The Disappearing Boy - Book 1

Chapter 3 - The Disappearing...Novel?

{Aaron's POV:}
"No! No way! You can't have this necklace, Blake!" I say, covering the necklace with my hand.
"What, why? When did you even get it? I've never seen you wear a necklace in your life." He says, trying to move my hand so he can grab it.
"Look, it's not even mine, it's Vanessa's!" I explain, moving away from him. He stops trying to grab the necklace.
"Why do you have it then?" He asks, looking very confused.
I uncover the necklace with my hand. "It's a long story but she's letting me hold onto it." I say.
"That's a stupid idea, you lose everything." He says, sitting down next to me.
"I know, I know. But, she trusts me so I'm not going to lose it." I say, slowly losing confidence with each word.
"Good luck with that," He says. He gets up and leaves the room.
I sigh, even though Blake is mostly annoying, sometimes he's right. I do lose everything.
I'd lose my head if it wasn't attached to my body. I'm just hoping that this is the one thing that I don't lose.
Vanessa is counting on me, I can't lose this.
{Vanessa's POV:}
He. Is. So. Dead. I cannot believe he took it! If he loses it, he is so dead!
"Mom!" I walk downstairs. I reach the bottom of the stairs then start pacing back and forth.
"What's wrong, sweetie?" my mom walks up to me and looks at me, visibly concerned and confused.
"He took it!" I'm so upset! I cannot believe that he took something so important to me!
"Who took what?" Mom puts her hands on my shoulders in an attempt to calm me down "Speak slowly and try to calm down"
"Jasper took my novel!" I say, still upset.
Mom looks at me. "Jasper took what?" She asks, taking her hands off of me.
"Jasper took my novel! You know, the one about the dog who lives multiple lives!" I say, crossing my arms.
"Are you talking about A Dog's Purpose?" She asks me.
"Yeah, that one!" I say.
"And you said Jasper took it?" She asks.
"Yeah, Jasper! The school bully!" I say. "The one who used to pick on Aaron in middle school".
"Honey, did you check your locker and your backpack?" She asks.
"Yeah, it's not in my locker or my backpack! I checked twice before I left school and the last person who had it was Jasper!" I say, uncrossing my arms.
"And why did Jasper have it?" She asks, grabbing our landline phone.
"Because, yesterday, while I was reading after I finished my Algebra work early, he took it and tried to look at it. I told him to give it back and he finally did. But, at the end of class, I looked around for it and it was gone! A couple kids told me that they saw a book in Jasper's hands as he walked out. And, he never carries books around, so he's my first suspect." I said, still thinking about the situation.
"Okay, okay, calm down, sweetheart. How about this, I'll call Jasper's mom and see if he has it, if he doesn't, you can check the school's lost and found tomorrow." She says, about to dial Jasper's mom's phone number.
"No, don't! If you call his mom, he'll tell everybody and it'll make me look like a snitch and nobody will trust me! I'll seem like a loser!" I say. Kids are cruel, so it's no surprise that they would bully me for something as small as that happening.
"Then what do you think I should do?" She asks, setting the phone down.
"You shouldn't do anything! I'm in high school and I can handle my own problems, so, I'm gonna go to his house and confront him myself!" I cross my arms once again before smiling.
"Honey, are you sure that's a good idea?" She asks me, noticing my smile fade.
"Uh..yeah! Like I said, I can handle my own problems.." I look down at my hands, maybe I could use some backup.
"Hm..okay, but promise me that you'll stay safe." She hugs me.
"I promise." I hug her back then pull away.
"Do you know where he lives?" She asks.
"I do and I know where he hangs out on the weekends" I say, pulling my phone out of my back pocket.
"How do you know that?" She asks me, looking a bit suspicious.
"He's in almost every one of my classes. At the end of the day on Fridays, he always talks about going to the same place and doing the same thing every weekend." I say, texting the group chat about meeting up and going to Jasper's house to confront him.
"Who are you texting?" She asks.
"The group chat, I need my friends to back me up." I say, waiting for the girls' responses.
"I thought you said you could handle your own problems?" She says, raising an eyebrow.
"I can ... with the help of my friends!" I say, smiling innocently.
"Mhm, sure." She says "Well, Jade should be home from the library soon so I'll start making dinner." She walks back into the kitchen.
Jade is my older sister, she's about to graduate from high school so she's been studying a lot at the library because she wants to go to college, Michaela Floros University, to be exact. It's the best college you can get into around here and that's where she wants to go so she's trying her best to get good grades. She's studying to become a doctor, not very original, I know.
"Alright mom, can you save my dinner for me if I'm not back in time?" I ask.
"Yeah, of course, if you aren't back by dinner, it'll be in the fridge." She says.
"Okay, I'm gonna go find my disappearing novel." I say before leaving the house.
{End of Chapter 3}