A Recipe for Evil

Words

Chapter 1

"Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill." Buddha

It's strange how simple words can have such a deep impact on our lives. We use them without really thinking of their power. They can be almost meaningless for the ones using them, but terribly important for the ones confronted to the force of their strike.

Amy Miller is one of those people who knows too well how words can affect people. Words pierce her skin like sharp knifes every time she walks down the hallways of her school. Her scars might not be visible, but she feels them deep inside.

Amy is someone who craves attention, acceptance. She feels a strong need to be admired. Since it's a need that can't be fulfilled by her classmates, she finds other ways to satisfy it. Being a member of the theater club is the most important aspect of her life. It serves as a compensation for having to suffer through the torture of being at the bottom of her school's social ladder. The theater club is to her a concrete example of how her life could be if she ever reaches her goal to become an actress. She knows how talented she is. She is strong-willed. She can surely make it and that thought brings her joy, no matter how hard life can sometimes be.

She finds it harder these days to hold on to her aspirations. Her boyfriend, Louis, just broke up with her. It is hard because it makes her realize she can meet failure. Defeat is what Amy fears most. Face to face with the remains of her shattered relationship, she is slowly beginning to lose confidence. It is more than simply seeing her boyfriend taken away from her. It is also coming to the realization that no matter how much efforts she pours into her dreams, everything can be taken away from her in the quarter of a second it takes to blink. 

She has become numb. Something in her is broken. She now feels like a lifeless puppet. Days seems to blend togther. People, circumstances, have become the puppeteers of her life.

It's in this state of mind that she drags her feet down to a house party on New Year's Eve. Amy is walking up the driveway when she hears Melissa, a member of the theater club, calling her name from behind her. She waits until the other girl catches up with her. Amy can't help but to admire how Melissa's walk is swift and graceful.

"I'm very glad that Anthony decided to invite you as well, Melissa. I must admit that I was a bit anxious at the idea of having to spend the night with only people who despise me, not that I assume that you like me, but it comforts me to know that you are here today."

"You're nervous?" Melissa asks with a crooked smile.

"No, not really. I'm simply tired of feeling constantly pushed, tired of being harassed, tired of all that."

Melissa offers an awkward smile. A strand of blond purple-tipped hair escapes from behind her ear. Amy stares at it dances in front of the other girl's face, envious of the blonde's effortless beauty. They walk in silence towards the front door of Anthony's house. Melissa rings at the door. They patiently wait for someone to come and open it.

Louis is the one to greet them.

The memory of the first kiss they shared flashes through her mind as their eyes met. Seeing him feels like a stab to the heart. She gives him a shaky smile. 

He doesn't smile back and simply nods in head in acknowledgement.

She sighs and licks her lips, trying to find something to say. Nothing comes to her mind. She feels paralyzed by the pain growing in the pit of her stomach. 

Everything feels wrong, so wrong.

A little crowd is already there, mainly consisting of teenagers such as Louis and Anthony. A couple is curled together on a couch. They are in the throws of a heavy make out session. Amy rolls her eyes disgusted.