Beauty of the Dark

Chapter 1

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          "Are you okay, Luce?" Aunt Sara yelled from the stairwell. Lucy's body was twisted and contorted around the toilet. Her cheek lay againt the cool porcelain. She imagined the color of her skin was a match with the washed out white of the ceramic. The nastiness that floated around in the bowl threatened to make her sick, again, but she pushed through the urge.

          "Just give me a minute!" Lucy called back in a strained voice. Fat tears rolled down her face in an agonizing symphony. Her head throbbed steadily, she could feel it in her forehead and above her ears. With a little inner coaxing, she managed to stand and quickly brush her teeth.

          "You need to be ready on time, Lucy. One or two more tardies and you're lining yourself up for detention." Aunt Sara's eyes were icy as she turned and threw the door open. Lucy hadn't yet gotten her license, so until then she was stuck in her Aunt's Neon.

          The car was filled with a silence that practically threw invsible knives at her. "Still having those headaches?" Aunt Sarah spared her a quick look. Lucy turned to the window, her eyes following the sidewalk. In a few short moments they'd be at the school, she'd be out of this car.

           "They're getting better."

          "That's not true, is it?" Her voice was calm but had the most emotion of anything she'd said the whole day. Lucy let her light hair fall into the space between them as a curtain, blocking her from her Aunt. She'd opened the door even before the car had stopped, not wanting another word from Aunt Sarah. "Have a good day!" She called half-heartedly, but Lucy was already trudging towards the school doors.

          She recieved a pass from the office secretary and hurried off to class. There was still a strong throbbing in the back of her head, but she managed to ignore it. Her right hand clung to her binder while the other held the late pass. Nine tardies in the last month. Aunt Sarah was right, one more tardy and she was going to have to haul-ass to detention.

          The hallways of Middle Theft High had been the place of many of her important memories. She'd been asked on a date for the first time by her locker. Her first makeout session had been in the bathroom. And she'd been dumped at her locker. Well, maybe those memories had all involved Josh, her first boyfriend. He was what she'd always dreamed of, smart, sweet, and attractive. Turns out none of that matters if he doesn't care much for you. She'd been taken aback at first, but it started to make sense pretty quickly. He got bored, she hadn't, he ended it.

          Before Lucy was ready, she was standing in front of her History room. Her mind was weak and tired and the last thing she wanted to do was listen to lectures. She pushed the door open anyways, fearing the stares of her peers.

          "The colonists rebellion against Britain was a result of..." Mr. Wolfe  turned to stare at her, as did the rest of the class, but to her relief he took her pass and continued. "Uh, was a result of many things. Including the Canadian/Indian war, the raising of taxes, and the King's idea to do away with self government in the colonies." Lucy stopped listening. Her head was filled with the noise of pumping blood.

          "Class dismissed. Miss Colde, could you stay back?" Her head snapped up. In truth, she could hardly remember anything after walking into class, and she assumed this would be a stern discussion of her inappropriate behavior. Everyone stood up and quickly departed the room to get to their next class, thank God no one looked back at her. She could hardly stand her embarrassment as it was. 

          He waved her over to his desk, where he promptly rolled over a chair for her. Quickly tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, she sat down in front of him. "Are you okay?" Mr. Wolfe asked. Lucy just stared at him, her eyes cold and uncomprehending.