Voices From Beyond

Chapter 1

Snow trickles down softly from the clouds, the flakes sparkle under the streetlight glow. The moonlight shines in the distance as I kick loose pieces of gravel with my boots. Each step I take creates a crunching sound beneath my feet. The snow is soft but sticky, perfect packing snow. I shove my chocolate-brown hair into my hood, tucking loose strands behind my ears as I do so. I scan the street lamp posts, analyzing the ivy carefully woven up each one. There's about two inches of snow on the ground now, it's an empty street so the snow has been untouched. Everything is still and quiet around me, each house has all of its lights off. I'm seventeen and it's my junior year of high school, I'm on Christmas break. I have a job at the local diner, I'm stuck with the night shift for the next few days. That's where I'm headed now. I hate night shift because all the wackos come out during this time, most of the people going to the diner this late are drunk already. To top it off, it's Saturday so that means a band is going to be playing which will attract even more drunks. Luckily my close friend, Sydney Burns, will be working tonight as well. I hear the distant sound of music and laughter, I'm rounding the corner to the street that leads to the diner.

I stuff my hands into my pockets as a cloud of smoke exhales from my mouth, the wind bites at my nose and cheeks. Christmas lights flash out of the corner of my eyes, blow-up Santa's and snowmen watch me as I make my way to the diner. Once I get to the parking lot, I snake around a few cars finding a parking spot. The parking lot only has a few cars here and there, it isn't too packed thankfully. As I slip through the back entrance and into the break room, I hang up my coat and remove my gloves. I stomp the snow off of my boots and pull my hair into a scrunchy just as Sydney sneaks through the door as well. Her hair is shoulder-length and so dark of a brown that it's almost black, she's covered in snow, her dark-brown Asian eyes light up with excitement as she sees me. She hangs up her coat and kicks the snow off her sneakers as she enters, flashing me a wide grin as she does so. "What's with you?" I raise an eyebrow at her.

"I love working Saturday nights, the music is always killer," she grins, "not to mention the hot guys that usually show up," she adds.

"You mean the basketball team? The same guys we went to elementary school and middle school with, the same guys we see everyday at school as it is?" I shake my head, the same guys we watched go from pudgy to buff overnight.

"Don't be so gloomy, half of them come here for you," she winks.

"No, actually they all come here for you," I roll my eyes.

She stomps over to me and grabs my face with her tan hand, turning me to face the mirror on the wall. "Look at you, you're a mess and yet you're still adorable. Any of those washed up jocks would kill for a girl like you," she winks, a small effortless wink. I stare at my reflection, scanning my brown eyes. I used to have long hair but over the summer I cut it to my shoulders but it's grown a few inches since then. I had felt as though I was living life blindly and if I cut my hair, that it would somehow help me see a little clearer.

I open the door, the neon lights glow against everyone's skin. There's groups of people scattered around the room, the band is playing on the small stage. A guy who looks just a year or two older than me is leaned against the counter. His green eyes meet with mine, his brownish-blond hair is slicked back so it doesn't hang in his eyes. I make my way over to him, the music grows louder. "Can I get you anything?" I shout over the music.

"Water," he nods. I nod in return, placing a cup on the counter and filling it to the brim. I glance over my shoulder at two drunk, old men shoving each other. A tattoo snakes up the arm that swings through the air, a fist cracking against a jaw. My eyes dart away as two of the diner workers break them up. I glance back as one is dragged out, a cloud of smoke puffs into the air from a booth near the doorway. Through the smoke emerges a tall boy entering the diner, also looking around my age. His blue eyes are almost grey and his light brown hair is messed up, he scans the room as the smoke dances around his features. His eyes meet with the boy I'm serving, the boy waves him over. He takes a seat across from where I'm standing just as Sydney takes her place beside me. She's a few inches taller than me and suddenly I feel like I've vanished.