out the window. The sky has gotten darker since I’ve come home and large raindrops are beginning to fall. The clouds open up further releasing their sadness onto the Earth below. The sound of water resonates off the roof, while droplets stick to the window, creating a blurry illusion of the outside world. Pushing myself up from my window seat, I walk over to my bed and sit down, waiting for Jane to call me down.
“Ryanne, it’s time for dinner,” Jane yells up the bottom of the stairs.
At the dinner table, I begin to stir my peas around the plate. I never eat them. I hate peas. They’re the devil’s tasteless vegetable. But, I don’t want her to think that I don’t appreciate the meal, so I pretend to eat them.
“How’s school?” Jane asks.
“It’s fine,” I hesitantly reply.
“I got a call from your teacher this morning, Mrs. Applegate. Do you have anything to tell me?”
“Umm…nope. I don’t think so.”
She looks at me for a few moments, waiting. I know what she wants me to say, but I don’t. “You’re failing English, Ryanne.” Her voice starts to rise, slowly inching more towards a yell. “You need to pass that class to graduate! She said that you have a test on Monday over The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Have you read it?”
“Not yet.”
“Well, when do you plan on reading it?”
“Well…after I buy it.”
“You haven’t even bought the book yet?!” She stares at me, probably trying to determine if I am joking or not. “After dinner, you will go to the bookstore and buy it. I don’t want to hear any excuses. I understand that after your mother died, you needed some time. But it has been over a year, Ryanne. You have to start living again. She would want you to graduate. I can’t let you throw your life away like this.” Jane never mentions my mother unless she is very upset with me, because she knows how much it hurts me to think about her.
“Fine, I’ll go. But I don’t really have much of a chance of passing the class this late in the game.”
“But, you can at least try.”
Try. I’m not even sure I understand the definition of that word anymore. I stop pushing my peas around my plate and look up at her. Her face is full disappointment, but also full of faith in me. I know that I can’t let her down. Right now, she is all I have.
Chapter Two
Grabbing the car keys off the counter, I rush out the front door and am surrounded by the musty smell of the rain. The downpour has relented to a soft drizzle, while various shades of grays accumulate in the sky, swirling around one another like a van Gogh painting. The gloomy clouds that had gathered and drenched the earth are starting to drift away into nothingness. The trees begin to sway as the wind picks up, rustling their leaves together creating a whisper of noise throughout the town.
Thankful to be out of the strange weather, I turn the car keys in the ignition. The car comes to life, a steady thrum reverberating throughout the vehicle. Being a small town, the only bookstore is the local BlackMoon Bookstore on Amber Avenue. It will only take a few minutes to drive over there. Since it is a small town though, I have to park out of the way and walk to the store.
Pulling into a parking lot at the back of Second Chances, the local thrift store, I get out of the car and begin walking towards the bookstore located across the street. I stop at the crosswalk to push the walk button…only there isn’t a walk button. Since the weekend has begun, Stormfield is pretty quiet. Most people would have gone into Brookville, the larger town located a few miles away for their weekend festivities. Without bothering to look before crossing, I take a step off of the curb and into the road.
After a couple of steps, I am blinded by a bright light and a loud noise echoes down the street to my right: a car horn. Everything freezes around me. The wind picks up and blows my hair across my face, momentarily blocking my vision. I know that I am going to be hit. My heart is beating a mile a minute as if trying to escape my chest. I’m sure that if anyone was near they could hear its loud beat. My airways constrict, making