Kidnapped

Chapter One

I grabbed my backpack and jogged out of the science classroom as the bell rang.

Phew, I thought as I saw a boy throw a gooey mess from our experiment at another boy. I am so glad to be done with that class.

"Hey, Aubrey!" said my best friend Skylar, walking down the hall towards me from a different class.

"Hey," I said. "Wanna sleep over tonight?"

"Sure," she smiled. "See you after dinner."

I headed down the hallway towards the exit, passing a lot of other people on the way—including Audrey Filatson. She was easily the most popular girl at Stony Lake High School, always surrounded by other kids. Now she was laughing with her friend group at the lockers.

It was crazy we could be so different when we looked so similar. We were both 16 years old with curly auburn hair and green eyes, and had practically the same name, but our lives were totally different. Audrey lived in a mansion with her father, a wealthy businessman. I lived in an apartment with my parents and little sister. We had never made a point to talk to each other, either.

I saw a blonde teenage boy glance Skylar's way as he started walking down the hallway, in the opposite direction as her. It was Cade Myran, easily the hottest boy at school. Skylar didn't seem to notice, though, and walked out of sight.

I hopped on my bike once I got outside and pedaled towards home, three blocks away.

But suddenly I saw something. A shadow flitted across the alleyway next to my apartment complex.

I stopped and tried to get a closer look, but the shadow disappeared. I shrugged it off and started up the stairs to my apartment. It had probably just been my imagination.

"I'm home," I shouted, unlocking my door, stepping in, and slinging my backpack onto the floor.

"Hi, honey," my mom said from the kitchen. "How was school?"

I shrugged. "Fine, I guess."

"Hi Awbwee!" my three-year-old sister yelled, skipping into the kitchen with my Yorkshire terrier running after her and yipping happily.

I scooped her up into my arms and swung her around. "Hi, Lily! Did you have fun today?"

"Yeah! Momma took me to the park and we had ice cream!"

I smiled. "I'll play a game with you in a few minutes, ok?"

"O-kayyy!" Lily skipped back off to my bedroom, singing 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star'.

I laughed and sat down next to Oreo, my puppy, petting him as he tried to lick my face. "Skylar and I were going to have a sleepover tonight, is that fine?" I asked, turning back to my mom.

"Sure, honey. Make sure you get all your homework done, though."

"Ok."

I headed into my room to play the promised game with Lily.

"Charades!" she shouted immediately when I walked in.

"Okay," I laughed.

We played until our mom called us for dinner. Lily won every round, by the way.

We sat down at the table just as my dad walked in.

"Daddy!" Lily yelled, banging her spoon on the table.

"Hello, all!" he said, setting down his bag and coming to the table. "Ooh, Chinese food," he added. "My favorite."

"Hi, Dad," I said, taking a bite of cashew chicken.