Midnight Memories (ON HOLD )

Prologue

Aly (Alyna Naadir)

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Standing in front of the rusted staircase I look up to see my new school. Honestly, if the school bus hadn't dropped me off in front of this building, I would have thought it was a factory. The building looked like it had been there for centuries, with faded white paint and a large glass window stared back at me as I forced my feet to move. Around me, girls were pushing through the doors, acting as if it was no big deal. Like it was a normal day and my whole world hadn't just turned upside down.

I look back at the stairs. There's only three of them Aly, come on, move those legs that you're so proud of. I climb the rest of the stairs, opening the doors and staring into the ugliest building I have ever seen.

As I look at my surroundings, a head pokes out of one of the rooms and smiles at me and yesh... what is she wearing?

"Hello, you must be new here. What grade are you in?" a voice asks in a bored tone. She's a small old lady, with deep brown eyes. She would have been pretty if she knew how to blend her foundation in properly.

"Grade 9," I replied, a little unsure of myself.

"Excellent! Just go down the hall, it's the third classroom," she said in her voice void of any emotion. I was beginning to think that was how she talked.

I nod and walk away. At first, I look at the floor, which is caked with mud and dirt into the cracks of the tiles. Disgusted, I glance up at the ceiling, but I could see dust and mold everywhere. With a shudder, I look to the walls where I am greeted with water stains and faded paint.

I sigh. Is there nothing pretty here? I then chuckle to myself, remembering something Alia might have said, all of a sudden I feel sad again, I honestly was not mentally prepared for this day let alone this year. I find the third classroom and find a seat near the back. A group of girls are huddled in the corner of the room staring out of the window and giggling together. I bet they already know each other. I look up and see a couple of kids sitting in the front and a couple in the middle. They all look awkward like me and are staring at either their phones or the ugly wall.

I put my head down and try to imagine my old life. What my life was like 2 weeks ago, how this morning was never supposed to even happen. I feel a light touch on my arm and look up

"May I sit here?" a girl asks me with slightly accented English.

"Uh, yeah, sure," I reply, not wanting to talk at all.

I turn back to the front when I hear someone squeal my name. I look over and smile for the first time today.

"Hey there Muffin. What are you doing here?" I ask.

The girl smiles at me and her dimples appear. "I just came back from Paris a week ago and heard the news like two days ago. I didn't have much time to plan"

I laugh. "Well, at least I won't be stuck here alone." 

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Lyn (Alyna Ameer)

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Life has a strange way of getting us to where we are today. One moment you could be laughing with your best friends, making jokes and promising forevers, and the next minute you could be sitting in a dimly lit classroom with cracked ceilings and a dirty floor, miles away from your friends and all that you hold dear. Perhaps this description is only specific to my situation, but you get the gist.

I cannot feel myself. The shock of my situation has numbed me beyond caring, like someone has taken over the control on my limbs and torn my feelings apart. I can barely understand what is happening as I stare around, my eyes seeing but not believing the hideous room which I am in.

A girl sits across from me, looking back at me shyly. She smiles wide, so wide that it looks almost painful. I am unsure whether to smile back or not. Out of habit, the corners of my mouth curl, though I am far from happy. Her smile widens, if that is possible, and she looks at me with an almost gleeful expression. Sort of like that clown in Batman.

Immediately I dislike this girl. In fact, I dislike everything. This classroom, the walls, this school, everything. What am I doing here? How did I get here? What am I doing? These questions swirl around inside my head like a broken machine, spinning and spinning until I am tired of thinking of them but they are not tired of spinning.

I look back at the girl. She is still looking at me, and smiles again, the tips of her mouth stretching to the edges of her slim face. Her lips are plump and full, glossed over with lip balm.

Unsure about what to do with her second smile, I smile back again. Ugh, what's with all this smiling? I hate this place, smiling seems so out of place, I think to myself.

"Hi?" I say, but it comes out as a question. The girl looks delighted at being acknowledged.

"Heyy!" she replies, a smile back on her face. Does this girl ever stop smiling? "Are you new here? I'm new here and this is the first day of school. My name is Amara"

Nice job, captain obvious. I know it's the first day of school. Still, I don't want to sound rude. So I smile back, even though it's against everything boiling inside of me.

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