Mercy

Chapter 1

"Jade is throwing a house party tonight. Do you wanna go?" Olivia asked.

I sighed. "No, I can't. I have to go to work today."

"Ella, you always have to go to work... You're literally the only eighteen year old that I know who works five days a week while you're still in high school! Just have fun for once! Life is amazing!" Olivia beamed!

I forced out a hollowed laugh as I stared at her. "Maybe some other time."

"Okay well... have fun at work and... enjoy your weekend." Olivia smiled before walking down our school's hallway.

"You too..." I sighed.

Olivia Brown and I have been "friends" since we started high school here at Rivington fours years ago.
   Now I know that you're probably thinking: Why does a girl like her attend a school like Rivington here in South Central when she's filthy rich, living in Bel air?     
   Well, she asked her mother to let her come downtown just to attend Rivington so that she could have what she calls the "cool, hood experience" instead of going to some fancy school in Bel Air near her home.

"Alexa is so sexy." Raiden cooed as he walked up to me.

    Raiden West has been my best friend since we were eight years old. I met him after moving into his neighborhood on 83rd street right here in downtown Los Angeles. He means a lot to me.

"Okay so just date her already." I shrugged my shoulders as we walked out to Raiden's car in the student parking lot.

"I definitely will... soon." Raiden laughed.

"But anyway, Jade is throwing a party tonight and you're going with me." He added as we got in his car and buckled our seatbelts.

"I'm definitely not going. I don't like going to parties and you know that."

"Ella don't make me beg you... Besides, Jade wants you to go.

"I have to go to work today Raiden..."

"No you don't, you're going to the party with me. You're just choosing not to take the day off from work today."

"Fine." I sighed.

Raiden laughed. "The party is going to start at 8:00pm so be ready by nine."

"Why would we leave home at 9:00pm? That makes no sense." I said as he drove up to his house and parked in his driveway.

"Because... who goes to parties on time?"

"Right... Well, see you later." I explained as we both got out the car and walked towards our houses.

"Alright, later."

"Hey baby, I'm off to work. I love you." Linda, my mother said as she walked passed me, out our front door.

"I love you too mom." I sighed as I walked into our house and upstairs to my bedroom.

   I then took off my sneakers and placed them on the floor near my low, cricked bed that I sat on.

    After doing so, I unlocked my iPhone screen and almost checked my Instagram feed. But before I could do so, my eyes randomly wandered around my room and landed on my journal that laid flat on my dresser.

    I gently threw my phone on my bed and grabbed my journal along with a black pen. I then sat back down and flipped through some old pages until I got to a clean page which I began to stare at for over two minutes until I closed my eyes so that I could think about something to write.