Thursday, January 21th
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Two days pass and Ava is still feeling down. She has not talked to anyone at school and eats alone during lunchtime. The hallway conversations sound like noise to her and she walks with her head down.
Ava feels so alone and overwhelmed by everything that has happened. She wishes she could take back the kiss with Jack and regrets telling Sophie about it. She can't stop thinking about Max's reaction and how he stormed off after learning about the kiss.
She wonders what everyone is thinking about her and feels like an outcast. The more she thinks about it, the more isolated she feels. She doesn't know how to fix things or where to start. All she knows is that she is tired of feeling like this and wishes she could go back to the way things were before.
Ava finds it impossible to focus on her art for the Bayview Academy scholarship. Every time she tries to draw or paint, her mind wanders to thoughts of Jack and the hurt she's feeling from her fractured friendships. She finds herself unable to create anything meaningful, and her lack of progress only adds to her sense of failure.
The once-vibrant colors of her sketches now seem dull and lifeless, and her once-flowing brushstrokes have become stilted and hesitant. Each attempt at art feels like a reminder of her recent mistakes, and she struggles to shake off the feeling that everything is falling apart around her.
Ava spends most of her time at home, lying in bed, scrolling through social media or watching mindless TV shows, trying to distract herself from the pain she feels. But no matter what she does, the thoughts of Jack and her lost friendships continue to haunt her, and she finds herself slipping deeper and deeper into a depressive state.
She knows that she needs to find a way to move past the hurt, but she doesn't know how. The only thing she knows for sure is that she can't keep going on like this. She needs to find a way to regain her passion for art and start working towards her goals again.
Ava decides to take a walk in the park to clear her mind. She puts on her headphones and listens to her favorite playlist while walking along the familiar path. As she walks, she notices how the park is beginning to change with the arrival of spring. The trees are slowly starting to blossom, and the air is filled with the sweet scent of flowers.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
As she walks deeper into the park, Ava comes across a group of children playing a game of tag. She stops for a moment to watch them and can't help but smile at their carefree and joyful energy. It's a refreshing change from the heaviness she's been feeling lately.
As Ava walks, she remembers the abandoned factory that Max and Jack talked about during their hangout in the park. She's never been there before but decides to check it out. As she gets closer, she sees the massive, rusted metal building that towers over the surrounding landscape. It's clear that the factory has been abandoned for a long time.
Ava approaches the factory cautiously, feeling a sense of foreboding as she steps inside. The place is silent, save for the occasional sound of her footsteps on the concrete floor. She looks around and sees that the factory is full of old machinery and equipment, all covered in dust and rust. She thinks to herself that it would be a great place to shoot a movie.
Ava continues exploring the abandoned factory until she stumbles upon one of the chalk painted hearts that she saw at Emily's memorial and in Mia's room. It's painted on the wall in front of her and it sends a chill down her spine. The connection between the heart and the deaths of Emily and Mia is too eerie to ignore.
Ava takes a step back and looks around the empty factory. It's quiet and almost peaceful in a strange way, but the heart on the wall reminds her of the tragedy that happened here. She feels overwhelmed by the weight of everything that has happened and wonders if she'll ever be able to move past it.
Despite her unease, Ava can't help but feel drawn to the heart on the wall. She reaches out and touches it, tracing her fingers over the chalk lines. She wonders who painted it and why, and if it has anything to do with the mysterious note that she found in Mia's room.
Lost in thought, Ava doesn't notice the sound of footsteps approaching from behind her.
Ava's heart was racing as she ran through the abandoned factory, her footsteps echoing against the rusted metal floor. She didn't know where she was going, but she needed to get away from that chalk-painted heart. Her mind was racing, and she couldn't shake off the feeling that the factory was somehow connected to the death of Emily and Mia.
As she rounded a corner, Ava collided with a metal barrel, and she stumbled and fell to the ground. She groaned in pain and rubbed her knee, which was now throbbing. She looked up and saw that she was in a small, cramped room with no windows. The only light came from a small opening in the ceiling, where a beam of sunlight shone through the dust.
Ava stood up and dusted herself off. She looked around the room and saw that it was empty, except for an old, tattered backpack lying in the corner. Ava felt a sudden urge to investigate the backpack and walked over to it.
As she picked it up, a piece of paper fell out. It was a note, and it read: "Meet me at the factory tomorrow night, 9 pm sharp. Don't be late. — Emily" Ava's heart raced as she read the note, and she felt a sense of dread wash over her.