The Sun Sets

Arae's POV~ I haven't been to SunTrust High since the incident last fall. Wow, It feels so surreal to be back here. It's like I never left. At least, that's what I wanted... Instead of the old worn out halls I'm used to, I am met with: Velvet wallpaper lining the walls, marble tiles for the flooring and golden knobs on every door. I look around, not sure I'm in the right place. "Hey, you look lost. Are you new here?" A voice says from behind me as I feel a hand pat my back. I nearly jump out of my skin. I turn around to see a girl around my age. She has blonde hair and pale blue eyes that compliment her ivory skin. "Sorry, I'm sorry I startled you! My name is Arin, and as Student Body President I consider it my duty to help when I am needed!" Wait a minute, she thinks I'm new here? Has everyone forgotten what happened that day. I will never forgive them for what they did. No one should be above consequences, so when I see her again I'm gonna- "Are you okay? You kind of spaced out for a while there, so I got worried." She smiles, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just not used to this school yet. It's different from what I'm used to." I tell her. I mean it's the truth! Well, sort of... "Great! Anyways, I didn't quite catch your name..." She says to me while maintaining eye contact. I break said eye contact before answering. "My name is Arae." I decide to leave it at that because I don't trust her. At first I don't know why until it hits me. If she's supposed to make students feel welcome, wouldn't she already know my name? It's only then that I realize how empty the halls truly are right now. I take a step back from her. "Why are you doing this? I know you know who I am, so you can drop the act now." She smiles at me coldly. "I was just testing you. As if we would all forget what you did, you murderer." "I didn't murder her! Karin did it!" I shout on the verge of tears. Arin smiles before saying, "You mean my twin sister?" My eyes widen in shock. "Wow, you'd even go as far to blame her. You're lucky they even allowed you to come back here. But that doesn't matter, because it's only a matter of time before they decide you're not worth the trouble you bring." Arin snickers before walking further down the hall. I wait until she's left before I break down in tears as my mind drifts back to that day. The day I lost my friend. 1 Year ago At SunTrust High (Junior Year): I'm on my way to my next class when my phone vibrates in my pocket. I take out my phone to see what it is. It's a text from an unlisted caller, I look up from my phone and notice everyone else got the same message which says: "Everyone, if you are reading this, go to the back of the school for a nice surprise. If you don't, you'll miss out! So be there." The text ends at that. Everyone makes their way to the back of the school to see about the text. I wonder what it's going to be. I text my friend Anna asking her what she thinks the surprise is, but she doesn't answer.  I get a sinking feeling as I follow the crowd. Where is she for her not to answer. We all arrive at the back of the school to see two figures standing in the middle of the soccer field. It looks like a serious conversation is taking place. I put on my glasses so I can see them better and only then do I realize who the individuals are. One of them is a short, plump brunette with hazel brown eyes and freckles. Anna? What is she doing out there?! Especially, with him of all people. The guy she stands with is Blake. They grew up together and only started dating their freshmen year of Highschool. I never had a problem with their relationship, but I did have a problem with how codependent she was on him. It's honestly the reason he's rethinking their entire relationship. Or so I thought. Blake's black hair blows in the wind, as the sun shines on his golden skin. His blew eyes shift to the side before he returns Anna's gaze.  "Why can't you understand, Anna?" Blake shouts as he throws his hands up in exasperation. "I don't want to be with you anymore!" "Blake, is this because you think I'm too clingy? I'll give you space, if that's what you want..." Anna says with a forced smile. "What I want?! What I want is for us to break up, officially. So my girlfriend can stop hassling me about it." Blake says as he rolls his eyes. Meanwhile, the crowd is just eating this up. I try to push my way through the crowd so I can get to Anna but no one allows me to get through. "Girlfriend?!" Anna says in shock. "He means me." A voice says from within the crowd. Everyone steps aside to let her through. A girl with long blonde hair and pale blue eyes emerges from the cluster. Of course, it just had to be Karin. She meets Blake at the field and wraps her arms around him before planting a kiss on his cheek. "He doesn't want you because he has me. He couldn't say it himself because he's too 'nice' to say such things. Well I'm not. So get lost, b***h because no one will miss you." She says. The crowd laughs as the girl continues to mock Anna. "Why are you still here?" "You don't know what you're talking about. He loves me, not you! Right, Blake?" Anna says to him with hope in her eyes. "No, I don't love you anymore. We've grown apart. I have a feeling you knew this as well and that's why you've been so clingy recently." Blake says to a teary eyed Anna. "Fine, I'll leave since that's all you've ever wanted..." Anna says to him before running off into the woods by our school. The woods have become a restricted area because there have been recent sightings of bears. But many students believe that the school is just trying to cover up a murder. Everyone laughs at her and some people even record her running off. Why is everyone just going along with this? She could die!  I find a gap in the crowd and slip through. I head to the baseball field and grab a bat that I find lying on the ground, next to the bench in the dugout. With the metal bat in hand I run after Anna, who is no longer anywhere in sight. "Anna, where are you? Please come out!" I hear a growl, followed by a shriek. I use her scream to pinpoint where she is in the woods and I pick up my pace. "Hold on, Anna! I'm coming for you!" I hear another growl, but this time she's screaming in pain. Then, silence.  I finally find her. But I was not ready for the scene taking place in front of me. My friend lays limp on the ground as a wolf tears her skin off her arm. I approach it from behind while it's preoccupied. I know it senses me, but for some reason it chooses not to see me as a threat. Big mistake. I swing the bat at its head and the wolf falls to ground with a sickening thud. I run over to Anna and fall to the ground beside her. I see the life leaving her eyes as her blood paints the ground. "Arae, I'm sorry..." She says as she struggles to hold on. "You were right about him. I just didn't want to believe it." She gasps for more breath. "I'm a terrible friend." "Don't say that! You're my best friend and nothing will ever change that!" I pull out my phone so I can call the police. "911, what's the emergency?" "My friend, she's bleeding to death!" "Okay, tell us where you are so we can send help."  "We're in the woods next to SunTrust High." "Alright, I just dispatched some officers who are already in the area. They should get there soon." The receptionist ends the call as Anna's breaths become more labored. "Did you hear that? The police are on there way, so just hold on a little longer." I say to my friend. "I don't think I can. I'm tired, Arae... I just want to go to sleep." Anna says as she starts to nod off but I shake her awake. "No you have to stay awake, Anna!" "I can't..." The life starts to leave her eyes as she's lulled into an endless sleep. "Anna? Wake up! Wake up!!!" I shake Anna but she's still sleeping. That's right! She's just sleeping. The police will take her to the hospital where she'll wake up. I let Anna's head rest on my lap to prevent her from feeling any unnecessary pain when she wakes up. The police arrive two hours later. They find me fast asleep clinging to a lifeless body. They pull me away from her and movement jolts me awake. "You're finally here! Now you can take her to the hospital so she can wake up!" I say happy that my friend was finally going to be okay. One of the officers, a male about thirty five, crouches down to feel her pulse. "She's dead." "No, she's not! She's just sleeping..." I say in disbelief. "Why aren't you helping her?!" "She's going through emotional shock." Says a female cop. "I need you to calm down, sweety." She says in a gentle tone. Her partner walks up to me and grabs me by the arm and pulls me away roughly. He forces me on the ground next to the body and he puts my hand over Anna's heart. It's not beating. Why isn't it beating?! "She's dead." The words leave my mouth and yet I still can't believe it. My best friend was taken away from me, just like that.  The police take me away for some questioning. They release me after I give them the information they need. Once I returned home, I got a message from the school. It was the principal herself, telling me not to return. I am to face expulsion for trespassing into the woods. I smash my phone on the ground in frustration. "How f*****g dare you?! You didn't even wait a day!" I made up my mind that day. I will return, but I will make everyone who played a role in Anna's death, pay.  End of Flashback~ I walk down the halls, in search of my first class. I am approached by none other than vice principal, Mrs. Brain. She is an African-American woman whose currently wearing a beige business suit. "Welcome back Miss Simmers. A lot has changed since you've been away." "Why did you ask me to come back?" I ask, agitation evident in my voice. "That was the former principal's decision to make and so I wanted to correct his lapse of judgment, by offering you a second chance."  She pauses to check if I'm taking everything she says in. I nod in acknowledgment. Mrs. Brain continues. "SunTrust is a lot different from what you know. We still offer the senior plus class. However, it is now mandatory for all students to take those classes. Meaning you will not officially graduate until you are at least twenty. The school board decided that other schools should follow in our example when it comes to graduation and so it has become law for students to attend until they meet the age requirement." What the hell? As if I didn't already think school was bad enough. Now I have to go to school for two more years. This was supposed to be my senior year! Mrs. Brain ignores the look of discontent I send her way. She continues where she left off. "These classes will be referred to as S1 and S2. You are also required to at least take up one elective, but I recommend you take up as many as you can because our school's reputation is built around talent. If you don't have it, then you won't last long here. I saw something in you that day, the way you rushed out into the woods to save your friend. That was admirable and so I hope you show our school the same loyalty when you graduate." I stand their in shock of what I just heard. She thinks I owe the school because they're letting me come back, after expelling me over something so stupid! "Arae, your class happens to be just around the corner." She says as she's walking towards the front office. She stops walking and turns to face me. "And Arae, you should smile more." I roll my eyes as the door to the front offices shuts behind her. Wow... I walk down the hallway and round the corner where my next class is.