Chapter 1: Familiar StrangerA Chapter by WriterGirl247247 Amy Lakes world is thrown upside down for when a new student arrives. Everything is not what it seems. Anyone who says differently is either lying, hasn't seen the truth yet, or is just an idiot. Sorry if that offends any of the idiots out there. I thought I knew what my life was. Only child. Lived in a small town outside Denver that I desperately wanted escape from. I was normal. Then next thing I knew I was being chased by a hit squad, nearly drowned, and found myself in a pool of blood. I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me start at the beginning. When I had my eyes opened. The day everything came crashing down. My name is Amy Lakes. Basically I can be summed up with one word: average. Average looks, with my curly auburn hair and green eyes. Average family. Average student. Average everything. A nobody, really. It's just me and my parents. Mom’s a pediatrician. Dad’s an accountant. They spend most of their time at work. I only see them an hour or two a day, before and after school combined. That doesn't stop them from knowing every detail of my life. Where I'm going, who I'm with, constantly hammering me about taking my allergy medicine. They're practically strangers who control my life. All I want is out. Out of this town. Rooker Springs is barely considered a town. Half a dozen small neighborhoods. A tiny shopping district with everything from the grocery store and the office supply store crammed together. The largest buildings of the town are City Hall and my school, Lincoln Prep. Everyone knows everyone. Some say they like the “small town charm”. I hate it. Every day is like the last. Humdrum and boring. The last exciting thing that happened was when I was twelve and had my appendix removed. I constantly feel claustrophobic. Stretch your arm out and you're in the neighbor’s yard. I crave for a world beyond my little bubble. Bustling cities, rolling hills, the endless expanse of the sea. I'm two short years away from it all. From freedom. At least that's what the plan was until that morning. It was another monotonous day in the middle of fall. Like the rest of the town the school thrived on uniformity: identical uniforms with dress shirts, gray slacks, and a tie that I was forced to wear. Third period had just ended and I quickly grabbed the books I needed. I slammed the locker shut. I was already low on patience. Another encounter with her would push me over the edge. I turned, and dropped my books as I ran into the dreaded beast. Claire Henley was the de facto ruler of the school. With her father on the school board, she stomped through campus in her stiletto heels. Everyone willingly bowed down to her. Something about her platinum blonde hair and face full of makeup seemed to hypnotize people. For some reason she decided I was her pet project, taking joy from tormenting me any way she could. The list was endless. “Watch where you're going, idiot,” she sneered as she watched me retrieve my books. “I'm not in the mood today,” I warned. She rolled her eyes in response. “How terrifying. I'm being threatened by the village idiot. Hysterical.” “If village idiot is code for wanting more for myself, then so be it. You can live in your bubble. I won't.” “How long do you think it will take for you to come crawling back?” Claire cooed. “And it will happen, guaranteed. Your big dreams will crash and burn, and you'll realize that you're no better than us. Then you'll spend the rest of your disappointing life here. Just. Like. Us.” My blood boiled, but I forced a fake smile. “Really Claire?” I asked innocently. “When that happens, will I have a new nose like you?” She fumed like a charging bull. “You little--” “Girls!” We spun around in unison. Principal Yates glared at us. He was dressed in his usual sweater vest, dress shirt, and tie. Thick framed glasses balanced on his crooked nose. Light bounced off his bald, coffee colored skin. A student stood next to him, a girl about my age. Her brunette hair was in a chin length bob cut. She wore a smile, which seemed to grow larger by the second. She had this warm feel to her. Surprisingly, I didn't recognize her. But she seemed to know me. Her blue eyes drilled holes into me. Her eyes only left me for a split second to glance at Claire. I caught a nervous glint in her eyes before it disappeared a moment later. “That's enough ladies,” Yates scolded. “Claire, get to class. You're already late.” She hesitated, glared daggers at me, then retreated down the hall. I tried to do the same, but Yates stopped me. “Amy, aren't you forgetting something?” I gave him a blank look. He took it as an answer and waved at the student beside him. “This is our new student, Susan Wright. You signed up to show her around yesterday. You have your next class together.” He checked his watch. “Which we’re all late for. I'll catch you girls later. We’re happy to have you, Susan.” He jogged down the hall before I could correct him. I never signed up for anything. I couldn't even remember hearing about a new student, couldn't remember the last time we had one. There had to be a mistake. But it was too late. I stood alone with Susan in the empty hall. I gave her a small smile. She returned a huge one. Something about her unnerved me. I didn't feel comfortable alone with her. I started down the hall. She followed at my heels. “So,” I began. “You're new?” Susan nodded. “Yeah. Just moved here from Chicago.” “Then why move here?” I joked. She may have been freaking me out, but a small part of me wanted to lower my guard. She was disarming for some reason. She shrugged. “I don't know. Wanted to see some new faces. And… maybe some old ones?” Susan stopped and eyed me carefully, trying to measure my reaction. My guard flew back up at that look. “You know someone here?” I asked innocently. Her ever present smile vanished. “Wait, you really don't recognize me?” “We just met,” I reminded her. I took a step back. “I think you've got the wrong person.” She massaged her temple. “I didn't think Doctor Gale was serious. I should've known.” She paused to think. “It could still work. We can fix this.” Another step back. First staring, then pretending to know me. Now she was talking nonsense. “Maybe I should have Mr. Yates have someone else--” “No!” Susan nearly shouted. She looked around the hall anxiously. “Don't talk to anyone. Don't tell anyone about me or that we talked.” She took a deep breath and calmed herself. “I know this sounds crazy--” “More than sounds.” “But I know you. And you know me. You're Amy Lakes. You're favorite color is blue and you have the biggest sweet tooth on the planet. You've been afraid of snakes since you were a kid. You want to see the world. You want more. And behind that, you want somewhere to belong. A home.” I nearly broke into a run. I eyed her suspiciously. “How do you know all that? How do you know me?” “Meet me at the coffee place tonight after school. Don't tell anyone where you're going. If you do, I'll explain everything.” “Who are you?” I demanded. She swallowed. “A friend.” She doubled back down the hall, ran around the corner, and disappeared from sight. I went to class as my head spun. Susan’s words echoed through my head the rest of the day. I kept to myself, and when school finished I retreated home without a word. I had never been so creeped out before. I would've been happy to never see Susan again. But after everything she knew-- every personal, intimate detail-- I needed answers. I found myself calling my parents to tell them I was studying at the library that night, then quickly changed. I left and walked the short distance across town, off to the coffee shop. Off to meet the strange new girl who claimed she knew me. I just hoped I wouldn't regret it. © 2016 WriterGirl247247Author's Note
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