I wake up to my alarm clock. My arm flails around until I grab my phone. The light is blinding and I somehow manage to turn off my alarm. I pull myself out of bed and start getting ready for the day.
An hour later I head downstairs to eat breakfast. Popping some waffles into the toaster, I call out to my mom. My mom leaves at different times each morning, so sometimes I'm alone, and sometimes she eats with me. Not getting a response I turn to the fridge.
While pouring myself a glass of orange juice, the toaster pops and I jump. "Damn it." I grab a paper towel and clean it up. Someone knocks on the door and I head to the door. "Yeah?" Seeing my best friend Amanda on the other side, I can't help but say, "You know, if you are going to kidnap someone, you don't knock. Or kidnap me. I could take you." I crouch and put my arms up like a ninja.
She laughs. "Its a good distraction though. Someone could sneak up behind you and you would have no idea because you are too focused on me." I stab her in the stomach with my ninja speed and she covers her stomach with her arms.
"You aren't that smart. Come on. I have to eat my waffles, and clean up my orange juice." We walk into the kitchen and I grab Amanda a bowl and the box of Cocoa Puffs while she cleans up my orange juice. This is typically how our mornings go. Sometimes my mom is here too, but she just sits there reading the news on her phone.
I spin around Amanda and jab her in the stomach again. "Aahh. Eliza. Can you restrain yourself for once? We aren't even to school yet and you have hit me twice." I laugh. I grab my waffles and sit down to eat. After we are done I put out dishes in the sink and we head out to Amanda's car. "You are driving tomorrow." Is the only comment made the entire way to school.
***
"What are we doing today?" Amanda asks. We walk into science and wrinkle my nose in disgust. One of the other science classes are dissecting, and it always stinks in here.
"Who knows. Its science, so it is going to be something really dumb." I look around. "Hey, who is that?" A tall, slender boy walks into the room and sits down at the lab desk next to us.
She looks past me and smiles. "I'm not sure." The bell rings and the teacher says the words I dread.
"We have a new seating arrangement. Everyone come stand at the front of the class and after I tell you where you sit you can move there. Keep quiet so you can hear where you sit." We all get up and move.
"Joyous day that is my life. With my luck we will be as far away from each other as possible and you will get to sit next to the new kid. Then you will fall in love and I will be alone forever." I say. Mr. Felton walks around, starting in the front.
"Amanda, Jacob..." I watch Amanda walk to her new seat and look around. "Eliza, Haden,"
I go sit in my spot. I see the new kid, Haden, sit next to me and bite the inside of my cheek. "Psst. Eliza." I glance at Haden before turning around. Amanda looks from Haden to me then winks. I shake my head.
"Alright. Today we are going to start your final project." He walks around and starts handing out a worksheet. "You will be doing it with a partner. But, I will be picking your partners." Everyone groans. "Your partner is going to be the person sitting next to you." A few people groan again. "On the paper I just handed out to you are the guidelines, and at the top what you will do your experiment on."
I write my name at the top then look at what my topic is. Find and collect as many mold samples from the area as possible. "On the back are some ideas for what you can do. Everyone has something different, in all the classes. You will have all quarter to work on this, but certain parts will be due through out the quarter. This," He starts passing out another piece of paper. "Will tell you what is due and when. You have the rest of the hour to work."
After I grab a sheet for Haden and myself, I turn around and hand the stack to Amanda. I turn back around and start reading.
"How do you want to do this?" I look over and see Haden staring at me. "I assume you don't really want to go backpacking through the woods."
I blurt out, "I would love to. When would work for you?" I realize what I said and my mouth drops open. I look at the table and hide my face with my hair. Behind me, Amanda snickers.
"Interesting. Well, I guess it would have to be sometime during the weekend. I have nothing going on." I look over at him and he is smiling at me. "I know you didn't mean to say that but now you have to follow through with it." I move my hair behind my ear and half smile at him. Inside I am freaking out.
"Well, I will talk to my mom tonight and see what she says." I start coloring in the words like O and D on my paper.
"So, your mom is going to let you go camping over the weekend with the strange new kid?" I look at him. "Interesting. Wont she be afraid I will kill you?" I put my pen down and look at the white board. I hear Amanda gasp behind me.
"When did this turn into a camping adventure over the weekend? And my mom doesn't care about me. She just wants money from my dad. The only reason-" I hear Amanda 'clearing' her throat behind me and continue doodling. "Trust me though, there will be people that will look for me. I can guarantee if I go missing there is one person that will come after you." I hear a stool scrape against the floor and brace myself.
He chuckles. "I'm going to take a stab in the dark, not literally, and say that if you go missing this person is going to come after me?" I swing my elbow and hit Amanda in the stomach. I hear a "om"' and smile.
The bell rings and I shove my paper into my space folder. " 'Manda, are you coming," I call. I know she is right next to me but that is just something we've always done.
We walk out of the classroom and head to lunch. "Holy crap Eliza. He totally likes you and you totally like him too."
"Amanda," I say, raising my voice. "That's gross. You don't talk like that. Only on Fridays." Someone bumps into me and I run into Amanda. "Amanda, watch where you are going. You can't just run into me like that." I smile.
We turn down another hallway and I stop at my locker. She opens her mouth but closes it. I drop my stuff off and we head down to her locker. After we drop off her stuff we head to lunch.
Once we have our food and sit down, Amanda starts asking about Haden. "You are going camping? Eliza. What are you doing? He is going to rape you."
I take a bite of my hamburger and give her a pointed look. "Amanda, that's gross. I told you this already. We need to collect mold and he apparently wants to go camping." I take another bite of my hamburger.
"What if he is like us and ends up taking you to his house in the woods? You could end up in his basement." She pauses, "But it would be good to have a victims perspective. Then maybe you won't be so cruel."
I smile. "I wouldn't hurt a fly. And with my ninja skills, nothing can happen. If he somehow pulls something, you will be there to protect me. Don't doubt my ninja skills Amanda."
When we are done we throw away our garbage and go to the bathroom. Its kind of a daily thing.
"What are we doing in gym today, Eliza?" I pause just before we walk into the bathroom.
"I think we are playing floor hockey. I'm not quite sure though." I start feeling light headed.
I look around, dazed. "Floor hockey shouldn't be all that bad. I just hope no one breaks my shins with those stupid hockey sticks." I look at Amanda and smile. "Whats wrong? Eliza, what did you do?" She looks around frantically and I laugh.
"Nothing. Just got really light headed for a second. I think the fumes from science are starting to get to me."
***
After school, I put my on the ground and head to the kitchen. I am home alone until around five when my parents and siblings get home. I have a half brother and a half sister, Five and two, respectively. I usually use this time to screw around and have fun. Once my mom comes home I go to my room and don't come out unless I need to.
I grab my bag and head to the table. I take out my math and start working. With my math splayed all over the table and my music on high, I almost don't hear the knocking.
I pause my music and poke my head out of the kitchen. I answer the door and find a flyer on the ground for a missing dog. I walk back inside and put the flyer on the fridge. (Picture on the side)
A few hours later I am curled up in my room with my earphones in. I sit up with a start. I need to ask my mom about camping.
I come upstairs and walk into the living room. My brother is nowhere to be seen but my sister is playing with a baby. My mother is on the couch playing Candy Crush and my step-dad is also nowhere to be seen.
"Hey Taylor, do you have a baby?" I ask. She looks at me and smiles. "Hey mom, I was wondering of I could go camping this weekend," I ask. She doesn't even look up. "Mom....hello..?" I sigh, and walk away. I pause in the door way and say, "Mom I am going camping this weekend. Alright?"
She surprises me by replying. "Why are you just now asking? That is not even two days away. Who are you going camping with?" Now she decides to care.
"It is just Amanda and myself." She opens her mouth and I quickly continue, "For history we have to live in the woods for a few days to see what it was like back then." I hold my breath and hope she doesn't call the school and ask. I pray she will just say yes and leave it be.
"Alri..." She trails off. I know she is lost in her game. I walk out of the room and almost crash into my brother.
"Hi Ziza. Can you get me some chocolate milk?" I smile. Owen has always called me Ziza because he couldn't say Eliza.
"Why don't you go ask mommy," He runs into the living room. I hear mom sigh. Smirking to myself I run up to my room.
Plopping down on my bed, I look around and smile. My room is painted a dark blue, and is covered with posters; anything from Friday The 13th to The Hunger Games. I wave at my posters and (As sad as this is) tell them about today. I draw the line at them answering me though.
Or at least that's what I tell myself.