The Mystery Hunters

Chapter 7- The Guide

I was woken up early in the morning when Aubrey turned on the lights, threw off my covers, and yelled at me to wake up.

Apparently it wasn't as early as I initially thought however, because I looked up at the clock on the wall in front of me that said, 9:00, so I guess I slept in a bit.

"Get up sleepy head!!" Aubrey practically shouted in my ear. "Time to face the day!!"

I grunted and slammed my hands over my ears as I rolled out of bed. After rubbing my eyes and looking around, I saw Aubrey had gone, but had left a fresh set of clothes laid out for me.

As I held them up to me, I noticed they looked exactly my size. Not only that, but it looked like the type of clothing I normally wore. A long sleeved, dark green shirt, a pair of jeans, and my tennis shoes.

I changed quickly and washed my face in the bathroom and stared at my reflection. My long hair was a mess, but it didn't matter that much. Despite waking up late, I still had bags under my blue eyes.

I left the room and started walking down the hallway, but as I walked, I felt something brush against my leg. There was something in my pocket.

I reached my hand in cautiously and felt cold metal. I pulled out a silver chain and dropped it in surprise. I slowly reached down, my eyes wide. But there it was, plain as day. The exact locket that was given to me as a birthday present recently.

It had been the last thing Will had given me. It was definitely the same one. Silvery strands wrapped around each other to form an intricate looking locket, in the shape of a heart. It probably wasn't real silver, but it was valuable all the same. At least to me it was.

I collected my thoughts and continued down the hallway.

"There she is. What took you so long?" I was greeted by the impatient sound of Isabelle's voice and the smell of freshly brewed coffee.

Aubrey laughed cheerfully. "Oh you should've seen her, Belle. She seriously slept like a rock last night."

I sat down next to Jessica who was still yawning. Most of the time I would ignore harmless remarks like Aubrey's but, I figured, I might as well retaliate to show them I was okay with comments like that.

I leaned back in my stool and yawned. "Well you're one to talk, Aubrey. You fell asleep within two seconds last night and tired yourself out by just talking."

Everyone laughed, including Aubrey who also turned the color of the cushion I was sitting on. Strawberry red.

Isabelle looked up grinning. "You'd actually be surprised at how often she talks herself to sleep."

Aubrey sighed and turned to me. "Okay, you deserve a high-five for that."

She leaned toward me and gave a strong, hard high-five.

"Yikes." I said. "You got some power there, Aubrey."

She laughed happily and leaned toward me saying, "The trick is; you have to aim for the person's elbow."

"Uh, okay, I'll keep that in mind."

We all continued talking and laughing as we ate cereal for breakfast and drank coffee. Once again, the drink was just as delicious and relaxing as the night before.

Isabelle, Aubrey, and Jessica all seemed so nice. They were pretty easy to get along with too. Sure Aubrey was maybe a bit talkative (just a bit) and Jessica seemed really shy, but they all welcomed me into their group just like that. That had never happened before. I had always been the loner, and the outcast. It was extremely rare for me to hang out in a group bigger than one other person. It was strange how comfortable I felt around them already. It had been less than one day after all.