Chapter~4~ part 1

“Here, take a seat”

Ashlyn looked up at the tall woman perfectly positioned to her front, she was pointing towards an empty seat sectioned in a tiny row up against a clean ivory wall.



“Rebecca, I’ll buzz you when I’m ready for her.”
The woman then proceeded towards her office, quietly closing the door behind her.

The lonely girl sat patiently, eyes fixated on the floor examining the various nooks and crannies in the carpet just under her trembling feet.



Atmospheric sounds were flying through the air: the clicking of a keyboard, a swirling fan overhead, and the shrill buzz of a telephone.

Having never been to the principal’s office before, it was more of a shock than an experience.

In fact she was quite sure she had never been so nervous, her hands had been clasped tightly the whole time and she could feel sweat leaking out from between her fingers.




What am I going to tell mom?

Ashlyn was so distracted with worry that she didn’t even notice the girl sitting comfortably on the opposite side of the room.



“Hi!”

The sweet gentle voice of what sounded like that of an angel’s interrupted Ashlyn’s thought.

Slowly she lifted her head to view the smiling girl staring back at her.



Beautiful wasn’t the word to describe her.



She possessed these deep blue eyes seemingly transparent and shiny black hair to shape her perfect face which continued to cascade down her shoulders followed by neatly trimmed ends resting on the small of her back.




“I’m Katie.” She said, her smile beamed brighter than her eyes, everything about her seemed so inviting.

“Um…hi.” Ashlyn sheepishly replied, returning her gaze toward the floor.

Katie took pity on her.

Even though Ashlyn didn’t know who she was, she knew who Ashlyn was.

She would pass her occasionally in the halls; usually staring at her feet, she also knew she didn’t have any friends.

No one wanted to be associated with “the poor kid”, besides that, anyone caught being nice to one of Shelby’s enemies would undoubtedly become an outcast themselves.

Ah yes, the school for prima donnas in training.

Although, there was something strangely different about Katie; she wasn’t like the other girls. She owned the confidence of a supermodel and the heart of a rebel accompanied with skin as thick as an alligators.
She was as compassionate as she was ruthless with half of her heart residing within the clouds of heaven, the other half in the depths of hell- the perfect blend of grace and evil.
Katie selectively chose her friends and punished her enemies, with her kind of beauty, no one would see it coming. This explained her frequent visits to the principal’s office.

A noticeable tear escaped from Ashlyn, falling fast creating a small wet circle on the carpet.

She could hear the sound of Katie getting up from her spot and taking the seat next to hers. She felt a hand graze her shoulder.



“Everything will be ok.” Katie reassured
“I promise.”

“How do you know?” Ashlyn asked skeptically through her sniffles.




“Katrina, Mrs. Patterson is ready to see you.”

With that Katie jumped up from her seat and after a quick wave back at Ashlyn she disappeared behind the large oak door.

Ashlyn pondered her fate for a moment then turned her focus back on herself.

Chapter~4~ part 2 "A New Friend"

Later that day at lunch Ashlyn could be seen at her usual table…alone.

She was busy poking lightly at the food with a plastic fork when she heard a noise next to her.

“Hiii, remember me?” a cheerful voice rang out.



Ashlyn turned to look up at Katie’s beaming face.
Before she could answer Katie immediately took the seat next to her.

Why is this girl being so nice to me?




“So, did you get in much trouble?”




“Well…no, I just got a warning, but my mom has to sign this thing saying I got in trouble, she’s gonna KILL me!”



“What's your moms name?”
“Heather Thayer---WAI-what are you doing?!”

Katie snatched the piece of paper that had been safely kept under Ashlyn’s sweaty palm and before she could react, Katie began scribbling.

“There, now everyone’s happy” Katie smiled as she handed back the paper; seeming rather satisfied with her action.





“You….forged my mom’s signature?”

Katie was right though, the principal never noticed and her mom didn’t have a clue she was ever sent to the principal.



At first Ashlyn felt a pang of guilt in the pit of her stomach for she hadn’t lied to her mother before; however, after reasoning with her own conscience all remorse was quickly dismissed.

After that day the girls quickly became best friends, a friendship that continued in the years to follow.



The girls were absolutely inseparable, Ashlyn would stay over Katie’s house on a regular basis, they’d talk for hours on the phone, go shopping, share secrets and crushes.
It was seemingly the perfect friendship, so much that Ashlyn didn’t notice the strong influence Katie was having on her thoughts, actions and desires.

Chapter~5~"No Surprise" part1

“Well…um, I don’t know Katie, last time I got caught and-“
“Oh c’mon! Pleeeeeeaaaaasseee?” Katie whined nauseatingly on the other line, “It’ll be so much fuuunnn!”

Ashlyn could tell that Katie had already started drinking by the tell tale tone of her slurry voice.



“Ok-alright, fine.” she quickly whispered into the receiver, “I’ll be waiting outside, just make sure you guys get here quick!”

Shrieks and screams of excitement blasted from the phone causing her to jerk away from the receiver.




“-and make sure you’re QUIET!”

Unfortunately Katie had already hung up.

She clicked the phone off and let out a huge sigh. Sneaking out had become sort of a habit these last couple of months and it was actually becoming some what a routine.



Glancing quickly at the clock she saw it was 1:37am and concluded that Katie and her friends would be there in about five minutes; she had to hurry but couldn’t make a sound in doing so.



Not wanting to open her door completely for fear of the rusty hinges shrieking, she squeezed and contorted though the small opening proceeded to tip toe through her living room, her feet scuffing quietly along the floorboards.

Excitement was bubbling up inside, it was always such a rush to sneak out.



She had just reached the door when a loud creak came from Heather’s room.

She froze dead in her tracks, panting quietly while tiny beads of sweat began to form on the back of her neck.

God, not again! She thought, worried that her mother saw her.

Ashlyn was now a beautiful and very typical, sixteen year old.
As she grew more her appearance began to change and she now began to resemble less and less of her mother.

Deep down inside she had always secretly wanted to know what her father looked like, what kind of person he was and why he was no longer in their lives.
Heather however would never speak of him, even the one time when Ashlyn worked up enough courage to ask about him she was answered with a very abrupt reply of “Don’t ever ask me that again.”
She would often wonder if the root of her low self esteem stemmed from abandonment issues and unanswered questions.
Of course, taking a psychology class wasn’t helping to keep her thoughts at bay.

Chapter~5~"No Surprise" part2

A couple of minutes passed by as she listened intently, expecting yelling to erupt at any given moment but found the only sound to be present was the pounding of her very own heart.

Her eyes rolled to the side in an effort to peer through the darkness.
She breathed out a sigh of relief knowing that the coast was clear and with that was free to go.




The door closed behind her just as a pair of bright headlights streaked across the worn wooden paneling of the house.

“On time like always” she grumbled to herself, reluctantly shuffling across her front lawn.

There parked on the street in front of her homely little house was a blue vehicle, the idle of the engine was loud and rang irritatingly in her ears.

Peering through the night she could make out the image of her friend seated in the back, beckoning for her to join them.



When she got there she opened the door only to be greeted with blaring rock music and the giggles and laughter of a bunch of teenagers accompanied by the foul stench of alcohol.

Ashlyn felt her heart sink to the pit of her stomach.



“Oh my God! Have you guys been drinking?!” she asked infuriated.



“WOOOOOO!” the group responded followed by an uproar of laughter.

“Are you kidding me? You can’t drink and drive-it’s illegal, and besides that someone could get hurt!” she screamed through clenched teeth.



Her eyes narrowed towards the driver throwing him a look of disgust,
“What is WRONG with you?”

She was still standing outside, feet planted in the wet grass and her nails digging into paint as she held the door.




“Just shut up and get in you ******** little goody-goody!” the driver slurred.



“Yeah!” Katie giggled in agreement, invitingly patting the seat next to her.

There was that pang of guilt again, funny how it always showed up when Katie was around.

Nonetheless she was Ashlyn’s best friend and was always there when she needed someone.
Heck, she was her only friend in all actuality.
Ashlyn carried her reputation of an outcast to high school and the others she hung out with were really Katie’s friends as she was usually just a tag along.

Feeling another sigh escape her lips, she reluctantly got in the vehicle. She slammed the door shut immediately regretting her decision.

“Yaaaayy!” Katie drunkenly embraced Ashlyn as the car screeched its tires, speeding off into the night.



Thoughts raced erratically back and forth through her mind, nothing keeping her focused.



She just couldn’t shake the gut-wrenching feeling that she could've just made the worst mistake of her entire life.

Chapter~6~ "In With the Old" Part 1

The next morning came all too quick for Ashlyn, apparent by the way she was dragging her feet down the school’s hall with almost robotic-like movements.



Never being one to handle hangovers well, her appearance reflected how she was feeling.

Events from the previous night had sapped her completely: her stomach gurgled with nausea, head was perpetually pounding with pangs and her bloodshot eyes winced in pain at the sight of the slightest bit of light, not to mention her clothing stunk of sweat, smoke and alcohol.



“Looking gorgeous as always there, Ash…” Shelby noted sarcastically.

That voice. It felt like a knife plunging straight into Ashlyn’s ear but today she just continued to walk, not having the urge or sheer energy to engage in a useless cat fight.


High school proved to be almost exactly the same as middle school: same people, same drama. Shelby was still the reigning queen bee with her minions consistently by her side and this year she even found a way to deviously connive her way into the class presidency; a true politician in the making.




It always remained some vast mystery as to why Shelby always seemed to have it in for her but lately there wasn’t much she could do to hurt Ashlyn.

Luckily, being accepted into Katie’s rather exclusive little group of friends deemed itself rewarding at times as they just weren’t the type of people you’d want to mess with.



She arrived at class and took her usual seat by the window and shortly after Katie took the seat behind her.



“Hey!”
Katie tapped her index finger repetitively on Ashlyn’s shoulder.
“So, whatcha tell your mom about last night?”

Ashlyn paused for a moment, trying to remember through the pain of her headache. Lying was such a habit that it had become second nature to her.



“Well, I called her while you were still asleep and explained that I had forgotten about a test and you had invited me to come over to study and that she was already asleep so I didn’t want to wake her….blah blah blah.” She replied casually, examining her fingernails.




Katie chortled to herself, “And she believed you?”

“Well, yeah!”

The girls giggled together for a few minutes at the thought of how parents can be so dumb.



“I can see that I have taught you well my dear!” Katie grinned, “But you know, Chaz could’ve driven you home.”



“Yeah, ok. With the way he was swerving around the road- my God, we almost hit a stop sign!”

“Good point.” Kaite replied dryly.


Just as the two of them finished their conversation the homeroom teacher, Mrs. Henderson, entered the classroom.



The students where expecting the usual good morning spiel along with a discussion of the days events, however the grave look on her face had them all beginning to wonder if there was something wrong.