A.N. Sorry for any factual errors in this chapter and beyond. I don't know all the exact details of your guys' personal lives.

Dyanara's POV

At the end of the first day of school, I had already made a decision.

I really, really missed my friends.

It seemed like all of the kids that were in my class hated everything. They were cold and condescending, and it seemed like none of them wanted anything to do with me. It didn't help that I had lost my phone a few days ago and my internet was down. I had no way to reach out to them.

I turned a corner and ran straight into a passing classmate. "Watch where you're going, jerk!" they yelled at me. "S-sorry," I stuttered, as I struggled to regain my balance. They snorted and stomped off.

As I jogged to my next class, I couldn't help but wonder if this was how it was going to be. I was surrounded by cruel strangers who had no desire to befriend me, and I was slowly drifting away from my life-long friends. I didn't want this. I would never have wanted this.

When I reached my final class of the day, I sit down, too angry and upset to pay attention. I didn't even have to look around to know that everyone was shooting me dirty glares. Why were they all so mean? I didn't remember anyone being this mean at Bell... or anywhere for that matter. the minutes ticked by as the teacher droned on about proper calculator usage. I tried to sit up a little straighter so I would look somewhat engaged. But my thoughts were far away from exponents and factorials, and instead daydreaming about memories I had with my friends. I was so nostalgic for it, longing for the playful shenanigans we would accomplish day after day. Were these times over? Was this the end of a dream, and the beginning of harsh reality?

Class ended. Everyone filed out of the classroom. I stayed silent as I picked up my stuff and left.

So this was how it was going to be.

The bus ride home wasn't much different from the rest of the day. I sat on a seat alone. Other kids talked to each other, but everything was surprisingly orderly. All the kids spoke to each other in a serious manner, their faces devoid of any childish excitement. Everyone was just loud enough for them to hear each other, but quiet enough so I couldn't hear them. I sighed, losing any hope of jumping in on a conversation. I tried to busy myself by doing homework and looking through my bag for my phone. After about ten minutes I gave up, deciding to silently wait for the bus to reach my stop.

*****

Finally, my stop was here. It was one of the last ones, so my trip had lasted much longer than I had wanted it to. I practically leaped out of my seat, happy to get out of the cramped bus. No one said a word as I exited the vehicle. The doors closed and the bus drove away. I began to walk to my house, a short distance away. When I stepped across the threshold, my mom was quick to greet me.

"Hi, sweetie! How was your first day at your new school?" she asked. I considered telling her the truth, but decided against it. I didn't want to worry her. "It was... really good," I managed to say. "Wonderful, wonderful!" she exclaimed. "I want to hear all about it in a little bit. But oh, that reminds me! Elizabeth invited her over to her house tonight for a sleepover with Ella and Xiomara! There's a bus stop at Lane, so all you need to pack is your school stuff for tomorrow." That shocked me. A sleepover? Tonight? It seemed weird that we'd do something so last minute on a school night, but I was so excited that I didn't care. I was going to see my bet friends again! I could barely contain my excitement. I gave my mom a bear hug. "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" I yelled. Then I ran to my room to pack. I threw some clothes into my backpack as well as a toothbrush, then ran back downstairs. "When are we going to leave?" I asked, out of breath from running. "Dya, she's not coming to pick you up for an hour. But in the meantime, you can do some homework and tell me about your day!" My excitement deflated a little. I couldn't wait! But I was patient. I sat down and began to do some homework.

*****

After a painstaking hour of waiting, I saw Elizabeth's car pull up. It looked a little bit different than the last time I had saw it. I hugged my mom goodbye, then sprinted through the door towards the car. "Hi Ms. Barrett!" I said excitedly. I got into the car and shut the door. The moment I did she began driving. "Should I put my stuff in the trun-" "It's full." She interrupted. I noticed that no one else was in the car. "Um, is Elizabeth at home?" I asked. She didn't respond. Ok, I thought. That's a little weird.

The rest of the ride was much the same. Neither of us said a word. I expected for her to at least ask me some kind of question, but she was silent. It was only half an hour later when I spoke up. "Um, excuse me, but, uh, this doesn't really look like how we normally get to your house," I said. "Shortcut," she grunted. That was funny. It didn't sound like Elizabeth's mom at all. I looked at the street number we were driving past and gasped. We're on the wrong side of the city! "W-Where are we g-going?" I asked, beginning to feel afraid. "Sit down," she barked.

I began to panic. I tried to open the door, but it was locked. So were the windows. "Where are you taking me!?" I screamed, now in full panic mode. I began to bang on the windows. "CUT THAT OUT!" she yelled. I banged harder, but these windows weren't normal glass. I was screaming at the top of my lungs now, pounding as hard as I could. Ms. Barrett yelled, "A LITTLE HELP?" Suddenly, I felt an arm dart in front of my face. They quickly pressed some kind of rag against my mouth. I tried to push them away, but they refused. They wrapped their other arm around my neck and put me in a headlock. I began to lose consciousness. Chloroform...? I thought. I attempted to struggle, but I felt my body becoming numb. I fell onto my back on the seat. I saw Ms. Barrett turn around, and I saw an evil smile on the face of... not Ms. Barrett. With what strength I had left, I turned and saw the owner of the arms that chloroformed me. They were climbing out of the trunk and into my seat. Heh... I guess it really was full... My vision was blurry as my glasses had fallen off during the struggle. The face I saw looked... familiar. As everything faded away, my eyes closed and my body stopped moving, and finally, my consciousness drifted away.