Full Moon Read Free

the
next morning. Where did he live? Would he
be at school? He seemed so cool and
together. Usually I avoided guys in general, and if one did catch
my eye, dark-hair, brown eyes and brooding were the
prerequisite.
    The next evening, I jogged to the cemetery, grinning when I
passed the angel, and gave her a wink. Then I headed north, the way
Michael had gone when he left last night. What were the chances I’d actually find his street, let alone
his house? I stopped mid-street and turned
to walk home—stalker wasn’t one of my personality
traits.
    Friday morning
I couldn’t stand it anymore. I had to get out of Jim and Sally’s
house to escape and clear my thoughts. They’d been bickering non
stop about fixing the house, Sally’s job, Jim’s lack of a job and
anything else which seemed to pop into their heads.
    Through the
grey clouds, the air hung heavy with a cool breeze hinting at an
end-of-summer storm. The sun kept trying to poke its way through
the dark.
    As I headed
out the front door, I grabbed a baseball cap in case it rained and
walked towards the high school. Figuring out where a few of my
classes were would save wandering the halls next week.
    The limestone
near the front entrance of the high school had 1922 imprinted on
it... The buildings were created with copper red brick throughout
and had large windows on both floors. The school might be small,
but its structure was unique. An architectural plaque, showing the
school’s layout, hung plastered into the brick. In the center lay a
courtyard, like that of an old castle.
    The very posh
building and grounds reminded me of the kind of boarding schools in
movies or books. It made me nervous. I hadn’t fit into the big high
school back in Niagara Falls. What were the chances I’d fit in
here, a small school? I kicked a pebble on the sidewalk. It was
only one year, so it didn’t really matter what happened. I just
needed to keep up my grades to score some sort of scholarship.
Thank goodness school came easy – science, math, even English –
just don’t put me in choir or art, and I’d be fine.
    Running up the
wide steps, I made my way inside the building. The school secretary
was busy printing off papers and stuffing them into envelopes. She
glanced up as the office door creaked. She wore a frilly dress that
matched her horn-rimmed glasses. She might have been here when the
school first opened. She smiled and walked towards the front
counter.
    “ You must be Rouge Riding. Welcome to Port Q High. I’m Ms.
Graid.”
    “ It’s Rouge, like row with a ‘g’ sound at the end. Spelled
R-O-U-G-E; like the way the French spells red.” One day, I’d shake
the crap out of the person who named me . I smiled. “My last name’s actually
Rid-ding. Just spelled like your driving in a car.” Someone had a
good laugh writing my birth certificate. “I thought I should come
by before school started to make sure all my transcripts came
through.”
    “ Just printed off your schedule.” She chirped like a bird.
Those glasses gave her owl eyes and didn’t flatter her round face.
“You don’t have any free time this semester, but from the looks of
your grades, you won’t have a problem.”
    “ Thanks.” I took the papers she held out and glanced over the
schedule.
    Ms. Graid
handed me a map of the school, with my classes numbered and
highlighted. This woman had too much time on her hands. She’d
organized and color coordinated my class schedule with additional
highlighting and smiley faces. I made a mental note to memorize the
map before I got caught holding it when school started.
    “ Thanks again.” I smiled. I was sure she meant
well.
    “ Be sure and check in any time. I’m always here to help.” She
hummed some ancient, classical-sounding tune as she returned to
stuffing envelopes.
    I walked out
of the office and decided to follow her little map around the
school while it was empty. It didn’t take long to find my way
around; the setup of the small