The Shattered Heart

Chapter One: An Empty Girl

She was strange.

No one at the Academy knew much about her, other than a name and a pretty face. She floated between classes and her voice lessons everyday. She only ever made small talk. She wasn't the best student in any of her classes, but she definitely above average. Even the teachers didn't know what to make of her half of the time. She was an enigma to everyone. 

That is all anyone knew about Iris. 

So many have tried to get her to open up, to befriend her, ANYTHING. Yet she remained almost unresponsive. Each attempt to get close ended in frustrated sighs and abandoned ambitions. Iris didn't seem to care either way. She would just pack up her bags and head to her private voice lessons in the music room. Some of her classmates started to start rumors about her. Snickering and whispers followed her down the hallways. She was always met with side glances whenever she walked into a room. Yet, she didn't seem to care.

As the quiet girl left the lunchroom one afternoon, a pair of eyes followed her out. The owner was a classmate. One who had been observing Iris for the past few weeks. It wasn't because they pitied her, or thought she was strange, even if that may have been true. It was because they felt a tugging at their heart, an urge, to help her. 

"You know, we should invite Iris to the party."  Lauren mumbled.

Her friends whipped their heads around to stare at her. Lauren shrank back a bit, but left the suggestion hanging in the air.

"I don't really know if that's a good idea." Jason replied.

"Why not? She is our classmate after all. Besides, when have we ever put restrictions on our invites?" Lauren said.

"Yeah, but you gotta admit she's really weird. I don't even think she'd want to go." Sara sighed.

Lauren played with the zipper of her jacket and glanced at Aiden, almost begging him to help her.

"I mean we could still ask her... Worst case scenario she says no." Aidenc offered weakly.

"Babe...sugar muffin, I love you but this really isn't a good idea. She'll just bring everyone down. She always does. This is supposed to be the big bash to start off a new semester. I'm not trying to be mean but I think all that would accomplish is making everyone uncomfortable" Sara replied. 

"But Lauren is right, she is our classmate. We could at least offer." Aiden said. 

Jason nodded after a brief moment and agreed with Aiden. All three of them looked at Sara who still hadn't decided.

Sara picked at her nail polish. A long and agonizing silence followed. After cautiously peeling off the last red flake on her thumb she blew out a long deep sigh. 

"I guess."  She said, throwing her hands in the air. "But your asking her." she said pointing at Lauren.

"Works for me." Jason shrugged.

Lauren smiled. A small victory was won for her today. Even though it seemed small and meaningless, that strange urge in her heart told her it wasn't. It felt like completing a lap around the track, it was a great first step but she wasn't there yet. Now all that was left was to invite Iris. 

Easier said than done.

She was nearly impossible to pin down. 

Lauren wandered around all the usual spots Iris was seen. The music room, the courtyard and the library. After completing her THRID check through and not seeing a trace of the girl, Lauren was almost convinced herself that Iris was a ghost. After almost giving up a random memory popped into her head. Freshman year she remembered seeing her wander near the stairs that lead to the roof every so often. With no other options Lauren climbed the four flights of stairs to the drafty roof top.

And there she was. She was staring off into the distance, munching on an apple absentmindedly.

"Uh... Iris?" Lauren asked.

She turned her head idly to look at Lauren, slowly spinning her body around so she was facing her. She gave Lauren her full attention.

"So...uh, I know we've never really spoken before. But, you see my friends and I are having a party this weekend to celebrate the first semester of our senior year.  And well," Lauren fished around her jacket pocket for a crumpled up envelope with "Iris" crudely written on the back of it.

"I was wondering if you wanted to come?" She asked hopefully.

Iris strode over to her, with all the grace of a ballerina, and gently took the envelope from her hand. She swallowed the last bit of her apple and looked up and Lauren. After what felt like an eternity, she took the invitation out and read it over. She flipped it over a few times, like she was making sure she didn't miss anything.

"Thank you. I don't have any plans so I can come." Iris said in a monotonous voice.

"O-Oh cool! It's super casual so wear whatever. " Lauren said.

Iris looked up at her. 

Her blank stare was unnerving to say the least. Lauren started to think about the rumors she'd been hearing since freshman year. Like she was actually a robot or a government experiment. After looking at her expressionless face, Lauren was starting to believe some of them.

"Cool. So uh bye?" Lauren said quickly scooting away.

Iris gave her a small wave before going back to her little corner of the roof top.

Lauren felt strange as she descended the staircase to meet up with her friends. Not a bad strange or a good strange. It just felt...off.

It felt like something was missing.