Chapter 3: CHAPTER TWO

R I O N A

"Rie wake up," I heard a voice say faintly. I turned in the other direction to get rid of the noise, but it persisted.

"Rie wake up!" I heard the voice clearly shout.

I groaned as my eyes fluttered open, revealing Iris in her towel.

"You have school Rie, go take a bath!" she commanded.

I sat up in my bed and gazed at the floor. After a yawn escaped my lips, I carried myself from the bed, stripped my clothes off and wrapped myself in a towel. I took a bath, combed my caramel brown hair and tied it up into a ponytail, then put on a grey hoodie and black jeans.

After I was done, I grabbed my glasses from the table, put them on and hurried downstairs to find the whole family was already done with breakfast.

"It's the first day of senior year. Couldn't you wear something more…" Thalia sighed, analyzing my choice of clothes.

"I'm comfortable the way I am, Lia. Grab your bag. Let's get to school." I shrugged whilst taking a huge bite of the red apple that rested on the counter.

Everyone made their way to my black Toyota Corolla. I walked out last and locked the door behind me.

"Do you guys need any money?" I asked before turning on the engine.

"Twenty for me!" Cassidy jumped.

"Thirty for me!" Iris answered.

I dipped my hand into my pocket and brought out the exact money they requested. Both girls collected it with a huge smile on their faces.

"Here.” I offered Thalia forty dollars.

She eyed me before taking the money. I just hoped the girls never caught on to her attitude about the money I gave Thalia.

I drove until we got to a huge brick structure. Inside, there were two smaller brick structures which held Colton's Middle School. I found a place to park then Cassidy and Iris both got out, kissed Lia and me on the cheek before hurrying to school.

Colton High was directly beside the middle school but because of how big the campus was, it was a solid three-minute drive to get there. I pulled into school and parked my car in my favorite spot. Lia hurriedly picked up her bag and waved goodbye.

With a sigh, I stepped out of the car and locked the door. From the car park, I turned to observe the school thinking it would look different, but it didn't. There were the same girls giggling and guys doing some weird bromance shit.

Colton High didn't look too different from the middle school. Same brick red building with stone paths; the only thing that was different were the ages of the students.

I made my way into the ceramic tiled hallway which was lined with lockers all painted blue and it was packed with more students.

Ignoring all that, I walked to my locker which was located further down the hallway. I kept my bag, glasses, and a single notebook for the first class I had, then slammed it shut.

With a sigh, I began making my way to my first class. Wooden chairs and tables were neatly arranged in rows of four and columns of five. I took a seat in the back, nearest to the window.

The teacher walked in wearing a purple shirt and pants. He had left his sleeves unbuttoned. Mr. Sal always made strange clothing decisions, but he outdid himself today. Weird start to the day.

We were halfway through our biology lecture when the principal came in with a boy, then whispered something into Mr. Sal's ears before leaving.

"Well class, this is a new student who will be joining us for the year. I'll let him introduce himself," Mr. Sal said.

"I—" He stopped mid-sentence and cleared his throat before continuing. "I am Keith Anderson and I'm glad to be here."

"Okay well take a seat anywhere you like so we can continue with the class," Mr. Sal instructed and he obeyed.

He walked towards me and smiled lightly before taking the empty seat in front of me.

After the first bell went off and Mr. Sal left the class, the boy turned to face me and just kept on smiling.

What a creep!

"What?!" I asked, simply not amused at what he was doing.

"Chill, I just wanted to ask about the notes you guys took before I came in," he said with a husky voice.

"I don't like talking to new people. Ask someone else," I replied, irritated, and left to my next class.

I sat through the rest of my boring classes and after the bell sounded for lunch, my phone vibrated with a message from the Boss.

I hurried to my locker to drop off my books, so I could make it to the office on time. I knew Boss wasn't a fan of waiting.

"Rie!" I heard Cassie's voice call from down the hallway.

"I'm in a hurry, Cass," I replied when she was close enough.

"Where are you going? Aren't you going to have lunch?"

"Cass, it's work," I admitted.

"I can come with you to make sure you ea—"

"Cass, it's fine! I'll drop by Santa's Bakery to grab a snack."

"Promise to take care of yourself?" She pouted.

I nodded and gave her a hug before driving out of the school compound until I reached a local grocery store that had a fading neon sign that read, The Place. As a hideout for an organization that trains people to become assassins, that name shouldn’t sound suspicious to anyone.

I carefully pushed the glass door causing a dinging bell to echo throughout the grocery shop.

My eyes quickly drifted to Derick who sat behind the cashier desk. He was dressed in a yellow short-sleeved shirt and brown khaki shorts.

Derick was the cashier of The Place, but also like security for our organization. He was twenty-seven years old and had been working there since he was sixteen. He had a slender build and long silver hair which he always tied in a ponytail.

"Davis, you left the boss waiting and he is not happy!" Derick explained as he tried to smooth his hair.

"Cassidy wanted to have a conversation with me," I explained, and he nodded.

I walked past the counter into the storage room, which was occupied by cartons, and at the end, rested an old wooden bookcase.

I pulled out one of the books and a hidden door opened leading inside. With a sigh, I carefully walked inside which led me to a hallway with different doors. I kept walking until I reached the middle door, then I knocked and entered.

"You're late Davis!" Boss thundered without even looking in my direction.