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to find that she isn’t waiting for me at my locker. A bad feeling is beginning to develop in the pit of my stomach, and I quickly grab my money and head for the lunchroom.
    Jenna’s just slipping into the lunch line when I approach her. “Hi Jenna.”
    She turns and looks at me, her lips tilting up in a forced smile. “Krista,” she greets. Someone walks past the line and coughs what sounds like an insult under his breath, and Jenna visibly stiffens.
    I turn and stare after the broad-shouldered boy that is sauntering away before looking at her questioningly. “What was that about?”
    Jenna looks genuinely apologetic. “Riley’s been busy today. You’re the school slut, and now I’m the lesbian that wants to get into your pants. Look Krista, you’re nice and all, but I don’t want to become a social outcast for the rest of the year. I’m sorry,” she says quietly. She ducks her head and leaves the line, and I find myself standing there alone as the line moves up.
    My heart sinks.
    Riley is determined to destroy everything that I try to build here, and now it looks like making new friends is out of the question. I wait for the line to keep moving, and I suffer through whispers and snickers before I can pay for my apple and soda. Feeling self-conscious, I escape the cafeteria and walk outside, sitting down by myself away from everyone else.
    There’s no escaping the fact that school is going to be a miserable experience for the rest of the year. So is my home life, because I hate the house and all its creaking and settling. I’m not prone to being frightened easily, but I hate the idea of being home all by myself in the middle of those woods. I’m also aware that eventually my mom will get a job, and I’ll be the only one home until evening.
    An idea begins to form, and I relax as I bite into my apple. So I’ll get a job and that will solve my issues at home. It’ll be a great distraction, and it’ll help with gas money since I think I’ll see what Manchester has to offer instead.
    As my eyes land on Cord, I see that he’s drawing in his sketch pad like he doesn’t have a care in the world. Maybe I need to be like that. Ignore the shitty parts of life and concentrate on what I do like. He seems content with himself, and maybe that’s the kind of attitude I need to adopt to make it here in this town.
    I’m done trying, and I refuse to throw a pity party for myself.
    Ambler Ridge is not my scene, it’s time to move on and get over it.

* * *
    I walk down the sidewalk in Manchester, feeling a little more optimistic, but not overly excited over the few stores that I’d filled out job applications for. I thought I’d be more excited, but in all honesty, working at a restaurant sounds boring, and so does the craft store and the women’s apparel store I’d applied at. I want something fun, something I can look forward to doing after school.
    A bold ‘Now Hiring!’ sign grabs my attention as I walk past a store, and I pause on the sidewalk. The store has faux stone walls and there are two gothic-looking, gargoyle statues perched on the overhang above the door. The sign lit up in red neon claims the store to be The Dark Side of Cordane’s. Through the windows, I can see that the inside looks to be a Goth store.
    With a shake of my head, I continue walking down the sidewalk. Yeah, right. Me work in a Goth store? I could just imagine my mom’s expression if I came home announcing I was working at Cordane’s.
    I pause on the sidewalk.
    Suddenly, the idea of working there sounds appealing. Sidney’s suggestion also echoes in my head. Do one thing this week that you wouldn’t normally do.
    A slow smile curves my lips, and I turn around to walk back to the store. I pull the glass door open and step inside. I expect loud music to be blaring through the speakers, but instead, the song playing is at a volume that isn’t too loud to talk over if the need arises.
    The store is fascinating to me since I know