• 1. Drastic Change
    How did I end up here? My carseat buckled up nice and tight as we hit I-79, passing Summer Hill, verging closer to our destination. My destination: my new home with my new mom. She had just adopted me two days ago, signing almost 5 stacks of legal rights papers, finally being able to have me. But I never wanted her... I just wanted things to stay the same as they were a year ago.
    "Now get some sleep Chaya," Dad said through the cracks of the door. My room was pitch black with only a silver lining from the door as a night light. I curled up in my bed and closed my eyes. That day, we had jgot back from a fishing trip in Lake Erie and had come back home to Youngstown. I tried to remember what type of fish I caught as I drifted into a slumber.Was it a trout? no maybe it was ---
    Suddenly, I heard a crash and sat up. Maybe it was my imagination... but just to make sure. I slowly got out of bed and tiptoed to the door. The light of the lamp that once lit the hallway was now shattered on the carpet. Glass and red dots filled the spaces of the floor. Blood? No, it couldn't be. My foot stepped carfully out of my room, but then pulled back in when I heard a gunshot from the end of the hall. At the end of the hall was my parent's room. Oh god... "NO!" I screamed, finally gaining the courage to run out of my room. I had to find out what was going on.
    The door to their room was wide open.. and inside was too gruesome to think about again. All I wanted remember from that point on was the walls tainted with my parent's flesh and looking out of their window, seeing yellow demonic eyes and yelling and crying at them. "Why?!? You monster!!! I'm going to get you for this!! I swear-"
    "Wer'e here!!!" My new mom shouted in the car, interuppting my horrid flashback. We were parked in front of a two-story brownstone house painted blue and white, the steps leading up to the front porch faded out from the sun. Weeds entangled the corners of the screen door and curled up the sides of the house. I gave a fake smile. "It's beautiful Mrs. Alderson.I didn't think that Pittsburgh would look so pretty." I replied. She glanced over the carseat, giving me a gleeful look. "I told you before Chaya, just call me Aunty. There's no need to be formal around here. This is your new home after all." I sat up straight and nodded. She openned the car door and got out, then openned mine for me. I got up, gathering all my bag that I packed from the orphanage. Inside were my clothes, cards from my friends there wishing me 'good luck with your new home', and one special thing: a handgun. The same gun that I found lying next to my mother when the 'incident' occured. I held my suitcase tight next to my chest. Someday, I would find that killer and kill him with his own weapon. That was my only promise.. and my only goal. Aunty tugged on my sleeve. " Do you need me to carry that in for you? It looks heavy." she asked kindly. I lowered the bag from my chest. "No, it's fine. But thank you for the offer." I said forcefully. She shrugged her shoulders and walked me up to the screen door.
    "I hope you like old-fashioned, because I'm a very out-of-date person," she shouted as she took out a key and unlocked the door. I pushed it open with my foot. Stairs were the first thing that I saw, and as I looked over, I saw a living room decorated with old knick-knacks, a couch, and shelves among shelves of books. An old hand pointed to the stairs. "Your room is up there if you would like to see it." she explained. I nodded and escorted myself inside. The carpet looked like it wasn't cleaned in ages, and it probably wasn't seeming how every step I took up the creaky stairs, dust floated up. When I finally got to the top, I saw that there was only two rooms; one on the left, and one on the right. "Aunty, which room is mine?" I called. I heard a faint voice say "Left." Now with my suitcase flung over my shoulder, my elbow pushed open the next door. The inside of the room was a dull navy blue. Fortunately, there was also a futton bed folded up, a desk for school-work (which I would need for tomorrow) and a television. That was probably one of the only things in the house that Aunty renovated. Then again, she probably doesn't have alot of money to renovate, I mean, she is retired and she is about 50 to 60 years old. My watch beeped at me. It was 8:30 pm already? "Well, I need to get my rest... it's what they would want best for me. i don't want to end up sleeping in my new classes." I whispered to myself. I carefully set my suitcase down and unzipped the front pocket. My hands slowly pulled out the gun.
    "I'm going to get you for this!! I swear on my life!!! You hear me!?!" The words from my past rang in my head like church bells. There was no way that I would let my goal slip away so easily just because I'm living in a different place. No way would I let that killer get away with such a murder. And how could they do that? Don't they have a heart? My body flopped on the futton, still holding onto the gun. It wasn't loaded so I wouldn't try to do something stupid in the orphanage, but now that I was free from that prison of lonliness, I could go to the drugstore the next day and buy the ammow I need. My eyes closed as I started to entwine myself with the bedsheets and doze off.
    "Why?!?"
    "I'm going to get you for this!! I swear on my life!!!"


    I slipped on my plaid skirt and my tank top, getting ready for the first day of school. Looking at myself in the mirror, I was the same as my mother. Blonde hair and green eyes, the colour of the deepest forest. I was afraid of what it would be like to wind up there so late in the first semester of high school. Would the teachers let me off easy? After all, I didn't know anything about Pittsburgh except for the fact that it was big, wide, and new. Blonde hair and green eyes, the colour of the deepest forest.snagged my suitcase, which I would for now on use as a bookbag, and headed down the stairs in a rush. Aunty was on the couch, anxiously waiting for me with the same gleeful look that she had given me last night. "I made you breakfast if you'd like some," she told me happily, handing out a plate of pancakes. My mom used to make me breakfast every morning, and pancakes were my favorite.But eating them here with Aunty... " No thank you. I'll be late for school. " I lied, smiling to hide my pain. She pulled the plate back into her lap. "Okay, well have a great day then Chaya." she replied. I nodded and ran out the screen door. My legs almost tripped as they jumped down the steps, speeding across the sidewalk down under the bridge that seperated the East side of Sandusky Rd. and the West side. There laid my busstop. Well, not the real school bus, but the bus. I checked my watch once more. It was 6:20 am, and the bus should show up at around 6:25. Now if I could just run fast enough to get there in five minutes, maybe-- I lost my though when pulled me away from the road that I was once running into. A boy about my age held onto my arm. His eyes were grayish blue and his hair was a silverish-white. The buttons of his black coat scratching the surface of my skin.
    "You need to watch where your'e going. You almost killed yourself by running out in front of that traffic." he said strictly. I ran into traffic? "O-okay.I'm sorry." I stammered. The boy let go of my arm and walked away. Wait, I couldn't let him just go away so soon! I caught up to him and tapped on his shoulder.He fliched,turned his head and sighed. "What do you want?" he asked. I bit my lip. What should I say to him? "Thank you." I replied slowly. In the background, I could hear the screeching of tires. He grabbed my hand and walked me across the street. " Now your'e going to make us late." he griped. He almost sounded sick for some reason.Us? He goes to the same school? Well, at least I know I now have either a new friend or a new enemy. He came to a hault and let go of me once more. I glanced at him, then stepped into the bus, taking the first seat. The boy got on next. I gestured him to sit next to me, but he sat on the other side of the bus. We began to move and i looked arond. It seemed we were the only two on the bus besides the driver. He watched me like a hawk, his eyes linked to every movement I made. I stared at him. " So what's your name?" I asked. He looked up. "Zero. Zero Riku. And you must be the new girl that Mrs. Anderson adopted?" he replied. I lowered my head, my bangs floing over my face. "Yes. Name's Chaya." Great.. I guess the whole neighborhood was waiting for my arrival or something. The sound of something moving by me came to my ears and I picked up my head. Zero was standing up in the bus. " Eh? What are you doing? I don't that's very safe." I explained. He sighed once more. " Wer'e here." The bus came to a complete stop and Zero started to walk off the bus. I got up and walked off with him. He turned around and whispered, "Stay safe, okay?" Before I could answer, he was off to his next class. The first bell rang and everyone was in a rush. But I kept watching Zero
    "What are you doing? Don't you know class is about to start!" a voice cooed from behind me.My eyes averted to a girl with brown hair that curled into beautiful locks. Her face looked like it could be in one of the makeup commercials; so soft and smooth like cream. I shook my head. "I'm sorry... I'm really new here. And I guess I'm not in the spirit of getting around either." I muttered cautiously. The girl smiled. " It's okay. Besides, I know your'e new. Your'e Mrs. Anderson's new daughter right?" I glanced at where Zero once was. "Right," I affirmed, "But that doesn't matter now." A tug came on my hand and I was once again lead by another person. The pushing and shoving of the students that passed by us made me feel like I was a puppet on short strings. I need to stop relying on others to help me get where I need to go.
    "Stay safe, okay?"
    I will.