That One Year

Chapter 5

The devil has a name, and it’s Angela.

We glare at each other across the wide wooden dining room table all throughout breakfast, having a war on who can eat the most sassily. Angela is sitting at the head of the table, and I am sitting on the other; the table is so large I feel like we are in a mansion once owned by royalty.

Oh wait.

“You ready for today?” Angela asks me, the fakeness oozing in her voice. She takes a ravenous bite out of her biscuit, and I see crumbs fly from her mouth.

Today was the first day of school for me, and I was the most nervous I had been in awhile. I was never the underdog in anything that I did, and now I was taking a stab in the dark.

“Mmmhm,” I slam my orange juice on the table. “Very.”

“If you want, I could help you with your classes!” Angela smiles, obviously lying through her teeth. She stabs her knife into the butter halfway across the table.

“I would absolutely love that,” I cheer, dropping my fork on the plate in a loud clatter.

“GIRLS!” I hear Samantha snap from the next room. “Can you keep it DOWN in there?”

Angela mumbles something under her breath, standing up suddenly and running to her mother to apologize. 

I glare at her chair as if she was still sitting there, and then return back to my food, this time eating like a normal person.

Last night was just dreadful. After I had cried my eyes out for a time, the maid came to fetch me for dinner. Once I went downstairs, I had to sit next to Angela and listen to Samantha’s awful story about meeting my father, because it was something I had to know. But the worst part was pretending like nothing was wrong, with my runny mascara and puffy eyes.

Speaking of my father, I haven’t seen him anywhere since I’ve got here, and no one has said a word about him. 

Not that I want to see him or anything.

“Are you finished, Miss Meyers?” I hear a man ask from beside me.

“Yes, thank you James.” I smile at the butler taking away my plate. I couldn’t imagine that my new ‘family’ needed various people to help them with everyday tasks; it’s really not that hard to put a cup in the dishwasher or pick up your room.

The young man delicately clears away my seating area and I am left alone in the great hall. 

I sigh and place my head in my hands, silently rocking back and forth.

I’m not ready for this at all.

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“Alright you two, have fun today!” Louise sings as she comes to a halt in front of the bustling school. A large crowd of students gathered outside the school in the lawn out front, and I assumed that we had to wait outside until the first class started.

It was like one of those picture perfect movies of the typical high school, with boys passing around a football, a group of girls gossiping, and a few couples making out. Panic begins to coarse through my veins as I look at the vast amount of students. 

Angela rolls her eyes and quickly hops out of the limo. I look out the window as I see her get whisked away by a couple of girls.

I knew that I was to follow, but I hesitate for a moment and try to calm down the butterflies swarming all throughout my stomach.