secrets beneath the surface : A tale of mystery and power

{Mia}

After a few days I enrolled in my new school , (FINALLY!!)

I was assigned in the tenth grade , which was normal considering I was already in the tenth grade before I moved here .

So ,with a heart full of excitement and a touch of nerves, I walked down the hall towards my first class .

The school was large, much larger than my old one. The hallways seemed endless, and the chatter of students echoed loudly, a sharp contrast to the quiet, familiar halls of my previous school. With shaking fingers I knocked on the door only to find out it was locked.

And then my long distance childhood best friend camelia came running down the hall with her friends ." Hey bestie, what are you doing ? "

I try to hug her but she just dodges me . With a heavy heart I back off ." Hey, I was just getting to class " I can hear her friends snickering behind her , and I give them an annoyed look , they quickly shut up ."hey girls , did you hear that ? Miss death glare here was trying to get to class "I hear one of them say .

I just lower my head ,clentch my fist trying not to punch a hole in her face .

Instead I reply calmly "I'm busy right now .can I ignore you some other time ?"

Her eyes go wide and I grin .I turn back to camelia and continue talking in armenian (so that her friends don't eavesdrop)

***

"Are you trying to embarrass me ?!" She said

As I stood there, staring at the locked door, confusion and embarrassment washed over me. I could hear camelias friends still snickering, but I tried to ignore them. Then camelia rolled her eyes and said, "Seriously ?" Camelia crossed her arms, her tone dripping with exasperation. "You don't remember what I told you before you moved here?"

I blinked at her, struggling to recall.

She sighed dramatically. "The classroom doors are almost always locked between periods. The teachers have the keys. Oh, and we switch classrooms after every class."

Realization hit me like a lightning bolt. Of course! She had mentioned it when I was asking her about the school. My cheeks burned with embarrassment. "Right," I muttered. "Sorry, I forgot."

"Oh , and don't speak to me , I don't want people to know I'm related to you "

***

Those words hit me like a bullet to the heart.

I stumbled into the bathroom, clutching my backpack like a lifeline.

Tears streamed down my face, blurring my vision. Why did camelia have to say that? Why did it hurt so much?

I could barely see, and I ran into a cute looking girl , she looked at me concerned and then started laughing , a sharp, arrogant sound that froze me in place, it was the kind of laugh that used to make me feel small, and it hadn't lost its edge.

It was her. My old classmate, Laura, with her unmistakable short brown hair and those piercing hazel eyes and a smirk that hasn't changed.

For a moment I froze unable to move ,unable to think , haunting memories came at me at the speed of light and I began to tremble . I was snapped out of my train of thoughts when she said .

"I never thought I'd see the day you'd cry "

Mortified, I bolted as the bell rang, her laughter echoing in my ears like a taunt from the past. What was she doing here? Did she follow me? Or was this just some cruel twist of fate?