On Monday, Dean, Claire, and Bianca were all ready to go in the third-floor operations room, standing in front of the open gate.
"Okay, I'm heading straight to school through the nightmare world," Claire said, pouting.
"Don't be a sourpuss," Dean replied.
"But I'm the only one who has to go to a different school," Claire complained. "I wanted us all to go together."
"It's only for six more months, right? Didn't your mom call on Sunday and say they were going to travel the world and you could live here? You seemed so happy about it yesterday," Bianca asked.
"Yeah, I guess so. I'm happy they finally let me move here. I was so surprised my dad agreed; before, he was totally against it and on my mom's side," Claire said.
"They probably just want to enjoy their alone time together. You said they were living separately, right?" Bianca asked.
"Yeah, and I'm happy if they're happy. Whatever, it's only six more months until we all go to the same college. The second I'm done with school, I'm teleporting right to you, Dean," Claire said.
"Okay, I'll go to the roof after school, and don't teleport until I give you the signal," Dean told her.
"Got it. No worries. Alright, I'm out of here, bye!" Claire said, stepping into the portal and disappearing.
Dean got ready to go in and turned to look at Bianca.
"You sure you want to go last?" he asked.
"I'm fine. It wouldn't be very cool for the new transfer student to show up first, would it?" Bianca replied with a smile.
"Okay, I'm going. We'll arrive at that unfinished building at the end of the street. Get out as soon as we arrive, and we'll just have to walk a little to get there," Dean explained.
"Yeah, you told me that yesterday. I remember," Bianca said.
"But why is your hair brown now, not red? I feel like it was still red last night," Dean asked.
"Oh... this is my natural hair color. I dyed it red to disguise myself when I was on campus, running from Brandon. Now I don't need to be in disguise anymore, so I woke up really early and washed it out with toothpaste... there's still a little bit left, though," Bianca answered, touching her hair and looking at it.
"Hmm... okay, I get it. See you at school," Dean said.
Dean walked into the portal, and a moment later, Bianca followed him in. The gate closed automatically behind them.
*****
Dean was walking down the sidewalk toward the school gates when he stopped. He saw a girl who'd been following him before, standing in front of the gate, looking like she was waiting for someone.
"Huh... that girl again," Dean muttered.
He calmly walked past her, suppressing his presence so she wouldn't notice him. He easily got by her without her realizing it. But just as he was about to go through the school entrance, he felt a "tap." Someone had grabbed his backpack. Dean turned to see the girl out of breath, still holding his bag. It looked like she had run after him.
"Wait, big brother," the girl said, panting and looking down.
"Who are you? What grade are you in?" Dean asked coldly, turning to face her.
"I'm Ruby Davis. I'm in eleventh grade. What about you?" Ruby asked.
"Dean, twelfth grade. Now, I have to go," Dean said, taking a step back.
"Hold on, big brother. I have a lot of questions for you," Ruby said, stepping forward and looking at Dean, adjusting her glasses.
"Uh... what is it?" Dean asked, backing up a little.
"I'm a paranormal investigator, and I want to talk to you because I saw you go into a portal on the roof," Ruby explained.
Dean immediately covered Ruby's mouth and looked around. All the students were walking past them without paying any attention. Dean looked back at Ruby, who was now smiling with a strange look in her eyes from behind his hand. Dean quickly let go of her.
"Don't talk so loud. I don't want people thinking I'm a weirdo," Dean whispered.
"Oh... okay. Maybe at lunch break?" Ruby asked, her face lighting up with a wide smile.
"Okay, meet me on the roof," Dean replied.
"Awesome, thanks!" Ruby said, clearly thrilled.
After that, Ruby ran into the school building, leaving Dean suddenly exhausted and alone by the door. He shook his head and walked inside.
*****
A little while later, after the bell rang, Dean was sitting in his class. His homeroom teacher walked in with Bianca, and Dean was a little shocked because he had no idea Bianca was going to be in his class.
"Please introduce yourself. It's a little strange to transfer at this point since the school year is almost over and you'll be graduating soon, but hopefully, you can make some new friends," the teacher said.
"Hi everyone, my name is Bianca Miller. I just transferred to this school today. It's nice to meet you all," Bianca said.
The class went silent. All the boys stared with their mouths open, mesmerized by Bianca's beauty. The girls were stunned, seeing a girl who looked like she stepped out of a magazine, clearly more stunning than they were. Seeing no reaction, Bianca looked toward the back of the room and saw Dean, who was looking out the window with his chin propped on his hand.
"Dean!" Bianca yelled, waving her hand.
"Thud!" All the classmates turned to stare at Dean, who was startled and a little flustered. Bianca walked over to Dean. When she got to his desk, she looked at the boy sitting next to him.
"Would you mind moving? I want to sit next to Dean," Bianca asked nicely.
"Oh... yeah," the student replied without hesitation, quickly gathering his books.
The student moved to an empty seat far away, and Bianca calmly sat down next to Dean. She then pushed her desk to be right next to his.
"Hi," Bianca said, smiling brightly at Dean.
"Ugh... why are you sitting here?" Dean asked.
"Because I want to be close to you, of course," Bianca answered.
"Did you just... use your skill?" Dean asked.
"Yep, my charm control. He wouldn't have moved otherwise, hehe," Bianca replied.
"Good grief," Dean muttered.
Suddenly, Dean felt a sharp, hostile glare. He also felt a thick murderous aura from his male classmates, who were watching Bianca stick to him without any shame and she looked genuinely happy.
"Ugh... I'm so tired," Dean thought to himself, rubbing his face.