Side quest

Chapter One

Hilltop Valley was one of those places nobody ever left. Well, almost nobody. Even the most ambitious spirit found themselves right back in this dead-end town eventually. Somewhere nestled between the valley's hills and streams was a force that seemed to deter outsiders and imprison its locals. Most attributed this to the town's peculiar charm, whereas the more superstitious residents chalked it up to urban legends.

According to those folks, the valley had been cursed by the witches sentenced to drown in its rivers long ago. Although there was no historical evidence to support the claim of a witch hunt, nobody saw the harm in keeping ghost stories alive in a town where nothing ever happened. And nothing ever did happen which, to some, was just another dreadful extension of that fairytale curse. Or blessing, depending on who you ask.

Despite her academic achievements and athletic abilities, Andrea's chances at leaving the valley were considerably worse than everyone else's. Generations after generations of Sawyers lived and died among these hills leaving their names on every building, park bench and street corner they had a hand in erecting. Her family's roots ran deep and after her dad left, public expectations did too. It was a fate worse than death, and she considered that way out several times.

"It's supposed to storm Friday too," Lisbeth, a close friend and teammate, stated as voices collectively groaned in response around her. Just halfway through practice Peterson High's sophomore tennis team found themselves rudely interrupted by the sudden materialization of dark clouds that carried bitter winds and rain with them. This made four practices in a row that had to be cut short.

"Of course it is..." Muttered another student as the team stood huddled beneath the protection of the gymnasium's main entrance awning, "Welcome to hell."

Hell was a good word for it, Andrea thought but instead replied: "The least Coach Leeson could have done was unlock the doors before she abandoned us."

A second wave of exasperated groans erupted as their shared frustration sparked the next topic of conversation. Beside herself, Andrea couldn't help but smile at the strong reaction she received in reply to what she said. It was rare for her to elicit such a response in any social setting, but then again, it was equally rare for her to speak up in the first place. In spite of her upbringing Andrea didn't develop into a very extroverted teenager. She kept to herself a lot, even though she was involved in many after-school activities that were, ironically, very socially demanding. She was a rather.... active introvert.

Conversations continued to stay heated as one by one parents began to arrive. At some point, the rain grew so heavy that vehicles were barely visible when they pulled up, but as the number of students dwindled, so did the rainfall. Then as always, Andrea found herself standing alone as the last student on school grounds. Her friend had kindly offered her a ride home before she left, and now as the minutes turned into an hour she regretted declining. She should have known better than to expect her mom, of all people, to be punctual. Reluctantly, she began her long walk home.

It was not the first time she had been forgotten; in fact, it happened quite frequently. She was used to being overlooked and often joked about it but, deep down it made her feel somewhat irrelevant and despite having every right to feel frustrated, she never did. Disappointed? Absolutely. But thinking about it, she couldn't recall a single moment where she had ever expressed or even felt anger. Maybe she wasn't capable of it. If her years of indulging in fictional books, television and daydreams taught her anything, it was how to detach.

Which might not be something to gloat about.

The sky had already grown dark due to the storm, but with dusk on the approach visibility was becoming increasingly more difficult by the minute. She made several attempts as she walked to contact her mother, but her texts went unanswered and her calls straight to voicemail. Eventually, she gave up. She knew that in a few minutes, she would arrive home to face a barrage of empty promises and apologies that she would be expected to accept, and ultimately would.