The Great War

Chapter 1

"Joelly!" I yipped, opening the door to his room. I gave him a hug. I hadn't seen him since Friday, and I was really missing him. But it's only been two days. I know that it's probably bad for me to be this attached to him, we aren't even dating. But anyone can love their best friend! And I kind've like Joel's brother.  

"Hi, Taylor." He replied, trying to hide the annoyance in his voice. Does he not want me here right now? I pushed those awful thoughts away. He was probably still tired. He must just be getting up from sleeping. I mean it is 10 a.m. so who can blame him? 

"Whatcha doing?" I asked. Since I got there, he has been doing something on his iPad. I was pricking my mind to know what was so important that he couldn't look his best friend in the eye while having a conversation with her. 

Joel opened his mouth like he was gonna say something, but closed it, looking for the right response. "Just an article..." His voice trailed off, but I was able to make out the words. I wasn't going to ask what it was about, because it was clearly upsetting him. I could ask Luke, I'm sure he knows. 

"Oh okay!" Trying to change the subject I asked, "Have you come up with anything for the project?" Joel shook his head, still reading the article. We sat in silence as he finished reading it. I was watching him finish reading it, and it seemed like he was watching a horror film. But still, I kept my mouth shut. 

"Sorry, I was really into that before you got here." He was giving me an apologetic glance while placing his iPad down. So him being annoyed was just because he was interested in his article, whatever it was. Luke will tell me. Luke's not that smart, but he's still filled with knowledgeable facts. 

Joel looked at me, his brown eyes staring into my gaze. "Are you sure you want to do your best to go to regionals?" 

"I'm sure!" Writing poems was something I was always so passionate about, so if Joel and I won it would mean the world to me. Joel smiled at me. Of course he knew I wanted to be there, showing off my best work. It made me wonder why he asked if he already knew. 

"I thought so." He chuckled. "So I talked to the English teacher to see if we could maybe write a song. She said we could, just a very poetic one. And that would take us to the next level! And we would make it to regionals and even have a chance to woah them there!" 

I smiled slightly. He's really thought about me and how much I want this. Astonished, I said, "Well I'll start brainstorming some ideas tonight!" Joel smiled at me, and Luke entered the room. I didn't know that they shared a room. That must be annoying. I would hate having to share a room with my brother. But Luke didn't seem like he would be that bad. I barely know him, but Joel's told me he's not that bad. Which Luke seems like the really cool younger brother and Joel's the older lame brother. But I don't have to tell him that. 

"Oh, I didn't know you were having Taylor over." Luke blurbed. Ignoring the fact that I was here he asked, "So did you finish reading that article?" Joel nodded and looked away from Luke. Panic hit me like a rock. What was Joel reading? Why was it such a secret? What could my best friend have been reading that he was ashamed of? "You should tell her. She deserves to know." Luke turned around and walked out of the room without saying anything. 

Joel was looking at me, scared. Surely, the article wasn't anything too terrible. And if it's about a murder I wouldn't even care because I love watching crime. But Joel knows that. We watch Law & Order together sometimes. "So are you gonna tell me?" I popped. 

"Erm, I don't know." He replied, quietly. "I just- don't think you're ready." Suddenly, I was confused. I let it go, because I knew I could get it out of Joel when I wanted to. I waved to Joel, and walked out of the room, ready to go home. Luke stopped me by grabbing my arm. 

"Did he tell you?" He looked at me with sincern eyes. 

"No, he was being weird about it. So I let it go. Besides, Joel tells me everything-" 

"Sure he does." Luke said, interrupting. "You know, I don't think he's your friend." I laughed. Luke's out of his mind. He doesn't know what he's thinking. Of course Joel's my friend. We've been best friends since I can remember. And because we are best friends we tell each other everything, and I know he does. 

Luke let my arm go, and walked away, staring. He was starting to freak me out a little bit, but I just ignored it. I went home and up to my room. I needed to make sure that I write the perfect song. But my mind wandered to my phone. I picked it up and started to scroll through instagram. As I scrolled I saw something. 'Klara Hart escaped from prison.' 

My heart began to race. Of course I'd never imagine that I would be scared about someone I never knew, but she was so cruel. I've heard the stories before, reading them with Joel, but I never actually thought she would escape. Reading further in an article, it said someone was said to be helping her escape and get away. And she was always so evil to children, I'd be so sad if I got an amber alert on my phone. 

To get my mind off of Klara Hart, I decided to start writing that song Joel had hoped for. I opened my cabinet to grab my notebook, but I found a note. It read, "He's coming for you." 

1019 Words, February 8 2024