Chapters 1- 3 by Karolina

Chapter 1: 15 year old Laurel Sewell; a beautiful blond haired, green eyed petite girl, has just started in a new school in Crescent city, after being home schooled for the past 10 years. Laurel and her parents have moved to Crescent City from Orick, where they are currently trying to sell their property as Laurel’s father has acquired the bookstore on the main street of Crescent City. Laurel feels out of sorts in the school as she makes her way to her first class for the day; biology. There, she sees a boy watching her, and they share a smile. Once class is finished, the boy approaches her and introduces himself as David Lawson and asks if Laurel would like to have lunch with him and his friends in the cafeteria. Laurel hesitates, admitting her uneasiness around being indoors for so long. David quickly asks if he can join her outside, she agrees. They start to speak about things such as the weather ( David questions whether Laurel is cold, as she is in a skirt and tank top) and a little bit of their history. Laurel is having a salad and Sprite for lunch, and David offers her one of his mom’s homemade muffins, which Laurel declines. When David looks uncertain, Laurel explains that she is a strict vegan. As lunch finishes up, David asks if she would like to have lunch with him and his friends in the cafeteria the next day. Laurel feels uncomfortable about it, but she likes David, so she agrees, and David happily walk as Laurel watches on, envious of the ease he portrays. When she returns home, she is asked about her day by her mother, Sarah, who is told that it ‘sucked’. Sarah asks her to name one good thing that happened at school, to which Laurel answers that she met David. Laurel appeals to her mom to let her continue being home schooled; but due to the recent move and still not completely finalizing the sale of the Orick property to a man named Jeremiah Barnes has not gone through yet, the family cannot afford to. Laurel reluctantly agrees to keep going to school, and asks for some food, as she is hungry; apparently a rare occurrence for her.

Chapter 2: The next day at school, David meets Laurel after biology and leads her into the cafeteria to sit with his friends. Laurel feels awkward and timid and can barely concentrate, being cooped up in the confined space of the cafeteria. She tries to hear what David’s friends are saying, but feels that she can’t follow the conversations. A curly, dark haired girl starts interrogating Laurel over her lunch of strawberry and spinach salad, a Sprite, and a peach half; David introduces the girl to Laurel as Chelsea. David quickly explains about Laurel’s vegan eating habits, but Chelsea keeps on pushing until she is gently admonished by David. Chelsea backs off. After lunch, Laurel quickly ducks into the bathroom and finds a window, sticking her head out of it so she can reach as much sunlight and air as possible, feeling instantly better. The next day, David asks to sit next to her in bio, and again asks if she’ll have lunch with him. Laurel starts to decline, although she likes David and his friends, stating that she needs to be outside for lunch. David states that he can bring his friends outside for lunch. She agrees, and during lunch, Laurel feels a lot more comfortable in the group, and as she walks to her next class with David and Chelsea, she starts to feel like she belongs.

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Characters involved

Laurel
David
Sarah Sewell
Chelsea
Mr James (Biology teacher)

Characters Mentioned

Laurel’s dad
Jeremiah Barnes
David’s parents

Places visited:
School
Laurel’s place
David’s place
The woods behind David’s place

Memorable Quotes:
Sarah Sewell: “Of course. We move to a new town and I start you in a brand-new school and the first person you latch on to is a guy.”

Laurel: “I am reasonable. I’m not talking about necessary noise; they run around like wild monkeys. They shriek and laugh and whine at the top of their lungs. And they make out at their lockers.”

Laurel: “You have a microscope?” She snickered. “You really are a science geek.”
David: David laughed. “Yeah, but everyone thought Clark Kent was a nerd too, and look how that turned out.”
Laurel: “You telling me you’re Superman?” Laurel asked.
David: “You never know,” David said teasingly.

Laurel: “Door’s that way, right?” she asked, as politely as possible.
David: “Yeah. It’s just, I can’t call you without your number.”

Questions:
1. What do you about Laurel and her strange habits (wanting to be outside, her eating habits etc) Do you think they are strange?
2. What could be causing Laurel to act the way she does?
3. What do you think of David so far?
4. What is your favorite quote?