"Melanie, can you at least do your hair?" My mother asked, exasperated. I frowned, crossing my arms over my chest.
"My hair is fine." I said, looking at myself in the mirror. Sure, it was a bit messy, but it didn't look horrible.
"You look like you were chased by a bear." Mom pulled her curling iron out. It was a sparkly blue, and too flashy for me. Of course, everything else my mother owned was also too flashy for me, so this wasn't really a surprise.
She re-brushed my hair, yanking on the tangles. It hurt, but I had become accustomed to the feeling. In a few minutes the bottom of my hair had a few curls, while the rest of my hair was pretty beach waves.
She convinced me to put on some mascara and eyeliner, although she couldn't force me to put on eyeshadow.
"Come on!" She insisted, yet again showing me the gold makeup. "It'll look so pretty with your eye color!"
My eyes are a citrine color, and were pretty unique around here.
"Thanks, but no thanks." I said, a small smile across my face. She looked me over and a wistful look blossomed across her face.
"You're so beautiful." She sighed, setting her hand on the side of my face. I leaned into it, the feeling if her warm hand nice and familiar.
"I guess." I said, studying her features. She was the definition of gorgeous, with straight blonde hair and pretty blue eyes. With my eyes and my dark brown hair, we didn't look anything alike. Apparently I had gotten my looks from my father, who had died when I was three.
She gave me a kiss on the cheek and her smile grew bigger.
"Get out of here and go learn something, slacker." She laughed, and I rolled my eyes. Grabbing my backpack, I made my way to my car, which I had just gotten. It was a 'Congratulations for making it to junior year!' car. My mother hadn't passed sophomore year because that was when she became pregnant with me.
I turned the radio up, a catchy pop song filling my car. Thankfully I could appreciate all types of music, so I sang along.
I made it to school with five minutes to spare, happy to find a good parking spot. Most of the time the parking lot was filled, but today people were a little late, getting ready for pictures.
I grabbed my backpack and ran to the gymnasium, desperately trying to find my homeroom class. I scanned he whole room, and found my class towards the front.
I walked over, finding Beatrice second in line. Her long black hair was down, and stick straight. Her eyes widened when she saw me, and she shook her head.
"Girl, have you seen your hair?" She asked me, pulling a mirror out of her backpack. I grabbed it, knowing that if I didn't fix it my mom would be really upset. My mascara and eyeliner were intact, but, as Beatrice said, my hair was a mess. It was all over the place, random strands sticking out, I then realized I probably shouldn't have ran.
"Beatrice Potter!" The lady who was taking pictures called Beatrice's name, and she gave me a quick smile, shoving her stuff into me. Beatrice smiled widely, as pretty as ever. She was wearing a blue dress, one that complimented her eyes.
She was quickly done, as always. Beatrice had always been photogenic. She grabbed her stuff right as my name was called.
"Melanie Smith!"
I walked to the green screen, awkwardly holding my hands on my hips. The woman looked confused, and asked,
"Did you need to change?"
I shook my head, looking down at my shirt. I was wearing a shirt that had a black and white picture of Bill Murray on the front, and black skinny jeans with worn out all-black Vans.
Uncertainly, she told me to smile. I did, and she took the picture, giving me a disapproving look the whole time.
I stepped away and went to join the rest of the class whose pictures had been taken. I found Beatrice talking to Shawn and Chet, and went to stand alone.
Knowing none of the teachers were paying attention, I pulled out my phone. I went straight to the internet, finding the story I had been reading on Wattpad. It was a psychological thriller, following a murderer with Borderline Personality Disorder. I wanted to be a psychiatrist so I read a lot of psychological stuff.
After about an hour, we were told to go to homeroom.
Until fifth period, the day was pretty normal. Beatrice raising her hand and getting questions wrong. Me keeping quiet and getting the answers right. Andre copying off any tests we took.
Then, in the middle of fifth period, things were deviated.
"Melanie Smith, please report to the office." Said Mr. Greene over the intercom. I frowned, puzzled. I never got called to the office. There were a bunch of 'oohs' and 'someone's in trouble's' as I grabbed my backpack and stood up.
Mr. Wesley told me the homework and I made my way to the office, wondering if I was in trouble. Did someone see me on my phone? If so, why would I be called to the office this late?
When I reached the office, I saw a bunch of police officers through the window. What was going on? I stood outside for a second, thinking that maybe I should leave.
Deciding that leaving would be cowardly, I stepped inside. I felt all of the cops' eyes on me. Most of them were shocked, like they had just been proven wrong or something.
Feeling a lump in my throat, I walked to the desk, seeing Irene on the computer.
"Mr. Greene called for me?" I said nervously, tapping my fingers on the desk. Irene looked up, smiling.
"Yes, you can go meet him in his office." She said cheerfully. She was a very cheerful person, and always had a happy expression. I nodded and slowly walked to his office, still feeling the officers' eyes.
I opened Mr. Greene's office door and saw a woman sitting at his desk. Mr. Greene himself was standing in the corner on his cellphone.
"Sit down." The woman said, gesturing to a chair in front of the desk.
I sat down, the plastic slightly uncomfortable. I glanced at Mr. Greene, who was giving me a sympathetic look.
"I'm Jolene." The woman announced, lacing her fingers together. "And you must be Melanie?"
I nodded, feeling confusion. I really wished she could just tell me what was going on.
"Do you know where your mother is right now?"
I frowned, wondering why she cared.
"Probably at my house..." I said, feeling my eyebrows knit together.
"And what is your mother's name?"
"Phoebe Smith."
Jolene wrote something down on a notepad, nodding.
"If you don't mind, can you please tell me what this is about?" I asked, feeling a bit impatient. I didn't want to be rude or hurt anybody's feelings, but being so confused was disorienting.
"Well, today we noticed something." Jolene said, putting her full attention on me. "A few weeks ago, Annabelle Eden sent a picture out to every school in Northern Michigan. This was the picture." She pulled a picture out of her purse and handed it to me.
It was a picture of a young girl, probably around three or four. She had very dark brown hair and beautiful golden eyes. Her skin was fair, and then I noticed how much she looked like me.
Noticing my realization, Jolene started talking again. "That's a picture of Aurora Eden, her daughter who was abducted twelve years ago." She then got another picture out of her purse and handed it to me. It was my school picture from earlier today.
I put the pictures next to each other, and they were obviously the same girl. Same dimples, button nose, round cheeks. Same facial expression. I threw the pictures down, slowly comprehending.
"So..." I said, feeling sick. "You're saying that I was abducted."
Jolene nodded, picking up the pictures. "The person you think is your mother, isn't. She's your kidnapper."
I felt like throwing up. Or like screaming. Or both.
"What are you going to do?" I asked, closing my eyes. Things were shifting. Everything was shifting.
"We already informed your real mother, and we set a flight for you to go back to Jackson, California. You'll move in with your mother, father, and brother. Your brother is older than you by a year, and you'll go to Argonaut High-School with him."
"Okay." I said, rubbing my temples and nodding. "What happens to my mo-, I mean, Phoebe Smith." I felt so weird, like I was living in a movie.
"She ran, but when we catch her, she'll be arrested."
"Will I get to talk to her?" I asked. I didn't get a response, so I looked up. Jolene was biting her lip, avoiding my eyes.
"Jolene, will I get to talk to Phoebe?" She looked up at me, and said sternly,
"No, I don't think you will." She answered, standing up. I stood up with her, feeling awkward, and so confused.
"If you'll follow me, we'll go to your house, get your stuff, and head to the airport." She said curtly walking past me.
I stumbled behind her, walking to the parking lot. She asked me which car was mine and when I told her she said she'd follow me.
I walked over to my car numbly, feeling all of this new information sink in. I got in my car and started driving, not bothering to turn the radio on.
After a few minutes of being silent I couldn't stand it. I needed something to distract all of my negative thoughts, so I turned on the radio. The song was 'No Rain' by Blind Melon.
"If only that was true." I muttered, pulling into the driveway. There were four cars behind me, all black Escalades. Jolene stepped out and walked over to me briskly.
"We already checked the house, so we're going to give you some privacy. You've got twenty minutes to gather anything that you need, or anything important to you."
I nodded and walked over to my house, glad to be alone. I immediately went to my room, grabbing some clothes and shoes. I didn't want it to seem like I'd been investigating the whole time.
I glanced around the room to find my favorite book lying on my bed, even though I'd left it on my dresser this morning. I walked over to it and checked the cover and the back, looking for clues. Nothing. I then flipped through the pages looking for a note or letter. Nothing. Just as I was about to give up, something caught my eye.
One if the highlights was much thicker than the other highlights, like it was done with another pen. I checked the quote to see if it had any meaning at all, and it read,
'I didn't think anyone would catch us. No one was ever at the school past five, let alone midnight.'
Also, in tiny handwriting, there was a small note that said, eight-nineteen. I remembered how smart my mom was, and knew there was a plan involved with this.
Not wanting to seem suspicious, I grabbed my books and movies and hurried out the door.
"Did you find anything weird?" Jolene asked. I shook my head, my lips tight. "Well, get in then. Your flight is in an hour."
I got in the passenger seat and pulled out another book, and pretended to read.
I was going to talk to my mom, whether the FBI, or the government, or whoever wanted me to.
First things first, (I'm the realest) if anyone is wondering why my other stories are gone, thank my little sister. She deleted them while I was in the bathroom, stating 'I thought I was adding another chapter'. Anyway, how was it? Good, bad, ugly? Please like, review, favorite, follow, etc. By the way, if anyone's curious, Jackson, California is a real place. So is Argonaut High-School, but the layout will be different because I moved away from Jackson when I was still in junior high. I hope you all had a good day!
-Love Bella