Annie woke up early on Monday morning with a sense of dread. She had been in bed for an hour, contemplating whether or not she should go to school. The thought of having to face her friends, Mark and the entire student body made her nauseous.
She had spent the weekend at home, in the safe retreat of her bedroom. Mark had tried calling numerous times – he even came over to her house yesterday afternoon, but Annie refused to see or speak to him.
Turning onto her side, Annie's eyes fell upon the white mesh dress that was draped over a chair in front of the dresser. A chill ran down her spine. Annie had woken up on Sunday morning in her convertible, slightly wet and wrapped in her picnic blanket. She wasn't hurt, but the distressing part was that she was stripped down to her underwear and did not have any recollections of the prior night, except that she had stormed out of Chelsea's party in the rain.
Annie had been raking her brain all weekend, but she just couldn't recall what happened after she left Chelsea's house. Granted, she had drunk quite a bit that night, but that still did not explain why she couldn't remember a thing at all.
As she continued to wallow in her thoughts, the door bell rang. Annie could hear muffled voices and then a few seconds later, footsteps coming up the stairs. There was a knock on her door.
"Annie, sweetheart?" A voice piped up softly. "Are you awake yet?"
Annie turned to see her mother sticking her head in. In terms of looks, Mrs Hartman was a stark contrast to her daughter. Annie was smaller, much paler, with flowy mahogany locks – where as Mrs Hartman was statuesque, bronzed and sported a trendy platinum blond bob.
There was however, a valid reason why Annie looked so different from her parents - she had been adopted by the Hartmans when she was baby. Annie knew nothing of her biological parents or where she came from, except that she was left on the steps of Cannington Pointe Orphanage, late one night in December.
"Honey, Gretchen is here to see you," Mrs Hartman prodded gently, indicating to the figure behind her to enter.
Running her fingers through her messy hair, Annie sat up. Although Gretchen Miller was only five feet, the perky redhead glided into the room with her usual sense of confidence and command.
"Well, I'll leave you two then," Mrs Hartman announced, somewhat awkwardly. As she walked out of the room, Annie caught her mother exchanging a glance with her best friend. I wonder what that's about, Annie thought, slightly annoyed.
When the door closed, Gretchen rushed to join Annie on the bed. "I've been so worried about you!" She exclaimed, giving Annie a big hug. "Why haven't you been answering my calls?"
Annie looked at her friend apologetically. "I'm sorry Gretch, I just needed some time alone."
"I heard what happened on Saturday night. I can't believe Mark and Chelsea – never mind, they're such jerks," Gretchen said, shaking her head disapprovingly. "So you've been holed up in here the whole weekend?"
Annie nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm not sure if I'll go to school today. I don't think I can deal with it." She tightly wrapped a blanket around herself, wanting to slink back into bed.
Gretchen stared at Annie for a moment in bemusement. "You know, this whole defeatist attitude is not a good look on you," Gretchen said finally.
She leaned forward and gave Annie's arm a firm squeeze. "This is so not like you! Where's the Annie Hartman who is strong and confident – who doesn't care what people say?" Gretchen was getting worked up now, her blue eyes flashing. "Besides, are you going to give up so easily? If you're going to hide here, you're just confirming what Chelsea wants people to think – that you're a pushover. Are you going to let that happen?"
With her lips pursed, Annie sat there quietly, absorbing her friend's words. Although she hated to admit it, she knew Gretchen was right. Staying at home was just a short term solution; she would eventually at some point, have to face everyone at school.
With a long, somewhat regretful sigh, she tossed the blankets aside. "So, are we running late?" Annie asked.
The cool crisp air was a welcome change from being confined in her room all weekend. Gretchen had offered to drive them to school and now they were blitzing down the final stretch in Gretchen's beloved white jeep – Annie caring little that the wind was messing up her hair.
As they pulled into the school parking lot, Annie noticed that there were still a few students lingering outside. Much to Annie's dismay, one of them happened to be Mark. He was leaning against the side of his black BMW sedan, his dark blond hair tousling in the breeze. He was wearing linen pants and the blue polo top that was Annie's favorite. Mark's eyes lit up when he saw her.
"Oh dear," Gretchen murmured, as they got out of the car. "Want me to fend him off?"
Before Annie could answer, Mark was already making his way towards them. "Annie, can I talk to you?"
Gretchen crossed her arms and threw Annie a look that said, No don't do it. But as Annie glanced up at Mark, she couldn't help but soften her demeanour. Annie had never seen him so miserable before – he was slightly unshaven and had dark rings under his eyes.
"It's okay. I'll catch up with you later," Annie said gently, giving her best friend a reassuring nod. The petite redhead seemed momentarily surprised at first, but then quickly recovered. "All right, I'll meet you at the lockers," Gretchen replied, shooting an icy glare in Mark's direction as she walked away.
"Sorry about that, I-" Annie stopped abruptly. Wait, I shouldn't be the one apologising, she mentally berated herself.
Mark took it as a cue to jump in. "Look Annie, I'm sorry about the other night. It was a big mistake, I shouldn't have drunk so much - I didn't know what I was doing." He was rambling now, nervously shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
Annie remained silent, her face stoic. She was simply lost for words at that moment - like an empty shell void of any emotion. It astonished Annie that she was able to keep so calm and composed.
It seemed like forever before Annie finally spoke. "I need some time to think over things," she began slowly, tearing her eyes away from Mark's crestfallen face. "I just don't think I can be with you at the moment."
"I love you though," Mark implored, his voice desperate. "Annie, you can't be serious." He reached out, beckoning her to come to him, but Annie stood firm.
"I need to go," was all she could muster, before turning her back to him.
As Annie walked up the steps of the school, she realised that her hands were shaking. Maybe I'm not so brave after all, she thought to herself wryly. But deep down, Annie's intuition was telling her that perhaps her jitteriness may have not been fully attributed to the confrontation with Mark.
She had a strange, tingling sensation that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She felt like she was being watched by someone or something. Slowly, her eyes traced the rows of cedars lining the sides of the school. Annie thought she caught a glimpse of a shadow darting behind the trees, but it happened so fast, she wasn't sure.
"Hey, are you okay?" Gretchen was standing at the entrance of the building, glancing briefly in the direction of the woods.
Annie blinked and refocused. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go in."
By lunch time, the whispers and stares had somewhat subsided, to Annie's relief. Despite the run in with Mark, the rest of the morning went by without incident or drama, much to everyone else's disappointment.
Since it was a beautiful clear day - a rarity in Cannington Pointe during February, Annie suggested to Gretchen and Mallory Pierce, another friend of theirs, that they sit outside in the courtyard. Overall, Annie was in better spirits and her friends must have sensed the change, because they tactfully refrained from mentioning Saturday night's incident.
The three girls were resting on the grass, basking in the warmth of the sun in silence, when suddenly Gretchen stirred.
"Annie! I can't believe your birthday is this Friday and we haven't even planned anything yet," she noted in alarm, propping herself up so that she was facing the other girls. "I'm such a rotten friend, aren't I?"
Annie turned to her best friend and gave Gretchen's hand a supportive squeeze. "Of course not, don't be silly." She sat up and brushed the grass off her sweater. "To be honest, having a birthday bash is the last thing on my mind."
Mallory nodded understandingly. "That's fine – but we still want to celebrate with you. It's not every day that you get to turn seventeen." With her gentle and serene nature, wispy blond hair, and delicate but sharp features, Mallory Pierce often reminded Annie of a fairy.
"Definitely," Gretchen agreed, her face breaking into a grin. "You deserve to have a great time and be happy."
Maybe her friends were right – the past few days have been a blur, not to mention draining. Annie was sick of moping around, feeling sorry for herself. She needed to get out and clear her mind.
"So, what do you say?" Mallory prompted, beaming encouragingly.
Annie couldn't help but return the smile. "Okay – but I want this to be a small gathering. Can you promise me that?"
Both her friends exchanged excited glances with one another, before nodding in unison. With a mischievous glint in her eyes, Gretchen leaned forward. "And I know just the place to go."
- TO BE CONTINUED -