Until three days ago I had been a totally normal fourteen year old girl with an utterly, utterly boring life. My hobbies included Horse Riding and Singing, –Oh I know, surprise, surprise – I went to high school, I had friends (whether nice or not, I didn't particularly care to be honest) and everything was just sane, peachy if you will.
Exactly three days ago I heaved myself from my comfy single bed, dragged my feet across my cluttered beige carpet and started my usual, daily routine of pampering myself for school. Exactly three days ago my mother called me down stairs into our small kitchen to listen to the radio, nothing but shear shock coating her face.
"...has been declared dead after a group of school children found their bodies in a hotel dumpster late last night. How they died is yet to be discovered, their family has been informed." Said the familiar voice of the news reader on the radio, she had repeated the same sentence quite a few times this month.
"That's the ninth unidentified murder in just over 3 weeks," mum started, "these were all found coupled Suzie, that's eighteen dead. This is not natural, not natural at all." My mother, Nina Cross, was just as normal as me, but these murders had everyone looking over their shoulders. We were always checking windows and doors to make sure they were locked and keeping ourselves fully stocked with pepper spray, surely that is no way to live?
The feeling of dread seeped from my head through my body until I was drowning in a full on anxiety attack, this is how we're living. The whole country is on edge and there doesn't seem to be an end to the killing spree.
The very first unlucky couple to be picked off by the murderers was Mr and Mrs Hayling, both at the frail age of 60 and living in a small hamlet just outside of Colchester. Janet Hayling's middle aged daughter had discovered the severed bodies –or what was left of them –the day after the brutal incident took place; it was the poor woman's birthday. Her mother and step father were slumped against their bedroom wall, drenched in their own blood, she said there was so much of it that the cream coloured carpet had turned a deep, rich red... The same fate had been repeated for every innocent victim, and they are called innocent because the police have found no reason for all of these people to be killed, they don't even link to each other. None of these people were related, colleagues or even friends, yet they were brutally killed using the same method, by the apparent same person(s).
It took me all of two minutes to think these factors through; they had been a main topic of my mind at late, almost as hard to forget as breathing.
"Mum I'm scared," I said, "I'm really scared, I don't like this one bit. Let's leave the country or something, I don't feel safe her anymore!" I flung my arms around her and lowered my head onto her shoulder, we are both short, but she is shorter. I felt her arms wind around me as she kissed my cheek.
"I know sweetheart, everybody is scared at the moment," she comforted me, rubbing and patting my back like a small child, "we just have to carry on as normal, otherwise these psychotic people will think they've got some kind of leverage over us all."
I pulled my head back to look at her face, my eyebrow pulled into a bending arch above my hazel eye, "they have got leverage mum they can and will kill us. That's what they've been doing for the past month!"
"Oh baby," she started, "we just have to keep ourselves from harm's way, there's nothing more we can do about it. Now go and get yourself ready for school young lady." We both pulled out from our embrace and smiled at each other reassuringly.
When I got back into my room I had just enough time to straighten my hair and slap some make up on before I was called down to leave for school, I never left myself time to relax in the mornings which thoroughly pissed me off. Sitting in the car for the 5 minute drive from my village to the main high school in the next town was always unsociable; I would sit in the front passenger seat listening to my iPod and not contribute to any conversation that takes place. This was one of my favourite pass times; I looked forward to the drive any where rather than the actual destination we were headed to. Music stimulates the senses, you can allow your imagination to run wild with whatever you wanted to do most, my usual fantasy would be to do dressage with my very own horse to the song I'm listening to. I know sad right?
Before I knew it we were pulling up outside my school gate and I could see my friends gathered in a huddle around the entrance waiting for the members to arrive before parting to class. I reached over and kissed mum on the cheek, we said our goodbyes and I departed.
"Sooooozieeee!!" my best friend Angie (more commonly known as Ange) screamed from the little gathering, making me jump and most probably waking up everyone that doesn't have to be up at silly times in the morning for education. This had brightened my day already.
Ange ran into me knocking the air from my lungs, "Hey there you!" I said using the little air I had left to form words.
"You alright? Did you hear about that couple! Another one already! That's so bad isn't Sooz?" She exclaimed; everyone did seem to be worked up about this. I wonder if it's worldwide news.
"Hey yeah, it's so scary, it's like they are right around the corner waiting for us to slip up." I said; Angie nodded in agreement as we walked back up the path stone path to the group. The grass was really wet from the dew of the night before, good job mum turned my trouser bottoms up or they would have been soaked.
My other best friend Alex greeted me when I came up to the group but no one else ever bothers. I don't think John or Doug like me, but they aren't always mean so I don't bother talking to them when they are together. They are both lovely when they're on their own, but as soon as they get together they seem to forget they are nice people.
The big group was just that, there were loads of us. We weren't all the same but everybody else in the school seemed to refer to us as the 'emo, rock and Goth' group. This was far from true, at least half of us listen to rap and country music, yes some of us like 'screamo' but I know it scares me and most probably some of the boys. But its high school, what can you expect?
My day was going fine, I had alright lessons and no assembly; bonus! Everyone was talking about the new kid that was supposed to be arriving during my next hour, they were all excited and full of questions to ask, like, "Why'd you move here?" and "What music do you listen to?" I just thought they should leave him alone for a while before badgering him but, I must admit, I wish I knew a bit about him too.
And so we were fifteen minutes into English when he walked in. He was such a hunk I practically chocked on my chewing gum.
He had a cute face, the type that looks all cuddly; he resembled a tiger or a wolf the way his cheeks poked out when he smiled, which showed perfectly white teeth against his pinkie red lips. He also had the cutest button nose I have ever seen; it was rounded perfectly to soften his soft face even more. It must be raining outside, he had droplets of water scattered around his thick black hair.
He walked across the classroom to the teachers' desk and by doing so he brushed past mine, apart from my almost having a stroke, he smelt absolutely amazing. It was a musky, woodsy smell, one that wouldn't go amiss amongst the forest; there was also a hint of pine. Perhaps his family was in the gardening business?
Miss Burgam seemed to be having similar trouble taking in the boy, as he stood waiting for her to take the letter in his offering hand for a few more seconds than necessary. But she snapped out of her chance and took the letter with some force.
"Jason Brook, hey?" Miss stated for the class, "Well we're pleased to have you at the school." She smiled at him and quickly glimpsed around the class room for a space for him to sit. There happened to be no other people at my table today, all sick apparently, well that was good enough for me.
"Take the seat down there, by Suzie," she pointed to me and I looked over the top of my book as though I hadn't been paying any attention what so ever. He walked down to my table and sat next to me, which was great yeah, but I'd expected him to sit on the other side or something. He was as odd as he was gorgeous I guess.
"Alright guys, you can put your books away and have the rest of the lesson on your posters," Miss called to us as Jason was settling down in his chair, "You know what to do so get cracking!" Everyone put their things away and got into groups, which meant I would have been on my own but thanks to Jason, I had a partner.
"Hello," Jason was looking at me as I sat straight again, after putting my book in my bag, "I'm Jason, you can call me Jase if you like." He smiled at me, so dazzling I had to catch my breath; that was something to get used to.
"Hey Jase," I replied, beaming at him, "I'm Suzie but my friends call me Sooz. They would be here but they are in the other set, and Jasmine, Alex and Jack are ill."
Just meeting him was taking my mind off of the murders and chaos going on in the country which was something I had been craving for, for so long now. It's then that I noticed his eyes. What amazing eyes they were. They were a rich, dark, chocolate brown; that set upon his tanned complexion, looked similar to small holes of melted chocolate. They were like tunnels that never ended, you could look into them and feel as though you were falling through time; and looking into them, I was.
As I was staring into his eyes he was staring into mine. Here we sat, gazing into each others' eyes, so oblivious to all life surrounding us in the classroom and neither of us seemed to care.
"Here guys, have some crayons." The sound of Miss's voice snapped us both from our gazing. I never even saw her approach us. She placed the box of colouring crayons in front of us and moved onto the next table as fast as she appeared at our desk.
"Oh..." I mumbled, "Erm... Thanks." I had never felt so embarrassed in my life. I had gone a great ruby red and felt a strong urge to look around me, as it happens, I did. But it was not what I was expecting, nobody was looking at us. Not even looking our way, they were all facing each other or their posters. I let out a gust of air and turned to face Jason.
He looked just as miffed as I did. But then his expression changed, to one of unmistakable anger, or rage.
"I need to go." Is all the boy said before he marched out of the door, pushing it with such a force that it rocketed off of the wall with a deafening clang.