Ember Igniting

Chapter 9

The police came and asked me a whole bunch of questions. At first, they looked like they didn't believe me, but as I told them my story and of how much detail I could provide, I think they were coming around. My father finally came home looking flustered, asking questions about what was going on and trying to comfort me. All I wanted to do was curl up in a warm blanket and fall asleep. The police left an hour later and promised us that no one else would know. For some reason, I didn't feel happy or over-joyed that the cops were taking care of things, mostly because I knew that she-devil of a twin of mine was still out there. I got shivers just thinking about all the devious things she could do to me and my family.

When I woke in the morning, I looked like a zombie on crack. There were dark circles under my eyes, making it look like I was sick or something. My curly hair was frizzy since I hadn't washed it last night. I decided to go to school so I wouldn't be home alone, jumping at every little creak or noise. I quickly got ready for school, adding some dry shampoo to my hair making it a little manageable.

Throughout my hectic school day, I noticied something. People were gossiping about me. Spreading rumors. At first I thought they found about my being kidnapped, but I knew it had to be something about Chris since he kept giving me glares. I had a feeling I knew who was to blame. I felt pent-up anger rise to the surface. The person sat down next to me in math. I gave them the evil eye, boiling inside. They gave me a strange look and started writing in their notebook.

"Why?!" I spat out. Luca looked up at me confused.

"Huh?" he asked, pretending to be innocent. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh come on! Why are you spreading rumors about me?!" I asked in a lower tone since people were starting to pay attention to me.

"Ember, that wasn't me." he said sounding sincere but he had to be the one. Who else would it be? I turned away from him and huffed.

"If you really want to know who it is, why not ask your 'best friend' Tabitha? Why can't you see? She's using you! And she is the one spreading rumors about you!" The words stung but...maybe he was right. When I didn't respond, he gritted his teeth and I'm pretty sure I heard a "fine".

At lunch, I decided to see if Luca was right. He was watching as I walked up to Tabitha and tapped her on the shoulder. Actually, almost everyone was watching. She turned to me and her smile faded into a scowl. I met her gaze equally with a frown.

"Oh look what the two-timin' cheater brought in." she said in a frosty voice. My face transformed into a look of confusion, but only for a moment.

"Oh, you mean that loser of a boyfriend you have? Yea I'm sorry you had to find out that way but he's bad news." I replied without flinching, like I usually did when Tabitha was mad at me. Her nostils flared.

"Him?! You were the one hitting on him, you skank!" she shouted. Everyone in the lunchroom heard and I froze. My reputation was so ruined. Whatever.

"No Tabitha. For once in your life can you treat me like a regular person instead of your little monkey henchman." I said, surprisingly calm. She snorted and tossed her hair over her shoulder.

"Ember, just get out of my face. BTW, never sit here again." she smiled sweetly and sat down next to Chris. He smirked at me smugly. I slowly shuffled back to my old table from 6th grade, with everybody watching. Geesh, these people were nosy. Even the lunch ladies were watching like it was a good soap opera. Ellis and Jewels still sat there but Malli had moved to table 4 with all the gamers. Ellis had the hint of a smile on her lips while Jewels looked ticked off and not happy to see me at all. I wilted and started to walk away.

"Ember, where ya going? We saved you a spot." Ellis called.