Midtown

Eleven

Carly

Dejection was hitting Carly hard realizing the complete downside of being the new kid in a new town. She hasn't heard from Nathen, Tom, or KP in three days. The other students didn't seem to mind that KP wasn't around, but to Carly, she could only wonder how strange it was for all three of them to be gone at the same time. Leaving her alone since everyone else seemed to be avoiding her.

That left Carly to wonder why she hasn't heard a single thing from her friends in Uptown. It's been two weeks since she moved and she hasn't gotten a single text or call from anyone. Her friends were upset that she left, but not to the point they would stop talking to her. She went to her contacts in her phone and tried calling one of them.

"The number you have reached is unavailable." The voice operator came on. She tried calling again and got the same message. She called another friend and was met with the same fate. It was bizarre. They've all had the same number for years. They wouldn't collectively change their numbers so suddenly. Carly went to the living room to find her mother.

"Have you talked to anyone from home?"

"Why? Did something happen?" Her mom looked to her.

"I can't get through to anyone. Every time I call, I keep getting an unavailable message.

"Maybe their phone is off."

"Everyone's phone wouldn't be mysterious off at the same time. Don't you think that's kind of weird?"

"I heard there was a big storm that knocked out power everywhere in that area. The server may still be down."

"A storm? We're right next door. Don't you think we would've gotten some of that storm if it was that strong?" Carly asked. They weren't states apart. They lived in the middle of Midtown like they did in Uptown. If a storm were that close, she would have seen something about it on the news.

"Maybe we should go visit to make sure everyone is okay." Something wasn't sitting right with Carly. Either her mother was watching news of another city, or someone was lying to her. Either way, she wanted to see her friends and make sure they were okay.

"Don't tell me you're homesick already. We've only been here a couple weeks. We still have things in boxes we haven't put away yet."

"Mom, don't you feel like there's something kind of weird going on around here?"

"I don't see anything weird. In fact, I've even made a few friends at work. They've been here for years and haven't had much problem."

"Well, I'm not exactly haven't a field day here. All the kids at school seem like they're avoiding me."

"The boy from next door seems to like you." She was talking about Nathen. But he disappeared. Carly wondered if this is what it meant to go crazy. She knew for certain that something wasn't right, but she was the only one to think so.

"Things are going to be different." Her mother started again, "This isn't Uptown anymore. The environment will not be the same. Yes, it seems a little rougher, but just give it some time." She went back to going through the box on the coffee table. Carly wanted to argue. That was, until they heard the front door open and her father came rushing in.

"It's good you're here. You'll never guess what I came across."

"What is it?" Carly asked. Maybe the news her father had would help her feel at ease about her uncertainties. She watched him as he reached into the bag he had and pulled out a box. He walked towards Carly's mother and opened the box to show a diamond necklace.

"H-how did you get something like that?" Carly asked getting a better look at it.

"There was a guy selling them at a jewelry store for practically nothing. The store was going out of business. They planned to closed down by next week, so everything had to go. Everyone was trying to get one. I knew you'd like it so I went ahead bought it."