Chapter One
Two Weeks Earlier...
She looked carefully at the passing cars through the street. The light was green for the rushing cars, but for her, a person walking by feet, the light was red. In a second, it turned green, and she made sure to look at both sides of the street just like her mama taught her. Pulling her jacket tighter against her body, she made her way across the street, avoiding the gaze of the other people who were doing just the same.
The city lights shone bright, the constant noise never ceasing to be. She'd lived in New York for partially all of her life, but the sense of everything never stopped surprising her. She lived in an okay neighborhood with her mom and little brother Zachary, who was only seven. Her mother worked hard to support them, since she was yet another single mother trying to make a living for her and her children.
Claire appreciated her mothers hard work. She was greatly proud of her mother, regardless of the situation, she was the best mom in her eyes, as well as Zachary's. Turning right into Winton's Street, she hurried up into the lobby of the Simplore Apartments where she lived at. She smiled at the bellman by the door, and gave a little wave at the receptionist. Though it wasn't the best place, the owner liked keeping things fancy, in a sense.
"Guess you're back from school already now, Claire," Mr. Samuel greeted kindly as he pressed the elevator button for her. "Yeah - today's rather chilly, though," she mumbled quietly. "How was school then?" He asked, as he stepped in the elevator after she did. "You know, same as always," she said, though it was anything but the same, since something very 'new' happened earlier in the day.
How is this so? Well, what Claire doesn't tell anybody is her tragically social life as well as the countless troubles she faces during the day. Claire used to be very popular when she started high school. But somehow, by the end of her sophomore year, everything came tumbling down into pure and utter chaos. Her friends turned against her, and when she tried to ask them what happened, they came back with the usual, "You know what you did," but she didn't know 'what' it was that she did.
This is why, everyday after school is over, and she can flee from the place where she once loved to be but now can't help but run from it as soon as she can like the plague. Nothing can pass by from the emotional and psychological torture she suffers day by day. Nothing. Afraid of...something, she keeps this fact hidden from her mother, since she doesn't want to cause her any trouble. "She's got enough in her hands as it is", she'd think, "she doesn't need my life on her shoulders as well."
Two Weeks Earlier...
She looked carefully at the passing cars through the street. The light was green for the rushing cars, but for her, a person walking by feet, the light was red. In a second, it turned green, and she made sure to look at both sides of the street just like her mama taught her. Pulling her jacket tighter against her body, she made her way across the street, avoiding the gaze of the other people who were doing just the same.
The city lights shone bright, the constant noise never ceasing to be. She'd lived in New York for partially all of her life, but the sense of everything never stopped surprising her. She lived in an okay neighborhood with her mom and little brother Zachary, who was only seven. Her mother worked hard to support them, since she was yet another single mother trying to make a living for her and her children.
Claire appreciated her mothers hard work. She was greatly proud of her mother, regardless of the situation, she was the best mom in her eyes, as well as Zachary's. Turning right into Winton's Street, she hurried up into the lobby of the Simplore Apartments where she lived at. She smiled at the bellman by the door, and gave a little wave at the receptionist. Though it wasn't the best place, the owner liked keeping things fancy, in a sense.
"Guess you're back from school already now, Claire," Mr. Samuel greeted kindly as he pressed the elevator button for her. "Yeah - today's rather chilly, though," she mumbled quietly. "How was school then?" He asked, as he stepped in the elevator after she did. "You know, same as always," she said, though it was anything but the same, since something very 'new' happened earlier in the day.
How is this so? Well, what Claire doesn't tell anybody is her tragically social life as well as the countless troubles she faces during the day. Claire used to be very popular when she started high school. But somehow, by the end of her sophomore year, everything came tumbling down into pure and utter chaos. Her friends turned against her, and when she tried to ask them what happened, they came back with the usual, "You know what you did," but she didn't know 'what' it was that she did.
This is why, everyday after school is over, and she can flee from the place where she once loved to be but now can't help but run from it as soon as she can like the plague. Nothing can pass by from the emotional and psychological torture she suffers day by day. Nothing. Afraid of...something, she keeps this fact hidden from her mother, since she doesn't want to cause her any trouble. "She's got enough in her hands as it is", she'd think, "she doesn't need my life on her shoulders as well."
