Young Writers Society

Beep. Beep. Beep. My head shot out from under my pile of soft blankets and I slammed my hand onto the off button of my deafening alarm clock. Why in the world would I set my alarm for six thirty?, I asked myself confusedly. My eyes shot open wide and I groaned. It was the first day of school and my first day as a sophomore. I dragged myself out of my inviting blankets and over to my dresser. I knew exactly what I was going to wear, my white sweater with my favorite black leggings. It had been unusually cold in my small town of Camden, Maine, making it the perfect first day of school outfit. I grabbed my clothes and boots, and headed out into the hall leading towards the bathroom I shared with my three siblings. As I walked sleepily towards the restroom, I noticed that my twin brother still had his noise machine on, indicating that he was still dead asleep.

“Come on Rett, you can’t sleep in today,” I said as I walked in, flicking on his bedroom light. He mumbled something non-understandable and seemingly fell right back asleep.

“Everett, enough sleeping,” I shouted and threw his setout clothes at him. I finally decided it wasn’t worth it and went back out into the hall.

“Good morning, sweetheart!” My mother called from downstairs, seeing me over the banister.

“Morning, mum,” I yawned and walked into the bathroom.

I put on my makeup, outfit, and brushed my hair so that it wasn’t the jumbled mess I had went to sleep with. Just as I was finishing, a knock sounded at the door.

“Come in,” I called and turned around to see who it was. My little sister, Allerton, stepped in and smiled. Her long dark hair and bangs were held back with a clip, her glasses were a new shade of brown, and she looked beautiful Today was her first day of the seventh grade, which doubled as her first day of piano since the spring.

“I’m so excited, Ella!” Ally grinned, “I have been practicing and practicing all summer! Do you think Mrs. Green will let me do the piano showcase with her older students this year?”

“Of course I do, Ally. You’re the most talented out of all of them. You must know that Mrs. Green already favors you out of all of the other students anway.”

“Do you really think that?” She asked looking worried, as she walked over to the mirror to check her outfit for the day.

“You know I do!” I laughed and headed away from the bathroom. While I walked down the stairs, I noticed that my lazy brother Everett and my five-year-old sister Peony were already at the table eating their breakfast.

“How did you get ready so fast?” I asked Everett as I kissed Peony’s head.

“Pure talent,” He replied with his grin that made all of the girl’s in my grade fall in love with him.

“Whatever,” I rolled my eyes and lightly thwacked him on the back of head. I strolled over to the eggs that were ready for us and took my helping.

“Are you excited for kindergarten, Pia?” I asked bringing the conversation to the little girl.

“No,” She said and looked nervously down at her eggs, making her brown curls fall over her face.

“Why not?” I worried, “You are going to be great, Pea. All of the students and teachers will love you.”

“I hope so, Ella,” She said and gave her perfect little smile. People said that Peony looked more like me than my twin brother did. We have the same hair color, and tininess about us. She has her beautiful curls, and blue eyes. While I have my grey eyes and straight, thick locks of hair. Everett was known to be the ‘heart throb’ at our local high school. I’m not denying that he is handsome, it’s just hard to think of him as anything more than the nose picking four-year-old that he used to be. Although, he is the most loving brother that I could ever ask for, always defending me no matter what. Allerton was the most talented out of our clan, becoming most likely to succeed at age six. Her piano teacher named her a piano protégée the first time that she heard her play one key. Overall, my family is special because of how close we are. My brother and sisters are my best friends, and my parents are two of the best people in the world. Some people even refer to us as the role model family.

I sat down at the table next to Everett and started eating my eggs with hot sauce, my favorite meal. My dad came out of his office and smiled at us, “First day of school, kids. How are we feeling?”

“Okay, Dad,” The three of us answered in sync.

“Great. Where’s Allerton?” He asked looking around the room for her.

“She’s upstairs in the bathroom,” I answered, swallowing my last bite of the delicious eggs.

“Well we have to get going soon,” He said, grabbing his briefcase.

“Yup,” Rett replied and stood. He grabbed his filled backpack, and threw mine to me.

“Thanks,” I said and walked over to grab my littlest sister in the hug that she needed. Mom would be taking Peony to her school. It was in the direction of her work, so she said it would be easier for her to do it.

“Remember, Pea. No matter what, me, Rett, and Ally are here for you. So are mom and dad. No need to be nervous, Sweetie. I love you,” I soothed looking into her milky blue eyes.

“I love you too, Ella,” She smiled slightly and kissed me on the cheek.

I returned her smiled and put her back on the ground.

“Ally, come on!” Rett shouted from the bottom of the stairs, and she appeared above the banister calling, “I’m coming Rett!”

He rolled his eyes and headed out of the door, following Dad. I waited for Ally inside, not wanting to rush her since she was so nervous for her upcoming piano practice. She hurried down the stairs and grabbed her backpack that had piano keys on it.

“I’m ready,” She said breathlessly.

“Okay, let’s go,” I answered, patting her on the back, “Bye mom! Bye Pia! Good luck today!”

“Bye sweethearts, have fun!” Mom called from the living room.

“Bye Ally! Bye Ella!” Pia shouted and ran into the living room to find Mom.

I pushed Ally ahead of me and slammed the door behind me.

Dad dropped Ally off at the local middle school and drove me and Everett towards our high school.

“Do you kids have any classes together this year?” Dad asked, looking at us in the rear view mirror.

“Just geometry,” Rett answered with a slight frown. I knew that he didn’t like the fact that he wouldn’t be around me for a while. Being the brother that he is, Everett didn’t like when I wasn’t around, just in case someone got me into trouble. Every single teacher adored my brother and would listen to him over someone else in a heartbeat.

“At least we have one,” I smiled.

He shrugged and we arrived at the front of the school. I sighed, opened the door, and patted by dad on the shoulder.

“Bye, Daddy. See you tonight,” I said and slipped out of the car, Everett at my heels.

“Bye kids! Have fun,” Dad called after us and drove away.

“Ready Ella?” My brother asked.

“Never been ready in my life,” I answered and we started walking towards the door. Rett said that he would find me at lunch and went to find his friends. I looked at my piece of paper reading my new locker number. As I was searching the halls for my locker, I heard, “Ella!”

I turned around and embraced my best friend since the first grade.

“Jen! How was your summer?” I asked her in a hurry, eager to see learn about how she liked Paris.

“Oh, it was grand! My aunt took us the Eiffel tower!” She gushed happily, “How was yours?”

“Great, really Jen. I’m so happy for you. My summer was pretty good. Spent a lot of time with my family,” I smiled and continued the search for my locker, Jen trailing behind me.

“As usual,” Jen laughed and pushed her short red hair behind her ears.

“How is… your siblings?” Jen blushed. I rolled my eyes, knowing that she was talking about my twin. Jen had had a crush on him since the fourth grade.

“He, sorry I mean them,” I said pointedly, “Are doing really well. Ally stars piano up again today.”

“There it is,” Jen said and pointed out my locker, “I’m really glad that she’s doing so well with her piano. I’m happy for her. She’s a good kid.”

I nodded and we walked towards my new locker, depositing all of my books, except for my first class’ book of the day.

“Do you have Mr. Calna for English?” I asked my friend, trying to figure out if we have the same English class.

“No, I don’t. I have Ms. Takin,” She said and I groaned, “What?”

“Everett is not in my English class either. I guess I will be taking my first sophomore year class with a bunch of bumbling idiots that I don’t know or like,” I mumbled.

Jen laughed out loud, “Well, that’s a little harsh, don’t you think? Besides, you know almost everyone here. Everett knows them all, which means you must.”

I shut my locker and we started to walk away, “That doesn’t mean that I want to know them better.”

“True,” Jen shrugged and turned around, “I have to go to Geometry. See you later, El.”

“Bye, Jen,” I waved and headed off towards my first class.

The second that I entered the small classroom, I took my seat on the side near the window, more towards the middle. I did not want to be the direct center of attention, so this was my best bet. After all of the other students had sat down, my teacher raised his hand, signaling for quiet.

“Good morning, students. I am your teacher, Mr. Calna. If you need anything, please raise your hand,” He said nervously, bumbling over his words, “First of all, I would like to welcome our newest transfer student. Gann, please join me.”

A boy stood up from his desk at the back, and our eyes automatically flew to him. He was dressed in a dark blue t-shirt with dark jeans. His hair was very black, and his eyes were an odd shade of green. He strolled to the front of the class and gave us all a huge grin.

“This is our new student, Gann. He is from Scotland, and is just learning the ways of the United States. Please, make this change as easy as possible for him,” Mr. Calna said, and pointed for Gann to go back to his seat. As the new student was passing my desk, he locked eyes with me. He quickly looked away and hurried up towards his seat.

Mr. Calna proceeded to go through attendance, getting through the A’s.

“John Azan,” Mr. Calna called, and I knew that my name was next.

The teacher looked down at his paper, and a nervous bead of sweat immediately formed at his temple.

He finally spit out, “Miss… Elliniray Beelcourt?”

I raised my hand and he looked at me intently, “Did I pronounce your name correctly?”

“It is pronounced like Ella-near-a Bell-core. Spelt Ellanyra Belcort,” I drilled. Almost everyone needed the rundown of how to pronounce my name. I was pretty positive that I was the only person in the world with this name.

“Oh, yes, of course. Thank you Miss Belcort,” The teacher stuttered and continued reading off names. I stared down at my book waiting for the lesson to begin. I could feel someone’s stare burning a hole in my back, so I whipped my head around, completely annoyed. I met Gann’s stare and he quickly acted like he was only looking at the window above my head. I rolled my eyes and went back to looking at the teacher. Although I had acted like his intense stare didn’t bother me, it really had. I knew that this was more than a stare of wondering, but more a state of confusion.

When English finally let out, after the hour of hearing Mr. Calna’s agonizingly boring voice, I almost ran from my seat. Just as I was about to exit the room, I felt a slight tug on my arm.

“Hello, I’m Gann,” A thick Scottish accent greeted me.

“Oh, hi. I’m Ella,” I replied giving him a hand shake.

“May I sit with you at lunch?” He asked and I was honestly surprised. This kid wasn’t messing around. He seriously wanted someone to sit with at lunch.

“Uh yeah, sure,” I answered with an awkward smile.

“Sorry to be so… forward, as you might say. My parents told me to be straight with everyone,” He laughed, identifying exactly what I was feeling, “I hope that we can become friends, sometime.”

“Oh, I’m sure we will. You might like my brother,” I smiled and started walking towards my locker. My next class started in five, and I did not want to be late the first day, “Well, I will see you later, Gann. It was great meeting you, really.”

“Yes, I am very happy to make your beautiful acquaintance,” He smiled charmingly and walked away.

He really confused me. Most often, high school boys complimented you when they had a crush on you. Gann really didn’t seem like that type of charming boy, he seemed more down to Earth and genuine. I shook my head and walked off to my next class, Earth science.

My two classes before lunch went fairly well. The teachers butchered my name, of course, but overall I enjoyed the curriculum set out for us. I went to lunch pretty happy. I stood in the familiar lunch hall, looking for Jen and my brother. I spotted them in the corner.

“Rett! Jen!” I called half walking half running towards them.

“Ella!” My brother said happily as I took my spot next to Jen, “How was class?”

“Pretty good,” I replied and then quickly went on to warn them about Gann.

“Why does he want to sit here?” One of Rett’s closest friends said confusedly.

“To be completely honest, I have no idea. Maybe he thought I looked lonely and would have no one to sit with?”

“Maybe,” Jen answered.

“Hello,” A familiar voice sounded behind me.

I stood and greeted, “Hi Gann. This is Jen, my twin Everett, and his friends.”

“Nice to meet you,” Echoed around the entire table. He took his seat straight across from me.

Jen and I continued to talk about class, while Everett asked Gann some questions.

“Ella? Your name is very odd. Is it an old family name?” Gann inquired suddenly, making the whole table glance our way.

“Um, yeah. I think it was my grandmother’s,” I chuckled awkwardly.

“Oh,” Gann said, looking like he realized how odd his question was, “Do you remember her much?”

“My grandmother?” I asked, “No, she died before I was born. My parents decided to bring back the family name.”

“Okay,” He resigned his awkward questions for now.

After finishing lunch, I went to Geometry with my brother. The last three classes were okay, just like the first three. I was relieved to be heading home after French.

“Ella? Wait!” Everett shouted to me as I was exiting the school.

“Yeah, Rett?”

“Derek invited me over his house to use the new pool table! Will you be okay walking home alone?” He worried.

“I’ll be fine, Rett. And I’ll tell mom and dad where you are,” I replied and squeezed his arm.

“Great!” He smiled, “Bye, El!”

“Have fun!” I called behind me and smiled. Rett got invited to someone’s house almost every single day.

I turned towards the door and started walking out of school. I sighed with relief and started walking down towards our house. There was nothing that I wanted to do more than curl up on my bed with a good book. A smile lit across my face at that. Just as I was rounding the corner only three streets from my house, I saw a dark shape moving behind me. I quickly turned around, trying to see who was behind me. There was no one there. I rolled my eyes, thinking that I had completely made it up and tried to scare myself. I continued walking. Something dark crossed the side of my vision again and I turned around. Nothing was there. I was kind of starting to get nervous. When the third dark shape crossed my vision again I immediately started running, not looking back at all. I ran and ran, until I arrived at my off-white house. Relief flooded through me and I sighed. I stood on my front lawn trying to catch my breath. My mom poked her head out and said, “Ella? Is everything all right?”

“Yeah, mum. Sorry,” I replied, not meeting her gaze, “Just wanted to be home faster so I jogged.”

My mom chuckled, “Oh okay. Maybe you need to jog more.”

I rolled my eyes and sarcastically replied, “Oh yes, because we both know that I am a natural at sports.”

She crossed the front lawn and through her arm around me. I hugged her as we walked in, still a little scared.

“How was school, darling?” Mom asked, kissing the top of my head as we walked towards the house.

“Pretty good,” I shrugged, putting my backpack on the coat rack and walking into the kitchen, “We have a foreign exchange student from Scotland.”

“Oh, wow. That’s awesome. What’s his name?”

“Gann. I’m not sure about the last name. My English teacher never said,” I grabbed an apple from the kitchen counter and sat down at the table, “Where’s Pia?”

My mom laughed, “She’s upstairs writing out plans for her and her new best friend, Carly. They met today and both told each other that they would make plans to do together.”

I laughed along with her, “I knew she would be fine.”

“Oh, yes. Pia is very social, you might say. It’s very odd sending your last kid to their first day of school. I remember sending you and Rett off to school almost ten years ago. Time flies, honey. Make sure you enjoy it,” She said, almost sadly.

I got up and went over to hug her. Just as we started to embrace, Pia came flying down the stairs and into the kitchen.

“Hey Pea!” I smiled and started walking over to see my youngest sibling, “How was school?”

I picked her up off the ground and held her to me in a hug while she said, “Oh Ella! It was so fun! I made a friend, I have a teacher and… I have my own cubby.”

I opened my eyes in feigned wonderment and put her on the ground, “Really! Your own cubby? That is so cool!”

“I know,” She smiled.

I turned towards my mother, remembering that Rett told me to tell her where he was, “Oh mom. Rett went to Derek’s house to see his new pool table.”

Mom chuckled, “My little social butterfly. I’ll have your Dad pick him up on his way home.”

“Okay,” I said, snatching my apple from the table and started heading towards my room, “I’ll be upstairs.”

Mom nodded and grabbed Pia, going into the living room. I climbed the stairs and eventually arrived in my small blue and white flowered room. I smiled and grabbed one of my favorite Jane Austen books, Sense and Sensibility, and sat in my window seat. Nothing was better than being in my room with a favorite book. I got my book-worminess from my mom. She would take any chance that she could to either read a book to herself or one of her kids. I dove straight into the breathtaking middle of my favorite book. I have already read it at least ten times and know almost every scene by heart, I would catch up quickly from any point in the book. As I settled into reading, something caught my attention outside of my window. My heart leaped into my throat and a cold shiver ran straight up my spine. A man dressed in all black stood in the shadows. They couldn’t be following me, could they?, I thought to myself. Why in the world would someone want to follow me of all people? I slowed my breathing and looked back at my book. The next time I looked out the window, I bit back a laugh. There was no one there. I must have made him up, just to freak myself out as usual.