Chapter One ~ To The Point Of Insanity

"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney

CPOV

When I had left my rental apartment the huge city was only waking up. The sky was a smudged salmon pink and baby blue, the pigeons were squawking their heads off at each other, the traffic was down to about a dozen cars per minute, the air was cool and fresh, and I was still drinking my morning coffee; but now, it was energized and raring to go. The sky was a pale blue spattered with fluffy clouds, the pigeons squawks could be heard no more over the loud hooting of the cars and shouting of the people, the roads were buzzing with fumes and there was hardly a millimetre between each car, pollution suffocated the air, and my polystyrene coffee cup left forgotten on the passenger seat. Beep! I heard my Iphone buzz, so single-handedly reached for it and checked for a message.

Today 08:30

Hi, Chlo!
R U at College yet, cuz I M. Do U wnt 2 catch ^ b4 it starts? if so, I'll MEt U at d big oak trEE.
luv you,
Emma x

The text was from my best friend, Emma Cooper. Emma had chocolate brown hair that fell past her shoulders and was always tied in a messy braid, teal eyes that held many smiles in themselves, full hot pink lips, a pale complexion, and always attracted the male gender. A smile graced my lips at the text and quickly sent a reply.

Today 08:32

Hey, Emma!
No, I'm not at College yet, but wiL b n bout 10 mins n ther iz n mjr TraFK jams.
I'll MEt U at d tree, thN I hav 2 go 2 class, & U cn MEt ^ w Luke :)
luv U too,
Chlo x

After sending the text, I directed all my attention at the road to try to get to Oak Heights College before it would be too late to meet up with my friend. Glancing out of the window, I noticed a group of black and white people standing on the sidewalk, holding up signs which words were scribbled in red paint, it read: Support Donald Trump! I rolled my eyes and continued to drive. Everyone was going crazy about the new President election, which I thought was totally pointless. I mean, when the day came to vote, everyone should just hand in their slip saying who they thought was the best president for the USA — there was no need for complete madness. To prove my point, I just saw a band of youngsters shouting out to every passer-by:

"God bless Hillary Clinton! God bless Hillary Clinton!" Now that, was a bit over-the-top. My mum's dad was a priest at a church when she was a girl and I found him to be a very wise man and a good friend. Sometimes, he was the only one who would listen to me. My mum always took me to church on a Sunday when I was little, but everything got so crazy when I started to grow up, so I hadn't really been for a good while. Although, my mum still sometimes went, my dad never went with her. He wasn't really a man of God; he was a strict businessman, and I hardly ever saw him, so my relationship with him was always awkward. Beep! Another text had just come through from, who I presumed was, Emma.

Today 08:40

whr R u? It's Bin nErly 10 minutes!
Emma x

Needless to say, Emma wasn't the most patient of people — and to be fair, neither was I. I hooted loudly at the woman who was driving in front of me who could've gone at the green light for the last three minutes. She got the message, and hurriedly turned the corner as I carried on going straight. Estimating that I would reach the College in about three minutes, I decided to inform that to my friend.

Today 08:42

b there n 3 minutes! Promise!

I pressed the 'send' button just as I drove into the College car park. After I parked my blue car into the slot, I grabbed my Iphone, satchel that was overflowing with books, and my empty coffee cup, then got out. Looking around, I spotted Emma waving frantically at me from the ancient oak tree that appeared on the College's logo. Smiling, I walked over and gave her a one-armed hug as my other arm held my gear.

"What took you so long?" she asked as we broke apart.

"Traffic problems," I answered with a roll of my eyes. Emma poked out her tongue in sympathy.

"So, what are you doing this evening?" she queried as we began to walk toward the Oak Heights entrance. That was Emma, always looking into the future.

"Well, I'm going to work at The Falcon tonight, that's about all." The Falcon was a pub down Martin's Street that was really popular with the New York City residents and it was where I worked everyday after all my classes had finished until around midnight. We reached the hallway which lead to all the classes downstairs.

"Well, I better go, but I'll see you later," I farewelled.

"Okay, see ya!" Emma replied with a wave and headed off to her first class which was Art. I checked my golden analogue watch and frowned. I had only three minutes to get to class and settle down! Starting to speed walk as we weren't allowed to run in the corridors, I made my way upstairs. On my way I passed Emma's boyfriend, Luke Murphy, and gave him a friendly nod of the head in greeting as I sped up the stairs. At first, he didn't recognise me , but when he did he sent me a smile and a wave.

Finally, I arrived at my class, and burst in, panting like crazy. I wasn't unfit or anything, but all the stress added to the exhaustion. When I came in I saw everyone sitting quietly at their desks, and Mr. D. Brady tapping his fingers impatiently on his laptop.

"Would you care to explain, Miss. Anderson, why you are late?" he queried. My cheeks is flushed beetroot.

"Um, I…" I mumbled.

"Yes?"

"I lost track of time…" I muttered lamely.

"Very well, I think a trip to the Headmistress' office will do you good, don't you think?"he asked rhetorically.

"Oh, but, sir —"

"No buts. Go straight to Mrs. Kramer's office immediately." Sighing, I gave up my argument and headed grouchily to the Headmistress' office. There was few people in the corridors now, only the odd Teacher running errands or student collecting their books. I walked quickly but quietly as I didn't want this to take more than it had to. The Headmistress was a stern but reasonable woman who had a penchant to dress in a navy blue, long-sleeved shirt and pencil skirt even on the hottest of days. I came to her door and rapped on it three times.

"Come in," her voice responded. I sighed and slowly creaked open the door. Mrs. Kramer was sitting comfortably at her desk, her reading glasses were perched on her nose, and her ginger hair was pulled back into a tight bun. She looked up and a frown entered her face. "Oh, it's you again." I smiled shamefully and took the seat opposite hers. I had been to her office quite a few times this year; it wasn't exactly always my fault but things never seemed to favour me.

"Good morning, Mrs. Kramer," I greeted politely.

"Good morning, Miss. Anderson," she gave a curt roll of her eyes. "Why are you here this time?"

"Well, you see, I lost track of time, it had been such a busy morning, and I was sort of late for class. Mr. Brady got annoyed and sent me here," I retold, bowing my head.

"And so he should of! How many times, Chloe, do I have to say: do not be a disappointment to Oak Heights College! But you never do listen, do you?"

"I'm sorry, mam, I won't do it again."

"'Sorry' won't quite cut it this time. A punishment, I think, will ought to do the trick, hmm?" she argued.

"Perhaps," I muttered.

"Perhaps? Very well, you shall spend all your free moments reorganizing the bookshelves in the library. They do need a good tidy, and I think you will be the perfect person for the job!"

"Yes, Mrs. Kramer," I mumbled.

"Understood? Good, now bother me with your company no longer! Off you go!" she ordered, and I stood up, left her office, and walked back to class.

Consequently, the remainder of my college day wasn't one I would want to remember. Besides receiving numerous paper cuts from the hundreds of books I had placed away, I also experienced glaring looks from Mr. Brady all lesson, my tray of cafeteria food spilling down my shirt because I tripped over another student, and a heap of flippin' annoying headaches! In short, by the time the bell had rang signalling the end of my last class that today, I was exhausted and highly frustrated. I collected by books off my table and nodded to my History Professor before heading out of the door just in time to see Emma walk out of her classroom.

"Hey, Chloe!" she greeted, stuffing her books into her bag and coming over to me. She grinned and I tried to force one back. At this moment, I just wanted to get home and relax. "How's your day?"

"In truth? It was terrible!" I exclaimed finally letting my emotions run free.

"How come?" Emma said, giving me a sympathetic smile. Nothing seemed to ever dampen my best friend's spirits.

"Well… it's kind of a long story," I replied, tucking a loose strand of my ginger hair behind my ear.

"We've got until we reach the car park, and that's at least ten minutes if we walk slowly," reasoned Emma and I gave her a brief nod. "Okay, now start at the beginning.

Approximately ten minutes later I had finished recounting my long, tiresome day. Feeling sorry for me, Emma decided we should both go to Starbucks to lighten my mood, and I reluctantly agreed. Usually, I wasn't one to turn down food; according to Emma and my parents, I ate as much as about three fully grown men! But, today I just wasn't feeling up to anything, but this only helped Emma's cause.

We both climbed into our cars and agreed to meet at Starbucks in five minutes as it was only a few blocks away from Oak Heights. On my way to Starbucks, I noticed a group of odd people dressed up as medieval knights. They must had been going to some dress up party because they looked pretty convincing. For a moment, I focused on the road, but then decided to have one last look at the group, but when I looked, they weren't there. That was strange… I muttered in my head, I was so sure I had seen them. As Starbucks came into view, I shrugged off the thought, locked my car, and met Emma at the entrance.

"So, what do you want?" Emma asked as we walked into the cafe. I gave her a look of shock that was only half joking,

"Don't you dare even think about it, Miss. Cooper, I am paying for myself!" I answered stubbornly. I disliked anyone paying for me at any time, friends or not friends, it didn't matter.

"Whatever! Look at you, you're a wreck! Your hair's all frazzled, your clothes are a mess, and your whole attitude is down-hearted! Chloe Amelia Anderson, I am your best friend, and I am going to pay for you!" Emma ranted, making me roll my eyes, but I also knew what she said was true.

"Alright, alright!" I replied, a smile gracing my lips. "You order us something small to eat, and I'll go to the bathroom and get tidied up. But remember, this is a once off!" I shouted back as I went over to the bathroom. One look in the mirror and I really saw how terrible I looked. My waist-length, wavy hair was falling out of it's ponytail into a few knots, my grey eyes were tired, my taffy-pink lips had released many sighs, and my clothes were more than scruffy. Sighing, I tried to tame my wild hair, and straighten my clothes. When I was done and quite respectable, I walked out and found my friend sitting at a polished table with two ice chocolates and a chocolate brownie.

"Thanks," I said while joining her at the table and taking a sip of my drink.

"Welcome," she answered. "You look a lot better,"

"Yeah, well, hopefully my day will go a bit more smoothly now." I then remembered seeing Luke in the corridor so asked about him. "How are you and Luke?" Every time we spoke about her boyfriend a wide smile would enter her face, and this time was no different.

"We're great. He's taking me out to dinner tomorrow night, and then we're gonna watch a movie," she answered happily. "What's up with Aidan and you? Have you spoken recently?" Emma was referring to Aidan Winston my three year long boyfriend. We met at a high school dance and have been together ever since. However, Aidan's parents were really wealthy so sent him to a private college in Chicago so I hardly ever saw him nowadays, but we promised to remain in touch and make our relationship work. I hadn't spoken for him in at least two weeks so decided to phone him tonight.

"No, not really, " I replied to her question. "But I plan to speak to him tonight, I bet he'll be really excited to hear from me."

"Good idea," she encouraged.

"So, talking about tonight, do you wanna come with me to work at The Falcon? I'm sure my boss won't mind an extra pair of hands. Fridays are our busy days after all—Hey!" My attention was drawn away when a man appeared out of nowhere and snatched my bag.

"What the heck!" Emma shouted and got to her feet. I was already running out of the door, following the thief. How dare he?! That bag had all my stuff in it—my money as well!

"Oi!" I shouted to him. "Come back here!" But the man either didn't hear me or decided to ignore me. I heard Emma calling behind me, but I continued to run. "Hey! Give that back!" Finally, I gave up and watched angrily as the thief disappeared into the distance. I panted rather heavily as that man was quite a sprinter. Emma soon caught up to me.

"That rotten git!" she cursed, annoyed for me.

"I know," I replied through gritted teeth. "What am I going to do?!"

"I don't really know. You could go to the police but they don't really take stuff like this seriously. I could give you some money but I don't really have bucket loads, or you could ask Aidan he has lots." Emma brainstormed. I knew she was trying to be helpful but her ideas weren't that great. Firstly, I would never ask for money from other people, it just wasn't done! Of course, if I asked Aidan would hand me some cash but I would only feel guilty. I'd just have to work double time and double as hard, probably cut some of my classes off as well. Damn, I cursed. My anger had mostly melted away leaving only sadness and stress.

"Well, you were wrong about one thing," said Emma, attempting to lighten my mood for the second time.

"What's that?" I asked, tired.

"That things were going to get any smoother." I gave a very light smile at that and rolled my eyes. My friend was such an optimist!

A few hours later, I was getting ready for work even though I was absolutely wasted! I had bid farewell to Emma soon after my bag had gotten stolen and had drove home to my apartment. It was a small but cozy place

with olive green striped wallpaper and beige carpet. I tied my hair up into a high ponytail and changed into my black and white waitress uniform. All through this process, I couldn't prevent worries consuming my mind. How would I cope without money? How was I going to pay for food and the rental of my apartment? How was I supposed accomplish my homework when all my books had been stolen? How was I going to buy new books? Trying to move my nagging worries to the side, I hopped into my car and headed to The Falcon. Emma said she would meet me there, which was a slight relief because I didn't think I would be able to work so alone. I absentmindedly stared out of the window and noticed another weird-looking group of people, this time dressed up as poor, peasant farmers from around the 14th century. I shook my head in confusement. Was there some massive party that everyone was going to? I didn't understand at all. Suddenly, my headache returned with a throbbing pain. I clutched my head and sweared under my breath. The headache soon faded away and I glanced back to where I saw the weird people but again they had disappeared. What in the world was going on?! Was I having hallucinations or something?! I shook my head again and cleared the strange dress-up people from my mind. Right now, I needed to focus on my work. I entered the pub and saw many people there already and it wasn't even nine o'clock yet! I found my way to the kitchen where there was a white board and quickly scribbled my name and the time down onto it, notifying my boss that I had turned up.

"Hey, Chloe!" greeted a middle-aged, blonde woman.

"Hi, Denise," I said, sharing a genuine smile with her. When I first started working here, Denise was the one that helped and pointed me in the right direction. Without her, I didn't know where I would be.

"How's your day been?" she asked. I sighed.

"Trust me, it's been a nightmare!"

"Oh. Well I hope it gets better soon," she sympathized. "I've turned the computer on so you can check all the orders." I nodded and went to check out the recent orders.

After waitressing for about an hour, Emma arrived and came up and gave me a hug.

"Sorry I'm late," she apologized, letting me go.

"All goods." I replied and placed the dirty tray in the kitchen sink. "Here, I'll show you to where the spare uniforms are." Emma followed me to a paint-peeling, white cupboard and chose a uniform to quickly slip on in the bathroom. Minutes later, my friend returned and I gave her the thumbs up. She looked great in black, in fact, she looked great in every colour which sometimes made me the tiniest bit jealous.

"Thanks," she glanced at all the people settling down at the tables or gambling in the corners. "Should I get started, I think I know what to do." I nodded in agreement and directed her toward a table while I walked over to another. Two scrawny-looking men sat there playing cards.

"Hello, welcome to The Falcon. Is there anything you would like to order?" One of the men looked up with squinting eyes and grinned, revealing unbrushed teeth.

"Only one night with you, love." He drawled, chuckling. I swallowed my disapproval and disgust and tried to be polite.

"I'm sorry, that's not on our menu. Anything else?"

"Um… yeah, two beers," he answered, looking grumpy at my rejection toward him. I nodded, scribbled it down in my notebook and walked away to get it organized. I got out a bottle of beer and poured it into two mugs. Then, I put the two mugs onto a tray and brought it back to them.

"Your order," I uttered and gave them their mugs then walked away before they had anytime to comment. Suddenly, I had a feeling like I was forgetting something. Then it hit me, I was supposed to call my boyfriend!

I took out my Iphone and speed dialled his number. I was really excited to hear from him, and I bet he would be overwhelmed to hear from me. I knew Aidan would be able to make all my worries wash away. However, the voice that answered wasn't one I recognized.

"Hi, Brittney speaking. Who is it?" A pretty voice said then I heard another faint but familiar voice talk to 'Brittney'.

"Who is it, babe?" A hundred sharp fingernails scratched at my heart, slowly tearing it to spreads. It was Aidan's voice. My boyfriend's voice.

"I don't know, baby, nobody answering," the pretty voice replied so sweetly that it sickened me.

"Then just ditch the phone and come back to the couch" Aidan's voice answered in a tone I'd never heard before. With every word, my heart sunk deeper and deeper into the darkness. My head throbbed. Tears threatened spill. My lips quivered uncontrollably. A few moments later I heard some muttering then the phone went dead. I couldn't hold it back any longer. I ran outside, accidentally dropping my food tray clattering onto the ground. The fresh, chilly air hit me as I entered into the lonely night. I wanted to scream and cry but I couldn't. How could he do that to me?! I thought I had finally found my Disney lover. My prince charming. My future husband even! But my mum was right all along. There was no such thing as fairy tale love. Only cheaters, backstabbers, and fakes. Was that all it was? All love was? Fake? Questions raced through my mind, but I wanted to stamp on them and throw them away. My hands clenched into fists and I sweared at how stupid Aidan was. How stupid that Brittney girl was. How stupid I was. Soon, Emma left The Falcon and saw me screaming on the sidewalk so went up to me.

"Oh, Chloe, what happened to you?" Emma coaxed, giving me a hug, but all I could do was cry. All the anger had left me now leaving only grief and despair. "Come on, you know you can tell me anything." I only whimpered slightly in response. Emma glanced down at me phone and saw Aidan's caller ID still on the screen. "Oh, no…" she muttered, understanding darkening her eyes. "He didn't…" she started.

"He did," I said, speaking for the first time. She wrapped her arms tighter around me as tears swelled beneath my eyes.

"You're okay, Chloe, you're stronger than this. You didn't nothing wrong, I promise." Emma said, encouragingly. I nodded and dried up the tears with the sleeve of my shirt.

"T-Thanks, Emma. But I just want to be left alone for a little while," I mumbled as my friend let me go.

"That's alright, I understand. I think I'll be going home soon anyway, so if you need me, I'm only a phone call away." With that said, she began to head toward here car, but I didn't really notice. Almost as soon as she went, my phone rang. Thinking it was Emma, I pressed the green answer button and held my phone limply to my ear.

"Evening, this is Graham Baker, Manager of The Falcon. Have I got, Chloe Anderson?" A slightly gruff voice said. I was confused, why was my boss phoning me?

"Yes, this is Chloe," I replied, quite glad that my voice didn't sound that quivery on the phone.

"Good, well, I am phoning to inform you that two of our customer complained about your service. They said that you didn't give them what they wanted, and another three of your customer complained that you dropped their food all over the floor, making them pay again for another meal. Therefore, with this information, I am afraid that you must be suspended from work until further notice. Regards, Graham." He hung up, leaving me speechless. How… Why… What… Again, unwanted questions consumed me, and my phone hand hung limp.
In those moments, I wanted to rid myself of all pain, to just disappear, fall asleep and never wake up. How was I supposed to live without a job or any money? As more tears poured down my mascara-stained face, I walked shakily toward the nearest bench and sat down. The night was cold and miserable, even the colourful NYC lights seemed to radiate frozen, dark waves. What had happened to me today? My life went from normal and perfect to infuriating and insane. Suddenly, my phone rang again, and I almost just switched it off before I saw who was calling: Mum. A sigh of relief escaped my dry mouth and I answered my phone.

"Hi, mum," I said.

"Hello, dear. How are you?" The kind, comforting voice of my mum asked. However, I was surprised to hear that she sounded rather sad, like she too was holding back tears. I instantly forgot my problems.

"Mum, are you alright? You kind of sound depressed."

"Oh, sweetie, that's because I am. You see, I'm phoning because...well…" she paused and let out a loud sniffle as if it pained her to say it. I bit my lip. How much bad news would I encounter today? "Chloe, your grandfather died this morning. We only were alerted an hour ago." My throat was zapped dry for the umpteenth time that day. My head throbbed with agonizing pain and my stomach dropped.

"What?!" Was all I could muster myself to say. I pleaded to God that I had misheard her and my loving grandfather was still happily reading his philosophy books in his cozy lounge.

"I'm so sorry, darling…" she paused, and I heard her cry a little. "H-He meant a lot to all of us. His f-funeral will occur in three days. W-We hope you'll be able to m-make it." I breathed in and out heavily. My grandfather was the wisest person I had ever known. He seemed to know everything about everything. And now he was gone. Forever.

"T-Thanks for letting me know," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "I'll be at h-his funeral."

"Okay, well, it was n-nice talking to you, Chloe, hopefully, I'll see you soon," my mum farewelled, and then hung up. Suddenly everything just came down on me like a huge boulder. I screamed. I threw my phone onto the tar road, the force smashing it to pieces. I screamed until the tears clogged up my throat. I punched the concrete wall behind me, kicked the bench, and then slid to the ground in depression. My hands were stinging and my eyes hurt from all the crying, but the pain inside my heart hurt so much, I thought it was going to be scarred for life. There was no denying it: I was at the point of insanity. I needed to do something; anything! Then something happened I did not expect. A breeze of warmness came from out of nowhere. And I did something I was always taught to do by my mum when in bad situations. I prayed.

"Whatever God that's out there; help me! Please! Make all the pain go away. Make my life become meaningful again; purposeful. Help me, and I promise I will do whatever you ask," I finished my prayer, meaning every word I said. I expected to feel something; but I didn't. Depressed, I stood up and walked onto the road to head to my apartment. Without warning, when I was midway across, I blinding light shot toward me. A car. I didn't have time to move. The car didn't stop. I let out a ear-piercing scream. All faded black.