1st Five Pages May Workshop - Hill

Name: Laurel Hill

Genre: Young Adult Supernatural Thriller

Title: The In-Between

THE DAY AFTER HARLEY DIED

Ashton weaved his way through the crowded squads of students reeking from overly sprayed perfume and cologne. His dark messy hair gave the appearance of both carelessness and confidence. He was extremely good-looking, and the most popular person to hate. Mouths fell open from all that openly judged his ability to show up after what went down with Harley yesterday. Music came over the hallway speakers to let everyone know they had two minutes to get to first-period or be marked tardy.

"Oh my god, Ashton!" Livi shouted at him as she ran by. "Why are you even freaking here? Go home!"

His stomach twisted violently from hunger. A high-pitched ring in his ears became the only sound he could hear as dehydration caused the hallway to spin around him. He wobbled over to the wall of lockers and leaned helplessly against them for support, praying he wouldn't pass out in front of the remaining students scurrying to class, or worse, cause a scene by dry-heaving. His eyesight fell dim and out of focus. Feeling his way over to the drinking fountain at the end of the hall, he slowly walked his hands down the row of metal doors. His hands trembled as he pushed the button to release the powerful stream of cold, stale water. It hit his lips and splashed up his nose. He hoped no one saw. His surroundings gradually came back into view. The ringing inside his head subsided, and he headed for the bathrooms. He was going to get his very first tardy of the year even though it was just about to end. Two senior girls not caring about being late either stood at the communal sinks putting mascara on. They glared at him as he strolled by, not knowing he intended to eavesdrop behind the wall dividing the two genders.

"No. Way."

“Seriously. Harley’s dead and Emma has completely flipped out. It was all over the news. I can't believe your parents didn't even tell you."

“Oh. My. God… How come I don’t feel sad for her?”

“Uh, because she’s a bitch.”

“Right? What goes around comes around. You try to make everyone else's life miserable only to end up much worse."

"Seriously! And why would that kid even come today? I would totally take that situation as an opportunity to skip a whole week of school."

"Hell, I'd take the rest of the year off!"

"I know! It's like, hello? We only have a month left! Duh!"

"I know! Oh my god, guess where I'm going this summer?"

"Don't gloat."

"You don't even know where I'm going to say?"

"Cuz I don't wanna hear it, okay? My mom just told me we don't have enough money to go anywhere, and I'm tired of hearing about everyone else's plans!"

"Fine. Whatever."

He stopped listening and went over to the toilets. The strong smell of urine from no one taking the time to flush disgusted him. It was the last place he wanted to vomit, so he had to get out of there quick. Keeping one hand over his stomach, he headed to class and knocked on the door to be let inside. A substitute teacher opened it, then scurried back over to her desk to read a tabloid magazine. Gasps from every student negatively greeted him as he took his seat. He stared down at the student graffiti covering his desk, listening closely to what everyone had to say about Harley dying in his house. It sounded like they were talking more about the jock being a perv since the news reported he attacked Ashton's mom in the shower, but no one had the guts to approach him for details. He was grateful for that because he didn't want to admit to stealing Harley's things, explaining why the jerk was even at his house in the first place. It would only prove he was on the same level as the bully himself.

He looked up to see who was on the cover of the sub's magazine. Sure enough, a full-page photo of his dad and Destiny looking all lovey-dovey stared back at him. He squinted to see the headline. Jason Stellar engaged to the mother of his child! He couldn't help but roll his eyes knowing his mom would flip out over the announcement. He knew his dad didn’t have the guts to actually follow through with marriage. Commitment wasn’t in the man's vocabulary. He realized that after accidentally walking in on him showering with an attractive woman hired to clean his New York City penthouse. It happened about a year ago while Destiny and Star were out of the country. The two adults were so caught up in the act they didn’t even notice Ashton standing there. Just remembering the embarrassment made the boy blush again. He felt bad for Destiny even though he had never personally met her. She seemed completely the opposite of his mom: confident, never trying to be someone else, hardly wore any makeup, and obviously didn't need any Botox since she was the actual age his mom was trying to achieve with needles.

He snorted out a quiet laugh of contempt as the sub became more immersed in the story. Little did she know she was sitting in the same room as the celebrity's son. It frustrated him that no one knew. He'd be shown a lot more respect if they did.

He looked over at his ex-best friend, Jake, flirting with Livi. She was the girl who gave Ashton his very first kiss when they were both in the seventh grade. She used to be so sweet. He even considered telling her who his dad was. It's a good thing he didn't. He never thought she would betray him after Jake ended their friendship and ruined his popularity. How could she ever fall in love with such a traitor?

He raised his hand to be excused. The sub had no clue and kept her eyes glued to the gossip. He cleared his throat with a loud, deliberate gurgle, but it didn't change a thing. She was completely unaware of his need for dismissal. Jake noticed and laughed, then cleared his throat even louder, just to mock him. Other students started to chime in until she finally looked up from her glorious pages. Her face flushed red with embarrassment as everyone stared back at her. Ashton raised his hand higher to let her know he needed to leave. She nodded and pointed to the door as if she could care less about his presence - the story of his life.

***

THE DAY HARLEY DIED

The unique aromatic blend of wet earth and pine crept inside Ashton's bedroom as the late Spring showers of the Sunday morning rain gently tapped at the large sliding-glass door separating his bedroom from the back deck of his house. He hoped the pitter patter of mother nature cleansing herself would finally stop so he could flee the mother responsible for his own nature. The storm she created was torrential. Her tongue lashed out at him whenever she saw fit, causing him to strike back just as hard, triggering an unbearably loud thunder within his already shattered heart. Dark grey clouds floated above their seclusion in the Pocono Mountains, teasing the time of day to look closer to that of night. The filtered light produced an eerie feeling, so he twisted the tiny knob underneath his small metal lampshade to brighten things up a bit. Still, it failed to lift the overall atmosphere.

A loud and strong wind announced itself outside, causing him to look up from his drawing desk. He watched the towering aspens surrounding his home sway back and forth, fluttering their leaves to shake off all the clouds water. The large oaks creaked loudly in return, but stood their ground, promising never to fall from such grace. He put down his pencil and leaned back in his chair, pushing it out from his desk, giving him enough space to open the top drawer. His neon-green bouncy ball rolled forward to greet him. He grabbed it from its dark stowage and went to lay down on his bed. Fully aware that he was feeling sorry for himself, he rolled the rubber around in his hands, allowing boredom and loneliness to consume him. He wished he could hang out with Jake, but those days were long gone thanks to a stupid kitchen cutting-board they had found last year in the charred remains of an old country house. Rumor had it the place was haunted after a man killed his own son, buried him in the backyard, then fled the scene with his wife. The new family that moved in afterward managed to live there for a few months before the home mysteriously went down in flames. The board survived the fire despite its wooden origins that should have burned along with everything else. A blend of fear and excitement overcame him when he saw that someone had turned it into a homemade Ouija board. Jake freaked out when Ashton started playing with it all the time and told everyone at school that he chose the devil over their friendship, ultimately destroying his once enviable popularity. Soon after, Ashton buried it in the woods near his house, not because he believed it to be evil, but as a ceremonial act in grieving over the death of a friendship he'd cherished since pre-school.