The Necklace That Protects Me novel Chapter 2

A name stands out to me and I hand it to my father.

"Noel Smith?" He asks and cocks and eyebrow. I just shrug and continue going through the stack. He looks it over and puts it in the approved pile. One down, nine to go.

This is it. I'm finally here, a place where I'm hoping to be able to call home. Stepping off the train the first thing I notice is the air is so much calmer but feels more alive than my previous home. From the time I was 4 years old I lived in the same group home, just praying for a way out. I'm now 6 and heading to a new school for my junior year of high school.

My name is Noel. The state gave me the last name Smith, only because they had no other name to give me. I never use it, if I can help it, because Noel Smith the orphan is not who I am. At least that's what I tell myself. 'Noel' came from the locket I basically permanently wear around my neck. A beautiful, heavy silver locket with only one word inscribed on the front of it "Noel." I only ever took it off for swimming or showering. Even sleeping in it.

I worked hard to gain a scholarship to the prestigious Lincoln Heights private school, once I was accepted I worked my butt off to keep my grades high. Now, there was no looking back, not that there was much to look back to. My life up to this point had been pretty bland. I had a few friends and did well in school. Never really got into trouble and did as I was told.

I push my thoughts aside and step out of the train station. This was going to be good for me, I was determined. I didn't want to always be the 'orphan girl', I want to make something of my life. This was just the first step. I already had a bus ticket purchased to take me to the school dorm before even getting on the train, now all I had to do was wait for it to arrive.

I glanced at the clock which read 7:46, I had another 14 minutes until my bus should arrive. The bus stop was crowded with people coming and going, I found an empty bench and sat down to rest. I closed my eyes and thought of Thomas.

Thomas is the one person, aside from the other orphans, that I'm really going to miss. It was difficult to leave without him. He was so fun and witty. I always had a good time with him. He watched over me, keeping me safe, even though he got himself into fights and other trouble constantly. I'm not sure how old Thomas is. We met when I was 12 and he had looked to be around 20, here I am 16 and he still looks about the same. Maybe he had just seemed older to the younger me, I'm not really sure. I had secretly always hoped he would ask me out despite the age gap but it never happened. Chalk it up to a teenagers fantasy I suppose. In reality though, he was more like a big brother to me.

I pictured his smile whenever he'd laugh, stunning all the way down to his perfect white teeth. The way his dark green eyes would sparkle. He had a sharp jawline and always dressed very tidy. Dark brown, almost black hair, that was always combed. Never any facial hair. With a light olive skin tone. He stood about 6 foot compared to my 5' 6". He was beautiful. I told him that once which only made him laugh.

A few students who looked similar to my age stood up as I did. We all grabbed our bags and got off the bus. The other kids must not be new because they took off walking after exciting the bus. I, however, was rooted to my spot. I gazed at the school awestruck.

Lincoln heights school and dorms buildings had to easily be the neatest architecture I had ever seen. It look like a castle. The school building and dorms were all made out of large gray stone. The doors were huge and made out of solid wood. Felt like I was stepping back in time or into a fairy tale. I half expected a moat and draw bridge.

Once I finished staring at the building, soaking it all in, I pulled out my campus map. Excited, yet nervous, I followed the map to the dorms. Took a few wrong turns but eventually ended up in the right place.

On the outside the dorms looked the same as the other buildings. Inside was all lit up by simple yet elegant chandeliers. The floor was all polished hard wood. The walls were all painted warm inviting colors. The first room I walked into was similar to a living room. There were several comfortable looking brown leather couches surrounding a fireplace.