Backups and Alternates
Chapter 1: Observation
Beyond Birthday…
We all knew your story. We all feared the name… because you were crazy. Insane. Hysterical. They feared you for your capability, the way they knew you could prove them all right at any moment. They thought you'd snapped. Lost it. Sold your marbles. They feared the way you could give a cold look, the way your eyes glowed crimson beneath slick black hair… they feared you for your mystery. Your paleness. Creepy. Strange. Dangerous. That's what they called you.
Me? I called you misunderstood. Victim of prejudice. Nearly alone… nearly.
After Alice…
That's what I named you. Only in my mind have I ever called you this pet name. Quiet. Soft spoken. Wondering Alice. Older students looked at you as if you might've been about ten years old. But I knew your age. I knew you were 17. I knew your height weight and various times have I studied your young, flawless featured. They thought you were weird because you kept to yourself. They worried because your voice was not in your throat but in your mind. They assumed terrible things about your mental state due to your social preference; none. Silent. Mad. Loner.
I simply knew you were misunderstood. These critics never took the time to look past the porcelain-doll-like beauty to glance at what lay beneath.
I did.
I did not like what I found, After Alice.