Unlocked
(Chapter Song(s): L’amore Dice Ciao by Armando Trovajoli https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GE-9dHNS-8 and A1- It’s just a burning memory by The Caretaker https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPOF5FgG3DU )
“Thank you, Dana!” Mr. Smith yells. “No problem, Mr. Smith!” I yell back to him. This is the 4th time this week that I’ve helped him clean the whiteboards in his classroom. The freshmen keep writing tons of profanities when Mr. Smith isn’t in his class. This time they used permanent marker on the board. It was better when they would waste his expo markers because I would convince my dad to send me some money to buy more for him. It was difficult to get the marker off, and his boards are permanently stained, but at least he doesn’t have a bunch of messages on his board calling him all the horrible names known to man.
If you didn’t already guess, I’m Dana Toronto. I’m 16 in my junior year of high school at a STEM Academy. Since I’m at a STEM school, people don’t really focus on the regular high school things like relationships and practical jokes on the teachers they don’t like. Ever since our first day when we were freshmen, we’ve been reminded continuously that if any of our grades drop below a C by the end of the semester, especially if it’s a college class, we’ll be kicked out and sent to either a boarding school or our neighborhood schools that aren’t very good. It’s a threat that’s kept up from misbehaving. Well, all of us except the new freshman who couldn’t give a monkey’s rip about it. They always have to mess something up, and even the teachers have acknowledged this childish behavior. Mrs. Johnson, the biology teacher, likes to say how the freshmen are going to ruin the reputation the former students took so long to build, and I believe her.
A lot of students regard me as the teacher’s pet. The comments just show me that I care more about the teachers well-being than others. It’s not quite as obvious to others, but it is obvious to my two best friends in the whole wide world. Ariana and Lucinda have always been there when it came to my academics or anything else. They always support me when my parents fail to. My parents usually go on lots of trips, and they rarely take me. They always plan the trips for when I’m in school, but it’s taught me to become independent and take care of myself. I make sure to still send all my accomplishments to my parents and siblings, and they always send back an emoji or some word of recognition. They believe that I’ll graduate as the valedictorian, and that’s one of the things that keeps me going when I think everything’s getting tougher. Despite my passion for school, I also love my hobbies that take place outside of school. I love mysteries, animals, and helpful organizations. That’s pretty much all I do in my free time.
Mr. Smith is the English teacher for freshmen and sophomores. Even though he’s not my teacher anymore, he was one of the best ones I had. That’s why I help him so much. But as much as I love to help him with his troubles, I can’t wait until my senior year. I want to be at the top of the food chain so when I have to deal with the freshmen or sophomores, they’re more scared. It could help when they start misbehaving. I know I’ll end up back at the bottom by college, but it’s fine. That’s just the circle of life.
As I walk down the empty hallways, I greet the custodians and the other teachers who have to stay after school for clubs, meetings, and detentions. It’s pretty peaceful being able to enjoy myself and walk around without being harassed by my parents constant calls to come home. Even though I wish they would spend more time with me, the days they aren’t home seem carefree. If you’re wondering where my parents are, they are currently on vacation in the Bahamas with my older siblings. I wasn’t allowed to come even if I wanted to because I was “too young.” It pissed me off for them to say that. They could’ve just told me to focus on my studies and we’ll take another vacation soon.
Instead, they want to take me to Disney World for 2 days. I would be overjoyed about that prospect, but I asked to go on that trip 11 years ago. That’s probably the only thing they remember me telling them that I wanted. I roll my eyes at the memory of my parents trying to cheer me up when they said they had a trip to Croatia and couldn’t take me to Disney World for my birthday. I sat at home staring out the window at my neighbor’s house on my whole 5th birthday. It was horrible, but what can you do? I walk out of the building and I start the 35-40 minute walk to my house. My father said he would teach me how to drive so I would get to stop walking to and from school. With a car, the drive would be about 15 minutes, and I practiced all summer to get my driver’s permit, but my father was too busy once again.
Just like any other day, I’m left to my thoughts about how suckish I think my parents are. I’m distracted from my thoughts when I feel an ache in my shoulders. I groan as my backpack starts to weigh me down. I should’ve listened to Lucinda when she said to leave the unimportant books in my locker. My nerd brain decided that every book was important to take home no matter what. Despite the aching, I kept on walking.
It took a longer time to get home due to the weight of my backpack and because I kept moving it in different positions on my body to make me more comfortable. I got a few weird glances from passing cars, but I couldn’t bring myself to care after a while. When I arrived at my street, I took in all the houses. A lot of kids at school know that I have more money than most. Probably from all the times Lucinda has gushed about my house or the amount of times I’ve vented to Ariana about the trips my parents have been taking.
As I walked down the street, I greeted my neighbors. Some of my neighbors had little picket fences in their front yards, but my dad never liked those. But to be fair, my dad’s a little racist when it comes to things he deems as “white stuff.” I always ignore his comments when he tries to degrade Lucinda or Ariana. Race never mattered when I was little, so I don’t see why it matters now.
It feels like forever before I’m at the front gate of my house. My family bought it when I was 6, and after I begged my father to get a house that sort of resembled a castle. I was obsessed with princesses at the time. My father ended up picking this house even though there’s tons of space in it that we don’t need. I think he cares for me more than my mother. Even though he sucks at showing it.
I look up at the house and smile. The outside is painted white and gets repainted every summer. There are about 4 floors in the house, and you can see that it’s a pretty big house on the outside. To the left of the lawn, I see my mother’s gnomes and a swing beside a bird fountain. On the right side I see some flower beds and another swing. The walkway is made of concrete, and my shoes make sound as I walk on the pathway towards my house. There are a few neatly trimmed bushes by the house, but my favorite part of the house is the door.
It’s a nice oak door painted white. It has one of those circle handles you see in a movie to knock on the door. It’s really beautiful. It’d look even more beautiful if the door wasn’t open. It’s like my heart sank to my stomach when I saw this. I swear I closed the door before I left the house. I mean…I had to have closed the door… right?
I think back to this morning when I left the house. I remember! I got off the phone with my mother to assure her I was going to get to school on time. I took the key and locked the door, unlocked it, locked it again, and tested the knob before walking out the gate. The gate only unlocks from a certain key code, and only family and close friends know the code. There’s no way someone is in there. Unless it’s Lucinda and Ariana.
I calm down a little thinking they must be inside. “Nice prank, guys,” I mutter. I open the door wider and close it behind me, smiling. I see a figure out of the corner of my eye, and I roll my eyes. I see the person wearing black, and I’m sure it’s Ariana. She’s going through her emo phase right now, and that’s her style at the moment.
“Nice try, Ari,” I chuckle and turn to her. Except it’s not her, and it’s actually a very tall, very handsome, very pale man who really needs to get out of my house. He’s staring at the wall weirdly. “Who are you?!” I scream. I back into the door, and my dog starts to bark at the mysterious man. The man whips his head around to face me, and I notice his eyes are green. Not the regular green eyes that normal people have. No, his whole eye is bright green and glowing. “What the fuck!?
