His Shadow

Chapter 5

The time had come to leave for school once more. Though most people probably found it odd that, although I was hidden from the eyes of men I chose to go to school anyway, I found it almost reassuring. School kind of acted like my getaway during dark times in the past. I wasn't ready to accept this huge change in my life and preferred to attend school despite my predicament. Besides, the dance team's competition against MVHS's rival school was today, and I intended to be there. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from our dance team given the fact that Ana had taken over, but I hoped she wouldn't make a complete fool of our school. We had never settled for anything less than first place, and I really hoped it stayed that way.

I sat on the bottom step of our narrow staircase, waiting for my sister to finish getting ready for school so that we could leave. The dance team usually boarded the bus about fifteen minutes before school started, so I had to leave immediately in order to make it on time. I checked the clock for the umpteenth time and sighed impatiently. We weren't going to make it.

We ended up leaving the house at the same time I suspected the dance team was leaving for their competition. So much for my plans today.

Unsure of what to do now that someone had stomped on my plans and thrown them away like a piece of trash, I made up my mind to go to school anyways. Perhaps luck was in the air today and the dance team would be running late too.

On the car ride to school, my mom announced quite proudly that she would be going to work today. That was definitely progress, although I pitied my mom because the stranger I called my sister blatantly ignored her. Despite that minor let-down, I was happy for my mom. It would be good for her to get outside of the house and socialize for the first time since I had disappeared.

Once my mom dropped my sister and me off at Kendall's school, I practically sprinted to my school's campus and the bus loop behind it. I knew from experience that the big yellow school bus with our school's name printed curtly on the side would be there if the dance team hadn't left yet. It was nowhere to be found.

Dejected, I wandered the halls. There was always the option of walking home, but I didn't really feel like putting in the extra effort to walk home. No, I would stay here a bit longer. I passed my cheating ex-boyfriend Zach's locker on my way to nowhere in particular. The Silly String had been cleaned up from my prank, although his locker seemed to be stained a bit more pink than all the surrounding ones. That was incredibly satisfying. I continued past, walking a bit further before passing a random classroom full of freshmen.

A random idea popped into my head. I was starting to worry myself with my recent vicious behavior. The old Amber would never do this kind of thing.

I entered the classroom and walked up to a student in the front row. He had a forgotten textbook beneath his desk that I picked up. No one seemed to notice the book disappear into the thin air. I then walked back to the front of the room - right in front of the teacher - and raised the book above my head. With an evil smirk playing on my lips, I dropped the book.

A few students visually jumped in their seats from the loud noise. A boy in the back corner snickered at them. The teacher spun around from writing on the whiteboard.

"Who did that?" he demanded.

No one raised their hand. Obviously.

Hesitantly, one of the students sitting towards the front of the class said, "Sir... There's a book on the floor in front of your desk. I could have sworn it wasn't there just moments ago. Maybe you accidently knocked it off your desk?"

"Clearly not. I've been at the whiteboard the whole time. There's no way I could've hit it." The teacher's eyes snapped to the boy who had snickered earlier. "Smith, was it you?"