Long Lost

Chapter 1

I walked cautiously, afraid of what lied ahead. I pushed open the heavy door and saw girls rushing back and forth through the hallway to class or lunch. There was one girl who stuck out to me. She was wearing a uniform like everyone else, her eyes a striking blue, and her hair was made of golden curls. She looked exactly like me, except my hair was long, straight, and sleek. She reminded me of my sister, but she couldn't be.

My sister died years ago. She said she was going out, sneaking out to be exact. Only I knew where she was going. Around ten minutes later, I heard a gunshot, and she never came back. I feel terrible because I let her leave that night. I watched her climb out of the window.

This girl looked at me very suspiciously. Just then, I heard a voice.

"Miss?"

I turn around, in search of this voice. I finally locate the speaker, and I lift my finger to my chest.

"Me?" I ask,

"Yes, you, young lady," the woman with mousy brown hair and glasses, "are you the new boarding student, Hayden Brooks?"

"Yes, ma'am," I replied smoothly.

"Yes, well, I have your room key, textbooks, and uniform all right here. Also, I will need to know if you are going to play any sports this year."

"Thank you, and yes, I will be doing swim team and track. Have a good day!" I say, marching off, searching for my room.

I finally find my room after climbing three flights of creaky wooden steps. I fumble with the keys, and I finally burst through the door. A girl lay on the bed that was on the right side of the room. Her back was towards the door, but you could not mistake her hair. It was golden blonde with curls. It was the girl from the lobby.

"Take the left." She mumbles, not bothering to turn around.

"I'm Hayden. Hayden Brooks."

The girl jolts up. "Hayden Brooks?" She asks.

"Yeah. What's yours?"

"Harper."

Harper. Harper! That was my sister's name. I begin to shake.

"What's your last name?" I whisper queasily.

"I don't see why I should to provide that information," she says pushing past me, "now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to be late for class."

She was my sister I just knew it! The only thing that bothered me is that we had her funeral. It was a closed casket, but I want to know why, if she was alive, she didn't come back to me, and why she was here, in this boarding school. This boarding school is similar to an asylum, except we aren't going insane. Once you go in, you aren't coming out.

---

I need to figure out how to get her to admit it. Why would she run away from me? I unpack my clothes slowly into the drawers. The dresser was made of old, creaky, dark oak. The mirror on the wall next to it was coated in dust, and I could barely see my reflection. I decided I was going to clean the room up a little because my classes didn't start until tomorrow. I make my bed and then move to Harper's. I'm smoothing down the sheets when I feel something hard in the center of the bed. I check underneath the sheets, but there is nothing there. I look under the bed and there is a small rectangle cut out of the base. There was stuffing spewing out. I reach up into the hole and pull out a small book. I start to read and find that it is most certainly Harper's. She talked about the boy she likes and how she never gets to see him because he is on the boy's side of the building across the bridge, but it was mostly letters to her sister. There was one letter that caused me to pause.

To my dear sister,

When I climbed out that window that night, I was planning to come back. Then, there was a gunshot, and I knew straight away that you thought it was me. You weren't wrong. Only...they didn't hit me. They missed. I ran away from them and could not find my way back. This school took me in for a while, and when I wanted to come back home they would not allow me. This place is a prison.

-Harper

That is what happened to my sister, but as far as I know, she did not get away. Another letter caught my eye.

To my dear sister,

Someone walked in who looked just like you. I think it might be you. If it is, I'm not telling you I'm here. You have to figure it out yourself. I found a way to survive here and telling you that I am here will put me in danger.

-Harper

This is MY SISTER. She knows it's me.

Just then, I heard the lock jiggling and I quickly throw the letters underneath my pillow.

"What are you doing?" Harper asks suspiciously,

"I'm cleaning our room."

Harper drops her pen underneath her bed and bends down to pick it up. When she stands, she asks, "did you clean out under my bed?"

"No." I lie.

"You're lying! I always know when you lie!"

"What do you mean you know when I lie?" I say smugly, thinking I had caught her.

"Well, I don't but you do the same thing as my twin sister."

My heart sinks. This was going to be harder than I thought.