Initiation

Chapter 1

"Jas, wake up!"
Nope. Nothing would drag me from this blissful sleep I was in.
"Don't make me come up there!"
"OKAY!" I yelled down the stairs. I groaned and rolled onto my side. I glanced at my alarm clock on my dresser. The glowing red numbers read 7:15, about half an hour later than I had hoped. Damn.
     I hadn't slept a wink the night before. I'd been tossing and turning, couldn't seem to get comfortable. I got up, rubbing my eyes. I searched through my closet and threw on a black loose fitting t-shirt, maroon shorts. I ran a brush through my knotted hair, and pulled on a pair of white converse, I headed down the stairs, gave my mom a kiss on the cheek, and walked out the door. I climbed into my silver Honda, a 17th birthday gift from my mom a few weeks prior. I looked at the rust spot growing below the driver's door handle, and the chip in the windshield. The cracked headlight, broken mirror and sighed. We couldn't exactly afford a luxury vehicle. I climbed in, shut the door, turned the key, and put her into reverse. I turned out onto the road, and headed for school.
I made it to class exactly as the bell rang, thanks to my slight breech of roadway safety. I walked into class, stumbling over a student's bag. I mumbled out something along the lines of an apology, and sat down at a vacant seat. I took a look at my summer reading, and it hit me then how little I had actually done. I sighed. I made a resolution to focus this year more on my academics.
      The minutes dragged by. English was my least favourite subject; and the teacher was probably as old as Shakespeare. He handed out our syllabus outlining the semester, and we looked through it as a class. Finally, the bell rang, and I scooped up my work, shoved it in my book bag, and hurried out the door.
The rest of the day felt like an eternity. When the final bell rang, I slammed my locker shut and trudged towards my car. As I was walking down the steps, I was cornered by a certain group of girls who had it in for me. I honestly wouldn't mind if they all got hit by dump trucks. I'd actually feel sorry for the drivers.
      Anyway, they are a group of girls who have always hated me. I have no idea why, but I am their target of choice, so I guess it doesn't matter why. One of them, Courtney, stepped in front of me, blocking my way to the car.
"Excuse me," I said with false politeness, "I'd like to get through"
"What's the rush honey? Running home to mommy?" The rest of them, Ashlyn, Caitlyn, and Audrey tittered.
"You know what? That's exactly what I'd like to do. If you ladies will excuse me." I retorted.
      I pushed past them into the parking lot, ignoring their laughs. I hopped into my car, and headed home. On the way, I stewed over for the umpteenth time why they would hate me so much. I try not to bring attention to myself, I don't wear much makeup. My all-too-common brown eyes are nothing special, I'm not stealing any boys from them. So why would they hate me? I sighed.  I had been trying to figure this out for 6 years. I wasn't going to suddenly have an epiphany now.
     I did have some friends, like Will. He's 16, a year younger than me. Despite that, he's 6'2" and he looks like he's 18. My other friend is Jessica, a quirky blonde who was my age. She's lesbian, and totally comfortable with who she is. I envy her for that.

•  •  • 

When I got home, my mom was waiting for me. Usually, I try to avoid her at this time of day. She finishes her night shift at the hospital at 8:00 am, and usually wakes up really cranky at 4:00. She had a slightly frustrated look on her face,
"Jas," she began, "I hope you're good to be alone tonight and tomorrow, because I have to pull a double shift"
Yikes. That's 18 hours at a hospital in a town with a history of animal attacks.
"There's a microwave dinner in the freezer, and leftover casserole for lunch." She said. I should've told her to stay home, rest, and get some actual sleep, but ever since my dad left her with no child support and no job, we have to take every chance we get to earn us enough money to afford luxuries such as a car or a fridge.
     Later that night, I was doing some homework sitting on my bed, when I hear a huge crash outside my window. I shut my book, hopped of my bed and pulled aside my white gauzy curtains. It was our trash cans, they had been knocked over, garbage spilling everywhere. Raccoons maybe? But then I saw a grey blur, and it was much too big to be a raccoon. I didn't get a good look at it, because it sped off into the night, leaving me to wonder.