Surviving High School- Finding a place

Chapter Nine

Sophie woke up to the sun shining in her eyes the next morning. She rubbed her eyes to wake herself up. She had been out there in the park on her own for several days now, yet nobody had found her. When she had properly woken up, she sat up for a moment. She unzipped her bag and got out her sketchpad and pencil. As the sun shone on her and birds chirped, she thought it was the perfect time to sketch. She'd had inspiration in the night for doing a sketch, but had been too exhausted to stay up and do so. But now that it was morning, all the ideas she'd had last night came rushing back to her. She just had to put her ideas into an amazing work of art.

While she leaned on her back, staring up at the clear blue sky, she began to lightly draw her thoughts. She had so much on her mind that it felt good to let it out, even if it was only on a piece of paper. The more she looked up at the bright sky, the darker her drawing became. Her drawing was a collection of dark scary feelings, which summed up her thoughts and life in one sketch. The second she finished her design, she took a good look at it. Even though the drawing was a part of her, it still sent a shiver up her spine. Despite that, it was the best she had ever completed and she felt proud to call it her own. She closed her sketchpad and put it down while she continued to look up at the sapphire sky, dreaming of a better life.

Meanwhile, back at school the same morning, the two girls were hanging around with Jacob before school. They were looking as worried as they felt.

"She's still not back," Jacob observed.

He had been just as worried as the girls, though he hadn't shown it too much at Jeanette's house. He had been quiet the whole time the others had talked. Part of him didn't want to think about what might have happened to Sophie. He wondered if she was even still alive. That thought was so painful to him though so he tried to reassure himself that she had to still be alive.

"I know," Amelia said glumly. "I feel like it's my entire fault."

After yesterday, she was positive that it had been her that had caused Sophie to run away. She couldn't sleep last night thinking about what might happen to Sophie because of her utterly insensitive comment.

"Stop it Amelia, it's not your fault," Rhiannon said, putting her hand on Amelia's arm. "I don't think it was you, I have this feeling that it was something much bigger than that."

She too had been thinking about the situation all last night and thought about what might have caused Sophie to run away.

"What could it have been?" Amelia wondered.

Jacob thought about it for a spit second.

"The last time we saw her, she was talking about an encounter with Dakota, wasn't she?" he explained.

"Yes, I remember that! She told us that Dakota threatened to beat her up after school," Amelia exclaimed.

"But we told her that she wouldn't dare but perhaps we were wrong," Rhiannon said, finally remembering something. They were onto something that might just help them find Sophie.

"Maybe Dakota did beat her up," Amelia said.

"Of course," Rhiannon cried out. It was all making perfect sense now. "That's why she ran away!" They were pleased to now be one step closer to finding Sophie.

"So now we know why she ran away but how are we going to find her?" Amelia wondered.

"Well, how about we start searching for her after school?" Rhiannon suggested to Amelia.

"That's a great idea! I'll help!" Jacob cried.

"I thought you had something on after school today, that's why I was only asking Amelia," Rhiannon asked, confused.

"Well, I could miss it just for today."

"Are you sure?" Rhiannon asked.

"I'm sure, anything for you." Jacob smiled. Rhiannon smiled back, grateful for his support on this. Amelia, however, gave Jacob a suspicious look. The way he was looking at Rhiannon made her wonder what Jacob was thinking. She didn't have much time to wonder though as she was interrupted by Rhiannon's determined voice.

"I'm going to ring Sophie's mother to let her know our plans," she announced. Yesterday, Jeanette had given them her number to keep her updated. Rhiannon took out her phone and dialled Jeanette's number. After the second ring, she answered.

"Hello, Jeanette Thomas speaking," a quiet shaky voice answered.

"Hi Mrs Thomas, it's me Rhiannon. Are you okay?" Rhiannon said.

"Oh Rhiannon," Jeanette cried, letting the sadness arise in her voice. She was clearly crying while she spoke. "The police called, they haven't found her yet, nobody has. I don't know what to do anymore."

Rhiannon felt pity on her. Even though they had a plan, they still hadn't found her either. She wished they could do a lot more for her.

"I'm so sorry, we haven't found her yet either but we think we know why she ran away." Rhiannon said.

"Why?" Jeanette cried.

"Unfortunately, Sophie has been getting bullied at school; we're almost certain that was the main reason why she ran away," Rhiannon explained.

"Oh my, she never once told me she was getting bullied. I just hope we can find her soon," Jeanette said.

"Don't worry, we're going to look for her after school," Rhiannon reassured her.

"Oh, thank you Rhiannon. You're a good friend to her."

Before Rhiannon could speak, she was interrupted by the bell.

"Oh, Mrs Thomas, I have to go now..." Rhiannon began to say.

"No worries. Have a good day and please Rhiannon, please find her," Jeanette said.

"We'll try," Rhiannon said, honestly. And indeed, she was going to try as hard as she could to find Sophie, even if it took all night.