《the wallflower》

what you never expected

ANDI NOBLE 

"You have to get lost before you can be found." John Green, Paper Towns 

Andi wasn't the kind of person who liked to watch the news in the morning. But her house's internet was down, and she was desperate for something to watch. Her parents were less than pleased to find out that she got suspended, but at least she could hide away from the rest of the world for the week. 

Her sister was at school, both her parents were working at the church, so she was sitting alone at home, trying to keep herself occupied. Her parents shut down her phone so she could only call if there was an emergency, and she wasn't allowed to leave the house unless it was to go to Maple Street Church with her sister. And now, she was watching some news story about an animal going missing at the Sierra Safari Zoo. 

However, there was one thing that did catch her eye. 

The new caster, a young-looking blonde woman wearing a low-cut blouse stood in front of a blue screen, with the picture of a girl behind her. Andi had to reread the subtitles at least two or three times before it registered. 

"The Seventeen-Year-Old was last seen Friday Night at a friend's house by a fellow student, but parents of River June Michaels have heard from their daughter since Saturday morning when she told them she was staying at a friend's house. Officials say that they haven't found anything to conclude suspension but asks the community to call in if they have seen or hear anything about the young girl to report it immediately. Parents are trying to get the girl home safely." 

Andi stood up from her spot on the couch. River June Michaels was missing? That didn't make any sense. She was Student Body President. She had a clean record. She was a part of the art club and led pep rallies and helped plan student body events. 

River June Michaels couldn't have been missing. She just couldn't have. 

Andi ran to grab her phone from kitchen, swiping it open to text her friend, only then remembering that she couldn't do that because her parents locked her phone. So instead, she called her sister, hoping that maybe she knew something about it. 

It took a few seconds, Andi looking over at the clock hoping that Lydia would answer. It was second passing period, so she didn't think there would be any reason for her sister not to answer. "Hello?" 

"Lydia, listen to me. Do you know River June Michaels?" 

Lydia was quiet for a few seconds. "Not personally. Why?" 

"The news just said that she's missing. Did you know that she was missing?" Andi asked, running up the stairs and up to her room. 

"I had suspicions." 

What is that supposed to mean? Andi was looking around her room. She had photos of the past two years of high school plastered all over her room. "What do you mean you had suspicions?" 

"What channel said that she's missing?" Lydia asked, scuffling being heard in the background. Being in a loud school probably wasn't helping very much, but nothing of what Lydia was saying calmed Andi's nerves. She knew River June. Not personally or anything, but she was friends with Arabella, which meant that Andi had hung out with her a few times. 

River June was always wearing the most ridiculous outfits, all kinds of colors in all kinds of styles. She constantly was pushing the boundaries, meaning she was always a part of the drama at school. She apparently even had some hot shot boyfriend who lived in Minnesota or Montana or something. But none of that was important right now. "Channel Two I think." 

Andi stood up on her bed, glazing over all the pictures. Finally, she found a picture of herself, Arabella, Maddie Preston, and River June at the Winter Formal last December. They were all dressed up in formal dresses, each with fancy makeup and done up hair. It was one of the only times that Andi had ever hung out with River June. 

She was nice and all, but Andi wasn't close to her. River June always seemed to look down on Andi, like she was some sort of second grader or an annoying younger cousin. It always made Andi jealous and made her want nothing to do with the girl. But none of that made a difference right now. Andi pulled down the photo, looking at it as she ran out of her room and back down the stairs. 

She almost forgot she was on the phone when her sister said, "One of her friends said they hadn't heard from her. But I wasn't sure if she was actually missing or not." 

"What friend?" 

"Ryder Andrews."  That stopped Andi in her tracks. 

"Why are you talking to Ryder Andrews?" Andi asked, putting the photo down on the counter and sat down, trying to get control of her thoughts. 

"Why does that matter?" Lydia replied. 

"Cause he's Ryder Andrews. He's like, the weirdest guy in school. I heard that he was a part of some murder-for-hire plot and-" 

"Andi." Lydia said calmly, which meant that she was losing her patience. "Who I'm talking to doesn't matter right now. What matters is that River June is missing. Now, did you see her at the party on Friday?" 

At that moment, Andi really didn't want to think another second about the awful party. But this was important. The only time that she saw River June was when she was sitting in the front room with a bunch of her friends when she went upstairs...

Yep, she really didn't want to relive that memory. 

"I saw her at the party, but only for a few minutes. It was when I- I was going upstairs with-" 

"I don't need to know those details. Just tell me this, did you see her with anyone? And suspicious or acting weird?" 

Andi didn't think she did. She just saw a bunch of girls dancing and drinking. "No." 

Lydia was quiet for a few moments, and Andi could hear the sound of a car being started up and some voices she didn't recognize. "I'm gonna come pick you up. We should probably get you up to date with everything going on." 

"Wait, what's going on? And whose 'we'?" 

Andi could environ her sister rolling her eyes as she spoke. "You'll find out. Just be ready. We're on a tight schedule." And then the call ended.