Natalie was like a broken doll.
She was pretty, with long silky hair, clear, molten, golden eyes and caramel coloured skin.
Oh, don’t get me wrong. She still is pretty. She’s as beautiful as ever.
She’s just broken.
She never speaks of her past or her dreams or her problems. And many people think that it’s a good thing. But after a while, all of these secrets and pains and cracks that wouldn’t heal only grew larger and more painful and eventually became impossible to bear.
She just wanted to hide away from reality, to find a place where people wouldn’t always look at her as if she was retarded. She wanted to fly off somewhere, anywhere, where people won’t know her name or her face or anything.
She considered suicide one too many a time.
She even considered murder.
But she never, ever considered telling anyone anything.
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‘...at!’
Natalie stood in one place, slowly swaying left and right on the spot. Her gaze was focussed on one particular spot on the wall. A red paint spot to be precise.
‘Nat! Hello? Are you there?’
Natalie’s head snapped back and she shook it vigorously before sheepishly grinning at her best friend. Emey sighed in exasperation then laughed before taking her seat. The classroom, a cold, dreary room that was too white and gray for her liking, was sadly meant to be their homeroom class. They had to spend every morning in this room, and every day it seemed more dreary than the last.
‘I really hate this room,’ Emey mumbled, he cheek pressed against the cold surface of the table. Mitchie, another of Natalie’s best friends, sat next to Emey and rolled her eyes.
‘You can say that as much as you like. The room won’t magically transform any time soon,’ she groaned and leaned her face onto the palm of her hand. Natalie glanced back at the red spot on the wall.
‘I wish something interesting would happen,’ she sighed, then took her seat opposite her friends. An Indonesian girl and an Indian girl took their places around the table as well. Kandace, the Indian girl, was quietly reading a book, whilst Mars, the Indonesian, commences a happy conversation with Mitchie.
‘She’s as perky as always, ‘ain’t she?’ Emey snickered, watching Mars jump up and down in her seat. Natalie grinned and nodded.
‘It’s not a bad thing,’ she replied. Emey shrugged.
‘I really want to experience something new,’ she said tiredly.
‘Like?’
‘Oh, I don’t know, make a new friend, go on a roller coaster, fall off a building –‘
‘Fall in love?’ Natalie smirked.
‘Fuck no!’ Emey stuttered in reply.
The bell rang, and advisory was about to commence. The homeroom teacher came in with the usual smile on her face, but the person that came behind her wasn’t as perk. In fact, he was the complete opposite. Natalie glanced at Emey and caught her looking at the boy with wide eyes. Emey covered her mouth and rocked backwards on her chair.
She looks like she knows him, Natalie realized, and glanced back at the boy. He looked almost six feet tall. He stood out quite a bit, with his copper hair and that height. Everybody in the class became quiet. The boy’s eyes were glued to the floor.
The homeroom teacher cleared her throat to gain the class’s attention.
‘Good Morning ! Now, I want everyone to say hi to Ben. He will be your classmate from now on.’
Ben looked up from the ground and caught Natalie’s suspicious gaze. For some reason, it felt like she’d met him before.
And that same second that he looked up and showed his eyes, Emey gasped and started to fall backwards. Before Natalie even knew what was going on, he lunged forward and grabbed Emey’s arm. Time felt like it stopped, and silence came over like a thick blanket. Emey managed to rock back into a normal sitting position and began laughing hysterically. Mitchie shook her head, Kandace looked quite shocked, and Mars and Natalie giggled giddily along with Emey.
‘Leave it to Emey to break the silence,’ Natalie snickered. Emey laughed again and stood up. The rest of the class relaxed and continued with their chatter. Emey extended her hand towards the boy, who, after all of the previous events, looked completely unfazed. In fact, he hadn’t showed any emotion since coming here.
‘I’m Emey Kyles. Thanks for saving me back there; I think I’d be screwed if you hadn’t,’ she said with a grin. Her smile drooped when he didn’t respond in any way. He just stared at her. Natalie smirked, but Emey looked concerned.
‘Are you okay?’ she asked him and he snapped out of trance shaking his head. He scratched his neck uncomfortably, but he still showed no emotion. Natalie started to worry.
‘I-I’m fine,’ he mumbled. ‘Sorry.’
And then he just walked away.
‘What’s his deal?’ Emey was starting to sound annoyed.
‘I think he’s pretty hot,’ Kandace stated, still looking at him as he took a seat somewhere in the corner of the room. Mars and Mitchie did a sort of awkward head shake to signify an I guess. But Emey wasn’t having it.
‘I mean, what the hell? You don’t jus fucking ignore someone when they greet you!’ she hissed and sat back down, immediately grabbing for her sketchbook. Natalie smiled and looked at Emey accusingly.
‘I think you like him,’ she said, and Emey replied with another ‘Fuck no!’
‘I’m sorry, I know that you and Kandace and shit like guys who are tall, dark handsome and mysterious but he just is not my type,’ she said. ‘I actually though he was for a second, though. I mean, I finally find a guy who’s taller than me and has the most amazing eyes and it turns out he’s an asshole!’
Behind them, Ben choked and started to cough loudly whilst talking to some guys in the class. Emey turned crimson red.
‘Shit, did he hear that?’ she whispered. The other girls nodded and laughed. Emey hunched over then straightened herself back up and shook her head.
‘Hmph! Like I care whether he heard or not! I don’t care what he thinks of me!’
And with that comment, Advisory ended and classes started.
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Isn’t it funny?
So far, we know three people.
Emey.
Ben.
And Natalie.
All three have a dark past and an even darker background.
Yet one could never, ever notice.
Even they themselves don’t know about each other.
...
Or maybe Ben knows.
Ben has his own way of knowing things.
A strange way, a kind that if anyone found out he used, they’d never speak to him, no, be around him ever again.
But let’s see where the story leads us.
YOU ARE READING
I've Got A Story To Tell
Mystery / Thriller"Myles Kyles died four years ago. Or so we thought." After thirteen year old Emey witnessed the death of Dylan Martinez, she began to notice strange things. Her dreams were too real, her reality too fake. Everything she ever knew to be true didn't m...
