Dark One: One for Sorrow... (The Khiara Banning Series Book 1) (2 page)

I yawn and think to myself,
Whatever, I had a rough night anyway.

I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched all night, which has been a regular occurrence all of my life, but as of late it’s been a lot worse. I awoke to the sound of light tapping at my window and it was probably the branches of the willow tree outside my bedroom, but I’m not above being paranoid.

My hands reach up to my head and lazily tie an elastic band around my hair in a low ponytail. I walk to my wardrobe which is littered with picture frames, body spray bottles and various other things, open the second drawer and stare at its contents for so long that I’m sure I look like I believe it holds the meaning of life. I’m so damn tired I really ought to just stay home to catch up on my sleep, but that would upset Cara, my best friend- and to be honest I’m not the type of kid to miss school. Cara’s the complete opposite of me from head to toe, and you’d think that would stop us from being friends but honestly I think it’s the reason we like each other so much.

My hair just doesn’t know whether to be straight or curly- it doesn’t even seem to want to be
wavy
, and she’s got chin length red curls that shine like the sun is forever in her presence. I’ve managed to get by with meagre B cup breasts while Cara’s got double D’s. Her whole body curves pleasantly in all the right places and mine just barely has an hourglass shape. Though I’m slender, I don’t have that much definition. Sometimes I joke that I’m built like a wooden board, all straight lines and no curves, but Cara gets mad when I put myself down like that.

The only thing I have going for me are my eyes, though they’re a little too big for my face, or so I’ve been told by many people in town; they’re a darkish shade of green with black flecks spattered all about with a vibrant orange around the irises.

Some days they appear browner, and other days they appear a lighter green, but the orange never disappears. Cara’s eyes are always a lovely sky blue, never changing except through emotion.

When I’m done dressing myself in my somewhat unflattering school uniform, I walk to the kitchen with Pug by my side and pop some toast in the toaster for myself, and put down a fresh bowl of water for him. He can’t eat in the morning because that would mean two meals a day and Pug’s a little on the chubby side of things. The vet said that he’s got to be on a strict diet. I guess I over feed him a little, but it’s out of love I swear.

As I butter my toast my phone rings, making me drop the knife on my big toe, getting butter all over the place. I sigh and answer, knowing full well that it’s Cara by the ring-tone.

“Hey, yeah, I’m just getting ready. You made me drop butter all over the floor and my foot. Don’t ask.”

“But Babe, I thought we agreed that you wouldn’t be so clumsy! I’m gonna be there in like, five minutes so you’d better make breakfast to go.” She says over the sound of cars. She’s driving and talking on the phone again. Cara knows if she gets caught she’ll get a major fine, but she keeps doing it anyway and I keep trying to get her not to.

“Okay, well get off the phone. I’m trying to eat and you’re trying to drive. See you in five. The door’s unlocked, as always.” I say.

Cara walks right in five minutes later.

By then I’ve eaten my toast, much to her dismay because it seems that she hasn’t eaten. We sit down and laugh for a bit while I prepare her something quick to eat and soon we’re out the door.

Two

“You drive like a maniac!” I say as we pull into the parking lot of our school, Serene Falls High. We live in the town of Serene Falls, Maine, though there are no waterfalls all that close to us so I don’t know why it’s called that.

Cara’s lived here since she was born, but I moved here with my parents when I was about one years old – they were living in Ireland when they my mother became pregnant with me. It’ not too small in the sense that we don’t have our own mall, theater and stuff, which is pretty rare for towns up here to have – okay, more like a miniscule strip mall that includes a food court (four small chain restaurants), and an old movie house that plays movies that have been out for months and that have been donated by us locals – but it’s also not exactly on any maps either
unless
they’re local because we’re so out of the way.

The only tourists we get are people lost on their way to somewhere more important than here. I don’t mind, because tourist activity could get really annoying, but it’s nice now and again to see people stopping through – we often get tourists from Canada since we’re not too far from the border.

To get to us you have to get pretty far from the nearest highway. And we’ve got a pie place owned by the oldest resident, Millie Theodore, which will knock the socks off of any pie connoisseur.

“Why thank you,” Cara replies, “I’ve been just dying to hear you compliment me all day.”

I don’t question her sarcasm; I always say something about her atrocious driving skills, and she always says something sarcastic in return. It’s our morning shtick.

I’ve been asked repeatedly by people at school why I don’t just drive myself to school, but in all honesty my old Volkswagen Rabbit is on its last legs and I’m trying to prolong its life.

Cara’s got a shiny gently used Mercedes convertible, a beautiful mandarin coloured car that drives slightly better than my own but looks so much better, so it’s not a far stretch to see why I don’t drive myself once you take a look at both our cars.

We make our way to the main entrance of our school and part ways when we get inside because our lockers are at opposite ends of the school. We begged to share a locker but the school doesn’t allow it. I honestly don’t see why, it’s not like I’m going to steal any of her things, and vice versa.

As I walk to my locker I get the familiar feeling of being watched. When I reach my locker, my thoughts are interrupted though as I notice that it’s slightly ajar.
Not again!
I think to myself.

I open it and find that though it’s been opened, it appears that nothing’s been taken, just like every other time it’s been broken into. My locker has been broken into about seven times so far since the beginning of the school year.

I don’t understand why somebody would open a locker and not plan to steal anything. It’s just plain strange. Which is just like my life: strange. I’m a magnet for the weird, though I have no idea why. I guess that’s why I have that feeling of being watched all of the time.

I take out the books that I need for first period and smile politely as I pass Damien in the hall. He looks at me with those deep, prodding, dark brown eyes and my heart speeds up a little, and my palms begin to sweat. I don’t really know what to think of him, but he’s Cara’s friend so I generally have to deal with him since he hangs around us a lot.

He appears to be a nice guy, and seems eager to be my friend, but he gives me this strange feeling in my gut. At first, I thought it was some type of crush or something, because he is
very
good looking- and okay, at first, it could have been a small crush. But when he talks to me, he’s got this…look in his eyes that I can’t quite pin. Almost as if I were a puzzle he can’t quite figure out.

Damien moved to Serene Falls this year from Canada, and on his first day he already fit in with the popular crowd. His skin is a very light brown; almost tan in colour. He’s rather good looking, I admit. 

His girlfriend Victoria, who’s skin is around the same colour as his, though maybe a little lighter, runs up to him when she notices him looking at me and, scowls at me in a rather unflattering way that makes her face look all wrinkly and awkward. She too is very good looking, and she actually could pass for someone younger than her years, probably fourteen. When she speaks, she always has the hint of an accent, and I’ve often wondered if perhaps she has Egyptian heritage. Of course I’d never ask her, because I’m sure she’d find some way to make it seem as if I were being rude. We don’t interact much, but she appears to intensely dislike me.

Victoria’s black hair is cut in a fashionable bob, and her eyes are a beautiful blue, though not as blue as Cara’s. She’s kind of the queen bee around school, and yet she’s been here for the same amount of time as Damien.

They both fit in so fast, though it didn’t help that they were already dating when they both started here, having apparently both met the summer before, and here I am with only one real friend having been here all of my life.

It probably doesn’t help that I don’t do the whole hunting thing, since kids around here are kind of big on it – especially in turkey season.

“Did you hear me?” Cara waves her hand in front of my face. “Hello, earth to Khiara!”

“What?” I say, completely embarrassed that I didn’t notice her presence sooner.

Cara shakes her head at me and smiles, “I said, don’t forget the party tonight! Everybody from school’s gonna be there and you have to bring the chips and drinks. You promised
and
volunteered to bring refreshments so there is no backing out or forgetting now.”

I just nod my head. When it comes to Cara, nodding your head and saying “Mmhmm” to everything she says doesn’t offend her, it just makes her think you’re listening.

Cara’s into parties and I’m not, they’re way too loud for me honestly. Whenever we go out, I’m the designated driver because she just ends up getting so smashed that she doesn’t remember where she lives. It sounds like a sad existence, but it’s mine and I’m okay with it. Somebody has to keep this girl together and it’s not the many idiot boyfriends and false friendships she’s had over the years; it’s me. We take care of each other no matter what – it’s just how it is.

It’s what friends do, even if you want to punch them in the face at times. Most of the time, your fist will end up turning into open arms, and the punch a hug.

We reach the door of our English class and exchange glances. Mine is filled with contentment and hers distaste. I roll my eyes at her and we walk to our seats, which happen to be right next to each other and the reason why we both hardly get any work done. She’s always yammering on about something while I’m trying to do my work and I’m always trying to tell her to kindly shut the hell up. For some reason though, I always get peace when I read. When I’m reading, it’s like the whole world disappears around me; even Cara. I pray we get to read in today’s class.

As the rest of the class files in I notice that the feeling of being watched is at an all-new level of high. I’m really uncomfortable or maybe it’s just that I’m a little bit hungry because I guess I didn’t eat enough this morning. My stomach is beginning to twist and my head feels strange.

That’s when I notice Damien watching me from the back row of the class.

Definitely not hunger, but why is this feeling coming from him?
Maybe I’m tired…

For some reason, his usual cool composure is replaced with a hard stare. I catch his eyes just for a second and he turns away like he’s seen something that’s disgusted him.
What was that all about?
I mean, he usually gives me the creeps, but the feeling I got when he was looking at me was, well, not good.

When everybody is seated, our teacher Miss Jane walks in holding her usual clipboard to take attendance, and starts as soon as she reaches her desk.

“Lesley O’Connor”

“Here”

Cara passes me a note. I unfold it and roll my eyes at its contents.

Take a look at Damien! He’s so in to you! I bet he’s going 2 dump that witch Vicky and go 4 you my girlie!

“Amanda Jones”

“Here”

I write back,
Yeah that’s never going to happen. He was giving me mad dirty looks before; you should’ve seen him! Plus, you know he makes me feel kind of gross, I can’t explain it, but the feeling he just gave me made me feel more than icky. No matter how hot he is, I just don’t like him like that.

“Khiara Banning”

I pass the note to Cara who’s giving me a really funny look that I don’t know how to interpret. She’s gesturing wildly and I’m sure that she’ll get in trouble when Miss Jane walks right up to my desk, grabs the note and crumples it.

“Miss Banning, if you want to talk to Miss Williams so much, maybe you two should do it in detention after school. Would you like that?”

I shake my head and give her the best puppy dog face I’m able to muster up.

“Then I guess you’d better think before you do such things.” She scolds, but I can see her smiling under her rough exterior. I’m her favourite student and she just doesn’t like me falling behind. She walks back to the front of the room to finish up attendance.

I look at Cara, who’s giggling hysterically and doing a pretty bad job at hiding it, and I just smile at her. As always, we’ve made it through without so much as a scratch. We always do whenever a teacher catches us passing notes; or sleeping in Cara’s case. It’s just so funny that my face can have that effect on authority figures.

Miss Jane passes around the day’s assignment. We have to read the first two chapters of
Flowers for Algernon
by Daniel Keyes (a book which the local church has been trying to ban for years, but always gets overridden).

I finish half the book by the end of the period while almost everybody else besides a select few is having trouble understanding it. I love this book and vow to finish it next period.

By the time lunch rolls around, I am starving. Cara and I go to our usual table where we sit with Damien, Victoria, Janie (who pretty much hates my guts but seems to love Cara), and Janie’s boyfriend Chris. I notice that from across the table Damien is giving me the same look as before in English class.

I’m completely unnerved by this and try to avoid his gaze, but to my dismay he gets up and walks around the table and sits down right next to me.

“Hey. Sorry about Victoria this morning. She’s just not in a good mood today.” He says.

“I’m
so
sure that’s the case. She’s like that every day, Damien. But that’s beside the point. What’s up with the looks
you’ve
been giving me lately? It’s like I stabbed you with my pencil or something.” The instant it’s out I regret saying it because he looks like I just slapped him in the face. Christ, when did I become such an ass?

“What?” He asks me, brows furrowing in apparent confusion.

“It’s nothing. Never mind. It’s just that…” I pause and awkwardly bite my lower lip, unsure if I should just spit it out.

“You were staring at me in English class. You looked angry, and I was getting worried that maybe I did something to upset you.” I say, though I have no idea what I could have done because when I’m not avoiding him, I’m rather polite to him.

Damien smiles at me and mock punches my arm. “You couldn’t piss me off even if you tried. You know that don’t you?” He’s smiling at me like he really means it and I feel super bad that I could’ve hurt his feelings, but at the same time, a voice inside of my head is screaming. It says
He’s lying to you!