Chapter 2
Invisible.
That's what my reputation was Steppe High School. People would walk by me, concerned only with their idle gossip regarding who slept with who at which party. I was like a chameleon, blending into the white washed corridors. I was just part of the backdrop that was high school. That typical brunette girl with her head in a book.
Today, they shoot me dirty looks as I walk by. They nudge each other and whisper vile things about me. Because now I am not Evanna Brooks, a chameleon, invisible girl at high school. I am Evanna Brooks, the girl who was accused of murdering Finn Woods.
If it was anyone else, they would've stood up. They would have said something. But this is not a brave bold girl. This is me. And I am not brave. I am a murderer.
Eventually, what they were saying began to chain me, like ropes. I was forced to be classified, to be judged.
I wish I was brave but I'm not. I'm just a 17 year old girl who let Finn Woods die in her garden and did nothing about it.
*
The history teacher drones on and on about some war. I struggle to pay attention, making notes here and there.
I've always been interested in history. It intrigues me how people used to live. In today's world, people think we cannot run efficiently without technology, but back then, that's what they did. They lived so oblivious to technology. They never needed technology. Only when some random man invented technology did they stop relying on themselves and grow lazy, expecting technology to do everything for them.
There's a knock on the door and the teacher pauses. She finally sighs, putting her chalk down.
"Come in," she says in her monotone voice. I gaze at her, taking in her appearance. I have found that you can never properly look at someone. When you see them, you'll just see them and take them in quickly. But when you stop to look at them, you'll find they actually look different from what you thought they looked. Their features will be clearer, more noticeable.
A blonde girl enters and I begin examining her. When I first see her, I just take in her tied hair and brown eyes but as I look at her I see her features are soft. She has nice eyebrows.
"The principle wants Evanna Brooks." she says in a British accent.
I blink as I register what she says. I'm usually never summoned to the lair that is the principle's office.
I'm a quiet student. I get straight A+'s. I pay attention in class. I don't get in trouble.
Why on Earth would I be summoned to the principle's office?
I stand up, grabbing my black backpack. I can feel the eyes of my classmates resting on me. I imagine what thoughts are buzzing through their head.
I look at a blonde cheerleader dressed in a skimpy outfit. I recognize her. She's Lina. She used to be Finn's girlfriend once upon a time. I'm certain of what she is thinking. She's probably thinking my outfit is tacky and that I'm a loser, in her words.
I follow the girl through some corridors and to a door.
So many people have entered through this door. Jeremiah goes through this door almost every day after each fight, bringing home another warning letter that is added to his stash. Dale goes in this door for getting caught smoking or drinking on campus, also bringing home warning letters she adds to her stash. I'm the only Brooks kid who goes into this door for a good reason. Well, until now.
I knock hesitantly at the principle's door.
"Come in" she says.
I walk in. Her office is neat. Nice almost. She has a few pictures of her and her family on her desk and even a snapshot of a newborn baby.
"Miss Evanna Brooks?" she inquires. Her glasses are slipping of her nose and I smile warily, pretending not to notice.
"That's me" I say. I don't talk much, but I know for a fact my voice doesn't sound like me. It sounds like some stranger.
"Oh Miss Evanna, I have good news." she beams at me.
Please say that it wasn't me who killed Fin Woods. Even if it's not true, I want someone to tell me so maybe I can convince myself.
"You've got accepted." her smile is brighter.
"Accepted to what?" I recognize my voice now, it's the voice of the real me. The confused, lost Evanna.
She looks down at several letters and then reads aloud,
"Ivy League, Harvard, Yale, Oxford, Standford and Cambridge."
I blink in surprise. I remember applying to these universities, a time before Finn Woods died.
"That's great!" the smile on my face is not forced and for a brief moment I feel happy.
"I've got letters of acceptance for Finn Woods too but after the incident..." her voice trails off and I slowly lose my smile as her gaze lingers on me.
Finn and I could have been going to the same university.
She hands me over the letters and I force a smile and thank her. She dismisses me and I leave.
Her words replay in my head as I clutch the letters. I feel like a ghost girl, emotionless.
The bell rings, signifying it is time to go home.
Good.
There is only one place I want to go. And that's home.
*
"Evanna!" my mother smiles at me. The smell of fresh baked apple pie lingers in the air. Mom chose solace in one of the most delicious things, cooking.
I try to smile back but there are tears in my eyes. I hope she doesn't notice but she does and she asks.
I hand her over the letters and then I turn my back and run. I run up the stairs to my room which Dale and I share. I collapse on the bed, burying my face in the silk pillows, and begin sobbing.
"Hi Evanna" Cassandra's voice is quiet, serene. It sounds like the real Cassandra, the Cassandra that was outgoing, but not the Cassandra who gets in trouble.
I extract my head from my pillow and look up at her. She was crying too. Her mascara is running down her skin. An unlit cigar dangles on her lip. She's wearing a short skirt and a crop top. Her makeup is done but she looks a mess.
"Aren't you supposed to be at Hailee and Jenna's party?" I ask her, my tone cold.
"Well, I decided not to go" she says, her voice quieter.
I look at her. She is my sister. She was affected by the death too. I can tell her. Can't I?
Yet in life sometimes you can never trust anyone. And no one will ever understand your emotions the way you do. They will understand it to a certain extent but never fully because they will understand in their way and you will understand it in yours.
But I have to reach out to Cassandra, the way I never reached out for Finn Woods. So I gaze into her sea blue eyes and I pull her into a hug.
It's awkward hugging people since I'm not accustomed to hugs but she returns the hug, burying her face in my chest.
And she sobs.
And so do I.
Author's Note: Dedicated to my first ever reader, TrishaPayne. She writes stories too, go check her story Hard Love out. Sorry for the spam but it is amazing.
Picture of Cassandra to the side. She's played by Sasha Pieterse. ->
Love,
Sowmya
