amelia

five

"Is it under your bed?" Mrs White asked Amelia.

The redhead only shook her head, barely holding in her easy tears at the corners of her eyes.

It wasn't long till Amelia discovered that her precious notebook was missing. Panic slowly began seeping in when she discovered that her notebook wasn't in her bag.

"Don't worry, dear, we'll find it soon," Mrs White's comforting words barely made a change to Amelia's mood. But Mrs White knew how much that notebook meant to her daughter, and said nothing more, not wanting to get Amelia's hopes too high up.

Amelia made no response and stormed back to her room. She wanted to scream in frustration, but she didn't want to make a fuss over her notebook. A million thoughts ran through her head as she thought about who had taken it.

What if it was one of the bullies? Amelia thought suddenly.

A chill ran down her spine. No. It wouldn't be. It couldn't be!

And then suddenly, as if someone suck out all of the energy left in her body, Amelia collapsed on the floor. There she sat in a tangled mess, her loud sobs echoing in the dark and empty room.

She felt more helpless than she had ever felt in her whole life.

-:-

Penny had never felt any guiltier in her life than when she saw dark bags under Amelia's eyes the next morning. She kicked herself for not realising Amelia's reaction would be worse than what Penny thought it would be.

Who am I kidding? She thought miserably. Of course she'd be immensely upset.

"Good morning," Penny's casual voice hid her extreme guilt. Penny could be a good actress at times. It took every nerve in her body to ask the next question. "Started on the sequel yet, Lia?"

Amelia closed her eyes, trying not to show her glossy eyes. "Yes," she managed to croak out. Will Penny notice her strange mood? Penny knew Amelia as much as Amelia's mother knew her, after all.

But surprisingly, Penny noticed not even one thing, and only gave a slight nod. Or at least, that was what the naive and innocent Amelia thought. There was an awkward silence for a moment.

"What did you bring for break?" Amelia said finally.

"I bought some Skittles." Penny replied with a cheeky grin.

"Again?" Amelia whined.

"Sorry," Penny chuckled nervously. "You know how much I love Skittles. Do you forgive me?"

Amelia sighed. "I guess I have no choice."

When Rachel and Rose arrived, they could barely hide the guilt in their eyes. None of them liked to see each other sad or miserable, especially Amelia. And Amelia definitely wasn't hiding her misery.

"Are you okay, Lia?" Penny glared at Rachel for the nickname, but she paid no attention.

"Dandy," Amelia replied and wore a smile. Unlike Penny, Rachel couldn't tell the difference between a fake smile and a genuine one, so the smile was normal to Rachel.

"Hey, Lia, I'm making a blog. Do you think you can design it?" Penny questioned, her chin in her hands and her elbows on her desk. She took a look at Amelia's face. "Please?"

"Sure," she nodded weakly.

"Thank you," Penny gave a grateful, lovely smile. She hoped that that would take Amelia's mind off that damn notebook. It would just have to do.