Chon-Ji and Sparkles

Ch 1: In a Jam

If only I knew that today was going to be hell, maybe, just maybe, I would've called in sick. Looking around the school, I realized that, yes, that would have been the best. The night before had been senior joker night. A night where most of the seniors play a prank on the school, messing up the entire place with mischievous pranks.

Cautiously, I approach my locker and pull it open, sighing in relief when nothing popped out. As I go to take my textbook out, I feel it click something and soon a small clown spray pops out and squirts ketchup onto my white top. Groaning loudly, I wipe it off just as our ever so nice basketball team walks by. The team captain, Tim, swipes a chip into the remaining ketchup on my top and hums, "Oh yum, my favorite."

Winking at me, he walks off with his teammates chuckling at the various pranks they participated in. Some of the younger players shoot me apologetic looks, yet they don't stop to help out.

"Don't mind them. Their heads are wrapped up in meaningless things. Here, nothing a scarf can't fix," a familiar voice steps in as a marbled blue scarf is fixated around my neck. I smile at my best friend, Victor, a transfer from Korea whom I had met in the seventh grade. Our friendship more or less began when he and I bonded over having siblings that were much older than us. His was thirteen years older and mine was eleven years older. It also helped when his older brother and my older sister were dating, giving us plenty of chances to meet up.

"Vic, what would I do without your endless supply of fashion accessories?" I smirk as he tuts, "Hey, these accessories are a necessity."

"Han, you need more scarves to add to your collection? I bet the cheerleaders have a few you could borrow!" Tim yells from down the hallway as Vic turns to him with a very prominent grimace, "Nah, I think I like mine better from luxury brands, not old and used."

"That's a horrible thing to say," I grab Vic and he shrugs, "If our high school wasn't so quid pro quo, I wouldn't have said it."

"Touché."

After heading into chemistry, we both sat at our shared lab table. Next to us, a very out of breath kid sat down. Also known as our other best friend,  Zahir  Dimassi, the nervous one. Zahir always has been that one friend who screams like a girl, yet has the tendency to be clueless about practically everything.

"Could you try not to breathe like that? It's disrupting my focus." Cecilia barks at Zahir who pants, "I just ran all the way from the gym to here. Cut me some slack."

"Isn't he in kickstart with you?" Vic whispers and I nod, disappointed at his failure of enduring regular exercise.

"You're pathetic." Cecilia rolls her eyes as Zahir turns to us, "Why is she so rude all the time? Remind me never to say I like her again."

"Three," Vic starts as I continue, "Two."

"One," we both manage to get out just as Zahir sighs in bliss, "But how can I be mad at that beautiful face? She's so gorgeous."

"He's never going be fixed." Vic mutters before taking out his notebook as class starts.

Of all my years of being their friend, I can safely argue that we were definitely the odd ones at Center Falls High School. However, I could care less. None of this would matter anyways after graduation. All that I had to worry about was getting to it safely then I would be free of all this bullshit. Right?

It's not that I was the invisible girl at school because I really wasn't. No, there was a time that Cecilia was just the mean girl, not the co captain of cheerleading. There was a time when my group of friends were very well known in a positive light where everyone wanted to know us. Except you know when that beautiful time was? Middle school.

Now, I'm just another one of the randoms who everyone knows about, but isn't held to the same standards as the athletes. Complete B.S.

"So, my family signed up to be a host to a foreign exchange student. Guess I'll be sharing a bathroom with someone," Vic grunts as he chomps down on a carrot. Victor's family was well to do, they always had been. It explained how Vic was able to get his hands on the Marc Jacobs and Bobbi Brown outfits.

"You have a mansion! Why would you need to share anything with the kid?" Zahir exclaims as he sloppily slurps on the vegetable spaghetti his mom had packed for him.

"It's a way for him to get closer to the kid," I say and the boys widen their eyes, "Ohhh."

"I just thought my parents just wanted to ruin my chances of having an impeccably clean bathroom," Vic shrugs to which I guffaw with laughter, "You're never clean! You are the messiest person ever."

"Attention students! We need Cecilia Evans, Trevor Marin, Ella Marie Hussain, Serena Chung to come to the Principal's Office. Immediately." The PA system blares and my head whips up and locks onto a stare with Cecilia who visibly loses color on her face. There could be only one reason the all of us were called in. We were the only liable witnesses of the whole investigation, but we thought we were done with it. Done with the torture of repeating the incident over and over until even we didn't know what was going on.

But does a missing person case ever really end until the person is found?