Point A

Chapter 1

She was a fiery eyed character with a burning soul and dreams bigger than life itself

-unknown

* * *

Finally pulling away from my newly buckled sandles and stretching out my back, I quickly glanced at my watch and waited patiently, my new character already becoming a part of me. The cold bench I was sitting on was beginning to numb my thighs through the flimsy material of my short black pencil dress; but I bore it patiently still, unwilling to risk being discovered by acting out of character.

The ladies I had watched in my preperation vidoes were all very stiff and poised, even in the backroom. They sat with their hands lying limpy on their laps and with the silver of their metal buckles touching, as they crossed their silky legs. They painted a picture that was almost surreal, as they showed no signs of human emotion or any irritation. Surely if I stirred a bit to relieve my freezing thighs or scratched my head, I would be instantly discovered. Therefore, I remained completely still in the mildly robotic manner I remembered seeing in those vidoes.

Be the character, every mistake is fatal. I quietly thought. Be the character every mistake is fatal.

"Miss Lee yao min? Lee yao min, you are to attend to room 26 now," a woman's voice boomed through the speakers, breaking my concentration on the blank brick wall in front of me. I blinked twice then soothed my dress down before getting up and swiftly walking out of the tiny backroom in search of room 26.
Game time.

The corridor connected to the backroom door was long and winding, a nerve wracking distance to complete. I didn't know what awaited me behind these doors, and that knowledge was enough to make me a shaking, shivering wreck. After what seemed to be hours of walking and counting the door numbers from either side of the corridor, I reached it. Room 26. My mission was simple really, no intricate details or life threatening decisions to make. Get in, get the merchandise, plug the chip in and run.

* * * *

6 months earlier

Morgan's tray slammed down onto the table, the impact sending tiny pieces of her food flying across the tray. I flinched and sighed before cautiously turning towards my friend.

"Hi Morgan. Is everything okay?"
I inquired, waiting for the storm after the calm.

She slowly turned to me and shook her head, her bottom lip quivering as she attempted to speak. At this point the entire cafeteria was focused on us, thanks to her dramatic entry. Instinctively I picked up our bags and gently pulled at her arm, rising from the table.

"Come on, we can talk some place else," I coaxed.

She stood up slowly and followed behind me as we left the cafeteria, all eyes on us. I sighed once again, annoyed by the attention. The familiar sound of noisy chatter could be heard as soon as we left the room, bringing everyone to life again. Once we'd reached the bathroom, I set our bags down and handed Morgan some wipes for the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes.

"This is a joke right? You know I only use scented wipes Harper," she snapped, managing to maintain her usual venomous tone despite her vulnerable state.

I sighed and dug into my bag, reshuffling a few items before pulling out the scented wipes. I handed them to her without a word and waited for her to calm down.

"Well, are you okay now? I really need to get to class..." I muttered, trying my best to conceal my annoyance.

Whatever dilemma Morgan was facing, it wasn't worth missing my lessons for. But I had no choice but to remain by her side, and she knew it too.

"You can't go, I need to reapply my makeup and I can't entertain myself silly!" Morgan chirped, evidently enjoying my reluctant company.

I rolled my eyes and sat down. If we actually got along it might have been easier.
It wasn't her character that put me off, but the nature of our friendship. My father practically begged me to at least try and befriend her.
I guess he had his reasons, which were however unknown to me. I had the vague knowledge of her being his old childhood friend's daughter? But that was it.
Waiting patiently by the door, I discretely studied her features : She was beautiful. Her short auburn hair naturally contrasted her dark black eyes. She had full lips, a small square nose and and smooth olive skin - A complete opposite to my dark cocoa mimicking skin.

"Okay I'm done. Let's go," she finally spoke up, packing away the rest of her cosmetics.

"Aren't you going to tell me what happened?" I inquired, not so sincerely.

"Come on Harper we both know you wouldn't understand. Our lives are so different."

"Our lives are different," I admitted, "But I'm still here to listen. If you ever need that."

She shrugged her shoulders and flung her bag over her right arm. "My dad and I had another fight. He doesn't think I should take up beauty school. It's so ridiculous, I mean, I can't possibly survive through college," she said, motioning for me to open the door and get out first.

I stepped out and held the door for her, before falling into step with her as we headed to the reception.

"He just wants what's best for you. You know your dad has always been controlling. It's only because he cares," I replied. Dad had mentioned Dave a couple of times and he seemed like an excellent father. Just a little overbearing.

"Oh come on, he's not living in a real world Harper. I'm not going to be his little girl forever."

"Just give him time to adjust to your decision. He'll come around."

Morgan sighed and shook her head,
"I hope so."

We stepped into the clerk's office and collected out 'late-slips' before heading in different directions. I would have hugged her but we're not like that. She's new to Andover and I'm only supposed to 'protect' her until she knows her way around. From what, I don't know. But when my father asked me to do something, I did it.

The rest of the day went by pretty quickly and before I knew it, I was weaving my way through the swam of people exiting classrooms and heading for their lockers. The friendly chatter and laughter filled the halls and I smiled excitedly as I advanced towards my locker. Today was the day.

* * *
And the journey has begun! I hope you enjoy the ride.