Page 9 of Obsession

“Why do you insist on going against me in everything? What’s so bad about me taking you to school? You think I’ll embarrass you?” He raised an eyebrow and smirked at me.

He already looked like a teenager, acting like one was too much, especially at the age of thirty-eight.

They say that firemen are some of the most attractive men in the world. If that was the case, then my father fit that role perfectly. I looked so much like my mother, but sometimes I wish I had taken after him – now more than ever. Maybe his gorgeous blue eyes, or his tanned skin, the opposite of the pale complexion I had inherited from my mother. At least their hair was the same black, the only difference being the platinum sheen that my father’s had. I couldn’t achieve that even if I ran the straightener through my hair for two hours. Mine was almost matte.

A few strands of hair fell rebelliously over his forehead, and I pouted, re-evaluating the fact that he was taking me to school.

“You’re lucky you’re hot,” I relented, standing to carry my bowl to the sink.

I ran for the door before our eyebrow wagging contest got out of hand.

“What? If I wasn’t hot, what would have happened?” he shouted after me.

“If you weren’t hot, this conversation wouldn’t have happened and you wouldn’t have a car anymore,” I stuck my head through the doorway and signaled for him to follow me.

He came out of the house muttering that he couldn’t even finish eating because of me. After locking the door, he squeezedthrough the narrow garage, climbed into the driver’s seat, and slammed the door like a disgruntled teenager. I stifled my giggles.

The car seemed to fit in the garage a bit better, a sign that he had removed the cabinet. I scrutinized him from my seat, seeing how the T-shirt hugged his perfect body and the way his hair was combed. Perfect for a model father.

“What are you looking at?” he mumbled in a funny way.

I started to laugh. “You’re sexy!”

I slapped myself inwardly for the crap that came out of my mouth. My dad grinned shamelessly in response, his ego nearly purring.

“Aren’t I?” He winked at me, and I shook my head, still laughing. I urged him to start the car before our conversation continued. I was used to talking about things like this with … her, not with my dad.

The drive didn’t take long, and I couldn’t stop myself from imagining different scenarios of how today would go. I tried to memorize as much of the new neighborhood as I could since I had locked myself in for the past week.

Downtown wasn’t that different from New York, but I wasn’t the best at orientation, so I preferred not to get too lost, at least not until I found someone to take me home. A new friend wasn’t exactly on my priority list, but it was on the list of necessities. Unfortunately, there was no one of my age that I had seen among my neighbors. There were only young, newly married couples or lonely older people. Across the street from us lived an old lady, alone, who treated the window like a reality TV show. She spied on her neighbors, just like I did. Well, I wasn’t spying on anyone, but I spent my time looking out the window, and sometimes I’d catch a brief comedy bit when my neighbor’s little boy played with the family’s dog.

“Good luck,” my father smiled, and I noticed that he had stopped the car in front of a huge establishment. It did not look anything like my old high school. Everything seemed so… bland.

The courtyard was already filled with happy, energetic teenagers enjoying their reunion. People were clustering together in groups – groups I wasn’t a part of. I did my best not to think about my friends from home, took a deep breath and rubbed my palms together.

“Thank you,” I sighed before climbing out of the car.

“I’ll pick you up after class,” he continued as I closed the door.

I nodded and turned around to face the campus. All eyes were already on me.

This is the hardest part, Katherine. Relax. Cool, calm, collected.

I coached myself as I walked, focusing my attention on the name Ballard High School engraved on the building. Our new neighborhood bore the same name.

The courtyard was huge, even if it didn’t look like a courtyard. The whole building was surrounded by a large lawn that was unrecognizable under the scurrying feet of the teenagers. I quickened my pace, overtook the people, and could already hear their whispers. When I entered, the hallways were full too.

I explored the campus in search of the admissions office to retrieve my registration form and class schedule, then started to mumble when I realized it was right in front of me and I had been staring aimlessly down the hallway. As if I needed to call more attention to myself.

I pushed open the heavy door and the air conditioning hit me in the face.

The room was pretty big, and there was a high counter on the wall opposite to the door. On either side of the counter wererows of waiting chairs. A huge map of the facility hung on one of the walls, and it probably wouldn’t hurt if I studied it. It looked painfully complicated, which meant I was going to get lost a lot in my new high school.

There was another girl waiting, and her smile reached her ears when she caught sight of me. I attempted a smile, sat down at a comfortable distance from her, and turned my attention to the boy at the counter who was arguing with the secretary.

“But I signed up for biology too,” he protested vehemently.

“You’re already signed up for too many classes, you won’t have time to take them all, and it’s not even part of your study track.”

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