The next day at school was a lot better than yesterday. Everyone had moved onto a new topic of interest.
When part of your world tumbles down before you, the rest of the world carry's on like nothing ever changed.
This concept was one that Mackenzie had trouble grasping. Everyone in school carried on with their day to day activities, simply forgetting about Freddie.
The talk of the school today was Isaac Addington. Girls were drooling over him. Boys were feeling the competition. All eyes were on him as he walked by. The tall, attractive, mystery boy.
Grace and Mackenzie took their seats in history. Mackenzie looked at the empty seat next to her as the memories of Freddies final moments flashed before her eyes. She shook her head, clearing her thoughts.
The classroom door creaked open, snapping her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see Isaac walking in, making her heart skip a beat and a small smile spread across her face.
Mackenzie was no different from the rest of the girls in her class, she couldn't take her eyes off Isaac.
She leaned close to Grace as Isaac walked down the aisle towards Mr Lemans desk.
"That's Isaac, the boy that i was telling you about yesterday." Mackenzie whispered.
Mackenzie glanced over at two girls that were whispering about Isaac too, not taking their eyes from him.
Grace smirked and looked at her best friend. She knew Mackenzie more than anyone else did.
"Stop getting jealous." Grace smugly stated.
Mackenzie tore her eyes from the girls as one of them waved at Isaac as he collected his books from Mr Leman.
"What?! No! I-" Mackenzie whispered, stopping herself when she noticed Graces smile disappearing. Her eyes were looking over Mackenzie's shoulder and a look of irritation fell upon her face.
Mackenzie turned around to see Isaac pulling out the seat next to her. Freddie's seat. He sat his books on the desk with a thud and then looked up at Mackenzie, giving her a smile. He pulled out his seat and sat down let out a sigh with his smile never leaving his face.
"Good Morning Mackenzie." Isaac cheerfully said. He was as much a morning person as Grace was.
"Morning Isaac." Mackenzie said, unable to stop the smile that had formed on her lips.
She looked back at Grace, who sat in silence, observing. Grace was full of confidence. Anytime there was someone new, she would instantly begin talking to them, eager to know their life story, but this time she sat quietly. Listening.
"Um Isaac? This is my best friend, Grace." Mackenzie softly said. She knew she was walking on thin ice by trying to get Grace to talk to Isaac, but Grace couldn't be angry at Isaac for something as silly as sitting in what was, Freddie's seat.
"Hi Grace, its lovely to meet you. Mackenzie was telling me about you yesterday." Isaac said, extending his hand out for Grace to shake.
Grace glanced down at Isaac's hand taking a moment to look at it.
Mackenzie felt her palms getting clamy. Was Grace really going to ignore his kind gesture. She then looked up at Isaac, giving him a warm welcoming smile, and took his hand, shaking it.
"Nice to meet you too." Grace grinned.
Mackenzie let out the breath that she didn't realise that she was holding, and a smile formed on her lips.
Mackenzie turned her attention to the teacher as he began speaking. Every so often, the two girls that were whispering about Isaac, would look back at him, making Mackenzie feel jealous.
"Who can tell me the year that Addington was founded." Mr leman asked, making Mackenzie turn her attention away from the two girls.
The class fell silent as everyone looked around at each other, waiting for someone to at least give an answer.
"1843." A voice answered.
Everyone turned around, looking at Isaac. A smile formed on Mr Leman lips as he nodded.
"That's correct. Now, does anyone know who the founder was?" Mr leman asked, raising his eyebrow as the entire class fell silent again.
"Azazel Addington." Isaac answered once again. Mr Leman was impressed.
Getting answers from his students was like drawing blood from a stone. Impossible. "What can I say, I have an interest in my family history." Isaac chuckled.
After class, Mackenzie, Grace and Isaac sat outside on the grass bank during their free period. Mackenzie tilted her head back, closing her eyes as the heat from the sun warmed her skin.
Last night, Mackenzie and Grace had decided to treat themselves by going out for dinner tonight. It wasn't very often that they went out to eat together but when they did, they always had a good time.
"What time are you picking me up at tonight?" Grace asked Mackenzie as she turned onto her stomach to tan the backs of her legs.
"Around 6" Mackenzie answered.
Isaac looked up from the work he was trying to catch up on.
"Where are you guys going?" He asked, closing up his textbook.
"We're just going out for dinner." Mackenzie began. She looked over at Grace then back to Isaac. "Would you like to come with us?" She asked, not wanting Isaac to feel left out.
"Oh I wouldn't want to barge in, plus I have a lot of work to catch up on." Isaac chuckled, gesturing at the pile of pages of work that he had to complete.
Isaac wanted to go out for dinner with the girls. Everything that he was 'learning' was what he had already learnt a million times. All he wanted to do was spend as much time with Mackenzie as he possibly could, but he also wanted to give Mackenzie and Grace space. They did just lose their friend.
"I can help you catch up on your work." Mackenzie offered. She also wanted Isaac to come to dinner. Not just because she didn't want to seem rude by not inviting him but because she wanted to get to know him better.
Grace looked over at Mackenzie in shock. Mackenzie was never confident around guys, never mind inviting someone she found attractive to dinner. In fact, she got extremely nervous just talking to guys that were in her class.
"It really isn't a bother." Mackenzie grinned, trying her best to persuade Isaac to come.
Isaac looked down at his book and gave Mackenzie a side smile.
"Okay, I'll come." Isaac said, giving in to Mackenzie.
"Great." Grace smiled.
The bell rung and Mackenzie rolled her eyes at the thought of having to go to Biology. She hated Biology with a passion.
She pulled herself from the grass bank and trudged her way towards class.
"I'll see you both tonight." Grace said, waving at Mackenzie and Isaac.
The three split into their separate ways and Mackenzie made her way towards the science department. The corridor was beginning to grow quiet as everyone got to their next class.
Mackenzie made her way to her locker and retrieved her biology books.
"Hey." She heard a voice yell from down the corridor. She shut her locker and looked down the corridor to see the girl from history.
Her long red hair swept behind her as she strode towards Mackenzie, her friend following her close behind.
"Hey Trinity." Mackenzie said, her voice wobbling as she backed up against the lockers. Trinity towered over Mackenzie as she looked down at her with hatred.
"I see you're close with the new boy." Trinity began. Her friend behind her crossed her arms over her chest, giving Mackenzie a look as if to say "you're in for it."
"We're just friends." Mackenzie said, jumping at the sound of Trinity slamming her fist against the locker above her head.
Anger grew upon Trinity's face. "Make sure to keep it that way. I want him." She removed her hand from where she had it pressed against the locker. Her lips formed a smirk as brushed Mackenzie's shoulder.
"Good talk." Trinity smiled.
Trinity began strutting down the hallway, away from Mackenzie.
Mackenzie shook herself and stepped away from the lockers, placing one hand on her hip while holding her books close to her chest with the other.
"You know, he's not a piece of meat that you can just claim." Mackenzie yelled after Trinity with confidence.
Trinity flicked her hair as her friend struggled to keep up with her while running in her heels.
Neither of them turned back to look at Mackenzie as they turned the corner, leaving Mackenzie standing alone.
Mackenzie let out a sigh of relief. She had always been afraid of Trinity, ever since they were kids. Trinity was a bully and she wasn't ashamed of it.
Not a soul was seen in the corridor. For once in Mackenzie's busy life, she was able to enjoy the silence.
"You shouldn't let her speak to you like that." A voice said from down the corridor.
Mackenzie looked to her left, then to the right. Nobody was there. She was completely alone.
"I'm going crazy." Mackenzie muttered, placing her hands on her head.
"No you're not. I'm just good at hiding." The voice said.
Within an instance, a figure appeared in front of Mackenzie. He slapped a hand over her mouth before she tried to scream, realising who it was. It was the man that killed Freddie.
Mackenzie pulled at his hand, trying to remove it from her mouth but he was much stronger than she was.
"Don't scream, okay?" He said, smiling.
Mackenzie hesitantly nodded her head, then the man took his hand from Mackenzie's mouth. She took a few steps back, her breathing became heavy as tears formed in her eyes.
Thomas placed his hands behind his back, slowly walking away from Mackenzie, then turned around to face her.
"I do believe I never formally introduced myself." He began. "I'm Thomas." He said, extending his hand for Mackenzie to shake.
She looked at his hand with disgust, making him drop it back down to his side. "Your suppose to shake it." He said chuckling, taking a few steps towards Mackenzie, closing the gap between them. "And if I do remember correctly, your name is Mackenzie."
She swallowed the lump in her throat as her shaky hand, pushed her hair out of her face.
"What do you want?" She hissed in a bitter tone.
"I just came by to check on my good pal Isaac. You might know him. He has green eyes, about yea high." He said, using his hand to give an approximate measurement.
Mackenzie looked at Thomas in shock. How did he know Isaac? Why was Isaac even associated with a monster like Thomas?!
"How do you know Isaac?" Mackenzie asked.
"Let's just say we have a lot of history." Thomas smirked.
Mackenzie furrowed her eyebrows. She was lost for words. She took a step back from Thomas once again, creating distance.
"Miss Rae, why aren't you in class?" A teacher asked from behind Mackenzie.
Mackenzie swiftly turned around, tearing her eyes from Thomas.
"I uh..." she began, turning her attention back to Thomas to see that he was gone.
She looked back at the teacher as he folded his arms across his chest, waiting for an answer. "I was just going now." Mackenzie answered, shifting her books in her hands.
The teacher gave her a nod, then entered back into his classroom.
Mackenzie's eyes darted around the corridor for Thomas but he was no where to be seen. It was as if he was never there.
Mackenzie was determined to find out why Thomas wanted to see Isaac. Did Isaac know what Thomas was? She was certain that she would find out tonight.
*
Mackenzie pulled up in front of Graces house and tooted the horn. She wanted to tell Grace about Thomas but Thomas had made Grace forget him. Not to mention that he threaten to kill Mackenzie if she ever exposed what he was to Grace.
Grace came out of her house. She gave Mackenzie a wave as she walked to her car. Grace was wearing a white floral dress that fell half down her thighs, with a green cardigan and black heels.
"Hey Kenzie." She smiled, hopping into the car.
"Hey." Mackenzie replied, taking off towards the restaurant.
Mackenzie felt butterflies swarm within her stomach as they got closer to the restaurant. She was excited about seeing Isaac. Her clammy hands gripped the steering wheel tight as she saw the restaurant come into sight.
She spent the entire afternoon rehearsing her questions about Thomas. She was determined to find out how they knew each other.
"Mackenzie where are you going?" Grace asked?
Mackenzie snapped out of her thoughts as she drove past the restaurant.
"Just park around there and we can walk." Grace said, pointing to a street.
The car came to a stop and both girls got out of the car and made their way to Roscoes. It was the go-to restaurant in Addington.
They stepped inside the beautiful restaurant and sat close to the window so that Isaac would see them.
The black ceiling was lit by large lights that hung from it. A large bar ran against one side of the restaurant where many couples and friends cheerfully chatted as they drank alcohol. The restaurant wasn't huge, but it was enough for the small town.
Mackenzie glanced out the window and saw Isaac walk past in a shirt and jeans. Her heart skipped a beat as she quickly looked across at Grace.
"Quick! How do I look." Mackenzie panicked.
"You look stunning." Grace laughed.
Isaac entered the restaurant, his eyes instantly landing on Mackenzie. He smiled over at her as he approached the table the girls sat at, taking a seat across from Mackenzie.
"Good evening ladies." Isaac smiled.
"Evening." They both replies in unison, making them giggle.
A waitress approached the three and placed menus in front of each of them.
Mackenzie scanned over the menu as if she didn't already know what she was going to get. She would always get the same thing every time she came here. A panini with chicken, tomato, lettuce and red onion. Just the thought of it made her mouth water.
They gave their orders to the waitress then began talking.
"So what do you think of Addington so far?" Grace asked.
"It's quiet. I like how most people know each other." Isaac truthfully answered.
"I wouldn't call all these animal attacks quiet." Grace said, her face dropping as she remembered Freddie. She nervously chuckled as she changed the topic. "Anyway, the school choir is performing at a charity event this weekend and Mackenzie has a solo in it! You should come!" Grace suggested.
Mackenzie stared at Grace with wide eyes as she took a sip from her water to hide her panic. She was already nervous about singing a solo never mind Isaac being there.
"I would love to go." Isaac smiled at Mackenzie, making her blush.
Ever since she was young Mackenzie loved singing. She had a true talent for music and her music teacher adored her.
"What a coincidence!" A voice exclaimed from across the restaurant making the three friends snap their heads up from their conversation.
Thomas was stood at the bar, holding a pint of beer. The restaurant fell quiet as all the customers looked at him with curiosity, then slowly everyone returned to the conversations.
Thomas held one finger up to the group as he downed the beer in his hand, then slammed the pint glass onto the counter.
He walked over to the table that Mackenzie and her friends were sat at and pulled out the seat next to Mackenzie, sitting down beside her.
"That stuff is disgusting." He said, nodding towards the empty glass.
Everyone at the table sat in silence, not knowing what to say. Thomas looked at Grace and gasped as a chuckle left his mouth.
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