Generic Young Adult Fantasy Novel Opening
She couldn't believe her eyes! That whore Britney was kissing James right in front the entire school, knowing full well he was going out with her! Speechless and unable to move out of horror, she could feel every eye in the room turning from the scene to her and back again, audible gasps and snickers rose from the crowd. Many of them were even recording it with their phone.
Her face flushed bright red, and Amy stormed out of the gym with tears streaking down her face and her lips trembling, trying in vain to hold back the body-wracking sobs that shook her shoulders. She could barely see where she was going, her vision blurry from crying, until she could hear hurried footsteps catching up to her, and her arm grabbed by clumsy fingers.
James' face was pale and sweating, and he couldn't meet her eyes. "I'm...I'm sorry, I didn't know she was gonna do that. It was nothing, it was just a stupid dare. Amy, I..." He wasn't trying very hard to be convincing, and of course she didn't believe a word of it. Violently, she shoved him away and ran out of school, leaving James behind looking dumbfounded and guilty.
Alex found her some time later behind a stack of unused crates in the school's backyard, sitting with her knees held close to her chest and her face held down between her arms. Without a word, he sat down next to her, holding his backpack to his chest.
"Go away Alex." Amy said not raising her head, her voice muffled and half-choked from crying.
"C'mon Amy, it's just a stupid prank or something. I told you that guy is trouble, he's not worth crying over. I told you he was only going to..."
"STOP IT! JUST STOP IT!" The outburst came out of nowhere, all of her bottled emotion from the last few days, her parents getting divorced, her grandma's death and now this, all of it finally bubbled out of the cauldron and violently exploded. "You always tell me to do this and that! Why don't you just mind your own business! I don't like you, I will never like you! Stop trying to TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ME!!" And as soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them.
Alex's face was filled with surprise and distress. She had really hurt him this time, finally managed to push away the one person who had always been on her side. He had never tried to hide how he felt for her, she had always known but could never bring herself to mention it. Until now, when she used it to hurt him.
Wordless, Alex gathered his pack, slung it across his back and walked away, his shoulder drooping in misery. She wanted to call out to him, to say sorry, but instead she merely watched him go. Stupid, insolent, ungrateful bitch, she cursed herself. Lashing out at others for her own mistake, that's the way to go. Grow up, she screamed in her head, grow up and take responsibility for your own actions.
Amy fell asleep where she sat, her face full of tear streaks and her mind exhausted. Faintly, a soft, almost imperceptible light pulsed under her shirt in the shape of a pendant held by on a chain laced around her neck.
A shadow fled over her from for only a second, and when it had passed her face was clean and her hair tucked back.
"Sleep, baby girl. Much are expected of you, soon." the air seemed to whisper, a fading impression of a voice, until the wind swept all of its traces away.
