Underground | ongoing

Chapter 1 | Reputation Is Everything

I didn't know he was going to do it. I really didn't. It happened all so quickly. I didn't see it coming. I don't think anyone did. He didn't either. It was an accident. It really was. But, I doubt the police saw it that way.

I suppose it'll be better if I just start from the beginning, show you the whys and the hows and the wheres and the whens. I'll make you understand. I hope.

November 13th. That's where we begin. With snow falling to the ground, coating the driveway in a soft blanket and the smell of hot chocolate hanging in the air. Everything was at peace. No wind, no storm, no rain - just the silent fall of snowflakes. In the distance, you could hear the treading of snowboots, crushing the hidden leaves as my schoolmates fought their way to school in what they described as 'horrendous' conditions. Their later exaggerations were astonishing. Just because their cars had been blocked in overnight, they somehow decided that they'd tell the class of their life-changing adventures, pushing through the worldly conditions that would scar them for life.

As if.

There is one thing you should know about me. I love winter. Snow, furry boots, lazy days in front of the fire with a good rom-com dvd - that was my version of heaven. So, when I woke and saw the snow covering every inch of my neighbourhood, I was more than happy to pull on my warmest clothes, my favourite bubblegum pink bobble hat (and the matching gloves my grandma had knitted me) and make my way to school on foot.

My parents were hardly ever home to see me off to school. My father, you see, was a lawyer who spent most of his life holed up in his New York office, going over cases and trying his hardest to get convicts off the hook, and my mother was the manager of a well-doing toy company. Needless to say, my house and upbringing was the perfect mix of serious and fun. But, with their responsibilities came a lack of their presence, but my mom never left unless she could help it. It was her usual nightwork that prevented her from seeing me off. Most days, she struggled to return until after eight in the morning.

My dad - well, one could not predict his schedule.

For these reasons, I had gotten use to being alone for the most part of the day. Friends were great and all, but they only wanted me for my empty house and their pre-planned parties. I had common sense. I knew they didn't want me for me. Still, I let them use me, because they had their uses, too, and occasionally I'd permit them to throw a party with the promise that they would help me clean up the following day and upstairs was out of bounds to all.

The former was a promise they kept. The latter? Let's just say, two drinks in and I couldn't have given a flying fuck about what anyone did in my house. So, what did my 'friends' do when they realised this? They spiked all of my drinks, even the non-alcoholic ones and made me into the biggest dummy.

But, they weren't all that bad. They were just being friends, helping me loosen up and stop worrying about my dad barging through the door at any moment. But, as I said, they had their uses to me.

Himberwill High School sat on the edge of the town in a dip designed perfectly around the woodland trees, just a mile away from the town centre. The car park, as you can imagine on such a cold, snowly day, was practically deserted. Albeit, the roads around the school had been salted, but nobody seemed to have wanted to chance the drive.

As much as I sometimes hated to admit it, I loved this school. Everything about it was somehow funny to me. It was no different than anywhere other school. If you were popular, you took advantage of your status. If you were a nerd, you better hide yourself in your little dungeon cave away from the jocks. And, if you were a outcast or a loner, you were invisible, and that was sometimes the best way to be.