Chapter one

Preface

“You’re a what, Toni?” He asked me.

“I’m so sorry,” I said looking down in shame.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He asked me sounding really hurt that I didn’t tell him. I looked up at him. I could see my pain in his eyes.

“Because, I’m a freak, Jayden,” I said.

“No, you’re not,” he said stepping closer to me. I backed up.

“I can’t. I’m sorry,” I walked away not looking back.

“Toni! Get up! Now!” My dad yelled from downstairs. I groaned, got out of bed, and went to the bathroom to get ready for school.

I’m Toni and I’m 14. Today is my first day of high school!

Two months ago, I would’ve said “I’m so excited! I can’t wait!” But now, I’m so scared.

I have a huge secret that no one knows. Not even my family. I want to tell them, but can I trust people with this big of a secret?

It happened over the summer. I was in my backyard at 10:00 at night when something came out of the trees and jumped on me! I tried to fight them. But, I couldn’t. When they were done with me, they left me there.

I laid on the ground trying to process what happened. When I did, I stood up. The first thing I said to myself was “I’m not telling anyone about this. Not my parents, not my best friends. No one can know about this.”

So, I've hidden this secret inside for two months now.

I’m starting high school, so this secret is going to be even harder to keep.

I went back to my room and picked out my outfit. A cropped galaxy hoodie, dark blue jeggings, and red Vans.

Then, I went downstairs and saw my parents.

“Morning, Toni,” my mom said smiling.

“Morning,” I replied.

“How’d you sleep?” My dad asked.

“Good,” I answered.

“Toni?” My mom said.

“Yes?”

“Aren’t you gonna do something with your hair?” She asked me running her fingers through my wavy dark brown hair.

“Nah,” I said.

“Alright,” she said. I shrugged my shoulders, grabbed the frozen waffles, put them in the toaster and waited for them to pop up.

After I ate, I grabbed my bag and phone.

“Bye, Toni!” My dad said. I waved bye.

It’s a 15-minute walk to school. As I walked to school, I thought about how I was going to hide this secret from my friends. They know when something’s wrong with me. If I don’t tell them, they'll find out on their own. I don’t know how they do it!

I saw the school building and was overcame by different emotions, mostly fear. I sighed before I walked into the building.

I saw my best friends, Erica and Kenya.

Erica is sweet and a little bit psycho! She is also a talker. But, she knows when it’s time to be quiet and when to speak. She wears a lot of colors. She rarely wears black or grey.

Kenya is the opposite. She is pretty quiet. She is cold like ice, but she is sweet and caring when she needs to be. She wears a lot of black, grey, and red.

I walked up to them and said, “hey, girls.”

“Hey!” Erica said. “How was your summer?” She asked me.

“Good,” I lie. “How ‘bout you?” I asked.

“It was fun!” She answered.

“Kenya?” I got her attention.

“Hi, Toni,” she said.

“How was your summer?” I asked her.

“Cool,” she said.

“How was yours?” She asked.

“Good,” I lie again.

“Are you two excited for the best four years of our lives?” Erica asked both of us.

“Duh!” I said faking a smile.

“Kenya?” Erica said pulling Kenya out of her thoughts, making her jump a bit.

“Yeah?” She said.

“Are you excited for the best four years of your life or not, girl?” Erica asked.

“Oh, I am,” she said quietly.

“Are you ok?” I asked her.

“Yeah, just a little nervous,” she answered.

“Oh, it’s gonna be ok, Kenya,” I reassured her. She smiled at me, probably for the first time today.

“Thanks, T,” she said. Then, the bell rang.

“Oh, I’ll catch y’all later,” I said walking to my locker and grabbed my notebook.

I draw and write a lot of random stuff. Especially when I’m bored. It has a purple and blue cover. I bring it with me almost everywhere.

I walked to homeroom and sat in the back.

Then, I saw a cute boy wearing ripped jeans, a plain red shirt, and Jordan’s. He has black short curly hair, caramel skin, and dark brown eyes.

He sat next to me and said, “hey.”

“Hey. What’s your name?” I asked him.

“Jayden. What’s yours?” He asked me.

“Toni,” I answered.

“I love your name,” he said.

I smiled. “Thanks.”

After class

I didn’t use my notebook at all in class. Jayden and I just passed notes to each other.

There were four more periods until lunch. When the lunch bell rang, I ran to my locker, got my lunch, and went to the lunch room.

Every bench was filled. So, I sat alone.

“Hey, Toni,” I heard a familiar voice from behind me. I turned around. It was Jayden.

“Hey, Jayden,” I said.

“So, tell me about you, T,” he said sitting next to me. Did he just call me “T”? Usually, my closest friends and family call me that.

“I’m 14, I love Netflix and music, and sleep,” I answered.

He chuckled. “Cool,” he said smiling.

“How ‘bout you?” I asked him.

“Same as you. And I also draw. A lot,” he said.

“Same! I also write,” I said.

“About?” He asked.

“Random stuff,” I answered.

“Could I read it sometime?” He asked me.

“Sure! Could I see your drawings sometime?” I asked.

“Of course,” he answered. Time flew by so quickly! I didn’t realize I was talking to him for so long.

“T? The lunchroom is empty!” Jayden said smiling. I busted out laughing, so did he.

“Let’s go, J,” I said walking out of the lunchroom.

After three more periods, the school day was over.

“T!” I heard Jayden say. I turned toward him.

“Yeah?” I asked.

“Um, I know I just met you. But can I get your number?” He asked handing me his phone. I took it out of his hand, put my number in, then gave it back to him.

“Thanks. I’ll text you later,” he said.

“Okay. Um, see you later,” I said.

“Bye,” he walked away.

At home

Jayden texted me. I tossed myself on the couch.

J: Hey

T: Hey. What you doin’?

J: nothing much. How ‘bout you?

T: same

J: oh. I gotta go. See you later

T: later

I can’t get too attached to Jayden. He’s nice, but I can’t become too close. I can’t risk him finding out.