinnamon. The liquid warmed her chest as she listened to the birds begin to sing. She thought about eating a whole meal, but her stomach made the thought unappetizing. Samantha annoyingly chewed at her muffin, wondering why she still didn't feel good after that night at the party. Did the ghost curse her or something? But why? What did she do wrong?

Cursing under her breath, she got up to toss the last little bit of the muffin away. Sitting on top of all the trash was a local newspaper. It was from yesterday and the front headline was 'Student Found Dead of Overdose: Police Break Up Annual Spenser Party'. There was the picture underneath the headline and it was of the ghost. Well…when he was alive. Samantha snatched the newspaper from the trash to begin reading over it. He was a student at Spenser Academy and the picture they used was of him dressed in the uniform.

Samantha's heart began to race and she licked her dry lips. Her world was beginning to spin as she folded up the paper. She wasn't sure what to make of everything. Were the boys somehow involved with his murder? Did they do it? Samantha began to walk quickly to class. She didn't notice any of the students that began to spill out of the dorms. Her heart and blood roared in her ears as she hurriedly let herself into the main entrance. What in the world had she gotten herself into? And of all the places for her parents to send her, it had to be here…

Her teacher was behind his desk, going over his lessons for the day while the rest of the classroom was mostly empty. She was the fifth student to take a seat. Setting down her coffee and newspaper, Samantha got comfortable in her chair at the end of the row. She unfolded the paper and began to skim over the words. At the top of the paper, she read 'Eastern seaboard braces for Tropical Storm'. She had heard they just dealt with Tropical Storm Berly a couple of months ago and October felt a little late for any storms like this… Her eyes went back to the student she had seen at the woods. He wasn't completely a redhead like she had first thought. It was more of a vibrant strawberry blond when the light hit it. What if he had been trying to reach out to her? What if there was no ill intent from him? He never hurt her. He just followed her. But was he involved with the boys? She knew there was much more to their story of being warlocks. How deep did all of this go?

Maybe I should go back and see if I can communicate with him…She thought and wondered if that would help any. Or was it best just for her to mind her own business.

A sudden drop of a bag two seats down made Samantha quietly gasp and nearly jump out of her skin.

Pogue chuckled. "My bad," he apologized and took his seat as others began to do the same.

Speak of the devil… Samantha thought and faked a small smile. "It's cool. I'm just not fully awake," She lied. Before Pogue could see what she was reading, Samantha put away the newspaper into her bag. She gathered her things for class and open up her notebook for notes.

"How do you like it here so far?" Pogue asked, trying to strike up conversation.

They hadn't really talked too much since she arrived here. She barely knew him. "It's…different," she hesitantly answered.

"That doesn't sound reassuring," Pogue joked and pushed back some of his long hair.

This was when Samantha really couldn't understand how all four of these gorgeous men could have found each other….Oh. Wait. Right, they're Warlocks. Maybe they made themselves super hot with magic? Is that how it works…? "I'm used to the south," she began to explain. "I'm used to the heat and mountains. You guys are right on the ocean and it actually gets cold here in the fall. It's nice."

"I always forget how miserable the south sounds," Pogue said.

Samantha shrugged. "You get used to it."

"Warm weather would be nicer for motorcycles though. The rain up here can get a little annoying." Samantha watched his green eyes sparkle with joy and that made some of the awkwardness fade.

"What kind do you have?" Samantha asked.

"A Ducati 749."

She nodded. "Oh nice."

Pogue looked curiously at her. "Do you know bikes?"

"Nope. Just like to pretend," she said with a smile. Pogue chuckled and rolled his eyes. "I do know some about cars and trucks though. My dad taught me what he could throughout middle school and some of high school."

"What's your dream car?"

With out hesitation she replied, "1965 Mustang Fastback. Preferably with black exterior paint and dark crimson leather seats for the interior. My dad used to have one. It was my favorite growing up."

Pogue nodded approvingly. "Good choice. Does he still have it?"

A lump got caught in Samantha's throat at the question. She turned away to look down at her notebook. "No, he doesn't have it anymore."

Thankfully that's when Caleb sat down in between her and Pogue, interrupting their conversation. "Morning," Caleb greeted them and Samantha smiled.

"Good morning," she replied back. That's when she noticed that Reid and Tyler were also in their seats a few rows away. So were Kate and Sarah. Reid lifted a hand to wave at Samantha. She waved back, but noticed the happy expression drop from his face when his attention went to Caleb. The irritated stare made it feel like there was heavy static in the air and she glanced at Caleb to see if he had noticed. The dark hair man opened up his notes and left his eyes on the front of the room.

"Good Morning," Mr. McAdam addressed the class. "Mr. Danvers, Provost Higgins requests the pleasure of your company after class." Caleb nodded and then him and Pogue gave each other a sideways glance. Just like them, Samantha wondered if it was about last night's fight.

"Now, we're going to study four American contemporary writers of fiction." Mr. McAdams turned to the chalkboard and began scribbling words. "First is Cormac McCarthy, then Tim O'Brien, Kent Haruf, and last but not least, Stephen King."

Reid's voice came from behind her. "Yeah! Dreamcatcher was the shit!"

Most of the class began chuckling at the blond's comment and Samantha rolled her eyes. He was a very kind guy, but he was obviously still a teenager. Reid was probably the least mature out of the four. Which didn't surprise Samantha. "Thank you, Mr. Garwin, but no. My choice is The Shining."


Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think so far of the story. I hope everyone is staying safe during this pandemic!

~FriedPeaches