Chapter 2
Ashley walked along the hallway shooting forced smiles and waves to friends she had not seen in a while in an attempt to hide her ill mood. Some stopped to exchange pleasantries and it felt like the small talks would never end with everyone a little uneasy and careful not to mention too much about Delilah, figuring that would upset her, an endless summer with a lot to catch up on but all that was on people's lips were whispers of Delilah and cheap rumors when they were certain she was too far off to hear. Everyone seemed in high spirit and elated which flared her up.
"How could they be" she breathed agitatedly as she walked to her locker.
The lock combination she struggled to recall at first but did, putting some content of her backpack in. Less than an hour back in school and she was already feeling exhausted, wishing she could skip school, maybe put out more posters or see Lilah's Grandma. What hell she must be in, she thought.
It all vanished as she heard a familiar voice.
"Lady Ashley cared to grace us with her presence," Evans teased resting a hand against a locker with an inviting smirk on his well-carved face.
Her eyes broadened with excitement and they were in each other's arms almost immediately giggling. It was her Lover.
"Really? Isn't it too early for your magnified compliments?" She said blushing after catching her breath.
"It's not magnified if it's true" he grinned; now stroking her glossy hair, dark as the night.
"Not too early for lovemaking it seems," A voice said. It was Marcus and Charlie closely behind, her circle was complete, almost.
"Boys!" Ashley exclaimed, ecstatic to see her best friends.
"So, any news about Lilah?" Marcus asked with the bunch now settled, hoping for a response from anyone but got deafening sighs and long faces instead.
"Nothing?" he snapped in frustration. "This doesn't make any sense, the sheriff is treating this like another teen runaway, why on earth would she run?" Marcus wondered aloud, "They should be organizing search parties and--"
"But you heard from her grandparents, her car's missing too and we all know how she talked about running off to California and becoming a pop star." Charles cutting in. "Give it a couple more days, I'm sure she'll turn up"
"Yes, she fantasized about silly dreams like that but she's not dumb enough to go through with it" Ashley objected, skimming through their faces for any sign of support.
"Of course, not but even if she is, she must have told someone, you maybe, with a subtle hint perhaps." Evans blurted, setting his gaze on Ashley, she was Delilah's best friend.
"What? Do you think if I had a clue, she took skipping town as a serious alternative I wouldn't have told the sheriff or her grannie now?" Ashley huffed, thrown aback by her boyfriend's comment as she severed her waist from his touch.
The bell went off before Evans could defend himself signaling the end of their gradually escalating discussion and the beginning of first period forcing the bunch to head for class.
They all hurriedly took to their sits with their teacher Mr. Shelby already on the board scribbling.
"So much for easing into the semester," Ashley muttered as she took her note out of her backpack.
"Settle down now, kids, from the gleam on your faces, you all had a fun summer I take it?" Mr. Shelby said addressing his students.
"So fun, crashing a car into a tree was like a walk in the park, isn't that right Simon? He continued now starring at a puny kid seated in front triggering the class to a frenzy as they giggled and conversed between each other in low tones.
"What? It happens to the best of us." Simon retorted cheerfully and an uproar from his peers followed.
"Pipe down now, you've had your fun," Mr. Shelby said with a hint of composure when the cheer was seeming to die out. A young attractive man of Irish descent he was and could easily be teaching anywhere in the state, why he chose Willcox high had always been a thing of question.
"We have a new student who will be joining us from Phoenix, please give a warm Willcox welcome to Miss Wilson."
The attention of the entire class drew to a single direction. The sight seemed to stir up murmurs from the class as they did the welcome ritual, unenthusiastically.
Ashley turned and was shook to her core, who was this figure standing some yards away? She swallowed dryly, unable to wet her parched throat as her eyes widened.
She gasped, blonde hair, Skin pale as though it had never felt the warmth of the sun, eyes the color of a midwinter sky accompanied with a slender structure, Delilah? Could it be?
"No, it wasn't," she grunted. This similar figure was that of someone familiar but her mind couldn't place a finger on it.
"Hi everyone, I'm Lovely Wilson, a pleasure meeting you all" in a soothing voice.
Lovely smiled, glancing around the room focusing on no one in particular then gracefully sat.
"It's Lovely, my one-time summer friend, she thought now able to recall the familiar face. She really had changed, looking a lot like her missing half. Ashley was elated to see her old-time friend no doubt but felt a little let down; she really had thought it was Miraculously Delilah. So did most of the class.
Lovely felt uncomfortable with the scrutinizing gazes panned on her but could do nothing other than seeming focused on the teacher's lecture, a futile attempt to shake it off.
"Lovely, is that really you?" whispered a voice.
She turned in its direction and locked eyes with a friendly face; it was sweet Ashley. She nodded as they exchanged heartwarming smiles across. What had brought city girl lovely to school here at Willcox high, Ashley wondered. Nothing pleasant, she concluded.
The bell went off for recess and most headed for the cafeteria and so did Lovely.
She didn't get a different treatment as she walked along the hallway, the same Icy stares and whispers under their breath.
"Again, with this?" she muttered rather assertively as she made her way with her lunch to a bench away from everyone else. The stern looks were starting to get on her nerves.
It didn't take long before she was joined by Ashley and her friends.
"Hey Lovely, mind if we join?" Ashley inquired heartily.
"Oh, not at all," Lovely said sharply, flashing an inviting smile across.
"Okay, these are my friends Marcus and, Charlie and this blockhead over here is Evans, my boyfriend." She gestured as they all sat. She was still a little pissed at him for his comment earlier.
Lovely's gaze met with Marcuss; she scanned his profile all too delicately. He looked like the type of person to stare at his own reflection for hours before getting in the showers.
A chiseled jawline and hollow cheeks on a lightly tanned diamond-shaped face with a few dark strands that dropped perfectly above his left brow and beneath them were his deep-set dark eyes.
She was drawn away from privy scrutiny by the other handsome lad.
"Ashley, why didn't you tell us you had such a beauty as a friend, must be one of your little secrets I presume?" Charlie grinned with his eyes fixed on lovely.
Lovely felt a rush as their eyes met. She really wasn't the type to blush over cheap compliments but anything other than awkward gawks were a breath of fresh air at this point.
"Hi, I'm Charlie, it's lovely meeting you" he emphasized amusingly.
"He doesn't know how of a cliché that pick-up line had been," she thought managing to squeeze a light giggle not to seem rather unfriendly.
"She knows your name already dummy; I literally just introduced you like a minute ago, "Ashley said rolling her eyes. They made it too obvious they were into each other, she thought
"And if you must know I haven't seen lovely in years. What happened? You never came back to visit?" Ashley questioned with a visible show of concern in her tone.
"I really can't give you a straight-up reason, I guess you could say I got caught up with life in the city and never really found the chance" Which was true for the most part.
"But things are different now, which explains why I'm here at Willcox high," Lovely said, unwilling to share the details of her sad decline in front of new friends. Not a great first impression, she figured.
"You really have changed, for a second there, I thought you were--"Ashley blurted but now held her tongue.
"You thought I was who?" Lovely probed. She glanced around the table with her brows drawn closer. She could sense the deafening tension this question had brought, their downcast gaze said too much.
"A friend, Delilah; Marcus's girlfriend," Ashley said breaking the awkward pause. "She's being missing for a while now; no one knows where she is."
"And you look a lot like her I must say," Marcus declared, his face sunken.
Weeks after a girl goes missing another who looks a lot like her If she were twice as pretty moves into town. How profound, Charlie thought.
Lovely's heart stumbled over its own rhythm; she was short of words. This explained the stares and faint talks she had grown acquainted with all morning.
"I do? Well, that's a bit odd," Lovely gasped as she smiled rather awkwardly. She was beguiled by this new revelation but chose not to ask more, the tension around this topic was immersed.
"We should go back to the water park and search for--I don't know clues?" Marcus suggested.
"And you think the sheriff hasn't already done that? They still came up with nothing." Evans objected.
"You all are really being hysterical; I told you she's going to turn up any day now, probably in some run-down hood in a city, let's all just try to relax." Charlie chimed. "My parents are hosting a fundraiser for the orphanage at the weekend, why don't we take advantage and try to cool off. Besides, it's for the children?"
Charlie's suggestion didn't sound so bad, they all needed a break from the Lilah saga, though it felt wrong none objected, a little relieved by his words.
"You should come too," he said, gaze now on Lovely.
"I don't know. I'll have to ask my mom first."
"Yeah, you do that." Charlie grinned as the boys chuckled softly, now paying more attention to their lunch.
Ashley turned to lovely who did not know what their teasing meant
"I planned to visit Mrs. Abrams, Lilah's grandma after school hours. Wanna tag along? We could catch up along the way."
"Sure, why not," Lovely uttered a little hesitant. "Go see a lady whose missing granddaughter looks a lot like me. Should be thrilling," She added but only in her head.