HELLo

CHAPTER ONE

EMILY SPRING:

I turned on the TV. Waiting for the 8:30 news. I plopped heavily down on the couch, blowing my blonde hair out of my eyes. Just as I pulled out my phone to check the time, the power went out. Again. I groaned.

"Dad! The power 's out again!"

I always knew when my dad was coming. He was a major klutz. I heard him bounding up the stairs, heard the usual whack of him missing the twenty fifth step, choicy swear word, and him standing up again.

"Sorry Em! I was toying around with the electrical currents and changing the wire circuit while thinking about the electrical components and watching the thermometer that shows thermal energy and trying to see if I could double the amount of protons and neutrons in an electron." He rattled. Walking towards me.

"Sure Dad." I grumbled. Dad was always messing around with stupid science projects that involved things I never understood.

"I swear Emily, are you ever going to set a timer or alarm to tell you that the bus is leaving right now?" Dad said. Pointing out the window in our living room.

"I ain't going to miss it this time!" I said.

I jumped up from the couch, grabbed my yellow backpack from my door, threw the door open and rushed out of the house.

CHAMP REYNOLDS:

I sat on the bus. Bored. My mother had never driven me to school because she said sitting in a smelly bus with a bunch of rich kids was how you made friends.

I don't think so.

I'd rather be on the Volleyball court. Having Jake use his super quick set to score us a bazillion points. But no. I had to take the smelly bus and that was that.

Emily Spring bounded onto the bus, just as the doors closed behind her. Her blonde straight hair resting peacefully in a knot on top of her head. Today, she wore bell bottom jeans and a cropped hoodie that was slightly too big for her.

Emily looked around and caught my eye.

She smiled, and waved. She actually WAVED.

"Oh God, please no," I whispered as she elbowed past everyone leaning over in the aisles.

"Heyyyyy Mr. Volleyball Champ!" Emily said. Sitting down gracefully in the chair next to me.

"What do you want?" I grumbled, ignoring her nickname for me. Emily looked hurt. Her smile turned flat out, upside down.

"What? I'm not allowed to talk to the guy every girl except me is falling for?" She asked. I smiled, now I knew what she wanted.

"You want my cell phone data because your power is out again, and you are out of data and can't get more until next month?" I asked. Grinning ear to ear. Emily was cellphone addicted. Just like any other teenager in our school.

"Ohmygodyou'reactuallyalifesaver!" Emily slurred. She wrapped her arms around my torso. Hugging me harder than anyone could ever hug me.

"Yeah-sure, Em can I breathe please?" I rasped.

"Oh, yeah sorry."

She let go of me and I took a deep breath in. I pulled out my phone and turned my data on share mode. Emily pulled out hers and connected to my hotspot.

Her phone buzzed.

Emily opened the Secret app.

"What's new?" I asked

Emily's eyes began moving across a post with an anonymous tag. I watched as her jaw dropped. Emily looked at me in horror. I ripped her phone out of her hand and began to read the post: