When a boy in black grabbed my hand and told me to run for my life I thought it was a metaphor. A metaphor for what, you might ask. To be honest, I'm not sure. It made sense at the moment. I was never good at English class, so for all I knew it could have been. All I know is that I was being dragged down the street by a guy I didn't know, which kinda creeped me out. Ok...I should probably start from the beginning. Starting with an introduction.

    

"My name is Jane Doe. At least, that's what it says on my birth certificate. I know, I know,people don't get named that. I don't know what happened when I was born, ok. I've been told I was smuggled into the maternity ward when I was just a few hours old. No one had any idea how I got there. It was like, 'Surprise! take this baby.' They didn't have any evidence of who my mother is, so I was put into the system. I guess someone was lazy, or just wasn't very creative. When they talked about me at the hospital, they called me Baby Doe. Of course, Jane Doe is what they call dead bodies when they pop up, so they decided to name me that. Once I got older, however, I realized Jane Doe is a stupid name, so I decided to change it. Multiple times.

    

"In first grade I was Natalie Mason, the quiet girl that always sat in the back of the class, never saying a word. Johanna O'Connor was a second grader always in trouble. I made my first friend when I was her, a girl named Jessie Jones. Last I heard she was in Juvie. Thought there was something off about her. Anyway, In forth grade I was Lisa Michaels, a goody-goody that mysteriously disappeared in the middle of the year, replaced by Shirley Crow, a Goth girl with a really bad attitude. Finally, in Fifth grade, I was forced to choose. Really, I'm surprised I kept up that game for so long. Mrs. Lacy, otherwise known as the demon lady, had heard of my "shenanigans" and demanded I make up my mind.

 

    "So I chose my final alias. Samantha Goodly. I guess she was a mixture of Natalie and Johanna. I did cause trouble, but it was behind the scenes, Manipulation and secrets, though I only ever used my talents to break up the groups terrorizing the school. You know, the popular girls that posted embarrassing pictures and got away with everything.

 

    "It was 7th grade, the first year with the cliques and JV jocks. I was new to the school since I moved to the town a month after school started. During lunch on my first day, I sat at the table in the center of the cafeteria. Whispers surrounded me, but I ignored them as I ate my food. Before I could finish, however, I was interrupted by girl dropping her lunch tray beside me.

"Who said you could sit here?"/p

"Amanda O'Hara. Black hair, green eyes, and no personality. I didn't know who she was at the time, so I went with one of my usual greeting.

"I did. Why do you care?"

"Her face went bright red. I could hear some guys at a neighboring table snickering. Obviously embarrassed, she sputtered her next few words.

"You...I'm...Megan!"

"I turned my head so I was looking behind her. A tall, slender girl was coming up behind Amanda. She was very pretty, with long, curly blonde hair.

"Mandy, what are you doing?"

"Meg, she's sitting at our table!"

She pointed at me like a kindergartner tattling on a classmate. A small group of girls started laughing as they passed. Amanda puts her arm down, embarassed. Megan stared at me for a second, as if examining if I was worth her time. After a few seconds she laughed, flicking a bit of hair off her shoulder.

"Oh Mandy, It's no big deal." She sat down next to me and smiled.

"I'm Megan. What's your name?" I sat in silence for a while, looking her up and down as discreetly as I could. One of my few skills I learned over the years is profiling. I could look at a person and pull out a few important facts. For example, I could tell Megan was a spoiled, stuck up rich girl that loved her popularity. Fancy clothes, perfect hair, and a kind face masking cold eyes. Not to mention the look on the other girls faces as they passed.

"My name is Sam," I finally replied after a few awkward minutes.

"From that day on I sat with the popular girls, delighted to find myself included. I was able to overlook their nastiness for a while, but eventually my conscious got the better of me. I noticed how they bullied the other students, cheated on tests, and spread rumors without consequence. I decided to take action.

"The first thing I did was dig up as much dirt on them as I could. To tell the truth, there wasn't much. Either they were really good at covering their tracks, or their parents paid to keep things under wraps. However, I was able to find out about their petty crime spree. You know, candy, pencils, stupid stuff they threw away after stealing. The biggest thing, however, was when I discovered they switched tests with one of the smartest girls without anyone finding out.

"It was the final exam of sixth grade and her score totally ruined her GPA. She never had any evidence. At least, she didn't before I went. Now, 6th grade might not have meant much to you, but it meant everything to that girl. So I arranged a little meeting with my "friends."

"Hey Megan," I said once I got there.

We were eating at the local pizza place, which I still love to this day, even though I don't live there anymore.

"I'm really worried about this test coming up. Mrs. Heart said it's worth 50% of this Marking period's grade! I know you got a 95% on the exam last year, so I could really use your help."

This, of course, was a lie. I was totally prepared for the test, but she didn't need to know that. She also didn't need to know I had a tape recorder hidden underneath the table. Amanda and her shared a knowing glance and leaned forward together, which kind of freaked me out.

"Sure," Megn whispered while Amanda looked around, checking for eavesdroppers. "I can tell you how I got my score last year."

Here's a tip. If you ever steal someones test and pass it off for your own, good for you.(Don't, of course, because that's bad) Never tell anyone as long as you live. Especailly don't tell a girl you hardly know. There. Now you can't say you never learned anything from me.

Anyway, she told me everything and got it on tape. Megan was expelled and Amanda was suspended for aiding and abetting. I didn't tell them I turned them in. I slipped it into the principals office anonymously. It was better that way, trust me.

Why is that story relative, you might ask. Well, I think it shows off my "special" power of manipulation. Not that I'm proud of it, though. It's not always a good thing. I just can't help myself sometimes. I have to get involved. This, as you can probably guess, came back to bite me in the butt later.

I've told you about my identity crisis and my manipulation skills. I should probably tell you who I am.

You already know I go by Sam, so I don't really need to repeat that bit. Well, I guess I just did. Whatever. I'm 15 years old, five months from my 16th birthday. I can't express how excited I am in my birthday. The closest words I could find include: Yippee, Whoop-dee-doo, and YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! :)

You might assume I'm excited because I'm getting a car. Yeah right. In my dreams. Here in reality, I'm excited because I'm going to me emancipated.

Ok, let me set the record straight. I'm not Annie. I don't live in an orphanage, where they make us clean and stuff like that. I've spent my entire life in foster homes, no orphanages. Most of the foster homes were pretty nice. I like the families of other kids too. I just hate being moved every year or two. Most of the time the parents chose to adopt instead or they get tired of my craziness. Either way it meant a new home and a new school for me.

I've never told anyone at school about living in foster homes. They didn't ask and they didn't need to know. The few times I actually had friends I just kept making excuses. I told them my dad was out of town or my mom was sick. The teachers knew, of course, but they must have known it was a sensitive subject, because they didn't mention it in class.

Just last week I thought I had 5 months then freedom. Unfortunately for me, I have the worst luck in the world.

"Hey! Thanks for reading the prologue to my story. I'm going to revise it eventually, but wanted to get something up. I have two more chapters written up,  I just need to type them. Please comment.

2: Chapter 1

I know, I know. You're probably burning with questions. Who is the boy in black? Was someone trying to kill you? Why are you telling us this and will you have to kill us afterwards? Well hold your horses. I promise I will explain...eventually. The truth is, I don't really remember every detail. It was only a week ago, but believe me, it's been a long week for me. Maybe starting from the beginning of the first day will refresh my memory.

Ok...ok...where to start. Oh, I know!

I awoke to the sound of birds chirping and the feeling of the warm sun on my skin. I yawned, my eyes heavy with tiredness. My nose sniffed by default, taking in the smell of fresh blueberry pancakes fresh off the griddle. My head turned to the right, my eyes setting on the tray sitting on my bedside table. I sat up and stretched my left arm, reaching for the note on the tray with my right. The note read:

"Here's your breakfast, Sweetheart. Eat them go ahead and sleep all day. Who cares about school..."

I grabbed the fork piled with delicious, buttery goodness and pulled it to my lips...

Then I actually woke up.

Come on, we've all had those dreams before. Don't deny it. I bet you think I'm pathetic. Well for your information that accusation is...true.

Anyway there was no chirping birds, no sun, just the feeling of my four-year-old foster brother jumping up and down on my bed.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

I opened my eyes just enough to see a glint of bleach blonde hair flying above me. I groaned and turned to my side, not realizing I was now right underneath him while he was in mid-jump.

"Ouch! Jacob! Pain throbbed on my side as I reached towards him, grabbed his waist, and pulled him down. He giggled and squirmed, but I held firm., my fingers running up and down his side. My mouth split into a smile as he laughed harder.

"Stop it, stop it!" I finally let him go, sitting up and stretching. My ginger hair streaming down my back, tangled. Jacob jumped up and grabbed my hand with his own tiny one.

"Come on, come on, you gotta go to school."

"Ok, geez, give me a second I have to get ready."

"Nope you gotta go now." His face was a mask of innocence, which made me suspicious.

"Why the hurry?" I ran my fingers though my hair and glanced at the watch sitting next to my bed. My mouth opened wide as I grabbed it, making sure I read it right.

"Jacob! It's 8:00! I have to be at school is 25 minutes! Why didn't you wake me?" He shrugged as I pushed him out of my room. My eyes glanced at my dresser as I searched for clothes.

I pulled random clothes out of the top drawer. Once I ran out of my room I was wearing jeans and an orange shirt, which clashed horribly with my hair. I laughed to myself as I slid down the stairs. By the time I reached the kitchen it was 8:05. It usually took me half an hour to get to school. I rushed past Joyce, my foster mother.

"Running late, are we?"

Ok, really quick note about Joyce. She was, by far, my favorite foster mother. She really cared about us kids. She couldn't have kids of her own, so she was in the process of filling the gap. her and her husband were a few months away from adopting Jacob. Ok, back to the story.

Where was I? Oh yeah. I was late...again. It wasn't that unusual for me to be late. That makes sense when you rely on a four year old to be your alarm clock. Sure he gets me up, but usually either at eight o'clock or four o'clock. In. The. Morning. I love him to bits, but that kids really needs to learn how to tell time.

Anyways, I stopped at the counter to snatch a piece to toast from the leaning tower of breakfast. Imagine a Jenga tower, but instead of wood blocks it's made up of toast, eggs, and the occasional pancake. Joyce went a little bit overboard with breakfast.

"Yeah," I replied, my mouth filled with bread. "Gotta go. Bye." I kissed the head of the other two kids, even 12 year old Conner, who had declared himself too old for hugs and kisses. Sure. He still sleeps with a teddy bear. Don't tell him I said that.

I pulled Jacob into a smothering hug , pulled the door open, and broke into a run as soon as I hit the pavement.

Now, I'm not very good at many things. Manipulation is one thing. Running is another.

I'm the fastest runner in my grade, if not the whole school. I've been asked to join the track team multiple times, but I always declined. I'm a fast runner, but I don't run unless I have to. I tell myself I'm saving my energy in case I get chased by a crazy lunatic or something.

The wind blew through my hair as I approached the main part of town. Truthfully, it wasn't much to look at. The houses were modest and there were hardly any stores. The nearest mall was 5 miles outside of town in another city. All we had was a Walmart, a McDonald's, and an ice cream shop. I gotta say though, the ice cream shop has delicious ice cream.

I was known fairly well around the town. Many people waved or nodded at me. A few others sneered and made rude gestures. Hey, I said I was well known, not liked. Some of the adults knew I was a foster kid. They, thankfully, didn't tell their kids. I didn't need anything else messing up my life.

My watch read 8:23 as I approached the boring, dull brown school. I smiled to myself. 20 minutes. That was a new record. My breathing slightly labored I walked inside, only to be stopped by Wallace Dundy, the hall monitor and huge pain in the...well, you get the idea.

"No running in the hallways!" He yelled, spraying my face with spit.

"I wan't running, Wallace. I ran here. I slowed down as I walked up the steps. Don't get your undies in a twist."

His face turned beat red as he put up a hand. "I don't want excuses."

"And I don't want to be late for class." I fired back as I pushed past him and ran towards my first hour classroom. I laughed as he blew his whistle hysterically, convinced it would make me stoop. How he became hall monitor I was never really sure. I think it's because his dad is the crossing guard.

8:24. That was the time when I opened the door to my first hour math class. I settled into my seat right when the bell rang. A sigh escaped me, which made the girl sitting next to me stare.

"Cutting it pretty close, aren't you Sammy?"

I grinned.

"Oh shut up Casper."

Casper Wolf was one of the most popular girls in school. At least she was before I came. I discovered her "best friend" had been trading tests with her for years, Casper got her bad grades while her friend got her good ones. I discovered enough evidence to send it to the principal. The girl was expelled and Casper was in the market for a new best friend.

I din't know exactly how it happened, but I found out we had a lot in common. Next thing I knew we were as thick as thieves, Quite literally. She had a bit of a shoplifting problem.

The room fell silent as the teacher strode in, her head high. Mrs. Josie was my least favorite teacher. With her gray hair, piercing blue eyes, olive skin, and Mediterranean accent she looked, and sounded, like an evil Greek grandmother.

"Miss. Doe?" My hand balled into fists. Mrs. Josie had a nasty habit of getting on my nerves.

"My name is Samantha Goodly. Ma'am." I put as much sarcasm in the last word as I could. For some strange reason she didn't appreciate that.

"Your name is Jane Doe. That's what it says on my list, so that's your name. If you want it changed I suggest you take it up with the government."

A group of boys in the back snickered at my discomfort. It took all of my self control not to make a rude gesture. I didn't need to be in anymore trouble.

"What do you want, Mrs. Jamie?" My teeth were gritted as I spit out the words.

"I received a note from that dear boy Wallace. You have received a detention for running in the hallway." She clicked her tongue as my ears burned from embarrassment.

Thankfully the little "Lets embarrass Sam" session was cut short. The door opened to reveal the vice principal. I actually liked the vice principal. He would stand in the hallway and joke with students on their way to class. On the last day of school the year before he dressed up as a surfer and gave everyone Popsicles. Not the cheap kind, the good kind.

He walked in and smiled at the class. There were many cries of welcome not including Mrs. Josie's severe look.

"May I help you, Mr. Jones?"

He nodded and motioned behind him.

"You have a new student today."

He turned, but there was no one there. He sighed, reached behind him, and produced an arm. Unfortunately, that arm was attached to a boy.

There was a collective intake of breath from all of the girls in the class. I rolled my eyes, but I found myself sneaking a peek at the new kid.

He was tall, at least 5 feet ten inches. The hair on his head was brown like chocolate ice cream, which made me hungry. He was wearing a bright blue shirt and jeans with holes in the knees. My brain instantly profiled him. He was athletic, probably football or soccer. Quiet, my mind told me. The look on his face said it all. He was nervous. Poor guy. Those girls were not going to leave him alone.

The girls around the room began attempting to push their friends away to make an empty seat for him to sit in.

"This is Kyle. He's only just moved here."

Mr. Jones looked at Kyle expectantly. He stared back. After a few moments he spoke.

"Hullo...I guess." I groaned. He was British. The other girls melted into puddles. This would be the only thing they would take about for at least the rest of the week.

"Well...choose a seat," Mr. Josie insisted in an impatient manner. Casper tried to motion to the closest empty desk as discreetly as possible, but I still noticed. She looked embarrassed as I made a face at her.

Kyle scanned the room and his eyes settled somewhere in my side of the room. I looked around and realized in horror that the seat directly to the left of me was empty. Before I could put anything on the seat he plopped down next to me. Every other girl in the room looked at me jealously. Casper's mouth was wide open, making me think of a deer caught in headlights. However, before I could hassle her about it I felt a chill go down my spine as a finger tapped my shoulder. I turned to my left and saw Kyle looking at me.

"Hi. Do you have a pencil?"

I felt the eyes of the entire class on me as I reached into my bag and produced a pencil. He thanked me but didn't turn away. I glanced a Mrs. Josie. She was still teaching, oblivious to the fact no one was listening.

"What's your name?"

I had to bit down on my tongue to keep myself from telling him to shut up.

"Sam." I said curtly, my eyes staring straight ahead.

"Is that short for Samantha?"

My frantic whispers escaped my lips before I could think.

"Listen, I would love to chat, but I already have a detention and I really don't want to get into any more trouble."

He stared at me as I paused. I felt bad, so I added a bit.

"Oh, and welcome to Burrow high."

Suddenly, without warning, Kyle broke out laughing. Anyone that had stopped looking at us had turned to stare again.

Mrs. Josie's face was bright red, her eyes bugging out.

"Mr. Little ," I guess that was Kyles last name. "What is the meaning of this disruption?"

Instantly all the girls started defending him...and blaming me.

"It's Sam's fault." "Kyle didn't do anything." "Shame on her for trying to get him in trouble!"

Yeah...not the most popular kid in school.

Mrs. Josie was about to say something, no doubt assigning my second detention of the day, when my neighbor piped up and said something.

"Nah, it was my fault. Something about this room reminded me of something funny from home. You know...being away for a long time. It's easy to see things that reminds you of it."

Kyle seemed to strike a chord with that little comment, obviously a lie. Mrs. Josie's eyes misted over and her voice faltered.

"Yes..." She muttered. "I understand that feeling. Just don't disrupt class again."

The bell rang, followed by the sound of chairs scraping the floor and shuffling of feet. A few students looked at Mrs. Josie warily, waiting for her to say something. When she remained silent they grinned and left.

"What was that?" Casper asked me as we left. "She didn't even give us homework."

I felt a breeze as someone walked up and fell in step with Casper and I.

"I saves your arse back there." I snorted as I crossed my arms. I quickl glanced behind him and wasn't surprised to see most of the girls in math class following us. Even some of the girls not in our class had found their way to the mob.

"You saved me? you're the reason I almost got in trouble in the first place. What was so funny, anyway?"

"Oh...your coldness amused me. Fine...point taken. So, what class do you have next?"

"Is that any of your business?" I fired back. Casper stared at me in shock. Kyle looked like he was about to say something, but I sped up, leaving him to the mercy of the mob. Casper scurried to keep up.

"What's the matter with you? The guy obviously just wants some friends. Shouldn't we just get to know him?"

Usually I try not to admit it when I'm wrong. Unfortunately, Casper was right. I had no idea why I was being to hostile to Kyle, But I just had a bad feeling about that guy...like he was lying about something.

"Well..." I stuttered as I tried to come up with a good argument. Finally, I admitted defeat. My hands were up in the air.

"Fine, fine. If he comes up to us again I'll be nice.."

Casper seemed satisfied.

"Good, 'cause I think he's in History class with us."

"What?!" I exclaimed, and sure enough there he was. Mr. British. I tried to slump down in my chair, but it was too late. He saw us and he sat down in the seat across from mine.

"Fancy seeing you here, ain't it."

Before I could tell him to shove off, I noticed Casper eyeing me expectantly. I sighed.

"Ok..I know I haven't been exactly 'friendly' to you." I made air quotes with my fingers. "I'm sorry, ok, I apologize." I glares at Casper.

"Happy?"

She nodded. Poor Kyle just looked confused.

"What?"

Groaning, I rolled my eyes.

"I was trying to apologize, genius."

"Yeah, yeah. I got that bit. But what I've been wondering...why did you hate me in the first place?"

My brain shouted in my ears, trying to come up with an excuse.

"Well..." Thankfully, Mr. Chez got up from desk, telling everyone to settle down.

"Oh well, too late." I shrugged and watched the teacher as he introduced himself to Kyle. He had him stand up and say a few things about him.

Apparently he grew up in London. Of course he did. (In case you were wondering I'm rolling my eyes.) He enjoys reading, going to the movie theater (which he called the cinema), and eating fries (which he called chips). Add in playing soccer (Football to him) and you have the start of a perfect Brit. Too perfect.

After Kyle sat down Mr. Chex began teaching. It was a fairly interesting lesson about the civil war. Unfortunately everyone around kept poking me and whispering. Some threats, some questions...those girls would not leave me alone. Teenagers are scary.

Thankfully, Kyle was not in my next class. Neither was Casper, so I guess I was all alone. It was chemistry and we did an experiment, which at least kept the fan club off my back that hour.

Lunch was when things got crazy. Well...granted lunch was always crazy. There was only one line for the school lunch and believe me, it wasn't worth it. But it wasn't everyday there was a new kid. Yet Kyle was nowhere to be found.

Casper and I sat and ate, amused by the other lemmings...I mean girls. I wolfed down my sandwich as Casper ate her salad lettuce piece by lettuce piece. She was on the whole health craze thing. I finished long before she did so I excused myself and exited the cafeteria, pushing past giggling freshmen and idiotic guys of all ages. They never do grow out of it, do they.

I walked the hallway alone, trying to get to the library. Even though lunch just started there were tons of kids mulling around the hallways. A table of seniors announced the treats they were selling. Student council members were hanging posters advertising the school dance. A teacher walked down the hallway searching for someone.

Mrs. Josie was looking right at me. I stifled a groan as she approached me.

"Miss. Doe, there is someone here to see you."

I was shocked. There was no one that could come to see me. My foster parents were at work and I didn't know anyone else. My blood chilled as my brain switched into worst-case scenario mode.

"Why? Who is it? Is something wrong?"

The old bat looked at me fiercely.

"Just go. You're keeping who ever it is waiting."

I ran through the halls, ignoring the outraged cries of Wallace. I was around the corner from the office when things got crazy, like I promised earlier.

The fire alarm went off, spraying everyone in the school with water. Guys cheered and the rich girls screamed about their hair. I froze, looking for the nearest exit. Everyone was going out the main door, so I turned and ran towards the other one around the corner.

Before I turned the corner the looked towards the office. My blood chilled as I saw a man in a black coat staring at me. Quickly as I could I sped off, ignoring the yells of people I knocked into. I was only a few feet from the door when I knocked into someone, knocking me off my feet. I lay on the ground, my hand on my head.

"Oh gosh...sorry Sam..."

It was Kyle. He was standing over me, watching with concern. Then he offered me a hand, which I took. He pulled me upright and followed me outside. He was hiding something, I was sure of it. I could tell by the way he walked.

Teachers stood in circle, trying to figure out what happened. I didn't see any smoke, so I assumed it was just a prank.

"Attention students!" The principal yelled. The talking ceased immediately.

"It appears," She continued, glaring at the high-schoolers. "That we have fallen victim to a prank. I assure that whomever did this will be punished. Severely. Fire alarms are not laughing matter. It is a huge inconvenience to everyone. The sprinklers are still going and everything is soaked. We can not continue the school day. Now believe me..."

She was drowned out by the cheers of the students as they ran off of school grounds. Kle accompanied me to the sidewalk.

"What's up with you?" I inquired, remembering my promise to be friendly.

"Nothing, why?"

Kyle was a good liar. He had no tell. He didn't drum his finger against his thigh, he didn't click his tongue, he didn't even shift he weight. I only knew he was lying because of his eyes. Dead give away.

When I was little people would lie to me all the time.

"Yes, Jane, you'll get adopted."

"Don't worry, Natalie. It'll work out."

"You'll never have to move again, Shirley."

Long story short, I have trust issues.

"Don't pretend to be so innocent. You did something." Then it hit me. "Duh...you pulled the fire alarm, didn't you."

Kyle looked around in alarm.

"Well don't announce it to everyone."

I clapped slowly, grinning.

"Bravo, Bravo. I wasn't so sure about you, but I've made up my mind.

I noticed Casper waving to us frantically.

"What's up?" She asked, eyeing Kyle with a smile.

"I like him." The I turned to Kyle.

"Want to go get some ice cream?"

He looked at me, obviously surprised in my sudden change. I raised my eyebrows, repating the question without words. He grinned slowly.

"Sure. Lead the way."