The Choreographer

Chapter One

unedited

Chapter One

Adelina sprinted through the hallway of Everdale High School, glancing back every now and then to see if her pursuers were behind her. Dodging the crowd of students headed toward the cafeteria, Adelina ran straight to the parking lot of the school, fumbling for her keys in her backpack.

"C'mon, where are you?"  she exclaimed as she seached desperately for her ticket to escape. At long last she felt her fingers wrap around the cold, steel key ring and roughly tugged the keys out of her bag. Her fingers shook in fear and anxiety as she tried to open the door to her car.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked a shrill voice behind her. Adelina froze in fear and slowly turned around, only to face a tall brunette in seven inch heels, a thin, pink see-through tank top, and a short belt-like skirt surrounded by several members of the football team. Panic flashed through Adelina's eyes before she schooled her features to show cold indifference to the group in front of her.

"Your older sister asked you a question, Lina. I suggest you answer it," said a tall, muscular blond who glared at Adelina with disgust. Adelina's mouth opened but no voice came out. Scrunching her eyes in confusion, she tried to speak again only to come to the same conclusion. When her eyes clouded in fear of what was happening to her, the brunette screeched, "Since you aren't going to give me an answer, I guess I'll just have to get Johnny and his friends to help. Boys?"

Adelina's eyes widened in horror as the four football players began to advance toward her. Two of them held her down while Johnny, the blond boy, slowly walked toward her, tormenting her with his slow, predatory gaze and stance. She started to panic and breathe in and out rapidly just as he raised his fist and brought it down to Adelina's face.

Adelina's heart pumped rapidly as she jolted awake from her dream. Her pants came out short and desperate while her mind raced from what she thought she felt. Just as she calmed down and her breathes evened out, the shrill sound of her alarm rang. Slowly dragging her body out of the bed, Adelina trudged over to the alarm and slammed the top. She trotted to the bathroom and looked at herself in disgust. The dry crust at the side of her mouth indicated dry drool while her hair stuck out in strange places and resembles a shrub that was hit by a hurricane. Leaning over the counter to get closer to the mirror, Adelina registered her pale face still frozen in fear and heavy, black bags decorating her eyes. I look like crap, she thought as she quickly jumped into the shower. As she got out, Adelina wrapped a clean white towel around her damp body. Adelina advanced to her closet and opened it, looking for an outfit that wouldn't attract any unwanted attention to herself because the last thing she wanted was to stand out; the flashier she dressed, the faster her sister's friends would find her and give her their "daily greetings."

As she stood there, her mind wandered back to her dream, a vivid memory of her last day as a sophomore. Thinking back to that day, Adelina flinched as she remembered her friends' reaction to her condition when she raced over to practice after the beating. Jonathan's and Brydan's faces turned red with rage while Evan's usual playful attitude morphed into fury. Even Phoenix's sweet eyes clouded in anger and worry. She had to hold Jonathan and Brydan back from dropping everything and searching for the bastards who messed up her up even though she herself wanted to join them. Thinking about her friends' anger towards an unknown perpetrator and worry for her brought a smile to Adelina's face. It wasn't everyday that she was reminded that there were people out there that cared about her.

Realizing how foolish she looked, standing in the middle of the closet with only a towel to cloak her body while she stupidly grinned about a bittersweet memory, Adelina cleared her mind by giving her head a little shake before continuing with the task at hand. Passing by the many hoodies, tank tops, and other tight clothes that hung in her closet, Adelina picked out a ratty, old oversized gray sweater to wear over her tank top that made her look like a whale. Satisfied with her choice, Adelina looked through her skinny jeans,  shorts, and sweatpants until she came upon a baggy pair of jeans that were two sizes too big and required a belt. When she exited the closet, Adelina quickly walked back to the bathroom to retrieve two hair bands. Adelina carefully split her long, reddish brown hair into two before she slowly braided each side, keeping her side bangs low enough to cover a part of her face. Glancing at the time, Adelina realized with a jolt that if she wanted to get to school earlier than usual - in order to avoid meeting certain people - she needed to leave in 10 minutes. Adelina briskly walked out of her room before she realized that she was missing her glasses. Again scolding herself for being so heedless, she ran back to her room and grabbed her big, round fake glasses that completed her stereotypical nerd look. Finally content with her appearance, Adelina began to head toward the door before she made a split decision to run back into her walk-in closet and grab one of her signature hoodies. For good luck, she thought.