Becoming Zara

Chapter Six

        "Hey mom! What's this Elgen Academy thing?" I shouted. My mom immediately appeared right in front of me like the Genie from Aladdin.

"What did you say? Which academy?" She said, visibly shaking with anger.

I gulped, thinking I was in a lot of trouble for asking such a simple question. No words came from my mouth. All I could do was hand my mom the paper gripped in my right hand.

She tore the page right out of my hand and read over it carefully. After she finished reading she looked up, but not at me. She was staring beyond me, at our beige wall. Her eyes refocused and clung to mine.

She whispered harshly, "you are not going near that school do you understand me? I won't allow it." She handed me the paper. "Go shred this. If I ever see this piece of paper again I'm grounding you for the rest of your life."

I stood on the last step, shocked at what my mom had just told me. She shoved the paper back into my hand and stomped back into the kitchen. I began shaking my head to wrap my brain around what just happened. I turned and ran back up the stairs as fast as my feet could carry me.

I unknowingly went towards the office to shred this thing with writing in my hand. I abruptly stopped and whipped my phone out of my pocket. I flipped it open and brought up my camera so I could snap a picture. There it was, in my phone and never to be erased. I glided over to the shredder and happily put the piece of paper in the slot knowing I had the information already.

The last thing to do was find a way to contact this school and maybe, just maybe I can figure out why this all happened and where the rest of the kids are.

Dinner was dangerously dull. My mom ate vigorously and I picked at my food from time to time. I wanted to ask her why I couldn't go to that school, but I was afraid of the reaction I would get. I opened my mouth, but hesitated and closed it.

     "I'm guessing you want to know why you can't go to that school." My mom muttered.

I nodded slowly, but surely hoping for an answer and if possible a yes.

My mom sighed. She put her fork down and gazed at me, gesturing for me to do the same.

       "That school is run by imbeciles. They want to change the entire world, start over from scratch and make it entirely their own. I'm not sure who runs this school, but I can assure you whoever does, is a horrible, mean, awful human being. I don't want you going to that school because are a better person that those individuals are. Now that is the end of discussion." She concluded her statement and yet again not another word was said.

We both finished our meals and immediately went to our bedrooms. This wasn't uncommon, in fact I think it's the most normal thing about my family.

It was around ten o'clock when I decided to get some sleep. After all, Kate had a lot of gossip to tell me. I chuckled to myself as I remembered her text about the goth girl and that new teacher. All the juicy comotion that I get to know about. Kate was on the cheerleading team, as team captain, and she was the most popular girl in our grade. I was a simple photographer from the yearbook club. I still don't understand how we're best friends.

I woke up the next morning to my radio clock playing whatever was on. I groaned as I sat up and grunted as I got out of bed. I threw on some clothes and make-up, forced my hair to curl and grabbed both my shoes and my bag. I bolted down the stairs just in time to eat breakfast with my mom.

     "Zoey you'd better run now! The bus is here!" My mom screamed.

I waved goodbye with a piece of toast in my mouth and sprinted out the door. I made it to the bus stop by a second and was greeted by other kids from my grade. Since I was part of the last stop, we left. Pulling into the part of the school in which the buses are allowed to enter I stood.

I didn't even get all the off when I heard someone yell my name.

         "ZOEY!"

I turned, knocked over by Kate who wrapped me in a bear hug.

I laughed as she struggled to give me a real hug while trying to stand back up. She laughed harder than I was, but it was so beautiful no one really cared.

    "Omg Zoey I have so much to talk to you about. First Jimmy asked me on a date. Like an actual date! I went home and asked my parents and they said no and I started crying and they started feeling bad cause I really like Jimmy and..."

As I listened to her story, I had a severe, stabbing pain in the back of my skull and it progressively got worse every step I took. I tried to shake it off, but as I was moving my head back and forth I turned and saw someone with dark eye make-up and lipstick grinning in my direction.