A Life of Misfortune
(Arianna’s POV)
I had never known what it felt like to be lucky.
Misfortune clung to me like a shadow, lurking in every moment of my life. It started the day I was born, when a witch cast a curse upon me—a curse bound by a riddle no one could solve. A curse that made my life a never-ending chain of disasters.
My parents had angered the wrong person, stealing something precious from a witch. They paid the price with their lives, leaving me to bear the consequences. Now, I lived under the reluctant guardianship of my Aunt Meredith, a woman who saw me as nothing more than a walking reminder of her lost sister.
The halls of Silvercreek High were no kinder. I was the outcast, the girl everyone whispered about, the one misfortune followed like a storm cloud. If something went wrong—a spilled drink, a broken window, a fire alarm going off—somehow, it was always my fault.
The school called me “Hex Girl.”
A cruel nickname that stuck like glue.
The only light in my life was Rachel.
Rachel, who didn’t care about the curse or the rumors.
Rachel, who stood beside me when no one else would.
“Are you sure you want to sit with me?” I muttered as she plopped down across from me in the cafeteria.
Rachel rolled her eyes. “Please. Like I care what those brainless jerks think.” She took a bite of her sandwich and pointed at my untouched lunch. “You need to eat. I swear, if you pass out again, I’m carrying you to the nurse, and we both know I’m not strong enough for that.”
I gave a small smile but pushed the tray aside. “Not hungry.”
Rachel frowned. “Bad morning?”
I sighed. “Worse than usual.” I held up my notebook, where I had written down the riddle of my curse for what felt like the millionth time. The words danced mockingly before my eyes.
“To break the chains of sorrow’s thread,
Seek the lost where whispers tread.
A heart that beats yet does not live,
A gift once stolen, you must give.”
I had spent years trying to decipher it. It made no sense.
A heart that beats yet does not live? What did that even mean?
Rachel studied the riddle and leaned in. “Maybe it’s something undead?”
I shook my head. “I’ve considered everything. Zombies, ghosts, vampires. Nothing fits.”
Rachel pursed her lips. “And the stolen gift? Could it be what your parents took from the witch?”
“That’s my best guess. But they never told me what it was.”
Before Rachel could respond, a tray of food crashed onto my lap.
Ice-cold soda soaked through my jeans.
Laughter erupted around me as I gasped, my breath catching in my throat.
“Oops.”
Madison.
Silvercreek’s reigning queen of cruelty.
She smirked, her perfectly manicured nails tapping against her tray. “Guess even your lunch isn’t safe from bad luck, Hex Girl.”
I clenched my fists, fighting the sting of tears.
Not here. Not in front of them.
Rachel was already on her feet. “Back off, Madison.”
Madison smirked. “Or what?”
Before Rachel could start a fight, I grabbed her arm. “Let’s just go.”
I had learned long ago that fighting back only made things worse.
As I hurried out of the cafeteria, the whispers followed me.
“She’s cursed.”
“Her parents were thieves. She deserves it.”
“Maybe she should just disappear.”
I pressed my lips together, determined to ignore them.
But deep inside, I couldn’t stop the question from echoing in my mind.
Would I ever be free of this curse?
Or was I doomed to misfortune forever?
