Chapter Thirteen

I woke up to the sun touching my eyelids. I opened them quickly. School. I climbed out of bed and ran down the stairs. Mom was pouring Alia cereal.

“Morning mom,” I smiled, snatching the cereal and pouring it into an empty bowl.

“Good morning! Ready to go back to school?” she asked.

I nodded as I shoved a spoonful of cereal in my mouth. I ate quickly because I was excited to go see my friends at school.

***

I arrived at the school with a smile on my face. I scanned the field. I saw Sara. Her strawberry blonde hair blew in the wind and her pink jacket added the sprinkles to her look. She was really a model. I ran over to her and grabbed her in a hug. I pulled away and stared at her in the eyes. Sara was shocked.

“SIA! It’s actually you! Where did you go?” She smiled and hugged me again.

“Hi, Sara,” I said. “It’s good to see you again.”

A confused look washed over her face. “But I thought you didn’t like me,” she answered.

“I guess being away has let me realize things.” I paused. “I guess I was pretty unfair to you.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” I answered. “I mean, I don’t think we can ever be best friends again, but I just want to say I’m sorry for ignoring you like that.”

To my relief, she smiled. “I forgive you, Sia. But… can we be at least friends?”

I sighed deeply. “Of course.” I smiled at her.

Then I realized something was wrong. I glanced around the field. “Hey, do you--”

“Sia! It’s great to see you have returned from wherever you were!” Kelli pelted towards me. “But I’ve noticed something wrong!”

“Yes?” I replied. “Have you seen Leila?”

Kelli shook her head. “Leila promised me she’d be at school today and

she’s never late for school!”

“Yeah, where could she be?” I exclaimed.

Then, in a heartbeat, the horrific thought struck me.

“Oh, don’t tell me she’s in the…”

The end

Want to see more about Sia? Visit her website at https://sites.google.com/ddsb.ca/iminhere/home

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