Something About Alice Murphy: BOOK 1

P A R T - T E N

Chapter 10: Lost and Found.
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January 7th, 8:05am

The sound of the school bell echoed through the halls, and almost immediately the students of Summerland High began to reluctantly head to their first period...

The first day back after a vacation was always the hardest but there was always one particular student who didn't seem to mind being back at school. At that moment, Alice Murphy placed a book into her locker, dressed perfectly for the first day since she felt 2019 was a chance for her to wipe herself clean and start again, this year she wanted change, and decided to kick it off with a coordinated, eye catching outfit. She caught a glimpse of her appearance in the mirror stuck to the inside of the door, and looked over her face...

Her thick light blonde hair was slicked up into a high pony tail, her eyes perfectly framed with mascara and a little pink but perfectly blended eyeshadow, her skin radiant and glossy from the liquid highlighter she'd added after her foundation. She gazed at her own appearance for a few seconds longer than she usually would, gently touching her cheeks and examining her skin... she looked good and she knew it, and found herself almost smirking at that realisation. There was something that had changed about her, and even she couldn't put her finger on it. Maybe it was her hair, or her face, or her growing self confidence, but how Alice Murphy looked now, looked significantly different to how she looked less than six months ago.

Suddenly her locker door slammed shut, and Alice was welcomed with the sight of an angry looking Candice, whose curly brown hair seemed extra wild that day, yet still looked effortlessly gorgeous. "Where the fuck have you been?" She spat angrily, holding her palm against Alice's locker so that it stayed closed. "I've been calling, texting, I even emailed you, okay. I was one day away from turning up at your house unannounced. What the hell, Alice?!"

It took a moment for Alice to register what had happened, she'd barely flinched from the loud noise of the metal door of her locker slamming shut. She admitted to herself that she'd barely thought about her friends over the past week... and maybe she would have felt guilty if the timing was right, but as she searched for the emotion, she found it not to be there, and simply smiled instead. "I'm sorry, I've barely looked at my phone," Alice replied calmly, pushing Candice's hand off her locker door gently and opened it again to grab some spare pens and her reading book for English class, which is the only class they shared.

"Why the fuck are you smiling like that?" Candice snapped, "You can't just ghost on me after what happened at the New Years party! Olive's not talking to me, you weren't talking to me - what the hell was I supposed to think?! I almost had a mental breakdown."

"I was just busy, Candice - I'm sorry," Alice replied calmly, pushing her ponytail back over her shoulder and grimacing a little. "But I'm here now, so what's up?" she added, closing her locker and holding her books to her chest as Candice stared at her then looked down over her coordinated outfit. A black, white and red checked skirt with a matching blazer and her favourite white turtle neck underneath, layered gold necklaces over the top to finish.

"You look very... 90s clueless today," Candice pointed out, "It's annoyingly cute,"

"You're mad, I get it," Alice smirked, "Honestly, I just zoned out for ages. Things have just been so weird." She continued as they both began to walk to English together, holding their books to their chests and moving past other students who were still walking to their classes.