Prologue
It had all started on a day very much like today, with a girl very much like any other girl. To escape some of the more popular kids at school, this girl took a short cut down a deserted street. Never in her life had a shortcut been so long. For 3 days she stayed in that same alley, all because of one human being. Although, strictly speaking, he wasn't human. His skin was much to pale, his eyes too unnatural. This was the man that killed Allegra Russo that day. Or so he thought.
Chapter 1
They had been teasing her again. Today, she looked like a pirate. Yesterday, her boobs were too big. The day before that, she had "more chins than a Chinese phone book".A downpour of rain started, but Allegra hardly noticed. Her head was always down when she walked anyways. It's not as though I'm even fat, she thought angrily to herself, sweeping strands of dark hair from her eyes. And just because I have a brain of my own doesn't mean my style is bad.
"They're all a bunch of sheep. A bunch of bloody fucking sheep." she muttered out loud.
Too late she realized that Marciano Ricci was strutting straight towards her. Although he was the hottest guy in the school, and completely untouchable, she still didn't think he had the right to strut like that.
"Merda." she said, keeping her head down, using the Italian word for shit. Maybe he wouldn't even notice her. So she was only the biggest loser in the school. Sure Marciano would pass up the opportunity to humiliate her, Allegra thought sarcastically. The rain had stopped by now, but a sudden gust of wind took her by surprise and sent her tumbling to the ground, her books laying askew on the pavement. She didn't exactly pride herself on being the most co-ordinated kid on the playground. Another lighter breeze blew by and sent her hair aflutter. She noticed a man who had been walking beside her stiffen and go to the nearby bench. She snorted, offended.
"What a dick." she said, loud enough so he could hear. Unfortunately, Marciano and his little gang were also within hearing range. He smirked and strutted over to Allegra, as if going in to pounce on his kill.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" he asked rhetorically. He took a look at the wreckage surrounding her and kicked one of her books, sending it skidding into a nearby puddle. He stomped on it and rubbed it deeper into the dirty puddle. "Oops. Clumsy you." he said, feigning surprise as he lifted the soggy math textbook out of the water. Drops of moisture dripped from it's exterior and added to the puddle below.
is going to kill me, was her only thought. The man on the bench chuckled suddenly to himself, as if he could hear what she had been thinking. Allegra didn't notice, she only kept her eyes on her shoes and stood up. Marciano threw the book at her feet.
"Go on, pick it up." he told her. She looked up to glare at him with icy blue eyes. "You can do it, that's a good girl, yes you are! Yes you are!" She robotically picked up the book and held it to her chest, then waited to be released from the wrath of the boys. Marciano looked a little disappointed that he had won so easily, and turned away from Allegra. "Hurry up, you guys." he called back to his friends. "We'll get her better later." Satisfied with his proposal, the boys took one last glance at the sad girl by the piddle and almost gave her a pitying glance. Almost.
As soon as she was sure they could no longer see her, she held the book well away from herself to examine the damage carefully. It was torn from Marciano's boot, it was wet, and unrepairably trashed. She groaned. was really going to kill her. With a final glance at her book, she laid it down in the puddle once more. Better to have said she lost it than admit to the truth.