Hidden In Plain Sight

Chapter 3: First day in Hell

"Amelia."

Amelia's head shot up frantically. Her mother's voice was fading farther and farther away from her. In the black void, Amelia raced about, looking for any sign of her mother.

"Mom!" She yelled, scared.

Hands came up from around her, fueling her fear. They grab at her feet and legs and pull her down. She screamed, hoping for someone, anyone, to come and save her.

"We're coming for you.."

Amelia shot up, shaking hard and covered in sweat. She shook, looking around her room. The twilight that flowed through her curtain-less windows lit her room slightly. She could see her sweat soaked turquoise sheets, her desk full of papers, books, and her journals filled with her dreams and poems, and her dresser and boxes of unopened materials. She sighed, glancing at her digital clock. 3:45 A.M. She stood, trying to keep her footsteps light to not awaken her uncle and her pregnant aunt.

She made her way downstairs and made herself a glass of milk. A shiver ran down her spine, a feeling of eyes on her. She looked at the window and her breath caught in her throat.

It was wide open, letting the cool air of autumn roll in.

She looked through it, but saw nothing. It was oddly quiet outside. Not a sound. She closed the window and bolted it shut. Making her way upstairs, she continued feeling watched. She bit her lip hard and raced upstairs. Once in the safety of her room, she let out a breath and drank her milk. Sitting on the bed, she released her bundle of hazelnut waves. They fell around her and she pushed all the hair onto one shoulder.

She looked back at the alarm clock. 4:15 A.M. No point in waiting till 5 to get ready, she thought.

Amelia pushed a silver-backed brush her mother gave her through her tangles and soon her chestnut waves her in a delicate braid that allowed her wavy bangs to fall freely. She wore her normal attire: a grey cotton shirt with jeans and a pair of black and white converses. After brushing her teeth and throwing her turquoise bag on her shoulder, she glanced at the clock. 5:00. She grabbed a honey bun and walked outside.

***

The walk to this school was terrible; a dog ran out at her, startling her and making her drop her breakfast; a puddle soaked her shoes; a thorn plant ripped the bottom of her pants. Lovely, she thought.

Once she stood before the school, she was immediately seen. People stared at her in every direction. Men, or should she say boys, stared at her most delicate areas hungrily and girls looked at her in disgust or amusement. Keeping her head down, she walked into the buliding, trying her best to ignore the whispers. Her locker was between a boy with thick glasses, liquid green eyes, and honey blond hair and a girl who had pictures of singers in her locker. They seemed kind enough to say a simple hello or even give a smile.

Amelia walked mindlessly through the hallway, unsure of where to go.

"Newbie, eh?" A kind voice said, making her jump. Amelia turned and gaped at the female before her. She had ebony curls that fell against her shoulders, kind hazel green eyes, and skin that was tanned from staying outside. "You must be the new girl. Didn't mean to scare ya." Though her voice was silky, it had a accent Amelia couldn't quite guess.

"Y..yeah." Amelia shyly studdered, cheeks rosy. "Can you point me in which direction I'm suppose to be going..?"

She smiled, delicious dimples forming. "I could do better." She grabbed my hand. "Come on."

After Amelia's face flared up like flames, she followed the female. She showed her most of the classes and the lunchroom. A bell rang and she got a worried look on her face.

"We should go to the office. It's this way." She led Amelia down a hall and finally they entered a well kept office. A woman, who seemed to be in her early thirties, with large brown eyes and bunned golden hair smiled from behind a desk.

"Well, hello Miss Dwight." Her voice was soft and kind. "Shouldn't you be in class?"

"I should be but I was showing the new girl around. Can you write me a tardy slip, Mrs. Arbie?" The girl gave a sweet smile, making the woman laugh.

"Of course, sweet thang." She handed her a pink slip. The girl turned toward me. "See you later." With that and a dazzling smile, she walked to her class. The woman's brown eyes came to rest on Ameila. She gave a lovely smile.

"Welcome to Greenhome High School, sweet pie. I am the school's secretary, Mrs. Arbie." She gave me a booklet and a schedule. "Good luck."

Amelia mutters a thank you and walks to her first class.

***

Amelia gave the door to her first hour's door a soft knock. A man with greying black hair and beady black eyes opens the door. He gives a smile and let's her in.

"Class, this is Amelia Evers. She will be our new classmate. Everyone, say hello." A chorus of bored hellos echo. The small, round man looked at her. "I am Albert Whight and welcome to History. You can sit in the back, next to Miss Dwight."

Amelia looked up to find the gorgeous girl waving at her, pointing to a seat on her left. Walking down the aisle, boys gave her grins and a small girl with large glasses gave her a friendly wave. Amelia sits beside the girl in the back, silent.

"My name is Twila, by the way," the lovely female, Twila, giggles.

Amelia, holding out her hand, smiles shyly and says, "Amelia."

They shake hands softly and Twila helps her catch up on the information Albert is teaching them. Soon, the class ends and Amelia finds that her and Twila have a few classes together. This isn't so bad, Amelia thought.

Once lunch came along, Ameila had seemed to make a friend. A shy girl by the name of Layla Owens with bright red hair that was pulled back and dark brown eyes followed her around and helped her out. She was nice enough as it was.

In line, Amelia saw they served burgers, fries, and fruits. When she turned to walk to the lunchroom intself, a hand slapped her plate down.

"Oopsie. My bad." A high-pitched, annoying voice said. Amelia looked up to see a bleached blonde with blue eyes grinning at her. Amelia could clearly see this girl had unneeded weight on her but refrained from mentioning it. "Sorry, newbie."

Amelia rolled her eyes, cleaning the mess. She got a new plate and left with Layla, but not without a rude comment from the girl.

"Who the hell was that?" Amelia asked Layla, her anger filling her stomach.

"That's Becca Hart," Layla said, soft voice barley audible. "She the head-cheerleader and pretty much the most popular girl in school."

Amelia muttered, "Well, she's a Grade-A whore.."

Layla let out a laugh but tried to cough it away. They sat there, grinning stupidly.

The day rolled on like that mostly. Becca, doing everything in her power to make Amelia's day horrid; Layla, pulling jokes and keeping polite.

Though she hated the fact she had to be around such judgmental asses, she found her new friends a good reason to want to go back.