Rising Sun

Chapter One

*There are a few words in this story that will be offensive, the author does not share these views. Note: this story is set in 2001.*

Pale, grey, cold.

Three words which could either describe a member of the undead, or a normal September afternoon for the small town of Crestview. Fortunately, they described the latter.

Skylar Hembrig pulled up the collar on her faded denim jacket as she prepared to get out of her sister's car. Lindsay Hembrig, the older of the two, always got dibs on their shared 1999 Honda CR-V - Harvey, as she had named him. Skylar never complained, as driving wasn't her specialty.

Lindsay pulled into their neighborhood, a quaint subdivision straight from your standard '90s teen movie. Their house fit in just like any other, with falling leaves and beige siding. Crestview was a working class town, and the Hembrigs fit in with any other comfortable family wanting the best for their kids. Before Lindsay could park the car, Skylar was out the door and making a run for the warmth of her home. Lindsay trailed behind her, annoyed per usual.

"Sky, stop doing that!" She burst in the front door, and bumped Skylar in the arm with the back of her hand. Skylar snickered and shrugged her shoulders, before their mom interrupted the bickering.

"Girls, I'm on the phone!" Their mother, Carol, shushed from in the kitchen. She worked from home a handful of days a week as an editor for the local newspaper. Although, most calls she made weren't as work-centered as they were gossip-centered.

"Anyway, are you okay if I take the car?" Lindsay asked her younger sister, as she haphazardly discarded her school bag. She picked up the landline from its jack, waiting for an answer.

"Linds, what am I going to do tonight other than spend another evening watching Friends? Besides, Hannah's calling at 4. We have college boys to discuss." Skylar wiggled her brow. Her best friend, Hannah, had graduated high school last year and started at Kent State about a month ago. She'd been filling Skylar in almost every day after her classes were over.

Lindsay rolled her eyes. "When are you ever going to find a boy worthy of your ever-so-righteous self? That's also your age?"

"When I have more options than baboons or street rats." Skylar shrugged her shoulders.

"Someday, Sis, you'll wake up and want to join the rest of us street rats down here on Planet Earth." Lindsay retorted, turning to head up the stairs.

"Until then," Skylar started, as she raced around her sister and grabbed the phone, "I've got college boys to drool over!" She laughed over her shoulder, hurrying into her bedroom. She beelined for her computer, waiting for it to fire up so she could message Hannah.

As if she had ESP, the landline rang in Skylar's hand. She read the caller ID and picked up on the second ring.

"So, tell me exactly what he said again." She started, and a small laugh breezed through the phone.

"Okay. Well, we were at the caf, right? He was sitting across from me with some other guys from our algebra lecture, and he looked up at me. And - get this - he winked!" Hannah Winter, Skylar's best and oldest friend, squealed into the phone. She'd been crushing on a guy from one of her lectures for the last two weeks, and she couldn't stop gushing over him. Skylar hadn't seen any pictures of him yet, but knew his name was Connor and that he played soccer.

"What? You're totally joking."

"As if! And then, he kept staring at me the whole time. Finally, he called my name and asked if I wanted to study with them." She gushed. "He even said he'd catch me tomorrow. I didn't think he even knew my name." She said, breathlessly.