Forget the Forgotten

Chapter One

"I can't believe I'm actually here", whispered Amelia Hawkins, as she left the gym after her cheer-practice. She looked after her other squad members who all walked over the parking lot towards their car. They could all leave, but she couldn't. She was deep in thought, so she didn't notice her twin sister, Ayla, walking up to her.

Even though she was wearing a jacket and a sweatshirt over her cheer uniform, she was still freezing.

"I can't believe, that I have to be here on a Saturday", whispered Amelia.

"Just see it as a normal school day" , Ayla answered.

"But that's not true. It's detention", she said, and looked at their rain, who smashed against the car windows. Again a cold shiver ran down her back. She just couldn't bring herself to walk into the main building of the Oak Park Highschool. The old building rose before her, grey, cold and deserted. The windows were dark and the parking lot, except for three other cars, was deserted.

*How could I be so stupid?* Amelia asked herself.

She remembers the moment when she realized that she forgot her math homework at home. Unfortunately her teacher, Mr. Addams, hadn't shown much understanding for it. "That's the third time you forgot your homework, Amelia." He said in front of the whole class. "Yes. One, Two and Three..." A gloating smile played around the corner of his mouth.

*He's really enjoying this*, thought Amelia.

"The magical limit in this course is three. Pack your things and go to the principle." During this whole scene, there wasn't one noise from the rest of the class. But Amelia felt all eyes on her, as she left the room. They were probably all glad that it wasn't them. If your forget your homework in Mr. Addams math class, there was no mercy. Amelia knew she was in trouble. She heard the rumors. The new principle, Mr. Grey, apparently changed a lot.

The old detention rule was the first thing he changed. Only two hours after school, didn't seem punishing enough for him. But if the students had to pay for their sins for a whole day... That was the birth of the idea of having students come to school on Saturdays.

*And I'm one of the first people to test this new idea...* Amelia thought to herself. *Great.*

Then she sighed deeply. She can't just stay here all day. Reluctantly, she grabbed her backpack and prepared herself to sprint through the rain.

"Look on the bright side" , her sister tried to enlighten her mood. "You're not wasting a beautiful day." They exchanged their goodbyes before she started running. It wasn't far to the main building, but the thick raindrops rolled down her neck like tiny balls of ice.

The front door was pushed open before she could reach for the handle. Amelia slowed down so abruptly that she continued to slide on the wet marble of the staircase. For a short moment, she saw the pale hand, which was pressed on the handle from the inside. Then she looked up to Mr. Grey.

Mr. Grey opened the door wider. "Come in" , he said.

Amelia didn't hesitate and immediately walked in. She stood on the mat on the inside and tried to get all the rain onto the mat. Mr. Grey would probably freak out, if the whole floor was wet because of her.

The hallway was dark. The only light came from the office at the end of the hallway.

"You're the last one" , announced Mr. Grey. Even though he was staring into the parking lot, as if he was still waiting for someone to arrive. And he was also wearing a black suit and tie, even though it's Saturday and not a regular school day. *Did someone die?* Amelia would have loved to ask.

Mr. Grey sighed deeply before taking a last glance on the outside and let the door close. Then her turned his gaze to Amelia.

"Mr. Grey?" Amelia said.

He raised his eyebrow at her. "Yes?"

"I, uh... I'm not used to these kind of situations" , she replied. "What do I have to do now?"

He shot her a cold smirk. "You've never had detention before?"

"No."

"You are a good student Amelia" , he stated. "I found it odd that you, out of all people, should be fined. So I took a look at your file."

*Oh, oh* , Amelia thought.

"Outstanding grade" , he continued. "Additionally you're in the photography club and you're also the cheer captain. So what did you do?"

Amelia's cheeks were red. "I didn't turn in three papers for Mr. Addams' math class" , she muttered.

"Right. Now I remember" , he nodded slowly. "You forgot the third one at home, correct?"

"Yes." Amelia noticed that he didn't believe her at all. Why should he? After all, the students lied to him every day. Even the good ones.

"I hope you're not planning on making a habit of this" , he said dryly.

"No."

"Good. Because it would be a shame to mess up your good school record with a bunch of detention dates." He sighed again. "Even I had to learn some hard lessons during my time. Very hard ones..." His voice became quieter and finally fell silent completely. Amelia waited for him to continue, but he just kept on staring over her head.

Amelia cleared her throat.

Thereupon the principle turned his eyes on her again, but they seem strangely absent and enraptured.

"The others are in room 114" , he said. "Please go there as well."

With that turned around and walked back into his office. All of the sudden, Amelia saw herself walking back out into the rain and to her car. Making her way to the mall. Yes! That's it. Spending the whole day at the mall, calling her friends and do some shopping. Then she would tell her parents, that detention wasn't so bad after all...

But that was just a crazy idea. The reality was completely different.

"Damn it" , she muttered quietly. She then made her way through the dark hallway towards room 114. Her steps echoed in the empty hallway. The sound reminded her, that she was completely alone. Her sister wasn't with her, and she had no one to talk to. Nothing but rain and boring tasks – the whole Saturday.

*As long as I live, I will never forget another math homework assignment* , she swore to herself and pulled the jacket tighter around her shoulders to chase away the stubborn shivering.

This is going to be a long day.

She still had no idea how long – and how dangerous.

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1089 words