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I hear my phone vibrating and roll over groggily to check it. “NEED A RIDE THIS MORNING?”I smile, knowing my best friend is always going to be there for me. I look at the time. 6:05, plenty of time to shower and try to look presentable. Maybe if I tried this morning, no one would laugh at me. I shoot Matt a quick reply and go to get ready. Halfway through my shower, the power goes out, leaving me to shower quickly in cold water and hope that didn’t run out before I finished rinsing my hair. “Mom! Did you forget something?!” I holler, rolling my eyes as I dry my hair with a towel. “Hard to remember something you can’t afford” I hear her groggily reply. Of course she’d say that. Of course if that was true she would have forgotten me years ago. I see half a battery left on my phone. I decide to call Matt. “Sup?” I hear him answer. “Do you think your dad would mind me using your bathroom? I need to get ready and my mom couldn’t afford the power bill.” I hated having to do this, it happened more that I’d ever admit to anyone but Matt. “Sure. I’ll be right there” he said, hanging up. I sit on my porch while I wait and I see the small group of kids that I see every morning, racing each other to the woods while it’s still dark. I wish I could be one of them so bad, reckless and free all night then run to the shadow of the trees all day and sleep, at least that’s what I think they do. Mom says they are monsters, that they aren’t human anymore, but I highly doubt that. They are probably just the street kids that my friend Rachel lives with. I hear Matt’s truck pull in our drive and I rush to get in, eager to rid myself of the pity party my mother was always throwing. Luckily, I planned this most nights so I always had my make up in my backpack already. Matt and I had gotten into a routine, he’d tell me I didn’t need the makeup and I would roll my eyes and start to put it on and he would stand in the hall talking to me the whole time. I didn’t look like I originally planned, but it was better than getting ready in the dark. I heard Matt’s dad stirring upstairs so I rushed outside. He most likely didn’t know I was here at least once a month and it was best that way. He didn’t like me much, but he knows nobody else talks to his son so he deals with me. Matt is a nice guy, he’s just shy like me and so nobody really talks to us. We pull into the school and I make sure to hold my head high. My choir teacher told me that was the best way to not get bullied, to look them in the eyes. The first pair of eyes I meet glare me right back to looking at the ground. This is a lot harder than I thought. And my bravery earned me even more whispers than normal. Each rumor they repeated was like a slap in the face. I am not a witch, I’ve never got plastic surgery; my beauty is as natural as it comes. It’s not my fault I look the way I do. My mother calls it a natural beauty; I call it a curse of nature. Nobody should have this pale of skin mixed with the dark eyes and hair I have. Everyone assumes the beautiful ones are the most popular, but not when they are deathly shy. First bell rings so I go running to English; my second favorite class of the day. We have a pop quiz today over the reading that I always do and then we are working on Romeo and Juliet. I always hate doing Shakespeare mostly because I get cast as Juliet and some poor sap gets stuck dealing with my stuttering in front of the class. I will never be a theatre bug, I don’t even know how I sing in front of others, but somehow I do. After stuttering my way through Romeo and Juliet for an hour I finally get to go to my safe space, the choir room. I walk in and immediately Matt is there to hear me gripe about the horrid experiences of my first class. He knows my complaints don’t mean anything, I love my English teacher, but he still makes little sympathetic noises and groans with me over the experience of class. Eventually the bell rings and when it does we all rush to our sections and pull out our sheet music, eager to get praise from the director. For ninety minutes straight we belt it out at the top of our lungs until the director tells us good work and then we can all relax. I love this class most because nobody judges in this room. Nobody really talks to us, but nobody asks us if we are dating or asks me which plastic surgeon I went to for my face. I just get to be me, a person who has an amazing voice, so amazing I usually get all the solos, but nobody is jealous of that. Most kids don’t like the director because she’s strict, I love her because she is all business, yet she truly cares about us kids. Next, I have history, a class I normally sleep through since the teacher is lazy and always plays movies. Today, however, I couldn’t seem to catch a break. We had a movie guide to fill out as we went and every time I tried to nap the girl next to me would kick me really hard, so hard I had bruises by the end of the class. At lunch, I rush to the library and hide the whole time. I drag my way down the halls after lunch, careful not to make eye contact. I am so engrossed in my thoughts I miss the foot stuck out in front of me. I sprawl ungracefully to the floor. “Watch it FREAK” I hear a girl say, she is laughing too much for me to really tell who it is. I see my only friend in this place come running to my rescue, already gathering my books. “You ok, Shayla?” Matt asks, looking concerned. “I’m fine” I whisper, hiding behind my hair. I do this a lot, it’s a habit my mother is always telling me I need to stop, but when you’re embarrassed you do what you can to hide. Matt walks me to my last class of the day, math. It seems to drag on but finally the bell rings, allowing the animals out of their cages. Although I hate school, I take my time packing up, making sure I have a clear path to the choir room. Rachel meets me there every day, even though she doesn’t go here. When I get there she’s not there yet, so I sit down at the piano and start playing around. We never really had much growing up, but my mother’s always thought music was important so she sprang for piano and voice lessons when I was little. I finish playing and I hear two people clapping behind me. I look and Rachel is there with a boy I’d never met before, but recognized from the wild kids I saw this morning. “Come on Shay, we are running late” she says, dragging me out of the room and the school as fast as my feet will move. By the time we get to the middle of the woods across from my school I’m out of breath and Rachel is impatient, but not with me. “I told you Adam! She is human, even if she doesn’t look it!” The boy rolled his eyes and took off so fast I knew my mother was right; these people weren’t mortal. “Can I carry you?” Rachel asks, honestly asking permission. She is so small and fragile looking with her dancer’s build and bouncing red curls I laugh. “You can try” I tell her, not really expecting her to lift me. Next thing I know I am in her arms, breathless. “Close your eyes” she murmurs, right before taking off. I do as she says and the next thing I know we are in a large cave. There were five others in the cave, counting Adam and Rachel. The other girls were twins, Lizzie and Jade. They looked to be no older than thirteen, yet they seemed cold and tough, like they’d survived a rough life. The other guy introduced himself as Mark. He looked to be the oldest, but not by much. He looked to be about eighteen, barely old enough to live alone, let alone care for this group of misfits. But they all looked to him like he was the leader, so I figured I should respect him. “Everyone, this is Shayla Harper. Now I know she’s not what you’re sending us after Mark, but she is so alone it’s sad. She needs a family too.” Mark looked me over and I immediately felt self conscious, like he was going to try and eat me or something. I pulled my school uniform skirt down a little longer and my shirt a little higher. I didn’t need this creep thinking anything. He laughs at me as I squirm. “Relax, child. I won’t hurt you” he says, his voice like melting honey. He waves me closer and I cautiously do as he asks. He stares at me for a few more torturous moments before he smiles. “How would you like to have a new life?” he asks. I think about it for a minute, imagining a life where I won’t have people laughing, judging every time I walk down the halls. These kids are all home schooled, so I wouldn’t even have to deal with any of those loud mouthed hooligans up at the school anymore. But then I think of Matt, how he didn’t have anyone but me. “Will I be able to ensure my friend is safe? He is the only one I truly worry about” Mark considers it for a moment, and then snaps at the twins. “Send your girl to watch him” and the twins disappeared. “Anna is their sister. She chose not to be one of us but she is very kind. She will protect him, I promise.” With that decided, I agreed. All those left in the cave looked at me with wide eyes, surprised I had agreed so easily. I had a brief thought of my mother, but figured she’d be better off without having a teenage daughter to worry about anymore. I knew my mother tried very hard to be the perfect mom even if she couldn’t afford a lot, but she was failing miserably. I had been looking for a way out for quite a while and now that I had it, nothing was getting in my way. I was told to close her eyes, which I did, and then I felt an intense pain, then nothing.
Tales of the Lost