The Unseen

Chapter 1

Red, white and blue lights danced across my face from where I sat in the back of the squad car. Anyone else in my situation would most likely have been freaking out because who in their right mind would be okay with currently speeding down the road in the pitch black uncertain of what was in store for them? I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count: me. I had been in this exact same situation so many times before that I forget when I stopped giving a shit when the sirens erupted in the silence and the blinding lights disturbed the inky calm of the early morning hours. When you're the bad kid, the screw up, you stop fearing the consequences of your actions and becoming numb to everything. Or at least that's how I saw it.

Instead, you start to focus on the tiniest details while you're awaiting the build up to boil over and everything to go to shit. Like how uncharacteristically cool it was for a summer night in Arizona. I knew it could get cold out in the desert, but this was the first truly chilly midnight excursion I'd experienced and I'd snuck out plenty of times during my short stay at school. Most would complain about the wind biting at the sensitive skin of their face, but for a native of Chicago I was used to much worse. 

There really was not much that was good about my hometown to be honest: the economy sucks, the weather is atrocious almost always and have you seen the state of things when it snows? Just thinking about it made my lips peel back in a sneer already hating the fact that I most likely was headed back there after the stunt I pulled tonight. And yet, I really did not give a fuck. Because if it wasn't a little suburban town outside of Chicago it was another boarding school somewhere far away because my parents just did not want to deal with me anymore. Not that I blamed them. If I were them and had a daughter as problematic as I was shaping up to be I'd probably send me away too. It begged the question: why did I do things that ended with getting expelled and sent back to a place I loathed? Well, my hometown shouldn't feel special, I hate everywhere I end up. Don't know why, I just do. Call it my tragic flaw if you must.

    "Hey kid, are you alive back there? Wakey wakey, Headmistress will want to speak with you when we get back." The gruff voice of one of the cops announced knocking me out of my thoughts.

If I wasn't sure doing so would get me a nice 24 hours in a jail cell, I would have flipped him off. Instead I just fixed him with a hard glare, which I imagine looked pretty haunting with my obscenely pale complexion and bright pink hair wildly framing my face from being tossed by the wind. Of course I was going to have to sit and listen to the whole spiel yet again. As if I couldn't guess what the headmistress was going to say already: 'unacceptable behavior' 'bad influence on our other students' 'does not take kindly to authority' 'is expelled' blah blah blah. As if every time I enter a new school with my obnoxious hair color and unfortunate resting bitch face they've already got me pegged as a problem student. So why not just give them what they want?

Finally, after what seemed like forever and a day, I spotted the all too familiar administrative building appear in front of me as the car pulled up to the front doors. I waited, arms permanently crossed across my chest, for the policeman to escort me into the principal's office eager to see the look of utter fury on Headmistress Valo's face when I made my grand entrance. I was her favorite student after all, totally not in a sarcastic way either. No, I am totally being sarcastic. She hated literally everything about me from the top of my head to the scuffed bottoms of my combat boots. And I hated what she represented: oppression and authority. I liked being in control of my life, or at least having an active part in deciding what I did in my life. Lately, or in retrospect never, have I had a choice. And I loathed it.

Upon entering the office my dark eyes latched onto my archnemesis sitting at the end of the room like a queen sitting on her throne. Her face sported a scowl that I am sure was mirrored on my own face, each of us not daring to look away from the other because that would mean losing the fight for dominance in this situation. I would not go down without a fight, would not let her get to me. I would not let her have the satisfaction of seeing me squirm under her harsh gaze. So, I didn't wait to be prompted to sit down in front of her desk. Without so much as a nod in her general direction I stalked over to the chair facing her right and threw myself down into it with an audible thump. Very unladylike, just the way I liked it.
"Hello Miss Tozer, by all means make yourself comfortable. Your parents have  been notified of the situation and will be here at the earliest tomorrow morning. While we are waiting for your parents to arrive, you and I are going to get well acquainted." Headmistress Valo said, her voice dripping with steel.
Fan-fucking-tastic.

The Headmistress then turned her attention to the two policemen still standing in the doorway, a smile that could put any customer service representative to shame forced onto her face. "Thank you very much for bringing Lauren back safely, officers. I ,and by association her parents, cannot tell you how grateful we are that she is unharmed."

I bet you fucking are bitch. Real fucking grateful. Grateful this gives you a reason to expel me. But of course the policemen had no idea, how could they? All they could work off was context clues and based on those clues their job was done. So, with a nod and a 'ma'am' of acknowledgment to Valo, they left, leaving me alone with the witch. Leaving me to wait in silence for my very disappointed parents to show up.
At around the five hour mark, yes I counted had to keep myself occupied somehow, I heard rapid footsteps walking down the hallway and hushed voices just outside the door. Thank goodness my boredom was about to be over. Nevermind that I was in for another stern talking to from my mom and dad. If having to listen to the same old bullshit got me out of this fucking state then so be it.
 
   "Ahh good morning Mr. and Mrs. Tozer please have a seat. There is much we need to discuss about Miss Lauren here..." Headmistress Vole gushed.

There was my cue to tune out, focusing my gaze on the sunrise starting to peak up from outside the window, trying to hide my smirk. Because I knew that this school had been my parent's last resort. So, now that I was yet again being expelled, what were they going to do now? Send me to mother fucking Russia?