Shadowood- H.S

two |2|

I step through the front doors of my house at a quarter past seven. I didn't realize how far of a walk from the library to here would be. There are already several cars parked in the driveway, meaning there are already people here, and when I step through the doors, I see lots of unrecognizable people dwelling in my home.

"Oh man, mom is going to be pissed when she sees you," Brandon says as he walks past me. "You are so late."

"I know, I know," I say as I slip my shoes off and place them on the shoe rack. "Has mom asked about me yet? Does she know I'm late?"

"Not yet."

Brandon is wearing nice, dark blue jeans and a nice suit top with a blue tie. His hair is slicked back with a little bit of hair gel. "Why are you so overdressed?" I ask.

"The question is, why are you so underdressed?" He asks. "Mom said we all need to be dressed formal, and from the looks of it, you're not meeting her expectations."

"Well is she-" I stop talking when I look over and see my mom glaring at me from across the room. "Shoot."

I try to avoid her gaze and run up the stairs, but she starts to walk towards me. "Melanie, what are on earth are you wearing? And I thought I told you to be home at seven o'clock. Not seven fifteen." She's wearing a long green dress and her hair is done in an up do.

"Sorry, I was running late," I say. "I'll go change now."

"Yes, you will," she says.

I run up the stairs to my room. It still smells like paint, and boxes are scattered everywhere all over my floor. I take my jacket off, setting it on my desk chair, and then search for my box of clothes.

I dig through three boxes before I find one that carries some of my clothes. Labeling the boxes as I packed them before the move would have probably been a good idea.

Eventually I find a dark blue, long sleeved dress to wear. I try it on and then find a brush in one of my boxes the brush through my hair and detangle all the knots. Some of my long, dark hair comes off with my brush as it untangles all of the knots that have been building up in my hair for the last few days.

Before I leave my room, I pull out my phone from my bag and dial Vic's number. I feel like talking to him before having to go and interact with a bunch of people I don't really know.

He picks up the phone on the fifth ring. "Hello?" His voice sounds rushed and he seems a little out of breath.

"Hey Vic, it's me," I say, happy to hear his voice.

"Oh, Melanie."

"So it's only the first day back, and my mom invited half the people in town over for a dinner party. Now I'm being forced to dress nice and go interact with them," I complain.

"Oh," is all he says.

"Yeah and I really don't-"

"Hey Mel, I'm sorry. I can't talk right now, I have to go, I'll call you tomorrow," he says and then the line goes dead.

I take my cell from my ear and stare at the screen in disbelief. Did he really just hang up on me? From the looks of it, he really did. He must be at work though. He's always working late on Saturday nights. I don't want to bother him or sound clingy, so I put my phone away and brush through my hair one more time.

There's no mirror in my room yet, so I can't really tell what I look like. I assume I look presentable enough and leave my room anyways.

When I step into the hallway, I'm not alone. A boy stands in the middle of the hall, with his back facing me. I don't recognize him from behind though.