Saving Maya Hart

Chapter 1

Riley's POV

We sat at the front. Maya had been gone one year today. Our school was having a ceremony. It was a ceremony of remembrance. The entire school was there. It was 8 p.m. and dark out, but the doors were left open so that anyone who knew or missed her could attend. The entire town was invited. Some people in our year pretended they were close friends with Maya. They wanted the attention. They even got interviews on t.v. Maya would have killed them. They wouldn't even say hi to us in the hall. Lucas, Zay, Farkle and I sat together. Since she disappeared we all grew closer. Smackle slowly left the group. She didn't know Maya like we did, she said she felt as if she was invading privacy. We are still friends with her but we're not as close as we used to be.

I have known Maya the longest and this had hit me pretty hard. The day she went missing it felt as if RileyTown had burnt down. Why have a RileyTown without a MayaVille? Farkle and I had started dating and Lucas and Zay were not as.. happy as they once were. We were all affected in different ways. We only stayed together because we were the only people that could understand what we were all going through.

Lauren, one of the girls had gotten up onto the stage with her friends Caitlyn and Nicole. They were the girls that pretended they were friends with Maya for the attention. It was just sick what they were doing. "Maya, she was one of us. We loved her. The day she went missing our worlds came crashing down. We were heart broken. We had lost one of the best people in our school. We are lost without the selfless and thoughtful soul that was Maya Hart." Lauren began her speech. I rested my head on Farkle's shoulder. I just can't take any of those girls seriously. Half way through her speech and Lauren was already being applauded. I rolled my eyes. "I was Maya's best friend." Lauren said. It sent a shiver down my spine. I was Maya's best friend.

"Bull shit." A familiar voice called from the back of the hall. Silence spread. Many people were shocked that someone would just interrupt such a sad ceremony. But we knew the voice. Slowly heads turned to the voice. Farkle, Lucas, Zay and I ran out to the lane directly in front of the voice. There stood Maya. "You wouldn't even say hi to me in the hall. You're not my friend Lauren." Maya spat. She looked directly at us. She then pointed at us. "They are. They are my friends." She said.

"Maya?" I whispered. She smiled, "Hi pumpkin." She said. It was almost like it was a dream, yet it was real, so real. Maya glanced around the room. her eyes stopped to her left. She saw someone, I'm not sure who. She then ran out. It was at that point I had noticed that our school principal was on the phone to the police. We ran outside to find Maya. The entire hall ran out behind us. We looked around. She had vanished. We had lost Maya once and we didn't want to lose her again but it was too late.

"Are you kidding me!" Lucas shouted. He almost turned into 'Texas Lucas' but Zay calmed him down. "I can't believe I've lost her again." I heard Lucas say. I was still looking around, trying to see if I could spot her escape route. My eyes were attracted to the forest right beside the school hall. I was about to run into it, but Farkle noticed and grabbed my shoulder. "Don't."

It wasn't long until the police had gathered a search party. There were over a hundred adults walking around the school and into the woods. I could see the light from several flashlights shining on random trees. My parents walked me home. I was told I didn't have to go to school the next day but I needed to speak to Farkle and the others. I went to bed, but I couldn't sleep.

I could hear my parents talking in the sitting room. I walked out and sat just by the sitting room entrance. I was out of view but I could hear them perfectly. "It's strange, though, isn't it? For Maya to just show up and then disappear like that. The Maya I knew wouldn't of come back unless she had a reason." My mom said to my dad as she sipped her tea. "Well, she might not be the Maya we know anymore. However, if she is maybe she wanted to come back. She clearly hesitated before running away. Maybe she was going to come back but she saw something that changed her plan." My dad said as he rubbed his forehead. "Poor, Riley. She's only 15. She shouldn't have to deal with this kind of stuff." My mom said. I frowned. "It's a bit selfish don't you think? just running away and leaving your loved ones behind without saying a word." My mom said. Hearing her say that made me mad. I stepped a foot inside the room. "Maya is not selfish!" I shouted before running into my room.