Chapter 1

I kicked that one crumbled leaf down the sidewalk. It was a slightly browner shade of orange than the rest. It was intriguing and gave me the feeling of total securness knowing that not everything is perfect. October. It was my favourite month. Most people find it annoying because it’s turning cold, but I loved it. It was jeans and sweater type of weather. This was when I looked my best. My body, not being the exact perfection required these days, looked almost acceptable in a comfy sweater. My hair matched the colours outside too. It was deep red, pin straight and stringy. The kind of hair people pull at and ridicule when they have to put up with it every day. I liked it; it had low maintenance appeal. My deep brown eyes were the only other physical feature I liked on myself. I was short, had the usual acne, my nose was huge and Italian, my lips were abnormally thin and my feet were too big for the rest of my body.

I rounded the corner still kicking the same leaf. The fifth house in was mine. It was just a normal two story plan with bedrooms, bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room and a few extra, un-namable rooms. The entire house was red brick. It had been an old farm house; we’d bought it from the original owner who’d sold off his land which was now five or six blocks of neatly packed in houses, with our lot as the biggest. I went through the screen door in the front, it slammed behind me. The spring needed to be replaced. I dropped my shoulder bag and followed my nose to the kitchen. My mother was stirring the pasta she was making for dinner.

“Amity, that you?” my mom asked, concentrating now on the sauce that was simmering on the next burner.

“Yeah mom. Where’s Derek?” Derek was my twin brother. Today he’d decided school wasn’t looking to appealing and pulled the ever famous “head ache and stomach pain” routine.

“Upstairs in his room.” The stairs were on the right hand side of the front door, so I wandered back down the hall and took the steps two at a time. Derek’s room was the last door on the left. I opened his door without knocking and found him laying on his bed with his iPod screaming into his ears. He was stilling wearing just his pajama pants and his long brown hair had obviously not been paid much attention to today. I picked up a pillow sitting on the chair by the door and threw it at him. As soon as it made contact with his head his eyes flashed open and he ripped his head phones out of his ears.

“God! Amity, shit, you scared me!” I ignored the look he was giving me and his protests against me simply walking in. Cutting him off mid-sentence I asked him the only question of importance at the moment.

“Are you still coming tonight?” his expression and voice softened a bit.

“Never missed a Friday yet, have I? What time are we leaving?”

“Nine, be ready. We’re going to see X-Men.” He nodded his head and put his earphones back in.

It was Friday and that meant one thing: Drive-in night. Every time a new movie made its grand appearance at the Star Light we loaded up Corin’s blue ’73 Chevy truck and drove half an hour to see it.

I left Derek by himself and went across the hall into my own room. I flopped down on the bed and scanned my room. You could tell every difference between me and Derek just by looking at our rooms. His walls were deep blue and covered in posters and ads for open-mic nights at local hangouts. Shelves unskillfully screwed into the walls held CD cases, tons of guitar picks (which seemed to disappear more frequently then socks in our house) and random hats. The dust on his computer rivaled the coating of clothes on the floor.

My room was painted butterscotch. Pictures of my friends, pictures they’d drawn and photograph’s I’d taken were all pinned up neatly on a huge corkboard. Photography was my art. Most of my friends could draw amazing things; I could click the button on a camera and take a half decent photo. The only thing on my beige carpet was my slippers. All my books and CDs were compacted expertly onto my bookshelf. Only a few days worth of dust had accumulated, I was always extremely orderly and clean.

Derek and I were day and night.

I switched my radio on and blaring static that was released told me that Nancy had been playing with it. Nancy was my five year old sister who I was still waiting to be pronounced officially insane. She would talk to anything living or not, touching everything in her foot and a half reach was an obsession she had and sugar had absolutely no affect on her what-so-ever.

I decided the radio wasn’t a good idea right now. I turned it off and opened my closet. I pulled off the blue knitted sweater I was wearing and put it in the laundry basket and then slipped on a long-sleeved, brown shirt. In the bathroom I pulled my hair up into a messy bun and searched for an elastic which Nancy had been flinging around the day before. With a quick look in the mirror I pronounced myself “ready”.

With my homework and dinner finished by eight I had an hour to spare. I decided now was as good a time as any to get some use out of the swing in the backyard. The huge willow tree that consumed the back part of our abnormally large lot had a wooden swing hung up by ropes. The silence was broken with the eerie creaking of the rope against bark. I pushed my self back and forth enjoying the smell of rotting leaves that was gushing into my nose. After a while I closed my eyes and relished in the calmness that was settled around me.

That calmness was destroyed minutes later by Nancy bursting out the back door and launching herself towards me.

“Amity, Amity! I made you a picture of the swing and it’s really pretty! Come here and see it!” her words always sounded jumbled with the speed she talked at and in my relaxed state I had to concentrate to understand what she was telling me. She grabbed my hand and led me into the room off the kitchen were all our art supplies and nick knacks were stored. On the long wooden work bench in the middle of the room there was a huge page on glossy paper with brown, orange and green shapeless objects painted on to it.

“Do you like it?” she pulled on my arm.

“It’s lovely Nan. Can I hang it on my wall?”

“Nope, not yet. Mommy said the paint has to dry but after that you can. I made it with orange paint and I wrote my name in orange because I know you like the colour orange!” I smiled my thanks and reached my hand out to turn it a little bit more in my direction. Nancy’s hand swatted me though.

“Didn’t you hear me? Mommy said don’t touch it ‘cuz it’s drying!”

“Okay, I’m sorry! It’s a great picture but I gotta go now Nan. See you later kiddo.” She gave me a hug and I went to tell Derek to get down stairs because Corin would be here soon. My adventure to tell my twin to hurry was cut short by the blast of a horn from outside. Derek came leaping down the stairs, skipping every other one. We slipped on our shoes and walked out of the house locking it behind us. The truck only had one long bench seat in the front, always occupied by Corin, Jane and Riley. So Derek and I always ended up riding in the trunk. Derek pulled open the back window and slapped Riley in the back of the head.

“You twit! Give me my hat!” Riley whined and attempted to hold it to his head. Derek was too quick though and he pulled it off Riley’s head. Corin, laughing, pulled out of the drive way and headed off to a lovely night of junk food and movies.

Pete, the man who owned the Star Light, had confronted us after we had come every Friday night for three months and asked us if we “planned to continue bringing our movie-watching business here”. When we told him we did he had made us our own “reserved parking” sign and set it at the best spot in front of the screen. Every Friday that spot was waiting for us. Smack dab in the middle of everything.

Tonight was no exception. We backed in without any problems. The huge screen was playing a mini movie at the moment, which meant we had fifteen minutes until show time. The other three hopped out of the cab of the truck and flung pillows and blankets into the back with me and Derek. Corin lowered the tail gate and they jumped in too.

“So, who’s buying sustaining movie foods today?” Riley was a nut. All eyes turned to me. I groaned.

“Fine. Two popcorns, five Cokes and nachos?” Jane snickered.

“Has it ever been different?” Jane fed her soul on sarcasm and the embarrassment of others but somehow everyone was drawn to her. Her hair was short and black and she was extremely petite. Her lip was pierced and her eyes were bright green. Derek and I had known her since kindergarten. I was about to say something back but Corin cut me off.

“Hey, hey, hey! Less chatter more food buying! Movie starts soon.” Corin was down to earth. His hair was dark, wavy and long. He had the lovely, naturally tanned skin. Though he had only just turned seventeen, along with the rest of us, his voice was deep and resounded with authority.

“Scatter! Go! Ooga Booga!” Yes, Riley was insane. His hair was dirty blonde, two inches long and flew out in every direction, no help needed from gel. He could normally be found wearing a whimsical smile, his eyed looking crazed.

I giggled and set off to the concession stand. It was packed with ten-year-old kids running in and out of the arcade, adults piling trays of food to take over to their mini vans and other teenagers socializing while effectively taking up much needed space. I pushed myself through the crowd to the counter to come face to face with my worst nightmare. A new employ. Everyone who worked here knew my order and I didn’t even have to say a word once they saw me.

Carefully I explained to him what I wanted stating over and over that I did not want any combos, deals or giant sized anything. Finally after five minutes of attempting to let the newbie take my order I let out a frustrated growl.

“Danny!” I screamed. A forty-year-old man with slightly graying hair came out from a door way. The people at the counter were all staring at me. Danny smiled.

“Amity! Hello, what can I help you with?” the wrinkles around his eyes were a sign of his smoking addiction.

“Can you please just get me the usual?” with a nod he set to work. “Thanks!” the employ who’d been trying to help me bowed his head in shame. He looked fourteen maybe just fifteen.

“Hey, it’s okay. I know it’s not easy, you’ll get used to me.” he seemed to be slightly encouraged by this and gave me a shy smile before going off to help the next person. Danny brought over my food soon after.

“Thank you so much Danny! I’m sorry I kind of flipped at that new guy.” I handed him the nine dollar total.

“Naw, it’s okay. Gotta learn somehow. Better hurry up, movie starts in seven minutes.” Shooting him one last grin I tried my best to hold on to everything while pulling five straws from the box on the counter. As I struggled with the last straw I leaned back a little too far and lost my balance. I stumbled backwards and was caught by two arms and a chest. The arms pushed me back up to my feet and I turned around to thank the stranger who’d saved me.

“You okay? It’s crazy in here!” it was a boy my age. His ink black hair was pulled back into a pony tail and his eyes were icy grey. He was a foot or so taller then me and his light pink lips were turned up slightly at the edges.

“I’m fine, thank you so much!” His eyes seemed to being looking into my soul, trying to see my past. It was kind of creepy because I think he caught a glimpse of both. His smile widened a bit and he stuck out his hand.

“Hey, I’m Jackson Collings.” I shook his hand.

“Amity Smith.” The second our fingertips touched everything was different. Not physically and not something immediate. But the future was.

“Well, I’ve got to get back with this stuff. See you.” I told him as I picked up the last straw.

“Wait, do you come here often?” he asked me. I nodded my head.

“Almost every Friday. But I really do need to go now. Bye!” I smiled at him and then slipped threw the spaces I could find in the crowd back to the Chevy.