Sunlight filtered in through the window into the room, casting a peaceful glow on the sleeping Sidney.
The radio alarm suddenly blasted on, and the morning news came through the speaker.
"...two teens found brutally murdered..." The disc jockey announced.
Sidney's eyes blinked open, and she sat upright, yawning.
She wasn't paying attention to the news broadcast. Sidney reached over and hit the button on the alarm, silencing it mid-announcement. She slid out of bed, shivering as her bare feet touched the icy hardwood floor.
She shuffled wearily to the bedroom window, attracted by the noise of a car door slamming.
Sidney looked outside into the front yard, and saw her dad lugging a huge suitcase and heaving it into his 1983 Buick sedan, slamming it closed.
She watched as her father climbed into the driver's seat of the clunky, navy blue sedan, pulled out of the driveway, and sped off down the winding country road, disappearing around the corner. Sidney sighed, staring out the window at the morning sun peeking over the horizon, painting the tops of the trees. Her two-story, country home sat at the edge of a valley, right at the edge of a vast field with rolling hills stretching out as far as the eye could see.
She couldn't help but feel a sudden knot in her gut. Just a slight feeling of dread...loneliness...
Dad is basically leaving me in this huge house in the middle of nowhere...she thought uneasily. On the anniversary...Just stop it Sid, she told herself. You are already starting to scare yourself and it's only been a few seconds after he pulled out of the driveway.
Maybe it would give them the alone time they truly needed. Maybe they wouldn't be suffocating one another anymore, with him constantly barging into her room without knocking at the slightest noise. Last night was an extremely close call. Billy had almost been caught. She imagined her dad coming into the room with him on top of her like he had been, his hands all over her. There was no doubt in her mind that he would have absolutely lost his cool.
So now, it felt almost bittersweet to watch him leave. Even with the time to spend with Billy, she still felt the emptiness began to sink in as she looked out at the sunrise streaming in through the window and casting shadows on the wooden deck outside. She stared at the rolling hills in the distance, and at the orange glow of the early morning sun painting the tops of the trees. It gave her a chill to think that she was now all alone for the weekend.
Surely nothing bad can happen in Woodsboro, she thought, trying to appease her nervous mind. Yeah, what bullshit, she thought. She had thought all along that Woodsboro was a safe, peaceful town to live in. Everyone had thought so.
Until it happened.
One year ago. A day tomorrow.
And now, she was all alone.
Stop it, Sid...she chided herself. Don't scare yourself this much. If you don't cut this out, you are going to have another panic attack at school. Maybe school would be the perfect distraction from all of her dark thoughts.
Sidney didn't know how wrong she was.
What the hell is going on? Sidney thought to herself as she stepped off the bright yellow school bus as it screeched raucously to a stop.
She hoisted her backpack higher onto her shoulder and scanned the campus.
Woodsboro High was a huge three-story brick building nestled in the shade of a few old elm trees. It had traditional All-American décor with tall, marble columns that supported the name of the school etched on a bronze plaque across the front of the building, a sprawling, concrete staircase and the American flag mounted on a tall metal pole right out front. It was one of the oldest buildings in town, but it still held its charm.
