Chapter one: The Future

The sun shone high and bright in the sky, casting long shadows and blinding glares. Despite the heat, she chose to sit by the window as she could get fresh air whenever she wanted to and no one bothered her with opening and closing the window as no one in the class wanted to sit next to her.

She had friends, well... That's what she chose to call them, but none were in any of her classes and their busy schedules rarely ever coincided with hers, break times or free periods.

Even when they did coincide, her friends hardly ever called her to check on her or to ask if she was free so that they could all go together and do something fun, like go to a popular person's party, or hit the cinema with a horror movie, or even just to have a study session together.

She knew why they always avoided her, and she understood them. She was a lonely orphan girl who grew up with stuck up and old-schooled grandparents who always judged her for every little thing she did.

They would yell at her when she used to ask permission to hang out with friends. They would be unreasonable whenever her friends came over, always demanding that they only study for tests and exams and that they be gone after only an hour. And when she would have group protects, she was never allowed to go out and meet with her partners, espacially if there were boys in the group.

Now that she's in college, forcefully studying under pressure to become a lawyer, their attitude towards her seemed to only get worse.

Every weekend, without fail, they will make it a point to visit her to make sure that she is not distracted, either by her favourite hobby of writing to her hearts content or by the distraction of boys. It doesn't help that they own the apartment complex that she is living in.

When she was accepted into Masies Buisiness college, her grandparents demanded that the tenants living in the complex move out and find another place just so she could live alone and be without distraction. That, is how bad they got. She just couldn't get a break no matter where she was.

Then again, she though, it was definitely much better having them over for a day than to live with them all the time.

Even though they frowned upon her hobby, she never stopped writing. She never stopped dreaming that one day her writing will get good enough to be published to the masses. That people will recognise her work and be so amazed by it that they would be inspired to write their own novels. It wasn't arrogance, she just wanted someone to be that genuine with her, and it would be really humbling to see people look up to her and admire her for her talents. One day...

She was broken out of her thoughts by the sound of the bell going off. The end of the day.

Students cheered and rushed out of the classrooms with their books barely held together in their arms. As the students trickled out of the class, she packed her things slowly as she did not want to confront anyone outside of those doors. That, and it was Friday afternoon, meaning that her grandparents were most likely gonna pay her a visit either this afternoon or tomorrow. She hoped against all odds that it will be tomorrow.

As she made it halfway to the door, her professor called out.

"Alena, might I have a word with you?" He asked with a kind smile, to which she flinched and nodded her head. She never could trust his smiles, they always made her feel a little uncomfortable.

"Yes, sir..." She mumbled and took only a few steps towards his desk. "I'm in a bit of a hurry though, I'll need to go home soon." She told him, not looking at him in the eyes.

"Oh don't worry, I won't keep you busy." He replied somewhat comically with a little wave of his arms. "I simply want to know how you're doing."

"I'm fine, Professor Phelps. Why do you ask?" She nervously scratched her neck, a tic she had developed when she was a little girl.

"Alena," He leaned against his desk, arms crossed, "You are the brightest young girl in your class, but I'm afraid to say that you look worse for wear. Are you taking good care of yourself?" She did not like the implication of his choice of words.

"Just normal college stress, sir. Nothing bad or something to worry about. Now, please sir, may I leave? I really do have to get going." She pleaded, wanting to get away.

"Ah, of course. Of course. Young girls do tend to have their own agendas when it so suits them." He said with a wide grin. "Before you go though, I suggest you take a break this weekend to unwind and relax. Even college stress is not good in overdoses."

She nodded and left quickly, shaking off the extra meaning in his voice and focused her thoughts on trying to get home quickly. Even though it was only three in the afternoon, she wanted to be home early in case her grandparents came home. She needed to clean up the apartment a bit as she had left in a hurry this morning, having woken up a bit late.

Her bag slung over her shoulder, she sprinted to her apartment complex in less than ten minutes, a distance that would normally take her fifteen minutes.

Since she had the building to herself, she was free to choose which ever flat she wanted, the only thing her grandparents would allow her to choose as the building only had four floors including ground floor. She chose the one of two apartments on the ground floor as she was afraid of heights and wouldn't like to look out the window even though it wasn't too high up.

Whatever the case, she loved the apartment, as it was the only true thing that belonged to her, as her grandparents granted her just that one thing, and said that she could have it even when she's done with her studies.

When she got to the complex she took out her keys and opened the electric gate that closed off the complex. She then went to her apartment on the right-side of the building, fishing out her keys and opening the door just as the electric gate closed fully.

Her keys were thrown into a bowl that laid on the chest of drawers, which stood in the entryway. She kicked off her shoes and laid her bag down by the coffee table in the lounge. Even though she was exhausted, she got to cleaning the house from top to bottom, playing a bit of her favourite pop songs and jamming along to the catchy lyrics.

As she cleaned and sang softly to herself, she failed to notice the slight rumble that vibrated the ground, as well as the feint light that began to illuminate the grass in the backyard.

Oblivious to the feeling that everything was going to change, for better or worse.