Chapter 1

Cafeteria Food via Packed Lunches?

Scarlett groaned as she read the headline for her latest story, off the school’s email service. She sighed with frustration and turned around on the swivel chair. She didn’t know what Karl’s problem was, but ever since the Christmas Fundraiser he’d developed a sour attitude toward her.

Shaking in anger, she got up from her desk and marched over to where the bony Nazi was sitting. Karl was dressed in neatly pressed khaki pants, a crisply laundered button-down shirt and tie, and a brown pullover sweater. His hair was gelled and combed neatly. The part was so razor sharp it might have been etched into his skull with a laser beam.

“What do you want, RunningWolf?” He sighed, glancing up from his laptop. No doubt he was playing World of Warcraft, like he usually did. Apparently he was a level sixty, Mage - whatever the hell that meant. She didn’t speak dork.

“Cafeteria food via packed lunches?” Scarlett said, crossing her arms across her chest. “The stories you’re sending my way are lame!”

“You’re getting the same level of stories Jimmy and Helena are getting.”

Scarlett narrowed her eyes. That was a load of bullshit and they both knew it. Karl leaned back on his chair and placed his hands at the back of his head, before giving her a smug look. Bawling up her fists she resisted the urge to punch his lights out.

“Oh please,” she said. “Jimmy’s getting stories that are way out of his thinking range.” the boy even with access to spell-check had typo’s that would make any readers eyes bleed.

“If you don’t like the way I do things, then leave.”

Scarlett scoffed. She would have left ages ago, if she wasn’t short of credits and the other extra curricular classes weren’t so boring, or pointless. Besides, she loved working on the paper, and quitting would give the Nazi too much joy. She frowned when his cell phone rang. He flipped it open and began talking as if she wasn’t there. When she didn’t move, he placed his hand over the mouth piece and told her it was a private conversation. She growled and flipped him off, before making her way back to her desk.

Sitting down in her chair, she deleted the message. Oops. Now all she needed was a story that would blow everyone’s minds and wipe that disgusting smirk off Karl’s face.

Bending down she picked up her messenger bag and fished out a pack of cigarettes, and a lighter.

“Hey, no smoking in school,” Karl yelled, across the room. Scarlett ignored him, lighting one up and taking a drag. She sighed, and blew out a cloud of grey smoke. Now, she could think. She smirked, when Karl made no attempt to stop her.

“Smoking in school,” a voice said, from behind me. A voice that made her heartbeat faster and her hands get clammier “What happened?”

Scarlett smiled as he moved over to sit down on her desk. His slender build looked good perched on the cheap pine. Clad in washed out jeans, a white shirt with the first few buttons left unopened revealing skin with hints of a summer tan. He rubbed the sandy coloured stubble on his chin with the camera.

“The Nazi,” Scarlett replied. Eric looked at her amused.

“What did he do now?”

“Breathe?”

Scarlett handed him the cigarette, and pulled up Works Word Processor on her laptop. Putting his camera down onto the desk, Eric took a drag.

Eric worked as the photographer for the paper. He was the only guy who had more experience with a camera than everyone else. Unless, Facebook quality photo’s counted as newspaper material. Though, she was sure photo’s of students drunk off their asses would draw in readers more than anything else.

“Social Networking Sites,” Scarlett said, as she typed up the words. “Oooh or Booo?”

“If you’re not going to listen to the boss, why ask opinions? Write what you want.” Eric said, before taking another drag.

“You know, I was looking for a simple yay or nay,” Scarlett replied.

“If I say yay, do I get a kiss?” Eric replied. Scarlett looked into his green eyes and smiled, tilting her head just in time to meet his lips.

xXx

An hour, two sandwiches, a Kit Kat and a diet Pepsi later Scarlett added the finishing touches to her story, as Eric hovered over her shoulder.

… only gives an excuse for girls to get skanked up, wearing clothes clearly bought in children’s sizes so they can pose in front of the camera in positions usually seen in issues of Playboy -

“I think you’re going to piss a lot of people off, printing that,” Eric said.

“Don’t care,” she replied as she saved the document on her USB. “I didn’t join the paper to make friends.”

“Okay,” Eric said, in an amused tone. “How are you going to get the Nazi to print it?”

“Threaten him,” she said, pulling the USB out and standing up. “What time is it?”

“Almost five.”

Scarlett groaned and grabbed her messenger bag, dumping the USB inside and swiping the rubbish into the trash can. Jake and his band had a gig tonight, and she’d promised she’d go and help them set up their equipment.

Scarlett had been staying with her brother and his girlfriend since the start of senior year. Although life with no rules was great, she missed her parents and their modest values and big old house, caked with dust and the scent of sandalwood. Jake’s apartment had the stench of cigarettes and fast food.

“Want to come help set up band equipment?” Scarlett asked, as they walked out of the school and toward the parking lot, where a few cars were left. Mostly faculty cars.

“Hmmm.”

“I’ll buy you a beer?” She had her fake ID on her somewhere.

“Deal,” he replied, as he unlocked his truck.

xXx

The building was old. It must been an arcade or something once because the basement was packed with old pinball machines and other arcade games. Scarlett picked up the mallet for a whack-a-mole machine, pointing it at Eric who watched her from the doorway like a hungry cat.

“I bet I win,” she said, twirling the mallet in her hand.

“I’ll take your word for it,” Eric replied, taking a swig of his beer.

At the end of the room was a small rectangular window letting in an orangey glow from the streetlamp outside. Underneath the window sat a metal rocking horse. It was the kind that sat outside convenience stores, rocking back and forth mechanically when fed a quarter. The beast was beautiful in the dark. It’s white coloured body gleaming in the subdued light coming in from the window. She ran her fingers down the swirls of it’s cold mane toward it’s brightly coloured saddle.

Taking a cigarette out of her pocket, she then lit it up before taking a long drag. Letting it dangle off her lips, Scarlett swung her leg over the animal and settled herself down on to the saddle, propping her feet on the metal stand it was stood upon.

From upstairs a crescendo of drumming started, followed by the sound of guitars and Jake’s voice. Scarlett closed her eyes and breathed in the musty smell and cool dampness. ‘Charlotte’s Outrage’ didn’t sound so bad, muffled through walls. Yeah, Jakob had named the band after their dear mother. Though, Scarlett was pretty sure her mother would be anything but flattered with her name used in that context. Jakob didn’t mean anything bad by it, of course, he would always be a Mamma’s boy.

Her lips played into a smile when she felt arms wrap around her from behind. Fingers trailed from the hem of her jeans up to her stomach. Eric had straddled the horse from behind her, his lips hovering on the skin at the back of her neck. Taking the cigarette out of her mouth, she leaned back into him. She bit her lip when his teeth teased her flesh.

They both jumped when a harsh ringing cut into their momentary bliss. Eric cursed, as his beer bottled slipped out of his hand and smashed into millions of emerald shards.

Scarlett frowned, reaching into her pocket she pulled out her cell phone.

“Hey Mom!” She answered, it had been a whole month since she’d heard from her parents.

“Hello, sweetheart,” her mother greeted, in a tone that sounded tired more than chatty, like it usually was.

“You okay? You sound tired,” she Scarlett said, handing the cigarette to Eric.

“I’m fine,” her mother replied. “Honey, I called for a reason…”

“Okay,” Scarlett said, starting to worry.

“Your friend Kai …” Scarlett waited not liking the long pause, the tone of voice and the cold feeling that had ran down her spine. For a brief moment she could have sworn she saw the shadows twist into snakes devouring a hunter with a spear. When she blinked, the image was gone. Her insides turned to ice water, taking a shaky breath she said

“Mommy…”

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” she said. “But he.. He-”

Scarlett hung up the phone. She didn’t want to hear the rest of it. She didn’t want to hear that she would never see Kai LittleBear again. She didn’t want to hear that one of her best friends was dead.