White Lies

CHAPTER 1

My eyes are stuck to my dull white ceiling of the bedroom, I continue laying in bed. Today is the first day of my academic year. All I need to do is get through this year and so I won't have to look back at anybody ever again. 

I know I should get out of bed and get ready at some time so I sluggishly kick my legs off my bed.

I rub my eyes. I wear sweats and lazily get out of my room. 

I proceed down the stairs towards the kitchen, where my mother sets two plates on the island of the kitchen.

I reply and sit across from her. "Morning, mum." 

“Thanks."  I say when I see a stack of pancakes, overlaid with Nutella and strawberries on our two plates. My favourite.

I don’t spend a second digging into them. 

Mother says as she also starts eating her breakfast, "Honey it’s the first day of the senior year. Are you really excited?" Her voice had been compelled. She's as uncomfortable as I am. 

I'm shrugging and thinking about her question. "I don't know. I'm only waiting for everything to go smoothly this year." With a disappointed sigh I tell her honestly.

She nods with a sad smile. "I hope that this year will also go well. But I have to be totally honest as your mother and I know that everybody won't be the same now that it is the senior year. Now that you are more autonomous and top of the school, not everyone will be pleasant." 

I understand what she says. 

"At that school, no one ever has been polite." I murmur in my mouth, throwing in more pancakes. 

She sighs. "It is a pity that young people are now wasting so much potential. Most of your time is wasted tearing down others."

She collects the journal next to her and reads the articles. I think that the newspaper is really dull. This is the old style of our city's gossip. Half the articles are based on bogus charges, but the whole city reads its weekly paper. "Aren't you picking me after school?" 

Once I’ve had breakfast, I put my dish into a sink and look at Mum taking a sip from her coffee. 

For a short moment, she grins and looks at me. "I am but I will not be able to pick you up and take you every day, but the first day I will be there honey."

When Mom couldn't pick up me last year, I took the bus. I rushed home weeping most of the time since everybody on my bus continued prying into my life after that night. 

Essentially, I couldn't deal with the name that everyone in the bus called me. 

The killer girl. 

Since mom couldn’t drop and pick me from school every day, it was necessary I learnt driving now. The car dad got me sits in the garage all day every day.

"Actually let’s leave. I’ve got to run some errands before work – so I will drop you a bit early at school.' The rest of her coffee is immediately drunk and the newspaper is put side aside. 

"I’m going to get ready." I say and turn on my heel so that I may race up the stairs to my bedroom.

It was never this dull. I had pictures all around the house of this small family and some friends but after dad divorced mom because he couldn’t stay mayor being related to the family of the killer girl and due to some other issues, I let everything go and took off everything that reminded me of that night, hence the photos.  

I quickly undress and slip on my normal black skinny jeans with the cropped red sweater.

I was tripping on the books I hadn't bothered to put back on the shelf around my bedroom while on my way to brush my teeth and do my hair in my bathroom. 

In total honesty, I look like an insane person.

Once I'm pleased with my wavy red hair, I use mascara without pushing the brush into my eye with ease. 

"Lilly, you ready?" My mother's head peeks into my bedroom as I hurriedly leave my toilet and pick up my bag. 

My mom is the quickest changer in the world. In the course of two minutes, she manages to get ready and appear perfect. While I did inherit her red hair, I didn't acquire those family genes.

After one last look, we both left the home and went into her black car and closed the door. 

"If something occurs today, I want you to call me." She casts me a brief glance after driving for a little while. 

"I really am serious, Lilly. With the cops behind me, I'll be there in a second." 

In order to soothe her fears, I plaster a false grin on my face. "I'm going to be okay mum." It is obvious that she has more wrinkles than last year due of the stress and concerns I have put on her. 

"Call me after school is over." Mom’s car is pushed into a vacant school parking lot after 10 minutes of driving.

"Mhm." I step out of her car and breathe deeply.

 Since the opening of the school building with the Westwood High sign, the paint on the sign peeling, is the same. 

I look around the students with less clothes than I recall last year, and the current trend is as much as you can to find. 

It's evident that I'm no longer going outside. 

I go through the kids and disregard the students' occasional stares. "This is her! This is her! That's the one who killed one of the students last year!" 

I flinch as the freshmen points at me and tells his friends about the incident. 

It's my fault, after all, that their star student isn't here anymore. 

Every newbies and every new student knows who I am, although it's just eight thirty, this isn't the focus I want. I want it over. I want it to be over. 

I reach the locker-lined hall and proceed to my hall. Near my side is a little bunch of freshmen, but as my hand touches the latch, their eyes shoot at me, and they're all scattered apart.

"Perfect," I murmured and pulled the locker sarcastically, cramming all of my books into my bag. 

I can't help myself to hear two girls who strolled by the discussion. "Kevin watched him move in next door and he said he looked like him precisely! I can't wait to see the reaction of everybody. Killer Girl's in particular." 

"Morning." I get scared when a hand is put on my shoulder.

I turn around and I'm welcomed by my favourite professor's vision. "Hello, Madame Anya." My face breaks into a big smile. It is the only teacher who knows me, trusts my innocence. She is the only one I can think of as a friend. 

"Summer break, how has it been? Did you do anymore running like the last track camp you went to?" I shake my head at her question.

"Uh- no, I didn't do it, actually. I've only been staying within all vacations." In the pockets of my pants, I burry my hands. 

She squeezes her eyes. "I was thinking you'd go back to the camp you adored." 

The camp that I attended last year was dedicated to running.

" Bummer. Hopefully, you're still ready for the tracks. That begins today in the fifth period."

"Can’t wait." My feet roll back and forth while Anya adjusts her pale brown bangs to the top of her eyebrows. "Today is a good day, let's hope. I swear—I'll be resigning if Mr Samuelson continues marching up and down the hallways and shouting wuth his cup in his hand." She's joking around, making me a little laugh. 

"It's surprising that he didn't even fire you because you're talking about it like this." Westwood High's director is certainly not people's sweetest. 

She is scoffing, "I am the greatest teacher this school has, he knows damn well."

"You're teaching PE." I just deadpan. "He always says it's an unnecessary poisonous class and every PE instructor is 'stupid like kids.'" " I quote.

Ms. Anya loudly laughs. "Yeah, you're right. I should definitely shut up and go to the 10-minute teacher meeting before he fires me." 

"See you during the fifth period. You're almost the nearest thing I've got here to a friend." 

Before she goes down the corridor in her sports shorts and singlet, she grins and waves. 

I close my dark blue locker I sigh, looking out at the few kids that stroll along past me with their resentful stares.

The warning bell rings and I leave my locker for my first class of geography. 

And there she is. In the circle of the 'popular girls' of Westwood High, stands Sarah Beckett in her glory. 

Her old black linen boots have become heeled tiny boots and her old denim skirts are tight and more shorter in material than I recall. 

Who used to be my best friend now changed her clothing and attitude. 

"Hey murderer!" ChloeDennis beckons me, her red-colored lips twisted into her typical smile, the school's irritating yet liked person. "To finish the day, I have a list of people I need dead. Can you help me?”

The girls suited up in clothing and curled blond hairs, all except the uninterested Sarah in the girls trying to irritate me. 

I continue to walk by them in order to attend class. "You are the first person in my list. So, go kill yourself for all of us." 

The girls surrounding her are laughing, but I'm rolling my eyes at a bad joke's explanation. Nothing I haven’t heard before. 

In the rear corner of the room, I take my regular seat and fall down in my chair. It's just the first day of the year and it already feels fantastic. Note the sarcasm. 

"Oh, oh, I'm sorry, I'm going by." I gaze up the unknown voice attentively and see a weird brunette stumbling by the kids, bumping everywhere. 

On the desk next to me, she drops down all her bulky textbooks and sighs loudly. I keep watching her while she's jumping on the chair with wrinkled eyebrows. 

"Hi!" With a big smile on her lips, she turns to gaze at me. She's throwing out her arm to me. "I am Carol." 

I don't want to be harsh to the harsh girl and destroy her joy for her new school, so I shake her hand out. I am not also a hermit who wishes to hide from social interaction throughout her life. Now I'm looking for talks. 

"Lilly." I say and pull my hand back. The last bell sounds and all the kids sit in class even though Mr Norris is often late. 

Dennis and her friends' small group trail in, all glaring at me before Carol falls on Chloe's eyes. Chloe likes to evaluate them first whenever there’s a new student. My best assumption is that she wants friends' armies.

Her eye twitches slightly takes- which I have noticed always happens, and her smile widens as she walks over. The moment I even come close to making a friend, it's all blown away by her. Nancy Dennis has her claws in everyone.

"Hey, you must be new!" Nancy stands in front of Dianna and greets her whilst adjusting her shoulder bag so it doesn't slide down her arm.

 Chloe dresses well as her personality is indicative of plain tops and skirts chopped off. "Hi?" Carol is gently pulling out.

Chloe and her motives seem uncertain. "To the best parties, I'm Chloe Dennis. Chloe tries to appeal as pleasant and amusing, yet everyone can see through her rotten grin straight away. 

“Westwood High’s student corporal and queen. I wondered whether you wanted me to sit in place of-," Chloe glances at me “-her." 

The eyebrows of Carol twine together. "I've been nice with Lilly, thank you, but no." 

The charade is dropped by Chloe, she scoffs at her. Not a minute later she brings up the subject, dropping it like a bomb. "You know she killed someone, right?"

I've been rolling my eyes all along. 

"Okay? I killed 5- wait no six gold goldfish when I was younger. So I'm actually the one from whom everyone should run." 

Carol catches my gaze and frowns at my expressions. "What?" She is very confused and for a bit, let's be silent about. "Oh god." 

"She was kidding, please tell me that’s not true."

I murmur back, I feel terrible about the subject, suddenly. "Uh... sure. She does that a lot.”

The first opportunity that I have to make my friend, I don't want to scare her away and lose it. 

"Got any other friends? I was a bit shocked that you were the only one who didn't sit with a friend previously. Half of the females I asked this morning cursed me out." 

I shove the hurt down from her inquiry. I shake my head. She's got no filter in her statements. "At this school, the PE instructor is the closest I have to a friend." I acknowledge that letting my lips dance with a tiny smile.

She's gushing. "It's insane!" 

She's a really luminous person and extremely bubbling. We are nearly polar opposites to each other. 

"I sense we're going to get along well already. Oh! I believe that you would get along with myb= brother too! His entire life he’s hardly had any pals!" 

"Your brother is going to this place?" I'm scanning the classroom. 

"Yep. Soon he is going to be here." She nods. "In the morning, he cannot come, therefore he is going to be here later."

"Okay class! Quiet down!" Mr Norris enters the classroom and hushes everyone to start a long history lesson. 

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