into the shadow

The first thing Elara heard when she walked through the school gates was laughter. She didn't need to look up to know who it was. She kept her head down and tightened her grip around the straps of her backpack. "Look who finally decided to show up." Vanessa's voice carried across the hallway. Tara laughed beside her. Chloe covered her mouth, pretending to whisper something into Tara's ear before all three of them laughed again. Elara continued walking. She had learned a long time ago that reacting only made things worse. "Hey, Elara!" She stopped. A hand grabbed the back of her backpack and pulled her backward. "Where are you going?" Vanessa asked. "Class." Vanessa stepped in front of her. "You forgot something." Elara frowned. "What?" "Your manners." Tara laughed. Vanessa snatched the notebook from Elara's hand and held it above her head. "Give it back." "Or what?" Elara reached for it, but Vanessa moved away. "Vanessa," a voice said sharply. Kiara stood several feet away, her arms folded. "Give it back." Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Why do you care?" "Because you're annoying." Nina appeared beside Kiara. "And because she asked for her notebook." Vanessa stared at them for a moment before throwing the notebook toward Elara. It landed on the floor. "Whatever." The three girls walked away, laughing. Elara crouched down and picked up her notebook. "Are you okay?" Nina asked. "I'm fine." Kiara gave her a look. "You always say that." "Because I am." "No, you're not." Elara forced a small smile. "Can we just go to class?" Kiara sighed but followed her. They were the only two people at school who didn't make Elara feel like she was a problem. But even with them around, she still felt alone. --- By lunchtime, things had only gotten worse. Someone had written something cruel across Elara's desk. She stared at it silently. Kiara immediately grabbed some tissues. "Don't look at it." "I'm not." "You are literally staring at it." Elara looked away. Nina sat beside her. "We'll clean it." Elara nodded. She wanted to cry. She hated that she wanted to cry. She hated even more that she had become used to feeling this way. When the final bell rang, Elara hurried home. She hoped, at least, that home would be quiet. It wasn't. The moment she entered the house, she heard her mother's voice. "You're late." Elara froze. "I'm sorry." "Sorry doesn't change the time." Her father was sitting in the living room, staring at his phone. Her older brother, Julian, barely looked at her. Elara lowered her head. "I'll go to my room." "Of course you will," her mother muttered. "That's all you ever do." Elara said nothing. She walked upstairs and closed her bedroom door. Finally, silence. She dropped her bag beside her bed and sat down. For several minutes, she simply stared at the wall. She felt tired. Not the kind of tired that sleep could fix. She reached for her diary, but then remembered she'd left it underneath her bed. "Seriously?" she muttered. She got down on her knees and reached underneath the bed, searching through the darkness. Her fingers brushed against the cover of her diary. "Got you." She grabbed it and started pulling it toward her. Then her fingers touched something else. She stopped. It felt like wood. Elara frowned and reached farther underneath the bed. Her fingers wrapped around a small wooden box. She pulled it out and stared at it. She had never seen it before. Dust covered the lid, and a strange symbol had been carved into the top. "What is this?" Curiosity got the better of her. She slowly opened the box. Inside was an old piece of paper folded several times. Elara picked it up and unfolded it. Her eyes moved across the strange words written on the page. "If you need someone who will never leave you, call upon the shadow." Beneath the words was a name. Auren. Elara stared at it. She didn't know who Auren was. She didn't know what the contract meant. But for the first time that day, something inside her changed. Maybe there really was someone out there who could protect her. Someone who wouldn't laugh at her. Someone who wouldn't leave. Someone who would stay. She looked down at the strange contract again. She had no idea what she was about to summon. And she had no idea that one decision would change her life for ever