Cloverfield

11: Careless

Surprisingly, Alison's mom was home when Ali came in. She didn't know wether or not her mom left later. Alison was locked in her room, laying on her bed. She had closed her curtains so Spencer wouldn't see her. She also had the lights off, the space getting darker and darker by the minute.

A buzz sounded next to her. Alison turned around towards her bedside table, the light from the screen killing her eyes. She blinked and turned her lamp on. Screw it if Spencer saw it.

Ali glanced at the screen to see Emily had sent her a text. How is the event going? it read. Oh, sweet Em... always so caring. She considered lying, but what was the point in lying to someone who knew you better than you know yourself?

There's no event. I lied. I just wasn't feeling well and I didn't want to ruin the rest of the day for you guys, Alison wrote back.

You wouldn't have ruined it, Emily replied a little too quickly. I mean, no one exactly controls how they feel.

Well, now that I'm talking to you, I feel better :)

Emily smiled, even though she still felt uneasy about Alison lying. I'm glad!

Ali could feel Em smiling through the phone. She smiled herself and set the phone down. Maybe life wasn't so bad after all. Ian could come for her and she'd still be scared, but at least she wasn't alone. She had Emily.

x-x-x

On Monday morning, Alison heard the usual whispers, but the gossip wasn't about her, at least not this time. She closed her locker, carrying a textbook on her hands. "Who is this new student anyway?" she hissed at her friends.

"Her name is Maya," Emily chimed in and pointed at a girl with curly black hair. "She's the pretty girl over there."

Pretty? Alison repeated in her mind and crossed her arms. Well, Maya was pretty. But Ali would never admit that. "Eh." She considered going over to Maya and tell her who she was: someone she shouldn't mess with. But Emily would call her out and Maya hadn't done anything... yet.

Maya glanced at Ali and her friends and smiled at Em, who blushed. 

"Have you talked to her?" Alison asked Emily. It was weird for her best friend to be the one informed on new students--normally, it was Spencer who had all the details.

"My mom made me go welcome her since she moved around the block."

Alison scoffed. "Your mom would definitely do that." She loved hearing all the crazy stuff Pam Fields did. Pam didn't think about how embarrassing things could turn for her daughter, which just made it funnier.

Maya smiled at Emily again, but Emily wasn't looking at her. Emily was gazing at Ali.

Alison turned back to Em, her smile becoming a grin. "Bell's gonna ring soon," Spencer said, bringing her out of the world where only Ali and Em existed. It wasn't the first time. Hanna would always whisper, Do they notice we're here? But Alison never minded. She liked that world.

x-x-x

On the second break, Alison sat on the table with her friends. She had brought her own meal instead of just getting a crappy one from the cafeteria. Spencer and Aria were talking about participating in the school's play. Ali had been the leading actress ever since she started attending to Rosewood Day five years ago. But for some reason, she didn't feel like joining the cast this season. Maybe she just wasn't feeling it.

Emily had eaten with her friends and then headed to the library to finish some assignment. Alison was getting bored here so stood up and looked at the girls. "I'm gonna check on Em."

On the hallway, Alison bumped into a strong shoulder. "Hey!"

Noel raised his hands in defeat. "You're not gonna pull an Ali Dee on me, right?"

Alison raised an eyebrow at her old friend. They didn't hang out much, but they really got along when they did. "An Ali Dee?"

"Snap at me."

"Uh, no... Is that what people are calling it?"

Noel shook his head. "Nah, just me. Actually, I just made it up."

Alison chuckled and hit him playfully on the shoulder.

"What do you have now?"

She groaned. "History."

"Ugh, me too. Mrs. Hat is so boring. Wanna skip?"

"Hell yeah." Ali and Noel snuck together out of school. "I didn't see you on the first class."

"I skipped that one, too," Noel explained, making Ali laugh again.

"You really don't care."

"Clearly you don't, either."

"Why?"

"You're here."

Emily sat on the corner of the classroom. The bell had rung and most students were already here. She glanced at the empty seat in front of her. Where was Ali? She hadn't texted that she wasn't feeling okay or anything. Suddenly, somebody plopped into Ali's seat. "That's taken," Emily mumbled without thinking it.

"Cool," Maya answered and smiled, not moving.

Emily thought she would feel uncomfortable since she didn't know the girl. But surprisingly, she just felt like a foreigner when Maya was the one who was supposed to be.

She smiled back weakly and shrugged, taking her phone out. Have you seen Ali? Emily texted.

Didn't she check up on you? Spencer had replied, but some of her usual great orthography was messed up because she was probably trying not to get caught with her cellphone.

No... :/ Emily put the phone back in her bag, not wanting to get caught herself.

Ali, where are you?