CHAPTER 1
DRAB

CORALINE remembered her first vision like it was yesterday.

A major headache emerged between her temples as she took her Chemistry final exam. She had a constant throbbing in her head throughout the morning, but she assumed it was her own punishment for partying so late night. There had been a wild blow out down by the river, and just about anyone who was anyone was invited. Coraline wasn't just anyone; she was a someone — so of course, she had to go. As soon as she got home, she studied for the rest of the night, hardly getting a wink of sleep. Once this exam was over, she planned to go home and sleep, just so this headache would be over.

But the throbbing only got worse. Coraline tapped her pencil against the paper, going over the problem in front of her. It was about Avogadro's Law. She knew how to solve this, but the constant throbbing forced her memory to go blank.

A 10.0 L sample at 25°C and 2.00 atm of pressure contains 0.5 mole of a gas. If an additional 0.25 mole of gas at the same pressure and temperature are added, what is the final total volume of the gas?

She just had to use the formula. Shaking her leg, anxiety began to run through her body like a river. Coraline touched the tip of her pencil on the paper, ready to write down the formula, when her hand began to vibrate. She looked to the pencil, but her vision was suddenly blurry. Turning her head to her teacher at the front of the room, she realized that she could hardly see Mr. York as he flipped through the school paper. Coraline pursed her lips and wondered if anyone noticed her shaking. None of them paid any attention.

And then she snapped the pencil in her hand.

A few heads turned her way. Her friend and study partner, Amalia Beaumont, scooted her chair over to the girl at the other end of the lab desk. Amalia glanced to their teacher, who hadn't moved an inch, and then viewed back to Coraline trembling in her seat. She was fumbling with the broken pencil and tapped the desk in multiple places to find another, as if she was suddenly blind.

"Hey," Amalia whispered, despite other students watching the exchange. "Are you okay?"

Coraline moved her head in the direction of Amalia's voice, but she suddenly couldn't see a thing. Darkness clouded her vision. She reached out and grabbed Amalia's cheek, mumbling, "I – I can't –"

"Miss Avery," their teacher finally stood. He threw the newspaper onto desk and put on a fresh coat of hand sanitizer, preparing to walk over and confiscate Coraline's test. "There will be no cheating in this class –"

Coraline's body flew off the seat, as if it were being controlled by another force of nature. Everyone in the room stood and gasps filled the air. Amalia screamed bloody murder as Mr. York ran to Coraline's side. She vibrated on the floor, trying to hack up something that didn't exist in her throat. Her mouth was dry. Blackness covered her eyes. Her mind was awake, but her body was ... somewhere else. She tried reaching out to grab something, but ended up clutching onto Amalia's ankle, who shrieked yet again and wiggled herself out of Coraline's weak grasp.

A bright light appeared before her eyes, and Coraline was sure that she was now dying. Of course, it had to be now, in the middle of a final exam. She'd be forever seventeen; forever a spring fling queen. At least, she'd be pretty when they put her in the casket.

But then everything came in flashes. She was suddenly on the sidelines of a multi-lane roadway, cars passing by her like she were a ghost. A chill wind ran through the air and caused her to shiver. Trees swayed from side to side. The moon ventured higher into the night sky. Is this what hell looks like? She asked herself, turning her head in multiple directions.

A familiar red Volvo started speeding down the highway. Coraline recognized Cierra Vega in the front seat, applying a stain of pink lipstick to her mouth. Cars behind her began to honk their horns as she slowed her speed. Some even started to cut her off from the side. Cierra scowled in her rearview mirror and continued putting on the lipstick. Coraline would've expected more from the smartest girl in school.

When she couldn't take the honking anymore, Coraline watched Cierra roll her eyes and speed up, right past her on the side of the road. Cierra then began to merge into another lane when another car was trying to pass her. But everything was too fast. She was going to –

Coraline knew what was going to happen. Out of instinct, she sprinted for Cierra's car, as if that would do anything. "Cierra!" She shrieked, stomping into the wet mud beneath her feet.

It was already too late. As soon as the words left her lips, Cierra's car swerved to the side and tore through a guardrail. A scream echoed in the air as the car rolled down the side hill, until it finally crashed into a large tree. Then it was silent. Everything was silent.

Coraline's breath was uneven as she stared at the idle car before her. She dared to whisper Cierra's name, but she couldn't talk anymore. Darkness overcame her sight again, yet Coraline still jogged forward. She was running away blind, desperate to help Cierra, but silence reverberated around the darkness, and suddenly, all she could hear was her own ears ringing.

She couldn't prevent the future anymore.

•••

Conveniently, the first vision came six months after Coraline's father left them. The doctors said that she had a schizophrenic break, probably from emotional build up after Jacob Avery's exit. Her mother, Francesca, ate it all up with a spoon, making sure the hospital staff referred her to the best professionals in Los Angeles to take her daughter to. Francesca wasn't going to let this disorder take over Coraline. Their family's reputation had already been ruined after her husband's affair became public and it was discovered that she now had to work as a receptionist in a Holiday Inn. This wasn't going to happen again; not on her watch.

But it did happen again. News spread across the school of Coraline's mental breakdown, labeling her now as the friendly, neighborhood freak. Her friends now called her a psycho behind her back. Everyone who wanted to be her ... now looked down on her. Reputation: gone. Class ranking: gone. All in the blink of an eye. Coraline Avery wasn't a someone anymore.

The visions happened randomly, but mostly occurred once every two months. Subjects varied, but many revolved around death, or a story she'd soon see on the news. She tried explaining them to her mother once, telling Francesca that this was what was normal now, and the visions were secrets to the future. She didn't need doctors or medication or therapist visits. What she needed was for her mother to believe her. Francesca only shook her head and ran a hand over her stressed lids. "I don't want to hear it," she told her daughter. "Please, just take the medication, Cora. For me. Please."

She still took the medication. It didn't do anything, and her mother knew that she was paying for it for no reason. But Francesca was living in denial, and she'd like to keep it that way. Sometimes, she'd even pretend her wealthy husband was still in the house, waiting for her to come to bed after a long day at work. Handling his exit – where he left her with only the house – was tough enough. The last thing she needed was to formally acknowledge that her daughter now received visions of the future.

•••

It was now three weeks into Coraline's senior year, and things hadn't gotten any easier. She almost dodged a bullet within the third day, when she had to run to the girl's bathroom as a vision took over her sight. Luckily, it only lasted a minute, but what she saw lasted so much longer. She tried to block it out, as she did with most visions, but Coraline distinctly remembered witnessing a flood spread out through an entire town. Days later, they reported on the news of a local flooding that hit record levels and destroyed the next town over.

People now stared at Coraline, but not like how they used to. Coraline remembered how empowered she felt walking down the halls every morning. Girls would compliment her outfit, telling her how she would always be best-dressed. Boys would stare, wishing they had a date with her that night. She had been wanted. She had been desired.

Now they looked at her for what she really was: a psycho, a schizophrenic freak.

An arm locked around her shoulders, causing Coraline to jump. It was only Eloise Tran, a poker connoisseur that had welcomed Coraline into her friend group when no one else had. Coraline had grown close with her throughout the summer, even joining her board game club that met every Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon. Coraline never took board games seriously – I mean, who did? – but this club was serious business, at least to Eloise's friends, Billy Dhar and Greg Romano.

"Hey there, Cor," Eloise giggled at scaring her friend. She covered her mouth delicately with a manicured hand. "What'cha up to?"

Coraline sucked in a heavy breath as she looked to her former friends huddled together at the end of the hallway. They were all laughing – not at her, just ... at something funny she wanted to be included in. Amalia Beaumont turned her head, catching Coraline's stare, and she smiled sadly at her. Coraline didn't need pity.

"Oh, you know," she finally answered, glancing to Eloise as they sauntered together, "just trying not to kill myself before noon. I guess the rumors about my multiple psychologist appointments really got to the whole student body throughout the summer."

Eloise frowned, pity covering her expression. Coraline never minded her pity; she valued Eloise too much to hate her for it. The black-haired girl reached out and patted Coraline's shoulder. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "But, hey! Maybe I know what will make you feel better." She stuck her hands into the pockets of her hand-me-down overalls, which she paired with a stripped tee and red Converse.

"If it's the surprise meal that will be at lunch today," Coraline replied, "then I'll pass. Whenever they list a surprise meal for lunch in the cafeteria, its always their off-brand stir fry, frequently with deep-fried mold."

Eloise snorted, hitting her friend's shoulder. They passed by Amalia and her friends, and before Coraline could stop her, Eloise sent a glare in the popular kids' direction. She then looked back to Coraline, who hardly noticed the exchange, and smiled. "Are you coming to board game club today? Greg got the new edition of Clue!"

Coraline gripped the straps of her backpack and lifted a brow. "He told us last time that that was coming out for another year. How'd he –"

"You know his connections," Eloise muttered under her breath. "We don't really know anything about his dad. Bill thinks he could be a mob boss."

Coraline shook her head. "Just because Greg is Italian, doesn't mean –" She paused and laughed softly. "Never mind. I can't go anyways. My mom wants me home as soon as we get out of this hell hole to prepare dinner. She's working late tonight."

Eloise sighed as they approached Coraline's homeroom. "Well, okay. See you at lunch?" Her friend nodded in agreement.

And that's how days went now. No longer exciting, reveling in the new gossip lingering around the school's brick walls. No more sitting in the back of the cafeteria. No more invitations to parties or hang outs. It was mainly just Coraline – alone; silent in most classes, until she saw Eloise, Greg, and Billy. Loneliness seemed to hover around her like a rain cloud, waiting to strike throughout the majority of the day.

She needed a hobby. Maybe she should go with her calling and work as a psychic that sits on the side of the road, begging onlookers to get a reading. That would definitely help with the rumors that she was psychotic. Definitely.

•••

The only good thing about school starting was the changing of weather. Despite global warming wrecking most of the world, California sometimes remained a comfortable autumn state. Not all the time, but sometimes. Humidity still leaked in the air, yet the leaves were falling at a slow pace. Coraline noticed shades of orange, yellow, and red dotting the pavement as she walked home that afternoon. She dreamed of a day that they could have a real autumn, one where it was cold, but not too cold, with pumpkins littering the ground instead of discarded waste.

Her house was huge, and sometimes Coraline was thankful that her father decided to leave them with it fully paid-off, rather than anything else. The scale of the home assured her that in some way, some how, she was still a somebody to this godforsaken town. However, she knew someday it would be too much for them to keep up.

It was a four-bedroom, three-bathroom brick house, accompanied by a dark, polished grand door and a front yard that stretched for miles. Two stone lions marked the entryway, as well as a tall, pillared fence to keep out onlookers. (That was especially useful after Coraline's incident. The local news had been all over her.) It was the largest home on the entire street. Jacob Avery had the house built for Francesca after they were married, as a way to persuade her to have children. Now look how that turned out.

As Coraline neared the brick home, she heard a couple doors slam in the distance. She didn't assume people would be outside, considering that she lived around all elderly folks who rarely moved from one spot. A U-Haul truck was parked right outside an older-looking home, just a few yards down from her own. Coraline never noticed the brown-shingled house before, but, frankly, she never really had to. It was drab looking; an unnoticeable speck in the multitude of pretty cottages on the street.

She couldn't stop herself from staring, though. An odd atmosphere surrounded the house, as if Coraline could feel the history behind it. She wondered how many ghosts lived in there.

Two people emerged from the home, one holding open the door for the other. A stout, round woman with short black hair strode over to the U-Haul, tugging open the latch. The person who had held the door for her – a boy, around Coraline's age, with honey-colored hair and bright blue eyes – rushed forward, exclaiming, "Let me do it! Let me do it!"

Coraline crossed the road then, heading for the side her own house was on, but her stare lingered on the new neighbors. The house was pretty tall, yet small. Why did they only have one U-Haul? Surely, they must have more stuff to put inside. Ha, Coraline thought to herself, unless they're on the run from something. She almost hoped that was the case. Maybe then she wouldn't be the only thing this tiny L.A. town talked about anymore.

When she was about to look away, the boy's eyes flickered to her own, as if he sensed her judgmental gaze. His expression was menacing, but also trustful, like Coraline wouldn't mind spilling all her secrets to the boy who looked like he slept on the sun. The woman beside him was mumbling to herself, but he kept his stare on Coraline, who almost walked into a poll from not watching her own feet.

Eventually, when his darkened gaze became too much of a challenge, Coraline released a humph and turned away, not thinking much of it. She would've never realized that the boy was still watching her, calculating her movements and the way she walked over each crack in the sidewalk. He watched her walked up the front steps to the big house three down from his, stick her key in the lock, and close the big, wooden door. A grin graced his lips, but no words were said.

Maybe things would've turned out different if Coraline Avery never laid eyes on the new neighbors.

•••

A/N: GOD I'M SO SORRY THIS SUCKS IDK I JUST CAN'T WRITE FIRST CHAPTERS

I also just wanted to bring this to everyone's attention because it is a Phat Mood