The pink florescent bubble snaps right under the flesh of my ear lobe. My eyes flash open and I wince. The bubble blower giggles at my reaction and points me out to her friends. Sour whispers quietly pass their lips. I stare at them, hoping it will shoo them away. It eventually does. They disappear into the crowd and speed to the front of the school.
Not many people make eye contact with me. They all assume I am just another wallflower they shouldn't waste there time on. Well... I guess I am. I don't have very many friends or do anything that could make me popular. The fact that I joined this school only last week doesn't exactly help either. I struggle when it comes to meeting new people.
I make my way out the door and slump into an empty bench. Cars start rolling in and students pour out while I wait until I see some sign of my younger sister, Meredith, come out of the school.
Meredith is a freshman. She has long blond hair that stretches down to her forearms and always carries her contact-filled iPhone around. She made friends at this school in a snap. It's still puzzling how we are actually related.
Time drags by. I rest my cheek in my hand and listen to the conversations of others. I hear two girls babble on about boys, makeup, and other stuff I am a stranger to.
They begin to go into deep detail about a new bronzer at the store when I spot Meredith stroll out of school.
I walk up and grab her elbow. "Where have you been?"
She wipes her fingernails on her white, leg-hugging skinny jeans. "Just hanging out with my friends and stuff." A few other freshmans wave at her and smile.
"That's great. Let's hope that mom won't kill us for not coming home on time," I say.
Meredith rolls her eyes. "Its not my fault that I'm trying to have a social life." She slugs her bag over her shoulder.
"Come on, let's go home," I tell her.
I unlock the keys to my car and slide into the drivers seat. Meredith slides into the seat next to me and stuffs her purse in the glove compartment. I start up the humming engine and begin to move out of the parking lot. As I drive, I quickly eye the students outside the window-the ones that walk aside us. I recognize none of them. They all stare past, ignoring me. Then I look at one boy, who seems like a freshman (just like me.) The boy has short blond hair and dark brown eyes that seem as though they resemble chocolate. He doesn't notice me at first but then, I enter his vision and he looks at me, with his mouth agape.
I snap my head the other direction and slide down into my chair.
"What?" demands Meredith. She must have been looking at me.
"I looked at someone and they looked back at me," I say. "It's nothing. It was just suprising."
Meredith smirks. "Was it a boy?"
I glare at her. "Yeah but I didn't know him."
"How come you never talk to boys? You're sixteen. You really need to start coming out of your shell," advises Meredith.
"I really don't think taking love advice from my little sister will help get me a boyfriend," I retort.
She pushes her tongue to the inside of her cheek and doesn't say a word.
We sit there in silence until a phone buzzes.
Meredith digs around the floor of the car and comes up empty handed, as well as confused.
"It's not coming from my phone," she says.
"Well maybe it's coming from mine," I say.
Meredith raises an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that? I thought you didn't have any contacts."
"Oh shut up. Just check my phone please. Its in the back."
I hear her rummage through the back of the car and unlock the screen.
"Yeah it is coming from yours," Meredith says. "Its a text."
I watch her read it slowly and bite her lip. She stares at it with a confused look. "Uh..."
"What?" I question.
"You might want to see this," she whispers.
"Is it really that important?" I grumble.
"I... I think you should just read it."
I pull over and take the phone from her hand. The text message sits in front of me, and in a quiet voice I read it out loud to myself, "The shadow has risen."
