It All Started With An App

Chapter 1

I strode down the hallway of Whitmore Academy, my old battered black backpack slung on my right shoulder ready to start a new year.

That summer had been incredibly dull, my best friend Amelia had gone on holiday to Hawaii and we hadn't talked to each other since her parents confiscated her phone because "she needed to have fun". I headed to the canteen, where we usually met each morning and was ready to wait for her arrival.

Only to my surprise, Amelia was already there surrounded by girls I didn't know of. She sat there sipping her green tea out of a Starbucks cup whilst chatting away. Her auburn hair was slicked to perfection, lips were full and pouty and she had light freckles dotted around her nose that were perfectly placed.

I couldn't help but compare myself to her as she was literally flawless. Even though we had to wear the same uniform, hers was way better. Her grey blazer synched her waist and showed her excellent posture and her plaited skirt was neatly ironed and showed of a crisp clean look.

I on the other hand was the complete opposite. My blazer hung heavy on my body as it was almost two sizes big for me and my skirt still had a stain in the centre after a paint accident. The hair on my head had a mind of its own, never wanting to listen to my hair brush.

I cleared my throat trying to grab Amelia's attention.

She glared at me her blue eyes full of resentment.

"You have a nerve to come and talk to me. Get away from me."

"What, why? Your not making any sense Li-"

"It's Amelia for you."

I looked back at Amelia stunned not recognising the girl I had befriended 8 years ago. She did tend to get angry easily but never at me.

One of the girls sitting beside her piped in and shouted, "You heard her get the fuck out of here!"

With tears in my eyes, I sped as fast as I could away from them. Even though I was far away from the canteen I could still hear their echoes of laughter in my head taunting me. Pushing through the toilets, I quickly hid in one of the stalls and grabbed some tissue and wiped the tears away from my face.

****
Never in a a million years, would I have thought that Amelia and I would no longer be friends. When we were younger, we had planned our whole lives together. We were both going to live in a massive penthouse in LA; become A-list actors; whilst simultaneously date the most attractive guys the world could offer.

It was crazy how people could change in a matter of weeks. How could anyone throw years of friendship away without a good reason? It had been hours since Amelia ended our friendship but I couldn't still comprehend why she did.

The rest of the school day had been awful. Amelia and I would usually sit beside each other in our lessons and we would chat and giggle endlessly about practically anything. But now that was all different.

She sat in the back row with all her new friends mocking me continuously every chance she had. I avoided Amelia's gaze because I didn't even want to look at her after what she did to me.

So there I was. Sitting on my couch alone watching cheesey romance films whilst eating a bucket of ice cream to myself crying my eyes out. Pitying myself.

Now I had zero friends. Literally. Even my parents didn't like me. Although they had never said those words aloud I could tell they would use every opportunity they had to get away from me. Hence why they left me again in England to go to Spain.

Just then an advert appeared on my TV screen.

A man smartly dressed man talked animatedely facing an audience.

"Welcome to Amigo, the world's most successful socializing app. With our quick surveys you can meet your true companion! Join today to create a new friendship."

Yes I am aware that it's just a stupid ad. Yes I know its unlikely that I will find new friends. But I couldn't help but go and download the app anyway as my curiosity got the better of me.

It had finished downloading. The app was installed. I had no idea why I felt so excited about Amigo because it was just a silly app. Not because I thought I had potential to start over. Or because I have a chance feel to create a connection. Even if that person is halfway across the world, at least it meant that someone cared.

I'm not going to deny it, I felt slightly better after Amelia betrayed me that morning. It felt fun filling out Amigo's survey.

I know what your thinking, how can this information be useful at all? Think of the Akinator, you answer a few vague questions and it somehow manages to find out what person you were thinking about.

Besides what's the worst thing that could happen?