Chapter One:
It was the happiest she had been in a long time. Jogging down the shoreline, headphones in, favorite song playing. The waves tickled her bare feet as they came in and out. The saltwater smell combined with the bearable sun level put her in a state of zen. Yes, a trip to the beach, her beach, always made Kyla feel better. Whether it was the general ambiance, the lack of a crowd, or the fact that her favorite song was playing, something about today just felt right to Kyla.
Kyla suddenly started to dance vigorously, as her favorite part of the song came on. The few people that were there were tanning, and didn't notice her. Kyla knew this of course, which was exactly why she felt comfortable dancing. If the other beachgoers were actually paying attention, it would be a different story. She pounded the sand down under her feet, while her hair went in all directions above her head. Unfortunately not all good things last, and the song was over in a short time. That didn't matter to Kyla, it would come on again. She continued her jog down the beach, knowing she would have to turn around and go home sometime. But not right now. Now was Kyla time. The warm rays of the soon-to-be setting sun warmed her back as she jogged into the distance, destination unclear.
Some time later, much later, the girl arrived at the street she lived on. A million worries ran through her head. What would her parents think? She was supposed to be home from school hours ago! Would they ask where she had been? She reached the front porch of her dull red house. The boards creaked underneath her feet. Would she lie to them, not tell them she had gone to new parts of the town unsupervised? She couldn't lie again… it always made her feel guilty. Well, there was no point in delaying it at any rate. Kyla walked into the house, prepared to defend herself against the wrath of her parents. Neither of them answered the door. She rang the doorbell a few more times. Nothing. She pulled the key from under the mat and walked inside.
Weird, she thought, where did they go? She checked the family room. Nope, not there. The kitchen? No. Bedrooms? Not there either! Kyla walked back into the kitchen, worried but still hungry.
"Well, no use in getting worked up while the tanks are empty I guess."
She got a glass of water, and some cold chicken wings. The fridge required some effort to open, but she was used to this. She walked over to the freezer to get some ice from the ice machine, but no luck. She beat on the machine in annoyance with her fists.
Dang it, this thing is always busted… hey what's that over there?
She walked over to the counter and snatched up a note. Scrawled on it was a message in her mother's handwriting.
Kyla, your dad and I went to the bar again tonight. Don't worry about food, we left some chicken in the fridge for you. You'll have to eat it cold, the microwave is busted. We should be back later, don't worry about it. If you get bored, we left some movies in the family room that you could watch. You could also play that new computer game you got, if you want. See you real soon! Love you! - Mom and Dad
She set the note down, with an expression of sadness on her face. Why do they always do this? They're never home to see me, and what do they mean they'll be back later? This note has been here all day, it IS later! Ugh! Kyla walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. The couch was stained with various substances from various occasions. Kyla could recall the situation of any particular spill on sight. It was quite impressive. She flipped on the television, after a few minutes of fiddling with the dying remote. Well I guess I could always watch a movie, I mean it's just a movie right? That couldn't be too bad. She turned over the movie lying on the table near the couch. The cover looked pretty old. She picked it up, sighed, and set the movie back down. Really? Casper the Friendly Ghost? It's like they don't even know how old I am. Do they even pay attention to what's going on in their own house? Kyla walked up to her room. The movie was a bust, and the kitchen contained that mocking note. Her bedroom was the only comfortable place for her now. She decided that the note was at least right about one thing. She could play her "new" computer game (that she'd had for 3 years) with her friends. Kyla turned on her desktop, and saw the familiar Mojang symbol luring her in. She skipped over the single-player mode of the game and dove right into multiplayer. Now all she had to do was find her favorite Minecraft server in the mess of a list… Yes, there it is! She clicked on the server, appropriately named Whineplex for all the complaining people on it all the time. She successfully connected, but was instantly bombarded with messages from someone new. Weird, that person is on my list of acquaintances… but I don't know anyone named "NoahOfTheStrings." The person sent her several messages.
"I know where to find you.." Alright, Kyla thought, that's a little bizarre.
"Kyla.." K, this is getting a little freaky..
"Your window is a little dusty…" Kyla glanced to her left at the closed window and saw a figure looming in it. A pair of bright red eyes stared back at her.
"JESUS WHAT THE HELL?!" Kyla fell out of her chair in surprise. The person looking in began laughing, more accurately described as gasping for air.
"Oh… my… GOD… NOAH? What are you DOING creeping in on me like that?"It was her childhood friend, Noah. The only person she had ever thought really understands her.
"Don't do that to me! MMM.." As much as I hate to admit it, Noah can be a little annoying at times. Kyla stood back up, brushed herself off, and sit back down in her chair. She did a little spin in the process of facing him. In retrospect I should have seen this coming, what with the oddness of the situation and the gamertag. Noah responded, attempting to catch his breath.
"Ok… ok… *gasp* I'm sorry… *wheeze* Kylaaa AHAAHA"
"You know you can be so… so… UNACCEPTABLE sometimes NOAH.."
"Alright, I'm sorry, I just wanted to check up on you, y'know? You've been having a tough time lately…" Kyla looked at him and thought to herself Well yes, today was completely awful. Everyone made fun of me at school for my drawings that were in my notebook, my parents still aren't home, and I had cold chicken wings for dinner…. Also I just had half a heart attack… today has been real AWFUL.
"No need to worry Noah, today was fine!"
"Well that's good, just tell me if anything's wrong ok Kyla?" Noah climbed down the side of her house and ran down the street. He was going in the direction of his home.
Kyla sighed. Well, looks like that's another lie I had to tell Noah. As she said this she marked a tally on the wall. She leaned back in her chair and looked at the entire wall behind her desktop. It was covered it tally marks. Well, at any rate, it isn't the biggest one I've told. Kyla turned her computer off, got up, and walked over to her bed. She could at least hope that tomorrow would be better.