Sorry guys, the last one I posted had alot of typos in it. This is the revised one. Enjoy!
Chapter 1
POV: Hallie
My Life. Good? Or Bad?
"Hallie? Dinners ready. Lets go before all the food is gone!" My best friend Kayla yelled up to our dorm. "Be right down!" I yelled back, but I had no intention of going down there anytime soon. All the kids running around and beating each other up over a little thing like food was not what I wanted to see right now. I could even hear the yelling and screaming from the 7th floor. I sat on my bed facing a blank wall. I don't exactly know why I was looking at a white wall, it just seemed too plain. Too boring with nothing on it. And that's why I stared at it. I admit it, I was thinking about my parents. I never knew them but I felt like I would see them someday. Someday soon. At the time I thought that was a stupid idea but I had no idea how wrong I was.
I live in an orphanage just out side of the town of Lemar. Lemare is located just outside of New York, and this particularly small town is not on most maps. Orphanage for Kids, a happy place for children in need, was my home. Or at least it was for the first 12 years of my life. Here at The Orphanage for Kids, it's wild. I'm not kidding. There are literally vines growing through the cracks in the walls and slings. The kids aren't much different. Every kid is different, wether it's dyslexia, ADHD, or even pure crazyness.
My best friends, Josh, Kayla, and Ethan, were one of the most kindest and the most troublesome people I knew. Josh always had an eye out for tricks, plus he could do some really cool illusions with water. Meanwhile, Kayla and Ethan (AKA the twins) were the ones you always had to keep an eye on. If you don't, then one minute you would be cleaning your dresser, and the next you could be doused in glue and covered head to toe in feathers. Kayla and Ethan, the two trouble makers. They loved to prank each other, their roommates, the teachers, pretty much everyone they laid their eyes on. One awesomely idiotic prank they did was when Ethan suddenly banged open the door to the dorms while we were 'supposed' to be cleaning, and yelled,"The headmasters coming!" And we all quickly lined up at the edges of our beds, just as we normally do for inspections. The door bust open again and Kayla walked in wearing a feather duster as a wig, and one of the headmasters bathroom robes. How she got the robe is still a mystery. "Ellow my beloved students!" She exclaimed in a heavy British accent, the way the headmaster would have said it. "Today we will start off with Bossy 101 and Sass a frass 102." And the room, which was dead silent, erupted in laughs. Of course the twins were caught and punished, but did that stop them? Your mad if you think so.
All four of us have grown up together. Josh and I have been here ever since the moment we were born. Both our parents were divorced and both our moms died giving birth. At least thats what the headmaster told us. When Josh and I were five, that's when we first met the twins. From the moment they set foot in the orphanage, trouble was everywhere, 24/7.
Three knocks echoed around the deathly silent room, waking me from my thoughts. "Hal?" A voice whispered from behind the door. I didn't answer because I knew exactly who was behind that door. Josh Peterson, my best friend. The creak of the door was so loud I swear I heard the kitchen go silent for a quiet footsteps of Josh slowly got louder as he crossed the long room to the last bed in which I sat. He sat down beside me and looked up at the wall. "You ok?" He said softly. I nodded still looking at the wall. "You know," he whispered,"I still don't understand why you look at a blank wall." He nudged me gently. "Care to tell me why?" I thought about it for a second. He should know why I was staring at the wall. When we were five I got really angry at Michael, a kid my age at the orphanage. He was always teasing me about my eyes. He said that my eyes were the demons eyes because they were black. Well technically dark brown, but they looked black. At the time I hated it but I've learned to accept it. I was so angry at him that I kinda spaced out and stared at the blank wall, imaging his face was the wall. And the blank white wall exploded. I was so mad that I didn't even know that josh was beside me, trying to calm me down. I don't really remember what happened after that, all I know is that I had to pay for the repairs out of my own personal savings. Pretty mush the whole event was a blur.
"You in there?" Josh said waving his hand in front of my face. I sighed,"You know why I'm staring at the wall." Josh snorted, "Yah. Dyslexic people like you and me don't like to read a book. We'd rather stair at blank walls." I smiled. Josh was rather funny and entertaining sometimes. "There's that smile!" Josh said as he got up. "You coming to dinner or what?" He said. I turned my head so I could see him more clearly. He was tall and he hasn't yet gotten used to his big feet. His black messy hair was as tangled as ever and his electric blue eyes seemed to look right past your eyes and into your soul. Of corse that's not true, but you never know until you ask.
"And be beaten up again just to get a meal? No thanks." I replied. Josh sighed sarcastically and said,"But the twins are waiting." I raised an eyebrow. "Waiting to do what?" "Oh nothing." Josh smiled. Silence followed those words. "Please." Josh said and lightly tugged on my arm. I sighed and looked back at the plain white wall. "Fine. I guess I'll bring you some of my dinner as usual." He smiled at me and I smiled back. "Thanks." I said to him. He nodded and left.
I don't know why but as soon as the door creaked shut, I dove under my bed and pulled out my shoebox full of treasures. I pushed aside my life's savings and found what I was looking for. A clear glass skull ring rested in the palm of my hand. I slid it on my finger and it immediately disappeared, as it usually did. I guess it was just a trick of the light since it was made purely of glass. I had no idea that this ring would save my life and tell me the truth about my life.
The next day, I awoke to the sound of screaming.