Girl Unknown

Chapter One:

*All chapters will be told in Colton's POV unless told otherwise at the start of the chapter.*

"Blow, blow, thou winter wind! Thou art not so unkind as man's ingratitude...." I rotate my camera, getting a new and better angle of the high school student acting out his proud, cherished role.

"....And so from hour to hour we ripe and ripe,
And then from hour to hour we rot and rot;
And thereby hangs a tale."

Givin the opportunity to film this years performance, my heart beats faster than a cheetah running for food and soon enough, a smile brushes across my face.

The impressing drama class of Harlson High School ends the scene with a stunning consummation. I turn my camera off, carefully tapping the button and storing away my equipment.

Soon I'm in the red and white filled hallways reaching for the exit of the HHS Auditorium. And then I see her. Gracie. She's standing in her usual spot, beside the schools main bathrooms, under the "Change The World" poster that's suppose to be uplifting and encouraging. But that much positivity in one sentence only makes the school want to rip if of the walls. And no, not recycle the crumbled poster paper afterwards.

"Did you make that 100 for me on that English paper?" I ask Gracie once I'm finally close enough to her for her to hear my quite, tender voice. "Nope, made a 94.... again." She states with a disappointed look on her face. "I'll never make a full 100 on a paper in that class, it's just not gonna happen. My work just isn't good enough." She adds. "Hey," I say, grabbing her by the arm motioning her to turn around and look at me, "you can do it, you're work is amazing. She's just a stuck up, strict teacher." I say.

"Okay, okay, maybe. I'll just try harder next time." Gracie has been trying all year to make a 100 on one of Mrs. Garrison's papers. She's so precise and particular on grading her papers, that only the best of the best writers are able to make a 100 on them. "Come on, Grace. You're doing amazing on your papers just by making a 94 on those and you know it." I say to her looking her in the eye. Gracie started of the year with her first paper, an 81, while the class average at the beginning of the year was a 68. My first paper was a 73, now I might make an 84 my highest.

Gracie slowly nods and starts to turn around to continue the walk home. Gracie's been coming to my place after school because no one's at her house after school and she doesn't enjoy being alone in the house.

"So, catch me up. What drama happened today?" I ask, glancing at her with the question. "Oh, yah know, nothing interesting enough to talk about." She says looking at the ground watching her feet step one foot in front of the other. "Come on, that's what you always say. Tell me about your day." I say to her.

"No-" She says sternly. She looks away from me for the longest 3 seconds of my life. She looks back at me with a negative look on her face. "There's nothing to talk about, really." She says. "Okay, fine, fine. We'll talk about something else." I say, giving up on the conversation.

Once we're at my place we sit our bags down and head to my room. My room consist of posters, photographs, and old indie records along with my much loved record player. My bed is messy and grey with one pillow on it; my laptop sits on the cushion. I take out my camera and sit the bag down beside my bed.

While my stomach growls, showing Gracie some photos of the sunrise I took when I woke up early this morning, I remember that there's only one brownie left across the hall in the kitchen. Brownies are Gracie's favorites. Especially the ones with chocolate icing on top, which happens to be the case for this long gone dozen of brownies.

"Whoever gets to the brownie first gets to eat it!" I say jumping up and running towards the kitchen, knowing that Gracie will follow.

Moving fast down the dark halls, I finally reach the kitchen.

I look around and realize that Gracie isn't there. She would have normally found a shortcut or way to have beat me, knowing that she is a competitive brownie chase winner.

I stop for a moment, listening to see where Gracie was. I hear her soft footsteps and quite giggles close behind me. A smile appears on my face as I snappily turn around and hug Gracie picking her up. She laughs and I laugh and once I sit her back down on the tiled floor, I look into her eyes. Her smile fades soon after mine does, just as I notice that Gracie's spark is gone.

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So there you go, the long awaited first chapter! I hope it was enjoyable enough for you to stick around. This novel may seem to move a little slow in the beginning, but after a couple of chapters, I promise that it will get more detailed and attracting. Thank you for reading!

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