Set five years after the mystery of 'A' was solved, a fresh batch of teens are settling into Rosewood High. With the small, quiet town seemingly back to the way it once was, a mysterious chain of events causes three new students to have their feathers rustled. Together they must unite to figure out who is causing trouble and who is transforming into Rosewood's new 'A.'
~ A For Ashes ~
Chapter One:
Prologue
Sunlight creeps through the curtains and spreads across the pale floorboards as a young girl pulls her leather jacket over her shoulders. She stares at herself in her mirror, checking out every detail of her body, staring at the word 'class' written in joint writing across her grey shirt.
She carefully picks up her thin, golden necklace and places it over her head, a small heart fit with a purple bead hanging down her chest.
"Olivia, get down here!"
She quickly spins and stares through the empty doorway, sighing at the yelling voice of her mother. She stumbles out onto the staircase and down the steps, leaving her face to face once she gets to the front door.
"Your copies are packed into your bag along with your pencil case. Lunch consists of an apple and a sandwich. Buy yourself water," her mother spits out quickly, no stumbling on her words. "The school rang and said to head to the office. There they will give you instructions on how to proceed."
Olivia swipes her bright purple bag up from the ground and pulls the straps around her arms.
"Is that a leather jacket?!" her mother shrieks. Her daughter nods, pushing past her and out the door. "Get back here and change! You are leaving with Ryan together as a proud family!"
"Speaking of myself..." a voice whispers. Olivia immediately halts on the steps outside her home and turns around to see her brother at the top of the staircase with his illuinous green hair glowing.
"Oh my god..." his mother mutters. "What did you do to your hair?!"
"Dyed it last night. Thought you'd like it," Ryan replies, biting his lip to keep himself from laughing. As her distracted mother rages on, Olivia sneaks away through her garden filled with roses and daises, in between two large hedges and out onto the street. The road is empty, nothing but frozen cars lined up. She quickly takes a left turn down the pathway, ready to face her first day.
As she passes through the neighbourhood and into the streets of the small village, people begin to flood from every inch of the city. Teenagers, nowhere to be found. Just busy adults back to work, piling into offices and restaurants.
She turns around the left corner of the main street filled with cafes and clothing shops to see the gigantic school. 'Rosewood High' slapped across the face of it. Very few students walking in with their schoolbags hanging from their backs. She takes in a deep breath and walks across the lifeless road.
She steps up onto the pathway and she watches as a small girl with dark red hair steps out of a white car onto the sidewalk. She shuts the door behind her and the car speeds off, leaving Olivia and the girl alone together.
"Hi," Olivia begins, but by the time the word slips from her mouth the girl is speeding down the pathway towards the doors of the school. Olivia follows a few meters behind her, up the wide steps and into the quietness of the school.
"New student?" she hears off to the right. She looks around and watches as the same girl nods her head, some sort of staff member smiling and directing her into a library of some sort.
Olivia walks across the marble floor towards the woman.
"New student?" the woman asks.
"Yeah. Just moved here from Colorado. The school seems pretty sweet," Olivia chirps, the woman smiling back at her.
"Right, well I am Ms. Finn, just so you know. I'm an English teacher in the school," the woman replies. "Head on into the library here and sit down at the table beside that girl."
Olivia steps inside the warm, cosy library, staring at the gigantic shelves filled with all sorts of books. She looks down at tons of empty tables, managing to spot the same red-haired girl again. She pulls her backpack off and drops it under the table, sitting down in a chair in front of her.
"Hello!" she pipes. "My name is Olivia. Yours?"
The girl sighs, props herself up on the chair and gulps. "Cassie. Just moved here from-"
"Colorado."
Both of the girls stare at each other in confusion, Olivia letting out a giggle afterwards.
"You're from Colorado too?" she asks, Cassie nodding after. "Awesome!"
"You know what's really awesome? How you two girls look. Now that's awesome."
They both spin their heads and stare at a tall boy wearing a black jacket fit with spiked white hair, so white it's almost blinding to them. He grins, sitting down in an empty chair beside both of the girls and stretches out his arms, letting out an unrealistic yawn.
"Get acting classes, douche," snaps Cassie, Olivia widening her eyes and looking at her in shock.
"Well aren't you a serious one," the boy replies. "Name is Jaxon. You can call me Jax. Better off getting to know names before we start a little rant."
"Well the name is Cassie, and it's not a rant. Just don't try and flirt with two women like that-"
"Not flirting. It's called having fun," he replies. "Anyway, your name?"
"Olivia. Nice to meet you," she replies, her voice no longer jolly in tone. "Let's hope you don't cause any other fights in this school."
A cough fills the air and all three of their heads spin to face Ms. Finn, her long black hair dangling down her shoulders. She steps forward and taps her pen against the table.
"Considering all three of you are a day late to the start of school, most of the lockers have been filled. Fortunately, I have found three lockers all beside each other in one of the rooms for you to have. Follow me."
Olivia and Cassie stare at Jax in disgust, not believing they have to spend even more time with him, now for the rest of the year. Ms. Finn escorts them through the quiet hallways past the classrooms filled with teachers lecturing students and she stops at a set of open lockers, three of them.
"I already have your books inside," Ms. Finn says pulling back the door on one of them revealing the stacks. "Your timetables are in here too. At the end of this period, head to whatever class is next on your schedule and your teachers will help you settle in! Follow the other students once the bell rings for lunch and they'll bring you to the canteen. Start to get your bags packed now." She hastily walks away down the hallway and around the corner, her high heels stomping against the hard ground.
"I've got history first," says Olivia.
Cassie's eyes open up wide. "Me too! Room five, right?" Olivia nods and she squeals in excitement.
"Looks like you're both in luck, because it seems as though I'm in history in room five too," Jax adds, a grin spreading across his face. "Looks like you haven't got rid of me yet."
"You should hang out with us at lunch!" Olivia exclaims, Cassie tapping on her shoulder with her mouth wide open.
"Seems like red hair doesn't like me that much," replies Jax. "Do I speak too much? I promise I don't bite.."
"I'm always one for second chances. Let's start on a new leaf," says Olivia. "Come on Cass, we don't want to have grudges on the first day."
"Fine!" says Cassie. "But try to steer clear of using your rude attitude next time."
The trio exchange phone numbers, and within seconds after preparing their books in their lockers, a buzz rings through the air. A light flashes in Olivia's leather jacket and she pulls out her phone.
"Incoming text.." she mutters, tapping around on the screen. 'Unknown' fills the space for the name of the sender and she looks at it in confusion. A small box filled with words spreads across the screen and she reads the message slowly.
Don't make grudges on the first day; you're a smart girl. But don't make 'friendships' on the first day, dumb girl. -A
She powers off her mobile phone and shoves it back into her pocket. Unimpressed, she flashes her eyelashes and tilts her head up. She glares at Jax, folding her arms.
"What?" he asks.
"Don't play dumb," replies Olivia. "I know you sent me that message!"
"What message?" he asks.
"That message signed by 'A!' she shouts back.
"And who is 'A'?" he asks.
"Good question."
All three of them spin around and stare at a tall boy shaking his short dark brown hair, looking at them with his rich eyes of the same color. He raises his hand and gives a small wave, chuckling after.
"Josh?" says Cassie. "Oh my goodness. It's been quite a while!"
"Indeed," he replies, squeezing in between Jax and Olivia.
"Uh, both our parents are friends. We met at a few dinner parties and things like that," explains Cassie as Olivia and Jax exchange looks with him. He gives a small nod.
"And now it's my time to explain some stuff, especially that text message."
"You sent that message?" Olivia asks.
"Yep. Heard it the moment you gave out your numbers," he replies.
"And what did you mean by 'A'? Was it just to confuse me?" asks Olivia.
"Not exactly," he says. "I'm guessing none of you have heard of that incident five years ago with the four girls here in Rosewood." All three of them look at one another, Olivia shrugging.
"Apparently four girls who joined this exact highschool got mysterious text messages from A. But they weren't just ordinary messages, they were threatening ones.. People were murdered, kidnapped and tortured all from this 'A' person. Police reports say they found out who was behind it all and they were locked up, but the family of that person were too ashamed to let the public know who it was, not even their gender."
"And what happened to the girls?" asks Cassie.
"The girls got over it all and fled from the town once they graduated from highschool, never to be seen again.. Don't get too frightened if you get any more messages. Students around here prank people with them like no tomorrow!"
A loud bell rings throughout the hallways and shuffling feet stomp against the ground.
"Nice campfire story, but we need to get to class," says Jax. "I hope you have a wonderful, wonderful day!"
Hot new student = new meat to feast on. -A
"Is that a phone I see?"
Olivia immediately shoots her head upwards and stares at Mrs. Hogg, her old history teacher.
"Uh.." she begins to tremble.
"First day. Your first and final warning. If I see it out in class again, I'm keeping it for the rest of the week," Mrs. Hogg spits out. She quickly slides the phone into her pocket and her teacher walks up to the blackboard, scribbling down paragraphs down in chalk.
"Was it another A?" Cassie whispers from the seat beside. Olivia nods.
"I didn't even give my phone number to anyone else," she replies. "The only person who knows it is your boyfriend, and he sent me something quite rude."
"Boyfriend?!" Cassie squeals. "I told you, he's a friend! I only met him a few times over dinner and that was it!"
Olivia laughs. "Sure. But anyway, he wants me to meet him at room eleven at lunch. He called me hot.."
"I know Josh quite well. He'd never call a stranger hot," replies Cassie.
"So you do know him well, eh? But I thought you said you only met him a few times," says Olivia. Frustrated, Cassie sighs and Olivia giggles.
"Do I hear whispering?!" screams Mrs. Hogg. Immediately, they both snatch their pens up from their desks and begin to write down sentences about World War II, but her thoughts go wild the moment she feels another vibration in her pocket.
She quickly slides her hand across her phone inside her pocket and taps the screen, the buzzing and the vibrations stopping immediately. She scans the room, staring at Mrs. Hogg and the other students. No one alert. Everyone with their heads down, writing down the information.
She peers her head down under her desk and reads the message across the screen.
U r ugly. u r the type of new girl id love to drown in the toilets. ur hair looks like shit. -A
"What was it this time?" whispers Cassie.
Olivia nods her head and puts her phone back in her pocket. "Nothing."
The hands on the clock slowly turn as Olivia's hands begin to pain. Little did she think of the work she'd be doing on the first day of a new school. In fact, she thought it would be a day of sitting around, doing nothing. She stares at the clock, her mind completely blank, but she flashes back to reality the moment the school bell rings.
"Have that homework done for tomorrow or you get detention!" screams Mrs. Hogg.
"Wait, what homework?" Olivia asks to Cassie, within seconds the class is empty.
"Hurry up and pack your bag! We need to follow the others to get to the canteen before we get lost," says Cassie. "And also, where is douche-pants?"
Olivia lets out a laugh and she squashes her notes into her bag. She quickly pulls it over her shoulders and acoss her back, following Cassie out into the hallway. Briefly, they catch glimpse of a pair of shoes dash around the corner.
"Must be that way," Cassie says storming forward.
Suddenly, Olivia's phone rumbles again. She tuts, yanking the phone out of her pocket, tapping the screen and reading the message.
What's 4 + 15? Meet me there now or pay the consequences, hottie. -A
"Yeah, yeah.. I'll meet you there," says Olivia.
"What? You can't ditch me now. I could get lost!" exclaims Cassie, but by the second she turns around, Olivia is out of sight, already around a corner.
Four and fifteen. All she can think of is nineteen. Room number nineteen.
"Seven, eight, nine, ten..." she whispers to herself as she passes the classrooms. She comes to an intersection in the halls and takes a left, passing doors fifteen, sixteen and seventeen.
She comes to a stop at nineteen and embraces the silence. She peeks through the glass on the door and scans around, trying to spot anyone.
"It was Josh."
She spins around in horror coming face to face with a thin, blonde boy with piercing blue eyes.
"I heard him, uh... whispering with some guys and.." he gulps, staring into her eyes. "He.. and his friends were just pranking you. They said they weren't going to show up and let you wait here for no one. They're jerks!"
"And you are?" asks Olivia.
"Liam. I'm in your same class year so we might be in a few classes with each other if we're lucky- oh, uh.."
"Well, thank you for telling me anyway. I appreciate it!" pipes Olivia, passing Liam "I'll see you whenever I see you again. Bye."
"And that's exactly what happened," says Olivia, placing her bag under the desk.
"Josh wouldn't have done that. He's not that mean," replies Cassie.
"I don't know.." says Olivia. "Something about the way this Ryan dude said it made him seem genuine. Besides, where is Jax?"
They both look around at their surroundings, crowds of students in every spot of the canteen. Laughing, chatting, some even throwing food at one another. Happy that they're back with their friends while the two girls sit lonely on their own.
"I don't know what is up with Jax, but I see Josh," says Olivia, pointing off in the distance. "I'm going to confront him."
"Don't!" squeals Cassie, dropping the apple from her hand and clutching Olivia's wrist.
"Why not?" asks Olivia. "He can't do anything.."
"If you confront him, he'll be bitching to his parents about me, and then his parents and mine will be bickering," Cassie blubbers. "You just can't."
Once again, her phone begins to vibrate. She pulls it from her pocket and sighs, tapping the screen and staring at the message.
Are you sure that he is the one you're looking for? Search harder. -A
She glances up and stares at him, chatting away with a bunch of his friends while he munches away at a chocolate bar. Puzzled and conflicted, she turns and taps Cassie on the shoulder.
"How did he know we were speaking about him?"
"As he said, lots of people are using 'A' as a joke. It could be anyone," mumbles Cassie chewing her apple.
"Yes, but I only gave him my phone number. No one else knows it," replies Olivia.
She pulls out her phone and flicks through the messages, various thoughts running through her head. All she begins to think about is getting through the rest of the day and getting home to rest.
Author's Note:
Well hello!
Welcome to the prologue of A to Ashes! If you liked or disliked this chapter, please leave a review and let me know your thoughts! I'm super excited for you to dive deep into the new and updated world of Rosewood with lots of interesting characters!
One thing I knew I had to do the moment I thought of this story was for the students to treat A as a joke, kind of like how they treat Ghostface as a joke in Scream 2 by making and selling masks that the serial killer used! Quite shocking, but it sets up lots of ideas either way!
So here is the main question already: have we read a REAL message by A yet? Olivia thinks A is Josh, so is it Josh? Were these messages just harmless? Have we even met A yet?! Were these even messages by the real A yet?! You have to wait and see ;)
Be prepared for your Autumn/Winter to be taken over by Olivia, Jax and Cassie as they tackle tough battles through Rosewood! Oh yes, it's going to get very fun, horrorfying, intense and suspenseful... And of course, it WILL get very dark and shocking!
Stay tuned for the next chapter!
Thank you all so much for reading, byeeeeee! :D