Shadows In Durango

Chapter 6

*****Sofia's POV*****

I sat at the back of my English class, tapping my pen absentmindedly on the desk.

Mr. Thompson's voice droned on about Shakespeare, but my mind was elsewhere. Tonight would be my first night of training at Intensity, and I couldn't shake the nervous excitement coursing through me - grateful to have finally landed a job. What would it be like? Would Tito be patient with me or a nightmare boss? I had never worked in a bar before, let alone one with the kind of reputation Intensity seemed to have. He even mentioned something about me working upstairs in the VIP lounge whatever that meant...

Lost in my thoughts, I barely noticed the hum of chatter from the other students whispering around me. The classroom, with its faded posters and rows of wooden desks, seemed distant.

I was so engrossed in imagining what the bar would look like in full swing that I almost missed the scrunched-up piece of paper that landed squarely on my desk in a swift motion.

Startled, I glanced around and saw Vincent smirking at me from across the room. He gestured for me to open the note, his eyes twinkling with mischief as I opened and closed my mouth dreading whatever was on it.

My heart sank. The last thing I wanted was more attention, especially from Vincent, who already seemed to enjoy making me the center of unwanted jokes.

I was hoping that he would have meant to pass it to someone else, but judging by his thrilled expression I had guessed wrong...

With nervous fingers, I unfolded the paper, aware of the curious stares from the other girls in the class, some of which not looking so pleased with the interaction.

My cheeks burned with embarrassment as I smoothed out the crumpled sheet. Inside, I found a quick comic-like sketch that Vincent had drawn. The first panel showed a girl, clearly meant to be me, carrying a lunch tray towards two guy characters.

character seemed to judge the lunch with a disgusted look

on her face, a comical shriek emanating from her open mouth, reenacting the way his friend had tripped me up

lunch yesterday. Embarrassed and hurt, I quickly scrunched the paper back up and tucked my head down, hoping

Vincent though, as I glanced over at him briefly to

Why me?

- clearly having peaked at the paper as

had affected me. I took a deep breath and tried to focus on

was the note and how foolish I must have looked to everyone as I fumbled to open it. He evidently put a

seat, Daryl, a guy I only knew thanks to the register at the beginning of class, leaned over and whispered, "Ignore him, he's just being an ass to get a reaction. You're

wasn't he mousy like the other guys

in to Daryl's

well. He was another guy at this school with an athletic build and great height on his side. Maybe that's why he wasn't so scared? I reckon he could match Vincent in a fight

his own statement, earning a harsh 'shush' from the teacher which causes him

shift in my chair. "Yeah I guess you could say that, I do live with

roof as the guy who seemed to be making my time here at school a living nightmare. Daryl leaned back in his chair casually with a meek nod and a shrug, seeming unbothered by

made no sense... Daryl at least seemed somewhat decent compared to

that dwelling on Vincent's antics and his

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since that was all that truly mattered to me right now. Despite my nervousness, the thought of earning my own money and gaining some

finally rang, signaling the end of class as I gathered my things up quickly, eager to