"I don't know which one of you is shaking the worst," Dad laughed, walking into the kitchen on August 27th, or as I called it Hell Day. Today was the day that I started school again at Trenton High. Emma was, for once, the only calm person in the house. Andrew was flipping out about what he was going to wear and trying to figure out where all his classes were. I was flipping out trying to figure out how I could remain invisible through the whole year. So far neither of us had succeeded in our goals.
"You know we're allowed to wear tanktops to school, right?" Emma asked. She threw her bare legs up on the table. I looked down at the tee shirt and shorts I wore.
"There's nothing wrong with what I'm wearing," I muttered. My mom put a hand on my shoulder and glared at my sister.
"I wish more girls would dress like Izzy, I'm tired of seeing so much skin," Mom defended me. Dad grunted and nodded.
"We should get going," Emma said. Andrew and I quickly stood up. My hands shook uncontrollably at my sides. Upstairs Jack began to cry as he woke up. I moved toward the door, but Mom stopped me.
"Don't worry about it honey, I'll get him." She said.
"But--" I whispered. I was starting to seriously regret wanting to back to school, but I couldn't back down, or Megan would kill me. She was already mad enough at me that I'd spent my summer working at Dawson rather than hanging out with her. Ryder and I had yet to make peace, and that was driving her insane. She was constantly inviting me to hang out together and try to make things the way they used to be, but I wasn't sure if seeing Ryder would make me happy or sad.
As Jack's cries grew louder another reason sprouted up in my mind. I didn't want to leave Jack alone all day. At almost seven months old Jack had mastered sitting up on his own. He knew his name and everyone who came to our house regularly. He was as curious as ever and was constantly trying to eat and play with things he shouldn't. He was starting to understand when I told him no, too. I was afraid that the moment I walked out of the house he'd start speaking, even though I knew it was to early for that.
"I promise I'll take a thousand pictures and video tape every cute thing he does," Mom laughed.
"Can I just--"
"No, Izzy, we're leaving." Emma snapped. She grabbed my arm and drug me out of the kitchen.
"Emma, let go of me," I demanded, scratching at her wrist. She ignored me and pulled me out of the house and threw me into the car. Andrew was already in the backseat, waiting for us.
"Will both of you stop worrying? It's school, you've done it before." Emma grumbled as she pulled out of the driveway.
"This is high school," Andrew argued. "You know, the place where freshman get eaten?"
"No one eats freshman, they're too chewy." Emma smirked. She looked over at me and said, "Well? What's your excuse?"
"I don't want people to know I'm related to you," I mumbled. Emma scowled and looked back at the road.
"You two are seriously horrible,"
****
My stomach was in knots as I marched up the front stairs of Trenton High School. The stone tigers were still posed to strike on the steps and the doors still stuck when you pulled on them. Nothing at Trenton seemed to change like I thought it would have. My fears were realized as Andrew, Emma, and I stepped into the foyer and the crowd of students fell quiet. Curious eyes stared at us, scanning us from head to toe. Andrew shuffled nervously beside me, then bolted toward the freshman wing. Emma saw one of her friends and left me standing alone in the middle of the silent room.
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Kidnapped: Book 1 1/2
Teen Fiction9 months after the worst weeks of her life Isabella James has a baby boy, Jack. The baby's father... Mark Young the man who raped her. To make matters worse Izzy's boyfriend, Jace, has moved to California and hasn't spoken to Izzy since. Now Izzy is...