Realm of Nightmares

Chapter One

Kayra stepped through the entrance of her school, a darkened look forming over her features. Her once fiery bouncy red curls were now wet, sticking to her face. Water dripped from her sleeves and her skirt, staining the floor, and her shoes squelched as she squeezed her toes.

Behind her, there was a flash of lightning. And then, the sound of thunder rumbled through the ground. If this was a movie, it would've been a perfect horror scene. But it wasn't a movie. It was her pitiable pathetic life. This was definitely not what she'd imagined when she'd picked out her clothes for school the previous night. She didn't particularly dance at the thought of going to school. Sometimes she just wanted to lay in bed all day. But she had to go to school, so she had to look good.

All her efforts... ruined by this unexpected rain.

She sighed when she saw the cautious sets of eyes staring at her from the hallway. So much for wanting to blend into the background. She ran her fingers through her hair, pushing the strands back, and then took a step forward and another. The eyes following her didn't faze her one bit. Or so she told herself. Her insides erupted from all the attention. She could hear their loud thoughts. She could see the judgment in their eyes.

And whose fault was that? It was entirely hers. If she'd just checked the darned weather forecast... Or if she'd set her alarm thirty minutes back, she'd have been more early. But like every other day, she'd woken up late, to an empty house.

Her parents must have skipped happily to work. It didn't matter if they had an eighteen-year-old daughter somewhere in the bedroom. They had to go to work. Work, work, work.

That was all they talked about.

If she heard that word one more time, she would tear her hair off.

"Oh, my God!" Kayra heard someone yell in the distance. She didn't even need to look up to know who that was.

Jennifer ran across the hallway, skidding to a stop in front of her. "Kayra! Oh my, you're soaking wet," Jennifer said and linked her arm around Kayra's, dragging her off to who-knows-where.

"Are you alright? You look like you fell in a ditch or something." Jennifer said, still marching across the hallway as they turned a corner.

Kayra popped a small smile at her best friend's antics. It was fun to watch sometimes. Deep down, she was happy Jennifer showed up at the right time. Walking through that hallway was like doing a walk of shame. Even though there was really nothing to be ashamed of.

Jennifer pulled her into the girls' bathroom and grabbed a paper towel. "Here," she said and leaned against a sink.

"Thanks," Kayra muttered, patting her hair and her clothes. Though her clothes were wet, she'd taken care of the dripping. A chill ran through her skin and she shivered.

Jennifer sighed. "At this rate, you're going to catch a cold. We need to get you changed."

Kayra nodded, still patting her hair.

"There are some mud stains on your skirt too. Your mum's not going to like that either."

Kayra's tongue soured. She didn't want to be reminded of her oh-so-perfect mother who was without blemish or sin. Her mother was as perfect as Fibonacci's sequence or the paint strokes that made up the Mona Lisa. She didn't want to be reminded how her stubborn curls and dull brown eyes paled in comparison to her mother's beautiful straight hair and perfect set of white teeth.

"I feel like today is going to be a bad day," Kayra suddenly said. She felt it. There was a knowing in her heart that she couldn't just shake off. This particular incident was going to be the beginning of several things that she wouldn't like.