Chapter 1 TAKEN

AMELIA'S POV

"Do you have a ride?" The office secretary asked.

My mom was at work, so that meant I would have to walk home. Drenched to the bone in pool water. I smiled at her and nodded.

"My mom's outside right now." I lied straight through my teeth.

"Alright, have a good day then. Get warmed up!"

"Thanks."

I quickly left the school, in my damp shoes and soaked school bag. I wiped away the tears that were forming in my eyes and trudged along the path to my home.............

It all started in swimming class. I failed the last test I took, making my grade plummet to a C-. I talked to my gym coach after class to sort it out.

A huge mistake.

"Mr. Richards, is there any way I can retake this test? I believe I could have done better than this." I explained.

Mr. Richards sighed.

"I'm sorry, Amelia. It can't be changed. Just come in for help when you need it... hopefully you'll do better on the next test."

I sighed. "Alright. I'll try to do my best next time."

Just as I turned to leave, I lost my balance and slipped on the side of the pool, causing me to land head first into the water. I gasped as I went down in the water and nearly failed to swim up to the surface. I coughed, trying to catch my breath while the pool water entered my system once again.

Suddenly, I heard Mr. Richards shouting. My nerves settled a little, knowing he had seen me fall into the pool. I tried to remove my bag from my shoulder, but the weight of my binders wouldn't allow me to lift it.

"Hold on, kiddo. It'll be okay!" He immediately threw the life saver ring, which conveniently landed over my head. I noticed the hordes of students surrounding the pool, which made me curse myself for being so clumsy.

Right here was everyone I knew watching me struggle.

I was so thankful that the school allowed me to go home early. I wouldn't be able to face anyone after the embarrassment of being pulled out of a pool, let alone walk into class with my mascara running down my face.

The whole thing was mortifying, and I promised myself never to go near a pool again.

As I was walking home, I turned the corner of my street to go straight home. As I turned onto what

I thought was my street; I furrowed my eyebrows, expecting to see my house, but there was an unfamiliar street with people scurrying everywhere. I slowly walked down the sidewalk, and eyes began focusing on my figure.

My heart leaped through my chest as almost everyone on the street was staring at me. It's okay, just keep walking, Amelia. Just keep walking. There's got to be a familiar road ahead.

Just before reaching the end of the street, a girl stopped me in my tracks. She looked at me in confusion, her large blue eyes twinkling at me. She looked so ethereal, untouchable, unbreakable.

"What are you doing? It's time to get ready!" She exclaimed, acting as if I were confused.

"Excuse me?" My hoarse voice whispered.

She laughed, her blonde hair swaying as she leaned over to my ear.

"Everyone's staring at you because you're not with all the girls getting ready!"

I backed away from her, completely freaked out.

I didn't sign up for this, and I was not ready for the embarrassment that would follow.

A few minutes later, I turned back to glance once more at her.

"I think you've got it all wrong-" She cut me off, grabbing my hand and dragging me with super strength to a black limousine.

I tried to free my hand from hers, and once her grip relaxed, I pulled myself out of her grasp only to be shoved into the limousine. I panicked, pounding on the windows. Groups of people peered over at me, horrified, as if I were a lunatic.

"Let me out! I don't know where you're trying to go, but you've got the wrong girl!" I screamed as loud as I could with my hoarse voice.

"Geez, so dramatic."

"If I had known the party was going to be that bad, I would have ditched it !"

"What are you crying about?"

I looked around to see many girls sitting around me, each with annoyance plastered on their face.

Suddenly, the blonde from earlier hopped into the limo and squealed. My chest felt like it was caving in on itself. Where were they taking me? How could they act so at ease?

"Time to go!"

At the sound of her voice, the rest of the girls immediately forgot about me and began screaming and squealing as well.

"Excuse me, I really think you've made a mistake! Where am I going?" I questioned.

The group became dead silent. All eyes were on me, making me shift uncomfortably in my spot. The red-haired girl across from me scoffed, breaking the silence.

"The mating ball." She stated. All the girls began rambling about this ball.

"She must me nervous! I heard that if you overthink, you're likely to forget a bunch of stuff!" One girl piped up.

"Makes sense! But how could you forget you might meet your true love?"

"I know, right? I heard that the hottest guys are going!"

I blinked slowly, trying to process the whole thing in my head, but nothing made sense.

All the girls began swirling around me, their voices laughing and talking nonstop. Dots began filling my vision, and within seconds everywhere was dark.