The Soul's Mark: FOUND

by Stoyanoff, Ashley

“No thanks. I’ll grab something later,” Amelia replied, dragging herself over to the sink and filling up her bottle. Why couldn’t everyone still be asleep? she thought sourly.

  “Morning, Millie,” Eric greeted. She hadn’t noticed him when she walked in but he was sitting at the table looking just as chipper and awake as Angelle, in jogging pants and a faded beer logo t-shirt. He beamed at her. “You look like shit by the way.” She didn’t bother to answer him but shot him a look that clearly said, screw off, which just made him laugh.

  “Someone’s not a morning person,” Angelle chirped, gliding in behind her and gracefully perching herself at the island, newspaper in hand.

  Eric laughed harder and Amelia felt the ice melt just a little. What a laugh, so clear, almost musical. She gave herself a little shake, clearing the fog that seemed to suck her in whenever he was around, padded towards the door and jammed her feet into her running shoes.

  “Hey, where are you going?” Eric asked, hopping up from the table.

  “Run,” she grunted, and opened the door.

  Eric darted around, putting his hand up, stopping her just before she made it outside. “I’ll go with you.”

  “You’ll just slow me down,” Amelia said, and weaved around him, ducking under his arm, and out into the cool, crisp morning.

  Eric followed her out, not taking the hint that she just wanted to be alone. “I doubt that,” he said with a lazy, lopsided grin.

  Amelia gritted her teeth and clenched her fists into little balls. “Fine. Whatever. But I’m not slowing down for you.”

  She skipped her usual stretching, annoyed that he was insisting on coming and took off down the driveway at a sprint, not bothering to warm up her muscles.

  If Amelia had been worried he would not be able to keep up, she was wrong. After ten minutes, she was breathing hard, in short bursts and dripping sweat and he looked like he was just out for a leisurely stroll. At least he wasn’t talking to her, she thought, glad for the silence.

  As if he could read her mind, in that instant he said, “Millie?”

  “What?” she gasped, short of breath, and pushed on, harder and faster.

  “What’s made you so crabby this morning?” he asked, shooting her a sideways glance.

  Crap. Not what she wanted to talk about. What was she supposed to say? I didn’t see my imaginary boyfriend last night? If she had any hope of impressing him, and she really did want to make an impression, because, he was, really, oh-my-god-hot, that really wasn’t the topic to do it with. “Just run,” she said and hoped she didn’t sound sad. The running helped cover the tremors in her voice and she picked up the pace.

  “I get it,” he said, “You don’t want to talk to me. But you can if you want. I’m a good listener and you’re not alone anymore.” He sounded a little strange, tired and a touch too serious.

  Amelia didn’t know what to say so she just kept running. She suppressed a wide smile. Not alone. That was good, right? It sure felt good.

  ****

  By 11:30, Amelia was curled up studying on one of the marshmallowy chairs in her room, a soft fleece blanket wrapped around her. It hadn’t been her first choice for spending the day but Luke had some emergency business meeting, Eric was playing video games and Angelle was busy doing God only knows what.

  Amelia flipped open her Linear Algebra I textbook. The main structures of linear algebra are vector spaces. A vector space over a field F is a set V together with two binary operations…

  She hadn’t gotten very far when Angelle burst through the door in a frenzy. “There you are!” she said. “I’ve been looking all over for you. You have guests.”

  “Guests?” Amelia questioned, closing her book, “But I don’t know anyone.” And she really didn’t want to meet anyone, at least not in yoga pants and a hoodie. She hadn’t bothered getting dress up since she had planned to study all day.

  Angelle swooped over to Amelia, tugging the blanket away and yanking her up. The book that Amelia had on her lap fell to the floor with a thud. “It’s time for you to meet the neighbors,” Angelle said, looking her over with a look that clearly said she didn’t approve of her attire. “I bought you so many nice things yesterday. Why are you wearing this?” Angelle picked at the hoodie like it was filthy and she didn’t want to get her hands dirty. She sighed loudly. “Well I guess you’ll just have to go out like this. Your guests have already been waiting too long.” She grabbed Amelia by the hand and towed her out of the room.

  “Wait a minute,” Amelia said, trying to pull away. It was a useless effort. Angelle was a lot stronger than Amelia had guessed and she didn’t waver at any of her tugs. “Let me have a shower.”

  Angelle ignored her and dragged her down the hallway, up the grand stairs and straight out to the outside lounge. The second Amelia’s bare feet hit the cold balcony she shivered, but Angelle pulled her on to where a crowd had gathered, lounging on some fancy chairs and chatting amicably.

  One of the girls turned around and squealed, “Amelia!” and she rushed over, smothering Amelia in a hug.

  Amelia stiffened. Why did everyone keep hugging her? What happened to shaking hands? Amelia thought the girl would have gotten the hint from her stiff stance but it didn’t ruffle her in the least and she was starting to think the girl wasn’t going to let go.

  “Jessica,” a man said, chuckling softly. “Let the girl breathe.”

  “Oh, sorry,” Jessica said, stepping back from Amelia and looking bashfully at the man who, Amelia assumed, had saved her from the hug. She was short, not more than five feet tall, and she looked like a miniature Barbie doll—busty and curvy, which really stood out in her low rise blue jeans and yellow scoop neck t-shirt that fit like a second skin. “I’m just so excited. She’s finally here.” She looked back at Amelia and grabbed her hands jumping up and down excitedly. “We are going to be the best of friends.”

  “Hello, Amelia. I’m Doug and you’ve already met my Jessica.” He stepped forward out of the crowd and Jessica dropped Amelia’s hands. He was taller than Amelia but not by much and he had a deep tan. The kind of tan you could only get by spending hours out in the sun. He had on a white button up dress shirt with a tie and black slacks, a bit formal for a Saturday, but Amelia quickly noticed that all the men were in the same sort of get-up. He gave Jessica a look that made Amelia blush. It was the kind of look that should be private, filled with raw passion, devotion and pure love. His eyes lingered on her for a moment, before turning back to Amelia. “Aren’t you a cute little thing!”

  “Um, thanks I guess,” Amelia said, thrown for a loop. What was wrong with this town? The idea of spending the day studying was looking better every minute.

  “Look at her hair,” another girl said, stepping out from the crowd. She was tall with an hourglass figure and looked like she had just stepped off the runway. Everything about her shined, from her long silky black hair right down to her patent leather bright red heels. She took one of Amelia’s hands and examined it closely. “And oh my God, she’s a biter. Those fingernails are hideous.” She put her hands on her hips, drumming her perfectly polished fingernails against them, and looked Amelia over with a scowl. “And what in the world are you wearing? How could you possibly think that yoga pants and a baggy sweater are flattering?”

  “Wow, did you really just say that?” Amelia said, looking the girl over. Who did she think she was?

  “I’m Fiona by the way,” the rude girl said. “And we won’t be seen with you if you don’t make an effort Amelia. You aren’t some trailer trash anymore. You are one of us now and you need to act like it.”

  Amelia bristled. “You seriously need to back off.”

  “I could give her a manicure,” Jessica offered timidly, looking back and forth between Fiona and Amelia as if she was waiting for the claws to come out.

  “And I might be able to do something with this frizzy mess,” another girl said from behind Fiona. She stepped out and gave an apologetic smile to Amelia. She looked
like a knock-off of Fiona: same hairstyle, same clothes, and same make-up. The only difference was that while Fiona was hard looking and mean, this girl looked… friendly. “I’m Amber,” she introduced herself.

  “Now ladies,” Eric said, strolling in and draping an arm around Amelia’s shoulder. “Millie looks just fine.”

  “Right, and you would know,” Fiona sneered, and Eric laughed, putting up his hands in surrender.

  He winked at Amelia and mouthed I tried and then sauntered off to the gathered crowd of people, who were watching the girls, all with amused smiles.

  “There’s nothing wrong with the way I look,” Amelia said through clenched teeth. What kind of guests came into someone’s home and acted this way?

  “Amelia, you’re a VIP now,” Fiona said, wagging a finger at her like she was a child that needed to be reprimanded. “You can’t be seen in the community looking like… like you just rolled in from the streets.”

  Amelia looked at Angelle for help. “Don’t look at me,” she said, her overly bright smile plastered on her face. “I think it’s a good idea. You never know, you might actually have fun.”

  With Angelle’s okay on the situation, the three girls grabbed Amelia and dragged her off, promising she would look like a beauty queen when they were done with her.

  CHAPTER 12

  There were twenty-two houses on the gated street, Amelia found out, all owned by Mr. Lang.

  After the three hour makeover, which she had to admit was fun, Amelia was set in the living room like an expensive museum piece on display. For two days, the residents of the little community came to meet her. They all fawned over her, telling her how pretty she was, which was crazy. Amelia had never seen so many flawless looking people in one place and she couldn’t help but wonder if they all used the same plastic surgeon, because no one could look as perfect as they did. It just wasn’t natural.

  While on display, Amelia had also found out that all of the people in the little gated complex worked for Mr. Lang in one way or another, since he really did own most of the establishments in town. It was mind-boggling; she wondered how old he was. She had assumed that he was the same age as her roommates, but that would make him too young to be as important as he was. Maybe it was family money? Whatever it was, she was getting more and more nervous about meeting him.

  When Monday morning finally rolled around, Amelia jumped for joy because she couldn’t take much more of the meet and greet that had been happening all weekend. She just couldn’t understand why any of them cared about her. Was it normal for neighbors to make such a big deal about a poor scholarship kid moving in?

  If she had hoped that the buzz would die down, she was mistaken. As soon as Amelia hopped out of the car at the University, people flocked to her as if she was some kind of rock star. She soon found out that the majority of them had grown up in Willowberg or had been around long enough to know who Mr. Lang was, but their excitement was rubbing off on the other students and before long, everyone wanted a chance to meet her.

  When her first lecture started, Amelia had never been so happy to listen to the monotone drone of her professor, who clearly wanted to be anywhere but teaching. Professor Patterson started right into the what-you-can-expect speech. He went through the lectures, the labs, the assignments, and the grading system he used. He told when everything would be due, and explained his no make-up policy. Basically, no make-ups unless you are dead and then you don’t need to make anything up anyways.

  People stared at her throughout the class. Amelia had thought she would be used to it by now. People always stared at her. But this was different. They weren’t staring at her because she was new; it was because of whom she lived with.

  The three-hour lecture ended too soon. Amelia didn’t rush out because she really wasn’t ready to smile and meet more people. She stayed put, finishing up her notes, and tried not to notice the line of people who were waiting for her.

  “What are you guys staring at?” snapped a female voice. “Have you never seen someone writing notes before? Shoo. You vultures need to find somewhere else to be. Nothing to see here.”

  Amelia’s eyes snapped up to see the girl she had met shopping. The one who had given her the rose. She searched her brain, trying to remember her name. Erin? Yes, she was pretty sure it was Erin who was expertly dismissing the gawkers.

  Once Erin had herded the last of them out the door, she plopped down next to Amelia. “It’s worse than I thought,” Erin said, grinning.

  “Yeah, you really weren’t kidding about the celebrity thing,” Amelia sighed. “I just don’t get it. I’m just a scholarship student. I’m not important.”

  Erin’s grin faded and she looked Amelia over as if she was crazy. Had she said something wrong? If she had, Amelia didn’t know what. After a long moment, Erin’s grin returned and she shrugged. “It just goes with the territory. You live with the rich kids and well, most of us don’t get to see them. They’re all pretty secretive and keep to themselves so you’re like the shiny toy and everyone wants to see what’s behind the gate.”

  “Well it sucks,” Amelia groaned. “I don’t think I like this popularity thing very much.”

  Erin laughed and rolled her eyes. “You better get used to it ‘cause it’s only gonna get worse. Let’s go grab something to eat before the next class. I can sneak you into the cafeteria without anyone seeing you.”

  Erin kept her word and managed to get Amelia to the cafeteria almost undetected. They went through the library and down a service hall and ended up in the back of the cafeteria before Amelia knew it. It was frustrating that she had to hide and sneak around. She really wanted to see the school, check out everything, but with the constant people or sneaking around, she barely had a chance to explore.

  Erin sat Amelia in a far corner shielded by some fake trees and went off to order their lunch. She returned with a couple of egg salad sandwiches and bottles of water. She handed over a sandwich to Amelia and had just sat down when her eyes widened and she groaned loudly, “Here comes the Barbie Squad.”

  The Barbie Squad? Amelia turned around scanning the room to see what Erin was talking about and then giggled. Fiona, flanked by Jessica and Amber, were heading straight for her, all wearing identical and unflattering scowls. And they did kind of look like Barbies.

  “Amelia,” Jessica said, rushing over. She blew delicate air kisses on either side of Amelia’s cheeks and sat down beside her.

  “Hi Jess,” Amelia said, forcing a smile. Couldn’t she just have a quiet lunch? The three of them looked magazine perfect. For most people their outfits would have been everyday boring, but with their flawless skin and curvy figures the low-rise jeans and snug turtleneck sweaters, all a slightly different shade of purple, looked stunning. Each wore a sparkly diamond pendant around their neck.

  Fiona and Amber didn’t bother to greet Amelia; instead, they glared at Erin, a cold, hard glare that made Amelia’s skin crawl. “Did you forget what side of the gate you’re from?” Fiona said. “The trash gathers over there.”

  Before Amelia could say anything, Erin jumped from her chair so quickly it clattered to the floor, and she got right up in Fiona’s face. “We aren’t behind the gate, Fiona. You’re on my turf now.”

  “Amelia will not have lunch with the likes of you,” Fiona sneered. “Scram Erin, no one here wants you.” Annoyed, Fiona shoved her hard, causing Erin to stumble back a step.

  Frozen, Amelia watched, unable to believe what she was seeing. Erin struggled to regain her footing.

  A second of tense silence filled the air before Erin said, “You better be careful, Fiona. All that frowning is going to make you wrinkle.” Her lips twitched up into a smile and she folded her arms across her chest. “And by the way, Millie’s a big girl. She can pick who she wants to have lunch with all by herself.”

  Amelia didn’t think it was possible, but Fiona’s frown grew even deeper. “Run away, freak, before I change my mind in letting you go so easily.”

&n
bsp; “Fiona!” Amelia snapped, finally finding her voice. “Pretty sure you’re the one that needs to run away. What the hell’s gotten into you?”

  “She’s just looking out of you, Amelia,” Amber piped in, fidgeting back and forth, clearly nervous. “You don’t want to be seen with that freak. It’ll ruin your reputation.”

  Fiona ignored Amelia and took another step towards Erin, and Amelia jumped up and got in between them just as Fiona raised her hand to slap Erin. She slapped Amelia instead. Hard. Hard enough to bruise, hard enough that Amelia almost screamed out. White-hot rage bubbled up inside her; all Amelia saw was red. “I think it’s time for you guys to leave,” Amelia said tightly, clenching her fists into little white-knuckled balls.

  “Oh my God,” Fiona said, her face turning paper white. “Amelia, I’m so sorry.” Her voice quivered, and she was shaking visibly. She backed up with terror in her eyes. “Please forgive me. I didn’t mean to hit you.”

  “She didn’t mean to, Amelia,” Jessica added, eyes pleading. “Please don’t tell him.”

  “You guys need to screw off,” Amelia hissed through clenched teeth. She felt her cheeks flare red with anger. They must have seen it because all three whirled on their heels and scampered off like scared little mice.

  “Way to take a stand Millie!” Erin chirped, giving her a high five and doing a little happy dance. “I’ve never seen them back down like that before. Are you okay? You know you’re probably going to get in shit for that when you get home, right? They all stick together and you just dissed them. They’re not going to let that go.” She was rambling again, the words tumbling out in a fast, excited stream.

  “Whatever,” Amelia said, and sat down hard. Her cheek was throbbing, pulsing and tingling and she could already feel the bruise forming. She took her bottle of water and held it against her cheek, easing the sting a little.

  Wow, Fiona could hit hard, Amelia thought. And who wasn’t she supposed to tell? Eric and Luke? What would they care if she got into a little fight? And who the hell did they think they were? And why was Fiona so freaked out that she had hit her and not Erin?