Buzz, buzz.
Lazily, I roll over and slap the top of my alarm, annoyed by the noise.
I start to sit up as I rub my eyes, yawning.
"It's too early for this," I say as I glare at my window, letting in the morning sunrise.
I've never liked mornings. I'd much rather sleep in.
All of a sudden, I hear banging on my door.
"COME ON, SKY! Breakfast is ready, and we have to catch the bus!"
It's my older brother, Jake. I can hear his heavy footsteps trail away down the stairs.
I gather all the strength I have and get out of bed. My feet hit the cold hardwood floor, and I head over to my closet. I open the doors and stare at my freshman uniform for Redfern High School.
I throw it on, then check myself in the mirror, smoothing out any wrinkles. It's the first day of school, so I want to look at least decent.
I stare at my reflection. My frizzy, long, dirty-blonde hair needs taming, so I run my hands through it and push it back. I gaze into my green eyes and decide I look decent enough. Grabbing a hair tie from my vanity, I pull my hair into a ponytail and head out.
As I get to the bottom of the stairs, I can smell Dad's cheesy scrambled eggs. I turn into the kitchen, seeing my brother and our father sitting at the table eating breakfast.
"Morning," I say as I sit down to join them.
"Awe, sleeping beauty has finally graced us with her presence," Jake says, taking a dramatic bow in his seat with his stupid grin.
"Shut up, Jake," I say, rolling my eyes.
Our father gives a loud sigh as he sets down his morning paper. "Let's make it a good day, shall we, you two?" he says, looking at us both.
I look down, stabbing at my eggs with my fork. "He started it," I mutter under my breath.
Jake just sits there.
"Whatever you say, Pops," he says, getting up and putting his empty plate in the sink.
"Come on, Sky, we've got to get going," he adds, grabbing his bag.
I rush through the rest of breakfast, then stand up and put my plate in the sink. I grab my bag and give our dad a quick hug.
"See you tonight," I say as I run toward the door to join Jake walking to the bus stop.
"Have a good first day, you two!" I hear our father yell before we're out of earshot.
As we start walking down the driveway, I hear a weird noise coming from our backyard.
"What was that?" I say, spinning around and stopping in my tracks.
Jake looks back at me, shrugs, and says nonchalantly, "I didn't hear anything. You're losing it—let's go."
I turn back to him, confused. "You seriously didn't hear that?" I shout.
Jake, looking agitated, walks over and grabs my arm. "Let's go," he says more sternly, pulling me toward the bus stop.
I stumble forward, following his lead. I try pulling my arm back, but I can't loosen his grip.
"Will you let go? What's wrong? I know you heard that noise."
I manage to rip my arm away and start storming toward the backyard—only to bump into our father.
"Oh, Dad, there was a weird noise coming from back there."
He stands firmly in place with his arms crossed.
"You know you're not allowed to go in the backyard. It's not finished—it's dangerous," he states coldly, leaving no room for negotiation.
"I know, I'm sorry. Like I said, I heard something," I gesture behind him.
Jake comes running up behind me, laughing.
"It looks like someone obviously didn't get enough sleep," he says, reaching out and grabbing my shoulder, gently pulling me back toward the bus.
"It's probably just some maintenance stuff you heard, Skyler. There's no need to concern yourself with it," our father says as we turn to leave.
I look back as we walk away and see Dad turning around and heading into the backyard. My curiosity grows more and more with each step we take until we finally get to the bus stop. I turn to Jake.
"Okay, spill. What is going on? Ever since Mom disappeared, Dad's been weird about the backyard. And I still swear on your birthday last week I saw you guys both out there."
I look at him, demanding answers as we wait for the bus.
He looks at me, annoyed. "Look, Sky, I told you then and I'll tell you now—we never went out there on my birthday. And like Dad says, it's unfinished. It's not safe. And don't bring up Mom—you know better."
He stiffens at the mention of our mother. She went missing four years ago. She went into the backyard… and we never saw her again. Dad has been talking about adding things to the backyard, making it safe, but none of it makes sense.
Frustrated, I turn away and wait for the bus. Clearly, I'm not getting any answers from him. If I'm going to find out what's going on, I'm going to have to do this discreetly—and by myself.
Jake sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Just trust me, okay? Please, Sky."
I don't know why he's trying so hard. Before his birthday, he would've been just as curious as I am. But after he turned sixteen—no, it was after the night of his birthday, after I saw him and Dad out there in the backyard.
I should've followed them. I regret that now. I was just scared of getting caught… and of what they could have been doing. Dad says the backyard is dangerous, but he still takes Jake back there. Things just don't add up.
"Yeah, whatever," I mutter.
The bus soon pulls up, and we both get on. I hold my breath as soon as I pass the driver, the smell of putrid B.O. hitting me like a freight train. I trudge through the students, just trying to find an open seat.
I find a seat near the back and slide in. I put on my headphones, start my music, and stare out the window as the bus makes its way to school.