Chapter 1 - Daydream

Rosedelle, Present day

The sound of the alarm awakens Samuel Grayson from his sleep.

Sam stares at the ceiling of his room

Six hundred and thirty one…

He closes his eyes for a moment before turning off his alarm. He then proceeds to walk towards the bathroom.

After showering and changing into his brand new school uniform, he grabs his glasses from the top of a pile of books. He walks towards the kitchen to toast some bread.

As he waits for his toast, he goes to the front door and takes the newspaper which was left there by the paperboy. He returns to the kitchen while simultaneously reading the newspaper. He pours some milk, grabs his toast from the toaster, and brings both those items to the dining room table. He eats his breakfast, while reading the newspaper and marking off the articles he wishes to read later on at the same time.

A short while later, he finishes eating. He puts the newspaper on the sofa and washes the dishes. After that, he walks towards a certain door located within his house—

—the door that leads to his parents’ room.

“Mom, Dad, I’ll be off to school now.” Sam says after softly knocking on that said door.

He grabs his schoolbag, puts on his shoes, and leaves his house.

***

“Saaaaam!!!”

A loud voice followed by violent push from behind stops Sam’s train of thoughts, sending him back to reality, crashing. Sam takes a couple of steps to re-adjust his balance before turning around to face the source of that loud voice. He looks at that said source with eyes that clearly show how annoyed he is.

“Kelly, you nearly killed me. What do you think you’re gonna do if I actually died back there?”

“Well you don’t look dead to me. Does that answer your question?” Kelly says, sticking out her tongue.

Sam sighs. He can never win an argument against Kelly, so he chooses back down.

“Hi Stacia.” He greets the girl standing behind Kelly.

“Hello.” Stacia greets him back while warmly smiling at him.

“Hey hey hey… Sam, did you really just ignore your childhood friend to greet some girl you have only known for a year? I know Stacia’s pretty and all, but that’s not very fair now, is it?” protests Kelly, “You haven’t even greeted me yet!”

“Hello Kelly, my breathtakingly beautiful childhood friend. Long time no see.” Sam says flatly.

“Oh could you be more insincere?” Kelly replies Sam’s greeting sarcastically.

But he ignores her.

 “Hey Sam! Don’t ignore me! SAM!!”

 But he starts to walk, leaving her behind.

Unfortunately for him, this does not stop his childhood friend from chasing after him while repeatedly shouting his name—

—and unfortunately for her, he keeps on ignoring her.

Kelly eventually starts to feel annoyed, so she runs past Sam and stops directly in front of him.

“Hey douchebag! I’m talking to you! Are you walking on the path of favouritism now? I’ve been your friend for as long as you can remember, but somehow you choose to put Stacia, whom you have only known for a year, before me! Don’t you ignore me, or else I’m gonna tell the whole world your deepest and darkest secret amongst all of the deep and dark secrets you— AH!”

Kelly, who was walking backwards up until just a second ago, looks over her shoulder to find a brown-haired green-eyed girl on the ground. It seems Kelly accidentally knocked her down.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” Kelly immediately helps the girl up, and proceeds to help her fix her uniform. “Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry! I was walking backwards and I didn’t see you since I don’t have eyes at the back of my head… Are you okay? You must be pretty weak to fall down from just being bumped into like that. You’re not hurt now, are you?”

The girl shakes her head slowly, “I’m fine. Excuse me.” She says before she bursts off.

Kelly turns around to face her friends, “Is she… angry?

“Probably. You did knock her down and call her weak…” Sam says.

“But she really is weak, isn’t she? No normal person would fall from being bumped into”

“Maybe it’s not her that’s weak. Maybe you just have too much power stored inside of you.”

           

“I do not!” Kelly says, annoyed, “Sam you’re acting weird today. Oh, I know! You’re not Sam, are you? You must be… some kind of alien!”

Sam just nods at Kelly’s words. He has known that girl for 8 years and he knows how she just can’t stop talking until her need to do so is fulfilled. But after knowing her for 8 years, hearing her daily ramblings of nonsense actually makes Sam feel happy for some reason.

Sam glances at Stacia, who hasn’t said a word since he greeted her. He finds Stacia walking with a pale face that looks like she had seen a ghost.

“…Stacia?”

“Huh? Ah, Y-yes?” Stacia says, suddenly awaken from her state of shock.

“You okay?” Sam asks her again.

Stacia quickly nods, “Yes! Of course…”

Sam looks at Stacia. He knows she’s lying. But he also knows that she doesn’t want him to ask any questions, so he just stays quiet.

Sam takes his eyes back towards Kelly, who is still preoccupied with her self-rambling. She didn’t even notice Sam ignoring her to talk to Stacia a little while ago. That’s fine for him though, seeing her like that gives him a reason to smile happily.

***

“My name is Samuel Grayson, people usually call me Sam.” Sam introduces himself to his new classmates at Sharldon High. He looks at the people he will spend the rest of the year with in the class and sits back down.

Sam isn’t in the same class as Kelly or Stacia, which disappoints him because they are the main reason he decided to attend this school. The main reason he declined every scholarship that was offered to him by all those well known schools. The main reason he chose this small school, which most people probably didn’t know existed, instead. There is a bright side to this though. Being in this school will lessen the chances of him getting any unwanted attention. And if there’s one thing Sam absolutely hates, it’s being the centre of that said attention.

“I’m Lara Avery.” A voice piques Sam’s interest. He turns his head to find the girl Kelly bumped into earlier this morning sitting not too far away from him, and strangely, that girl is looking straight at him, and she doesn’t look like she will be looking away any time soon. Seeing that, Sam keeps his eyes locked on the girl. He feels as if he’ll lose if he looks away before her.

After a couple of seconds of their little staring contest, Sam finally wins. Lara looks away and turns her head to look outside the window. Sam also returns to focusing his gaze back to the front of the class.

He realises that his actions has raised some attention towards him. Of course, He doesn’t like that, but he also doesn’t like losing. It’s a childish part of his personality that he knows he has  to change sooner or later.

Sam reaches inside his bag and pulls out a little notebook. He begins to write, ignoring the current state his class is currently in.

***

“Saaaaam!”

Kelly bursts inside Sam’s class, capturing the attention of the people around her. She is followed by Stacia, who enters the room shortly after her grand entrance.

Sam closes his notebook and puts it in his bag. “You really know how to raise attention towards yourself…”

           

“Oh, do I?” Kelly looks at her surroundings and finally realises everyone staring at her, “Hello! I’m Kelly Keegan from the class next door. Nice to meet ya!”

Sam sighs. Now they have really put themselves at the centre of that unwanted attention he hates so much. So much for putting ‘being a plain person nobody notices’ on his list of new year’s resolutions. Knowing Kelly’s personality, he probably should have never even expected much in the first place.

“Hey Sam! I spotted the perfect place for us to have lunch not too long ago. We have to get there before anyone else takes it.” Kelly says, her words full of spirit as she pulls Sam’s hand.

“Yeah, yeah. Just wait a second, okay?” He replies while he struggles to get out of his seat.

“Oh! It’s the weak girl I bumped into this morning!”

Kelly suddenly points towards Lara, who is currently sitting quietly in her seat. Kelly immediately lets go of Sam’s hand. She runs over to Lara’s table.

“Hi! I’m Kelly. Sorry again for bumping into you earlier today. You got a name?”

Lara looks at Kelly with an expressionless face, as if trying to read the energetic girl before her.

“…Lara…” Answers Lara with a voice so soft, it’s almost inaudible.

“Nice to meet ya, Lara! So you’re in the same class as Sam, huh? You might think of him as a quiet and mature person, but honestly, he’s actually rather pathetic. He’s so pathetic, he probably won’t even try to make any friends. So… will you please be his friend for me? You don’t look like you have much friends either. Hey I know! We’re about to have lunch together, why don’t you join us?” Kelly says all of those words without even stopping once to give Lara a chance to answer.

Lara keeps on staring at Kelly, silently, and still keeping the same expressionless face she had before.

“Thanks but no tha—“

“Okay it’s decided! You’re coming with us!” Kelly suddenly pulls Lara and leads her outside of the class, followed by Sam and Stacia, who walk not too far behind them.

“Kelly, She doesn’t want to come with us. Don’t force her.” Sam says while looking suspiciously at Lara. Even though she declined Kelly earlier, the girl didn’t say a single word when the person who gave her the offer began to forcibly drag her along, as if she actually wanted to go.

“Too late. She’s already with us now, so she she has to stay with us till’ the end. Anyway, I’m doing this for you, Sam, so why don’t you try being grateful for once? You don’t have any friends other than Stacia and I, what’s gonna happen to you if we leave you one day? You have to socialize with people other than us you know…” States Kelly.

Eventually, they reach a secluded area located behind the school building. At that said area stands an old large tree.

“Tadaaa!” Kelly says while pointing at the tree, “Isn’t this place just perfect? Old trees, green grass… It’s almost as if we were in the middle of a meadow in some remote village in  Greenland!”

 “Are there even meadows in Greenland though? I mean, it’s so close to the north pole you’d probably think it’s covered in snow all year round, right?” Asks Sam matter-of-factly.

“Who cares? As long as it’s a meadow.” After saying this, Kelly moves closer to the tree and sits on the ground beneath it. She slowly opens her lunchbox, “What are you guys waiting for? Let’s eat already! Break’s only 10 minutes left y’know…”

It appears the three people she dragged along with her don’t have any other choice but to follow her orders, so they join her beneath the tree.

“Hey Lara, which junior high did you come from?Is it Canary? Or is it Easton? You look like someone from Canary though, apart from the fact that we only have 2 junior highs in this town. Oh, just so you know we're from Easton and we never saw you before, so that must mean you'refrom Canary...” Says Kelly with her mouth full of bread.

“I’m not from this town.” Lara replies, softly.

“I see… That makes you the same as Stacia then!”

“Stacia?”

“Oh yeah, she hasn’t introduced herself yet, has she? This here’s Stacia Fallon.”

“Hi,” Stacia smiles politely at Lara, only to have Lara look back at her with an expressionless face.

“About a year ago she was found washed up on the banks of Lucent River,” Kelly continues. “Were you washed up too, perhaps?”

“No…”

“Aww that’s not fun...  C’mon just say you were...” says Kelly

“I was...”

“... That’s even worse. Okay you weren’t washed up....  But you must have amnesia like Stacia right? You have the same ‘amnesia-girl’ aura Stacia has.”

“What is an ‘amnesia-girl’ aura..” Stacia smiles while slightly laughing at Kelly's nonsense.

“It’s the aura you emmit. The mysterious and empty kind. Anyway you two have similar auras, so that must mean you have amnesia right?”

“No,” said Lara flatly.

“Aaw you’re no fun... Why’re you so serious? Even Stacia still smiles when i say all of my annoying nonsense.”

“Wow, now you're really speaking nonsense...” Sam said sarcatically.

“Hey, that’s rude! That reminds me, Sam, I still haven’t lectured you about your misbehavior before. You shouldn’t-”

                                          

The bell cuts Kelly's sentence.She immediately stops, realizing that their break has ended.

“Dammit! I haven’t even touched my food yet!” Kelly says.

“That’s because you talk too much.” Sam replies. Apparently, he somehow managed to finish his meal within the time it took Lara and Kelly to finish their conversation.

           

“Next time we have to come earlier. When lunch break starts, let’s just immediately gather here, Okay? Oh, and you guys have to come. I repeat, you have to come.” Kelly says, clearly directing those words towards Lara.

The energetic girl then stands up and starts to walk, “Come on, we’re gonna be late.”

Sam can only shake his head as he watches the behaviour of his childhood friend. He stands up and begins walking as well, followed by the other two girls that were somehow also dragged into all of this.

“What’s wrong, Lara?” Sam suddenly hears Stacia’s voice. He spontaneously turns around.

The girl whom Stacia called looks surprised for a second, but she quickly puts her expressionless face back on, “It’s nothing…”

Stacia stares at the dark haired girl for a while, “If there’s anything you need, anything you want to know about, don’t be afraid to ask, okay?” I’m new here too, so I know how hard it is to adapt to this town. I mean, the peaceful atmosphere this town gives off is creepy sometimes, right?”

As if thinking about Stacia’s words, Lara stays silent, “Yeah… You’re right…”

“Well I can’t really say much, but I do know that you’ll feel much better here if you have lots of friends. We’re happy to be your friends if you want, so don’t be afraid to come hang out with us if you feel like it.” Stacia says again.

Lara looks rather awkward, but she slowly nods. “I’ll be sure to take note of that.”

Sam watches Lara silently. He’s sure there’s something off with that girl, so he decides to take note of her and her actions.

The bespectacled boy then thinks about Stacia’s words as well.

The peaceful atmosphere this town gives off is creepy sometimes, huh?

In all honestly, he can’t deny that. Even though he has lived here far longer than Stacia has, he can relate to her words. He must admit, he has felt the eerie quality of this town much more than once or twice. The eeriness that makes you feel as if were in a dream. Yes… he knows that feeling all to well.

Nothing ever happens.

 Nothing ever changes.

Everything is always so stable, so peaceful.

But for some reason even he himself can’t seem to put a finger on, he feels as though the peace that has surrounded them for as long as he can remember is about to be disturbed. Or at least that’s what his instincts say.

He hopes he’s wrong.

Besides, this peace and quiet, it’s the ideal situation everyone wishes for, right?

***

“I’m home…”

Sam enters his house, his face all worn out. He tosses his bag aside and throws himself on the sofa.

He looks at the clock. 7 PM. Kelly really knows how to keep someone busy despite being in a small town like this.

After school ended, Kelly immediately dragged Sam, Stacia, and Lara around town with her. She claimed it was for the sake of welcoming Lara to town, even though Lara herself never showed any emotion during the time they spent together. She looked very unenthusiasted, despite not declining Kelly’s offer when she approached her in the first place.

What a weird girl…

Whilst resting his feet that have given up on him after walking around all day, Sam grabs the newspaper lying beside him. He looks at the articles he has already read in the morning once again.

He sighs. He finally decides that he has rested enough and begins to walk towards his room, newspaper in hand.

***

“Hello…?”

[Brother…]

“Oh Lara… How was school?”

[I…I made some new friends…]

“Now isn’t that nice? You’re finally able to meet people you can consider friends. You’ve never had one before, have you?

[…]

“So, is that person one of your new found friends too?”

 [Yes…]

“Hmm… Well… I suppose that’s good…”

[…]

“Remember Lara, you must never let your feelings get the best of you. Always remember to keep them in check, especially if they threaten to keep you from fulfilling the objectives of the tasks that are given to you.”

[Not the feelings I have for you…]

“The feelings you have for me as well.”

[So, does that mean you want me to get rid of my feelings toward you?]

“Hmm… No… I simply can’t bear the consequences if you were to do that…”

[…I love you, brother…]

“I love you too… Well, be careful at school, okay?”

[Umm…]

“Good night.”

[Night.]

Jacy Avery ends his phone call. He turns around, now facing the person before him.

“Let me guess, your sister?”

“Yes, please forgive me. She was calling to report to me.”

“Really? It sounded a lot like you were flirting with each other, though.”

“Forgive me…”

“Oh, no, it’s okay. It’s not like I have any problems with incest. As a matter of fact, I actually think an incestuous relationship is better, since it keeps your bloodline pure. It’s a shame I never had any sisters.”

“Thank you for your understanding, Master.”

“Yeah, no problem. Anyway, about the girl—“

“—She managed to become friends with the target.”

“Friends, huh… Friends isn’t really an ideal status for them to be in… You can’t really kill your friends now, can you?”

“I’m pretty sure you can, Master.”

The person Jacy calls 'Master' laughs loudly, “Hahaha! You really do have your mother’s brains. All you need to do is learn your manners so you don’t end up like that father of yours.”

“I am very sorry…”

“You don’t look like you’re sorry at all though, with that smirk and all. But anyway it’s okay. You’re quite entertaining.”

“… So, would you like me to remind Lara?”

“No, there’s no need for that. Let the girl do her job as she pleases. Even if she fails, I already have a back-up plan set up. He’s on his way as we speak. After he’s done with his current job, he’ll immediately move on to this one.

“You’re sending Fugor? That’s rare…”

“Well, our target isn’t just a regular somebody, you know? I have a personal grudge I have to settle with this one.”