Unmasked

Chapter Two

The next morning, Nikki flickered her eyes open. She groaned as she stretched out her arms and rolled off her bed, falling onto the carpet.

"Oof! Ugh..." Nikki stood up and brushed herself off.

She walked into the kitchen. Her mother already left for her first job, so Nikki prepared herself breakfast and quickly got dressed.

She grabbed her backpack and ran out of the RV, waiting for the bus by the road.

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When the bus finally came, Nikki boarded it and sat down in the nearest seat to the exit. She always sat there whenever she could, because if she sat in the back, she would have to socialize with other students. And Nikki was not very social. She was shy, awkward, and just an introvert.

Nikki stared out the bus window, watching as they passed trees with blooming leaves.

Once they reached the school, Nikki ran out and headed towards the entrance.

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At her first class, Nikki sat in the back of the room. Where she could listen, but also daydream without being caught by the lousy teacher.

"Everyone, please take out your notebook and work on your algebra textbook, pages 127 to 130." The teacher ordered.

Nikki flipped open her notebook and began to sketch. Her dull pencil shot across the paper, as Nikki drew, erased, and edited. Nikki examined the doodle. She sighed and turned the page, working on her algebra problems.

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At lunch, Nikki sat at her table. She called it The Lone Table because no one ever sat anywhere near it. Only she was stubborn enough to show how she had claimed the table for herself.

As she nibbled on her seemingly tasteless turkey sandwich, someone passed her table, and she thought that the person momentarily stared at her, before walking off slowly.

"Weirdo." Nikki murmured and threw out the crusts of her sandwich.

She sat down again, preparing to daydream as she slowly drifted off into her fantasy.

"Nikki Powell, to the principal's office, Nikki Powell." Yawned the voice on the loudspeaker.

Nikki frowned. What did she do wrong? Besides the fact that she sometimes doodles during class, Nikki was a well-behaved student.

"Maybe they finally found the doodle I did on that desk in History class..." Nikki suggested. She stood up and walked down the hallway, getting ready to be yelled at or punished.

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"Nikki Powell, yes, hello! We're sorry to interrupt your lunch, but apparently your siblings are here to pick you up." The vice principal's face beamed. A forced smile, Nikki grimly noticed.

Her heart skipped a beat. Siblings? Nikki was an only child. She was about to tell this to the vice principal when two people walked up behind the principal with stern expressions.

The one to the left was a boy. He had dark, wavy brown hair and blue eyes. He was tall, wearing a black hoodie and somewhat ripped jeans with plain black sneakers. He looked about sixteen years old, and his face showed that he wasn't exactly a joking guy.

The one to the right was a girl. She had short brown hair, that was dyed with red tips at the end. Her eyes were deep, chocolate brown, with a sense of sadness hidden within. She was wearing a red jacket with dark blue jeans and black boots. She seemed to be more open and kinder than the boy, and she looked to be about fourteen.

"Who- who are..." Nikki stuttered.

"Let us leave this... Putrid smelling school, 'sister.'" The boy said harshly and grabbed Nikki's arm.

"Hey! Let go of me!" Nikki screeched as the boy pulled Nikki out of her school, the girl happily following.

"Who the hell do you think you people are?" Nikki yelled into the boy's ear.

The boy showed no emotion in his face as he ignored Nikki, continuing on walking.

"Relax, Nikki. You'll know why we're doing this once we take you to the Hideout." The girl reassured her.

"The Hideout?" Nikki wrinkled her nose. "How do you even know my name? Just fricking let me go! You idiots are gonna have to answer to the police! My mom will come home later and call the police when she notices I'm not there!"

"Don't worry. We have that under control." The boy smirked.

"W-who are you people anyway?"

"I'm Victoria. But you can call me Tori. The guy who's forcefully dragging you along is Cole." The girl informed Nikki.

"Wha..." Nikki stuttered. This was crazy. Utterly chaotic! She must've been dreaming. It wasn't everyday she gets kidnapped by two random teenagers.

They finally reached a black car with absolutely no scratches, marks, or any sort of mess on its paint. It seemed like the kind of car a perfectionist would pay millions of dollars for. The car shimmered gracefully, with the sun reflecting light against it.

Cole opened the back door. "Get in." He calmly ordered.

Nikki scowled. "What makes you think I-"

Cole interrupted her rude attitude by practically grabbing her and throwing her into the backseat like a sack of potatoes.

"Ow! Sheesh..." Nikki murmured and rubbed her arm. Cole got in the driver's seat and Tori sat in the passenger's seat next to him.

The new car smell immediately filled into Nikki's nose as she took a whiff and sighed. It smelled fresh, like a nice warm summer breeze.

Cole turned around and faced Nikki. "Better buckle up." He chuckled.