"Livvy?" Ava asked, shaking me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah?" I responded looking at her vibrant green eyes, currently shrouded with anxiety.

She reached out a pale, cold hand, taking my own hand in hers. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course!" I said, trying to act energetic but her tone scared me.

"Do you know..." She tilted her head, dropping my hand. "What happiness is?" Her question surprised me. Before Ava's accident she had been the most energetic and 'happy' girl I had known. Then her own brother tried to kill her, and everything changed.

"I-" I hesitated. What was happiness? I certainly didn't know but I couldn't let my dark life overshadow this young girl's. "I suppose happiness is understanding your purpose in life. Who you want to be." I decided.

"And are you happy, Olivia?" Ava stared at me with her empty green eyes and pale face. I couldn't help but shiver.

Was I happy? What an odd question. I had just told her what I thought happiness was. Had I achieved that? Doubtful. Nonetheless, I answered her with, "Yes I suppose I am. I have my family after all."

Her unnerving green eyes seemed to flash brighter in that moment, but I must have just imagined it. She stood up from her hardback chair, her long blonde hair blowing behind eerily from the ventilation. "That's good." she said emotionlessly. Was it really?

Are You Happy?

Those three words echoed in my mind now as they had been the entire week since Ava asked me that question.

It's my personal belief that happiness isn't real. All those 'happy' people are simply the most skillful liars of all. I consider myself a pretty good liar but that question caught me off guard.

Are you happy?

Am I?

I ask myself this question as my alarm goes off at 5:00 this morning, and I ask myself again when I get on my 6:00 AM bus. Once again, the question rings through my mind as I wait for the bell to ring on my first class. I certainly wasn't happy here. No one was. I was simply a zombie walking through the halls, waiting for my apocalypse to end.

It's only a matter of time. A voice echoed in my head. You're right. I responded. Three more days.

The number three is a funny number. It is exactly half of the devil's number--

3 fateful words

3 frightened girls

3 interminable days

3 indefinite lies

"Very good." I congratulated dear Olivia in her head. "Your plan is perfect." It was perfect. I had made it after all. Why, young girls' minds are so impressionable. A few simple words and I had full control over her mind.