"We are bringing you the latest news in the War on Terror in the Middle East. The President is said to give an address to the nation later today about the action hat the U.S. is going to take after the recent bomb threats against the country. Some are wondering if the President will finally be declaring war." the news played on the television, spouting out the same information it spouted day and day again.. Wars, bomb threats, terrorists... It never changed. And yet, we all still listen to it; just waiting for the time when the "ground breaking news" is actually ground breaking.
"Why don't you turn that thing off?" my mother spoke as she walked into the kitchen and straight to the coffee pot, "It's depressing. You'll just drive yourself crazy." as she poured herself a fresh cup into the mug I painted her when I was seven years old.
"I'm looking for news about Uncle Tom. You know it's been awhile since we've heard from him. And he went on that secret mission.. What if something happened to him?" I protested as I sat at the kitchen table eating my bowl of cereal.
Uncle Tom was a top agent in the secret forces over seas. He was considered a hero for all of his accomplishments among his coworkers—at least that's what he told me. According to him, he's found out and captured more terrorists than any other single person. He was a living legend. But.. lately, there hasn't been any word from him. There's no news of him being captured or killed. Not that I'm sure it would with him being in the secret ops and whatnot, but I was still beginning to worry.
Uncle Tom was like a father to me. My real dad left when I was a kid. I hardly remember anything about him. I guess it must have been really hard on mom because she never talks about him—even when I ask. And there are no pictures of him in the house. He must have been a jerk. But my mom and I do okay on our own—better when Uncle Tom's around.
"In other news, a student from Kingston Academy has gone missing this past week.."
I froze and looked up from my bowl of cereal.
"Sixteen year old Mallory Stevenson has been missing since earlier this week." the news anchor read from her papers.
"Mom!" my spoon of milk and cheerios fell into my bowl making a small splash. My mom and I stared intently at the TV.
"It is rumored that the young student to the elite academy has not been seen since last Sunday afternoonbefore she was set to give a presentation to local science professors on a possible scientific discovery. School officials have refused to release a statement and have refused to immediately answer any calls in relation to the matter."
I dropped my spoon filled with cereal into my bowl of milk and sat frozen in my seat. 'Mel.. missing?' Mel was my best friend throughout middle school. She was one of my only friends. I don't know why though. She was so smart in comparison to me. Smarter than anyone at that school or that I've ever known—teachers included. She won every science fair even as a child with the most unique inventions. Some of those inventions were sold to top scientists in their field.
I don't know why she chose to be friends with me, but I remember when it happened like it was yesterday. I moved to this town when I was in the in the fifth grade. My mom never had a lot of money leading up to that point. She switched jobs all the time and so we moved around all the time. I didn't have the fancy clothes that other kids had and I never had the latest technology, but it never really bothered me. Well, I came into school and I was literally the poor new kid that was socially awkward and had never been invited to a slumber party. I was bullied. Kids made fun of my dull brown hair, tripped me when I was walking down the aisle way in class, and took food off of my lunch tray without asking. Sometimes they would take a bite of the food and then put it back on my tray in another section of my food. The teachers never did anything about it and I never told my mom. I didn't want her to worry.
Mel wasn't like the other kids though. One day she saw me while I was being cornered by some particularly nasty girls outside the gym. And Mel... Well she just stomped right up to them and with a cold voice and an icy stare and she just told the girls what lowlife idiots they were and how they were a waste of space with nothing to offer to society. And oh man, those girls just stopped in their tracks absolutely dumbfounded. They scoffed at her then walked off murmuring curse words under their breaths. Then Mel turned to me and held out a hand with a sincere smile and she said to my blubbering face, "You're much prettier when you smile." and that was it. From that day on, we did everything together. All the way through middle school we were best friends.
My mom moved closer to me and put a hand on my shoulder, "Oh sweetie.. I'm so sorry."
I sprung up from my chair and ran upstairs to my room. I heard the chair fall to the ground, but I didn't look back. I went to my end-table by my bed where my phone sat. Grabbing it, I immediately hit the speed dial for Mel's phone.. "I'm sorry, the number you are trying to reach has been discon..." and I hung up. I don't know what I was hoping for.. I haven't been able to talk to Mel since she left for the Academy a year ago. Students there aren't allowed to have cell phones. Very little contact is allowed in or out of the school because of how prestigious it is.
I let my phone drop to the floor and flopped down on my bed, frustrated. My arms laid across my forehead. I was silent, but tears streamed down my cheeks. What do I do? How can I help her? I didn't understand it.. Why did she have to move so far away just to go to this stuck up school that let her just disappear? They're supposed to have top notch security! They're supposed to protect their students! There was something wrong here. They had to be hiding something. I wonder just what secrets they're trying to keep from getting out..
….. ….. ….. A few days later …. …. ….
A few days had passed since I had heard anything about Mel. Actually, other than that one broadcast, there weren't any updates at all. I called the new station and they acted like they had no idea what I was talking about and then told me I should stop prank calling them or they would call the police.
"Well maybe you could try calling the school directly." my mom suggested as she stood over the stove making dinner, "It's such an elite school, they're probably trying to keep the news from spreading and giving them a bad rep."
"Yeah, maybe" I replied, "I doubt they'll tell me anything." I sat at the counter messing with my phone.
"Good luck." she smiled softly at me, "dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes."
I gave my mom a quick hug, "Thanks, mom." I turned around and walked out of the kitchen and up to my room where my laptop sat on my bed.
I opened it up and searched for the school's number. It was a miracle I found it the way that the site was set up. I had to look up the number from the recruiting section where it read, 'Have a talent? Let us know at.. 8.'
I dialed the number and on the other end a female voice answered. My heart was racing a little, "Kingston Academy, may I help you?"
"Um, hi." I said, "I'm actually looking for a student under the name Mallory Stevenson. She was said to have gone missing earlier this week. I was wondering if you had any information on her?"
"I'm sorry, there are no students here under that name." the voice replied.
"That can't be, she definitely goes to this school. She was paid a ton of money to go there."
"If you have a talent and would like to apply for school here then I can help you, but there is no student by that name here. Have a good night." and then she hung up.
My heart sank. What the heck? How could there be no record of Mel? Did they even check? How could she know for sure so quickly? I threw my head back on the pillow and closed my eyes in frustration.
And then my world shattered around me..
