Her Name is Autumn (On Hold)

Chapter One

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   "So I had a wife. She was beautiful, like you. Who tells me I worry too much. Who tells me I ought to smile more. Who gambles and gets in deep with the sharks. One day, they carve her face. And we have no money for surgeries. She can't take it. I just want to see her smile again. I just want her to know that I don't care about the scars. So... I stick a razor in my mouth and do this. . . to myself. And you know what? She can't stand the sight of me! She leaves. Now I see the funny side. Now I'm always smiling!"

   -The Joker

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Her Name is Autumn- Chapter one:

     "So, Reese, if I needed to get into someones locker, you could do that for me?" Penny asked. 

     I glanced at the blonde out of the corner of my eye before reaching into my locker, grabbing the books necessary for my next subject. "I could but I won't." I replied before swinging my locker door closed.

      "B-but you can! I need this Reese, c'mon." She whined, clutching at my arm.

     Annoyed, I shoved her off me, remembering not to be too harsh. "You don't need it, Penny. You'll just use it to stalk the guy or something else equally creepy."

     "I never said anything about a boy."

   "You didn't have to." I replied, my voice sharp. We started down the hallway, making our way through the endless streams of teenagers. The day was barely half way done and a headache was already sneaking its way in.

   "Reeeese." She whined, her voice rising in a unattractive way. The gunfight of the O.K. corral was erupting in my stomach as I tried to contain my frustration. All I wanted to do way scream 'My name is  not Reese!' But I knew I couldn't. For the past three months I had endured listening to Penny's high-pitched-voice that reminded me of nails clawing their way slowly down a chalk board just to get close  to her older brother and their cousin. 

   The two boys had their hands pretty deep in some gang business, so through them I would have to keep climbing my way up the status ladder until I reached the top. When I got close enough to the gang leader, I could top him. Simple. 

   So far I had managed to become friends with the two boys and gain a little trust, Penny's brother was starting to open up to me. This case should be done and dusted within the next five to six months.

   I forced a smile onto my face and looked at the girl who walked beside me. "I'll think about it but it'll have to be for a good reason, so get thinking. I know the real reason won't be reasonable." I teased, rolling my eyes internally at the hopeful look on the pathetic girls' face.

   For any case to work, my façade had to fool-proof. I knew everything there was to know about the girl named Reese Cunning. She was confident and funny, but had a dark streak as she loved to have fun and twist the rules, not caring about the consequences.

   Penny grinned in response, before entering class.

   Yay, I thought sullenly, another day in the life of Reese Cunning.

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   Half way through the second period of the day my phone's constant ringing disturbed the thick silence that hung in the classroom while everyone was scribbling notes down in their books. Awkwardly, I sifted though the pocket of my jacket and pulled it out, sliding the silver phone open and bringing it to my ear without checking the caller ID.

   "Hey." I said, balancing my phone on my shoulder and pressing it against my ear, continuing to scribble down useless notes into my book.

   "It's Seb." A deep, familiar voice said.