The Life and Afterlife of Charlie Brackwood (The Brackwood Series Book 1) by Stacey Field Page B
Authors: Stacey Field
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reached sixteen Russ decided she’d be his new victim and he put a lot of effort into impressing her. This new development amused me as Lucy made it quite clear that she thought Russ was an imbecile and only endured him because he was my friend.
Due to our childhood friendship, Russ knew Lucy pretty well and would often try to draw her into conversations he knew she had an interest in. He would slyly bring up the next book in a series she had been reading or try and get her into a heated debate about fox hunting or mention the latest Jim Carrey film, knowing that he was Lucy’s favourite actor. He knew that this was the only way in which he would get her to notice him.
Often, and to Lucy’s discomfiture, Russ would invite his latest brain-dead girlfriend to have lunch with us in the high-school cafeteria. Most of them were so self-obsessed that they would remain blissfully unaware of Russ's need for Lucy's attention and would mistake the heated arguments between them for evidence of mutual hatred.
However, there was one girlfriend in particular who saw the truth behind Russ's sudden interest in Lucy. Her name was Amy and she was the most popular girl in our year. She would watch the two of them intently and would often come out with sarcastic comments aimed to belittle Lucy's views on a subject. Lucy would always ignore her and continue her heated argument with Russ, who would also ignore the indignant comments of his bitterly jealous girlfriend.
No matter how hard she tried, Amy always failed to turn Russ's attention away from Lucy. Her pitiful efforts to gain his attention only made me feel sorry for her. That was until Lucy became her victim.
Chapter Four
Amy Hale led a privileged life. She'd had the kind of upbringing other girls could only dream of. Her parents treasured and adored her and she was idolised by her two younger sisters. In return she was selfish and conceited and had an air of self-importance that only increased the entire village’s admiration for her.
She looked down on most people, was respected by the teaching staff, and thought of herself as powerful, admired, worshipped even by the student body. In fact Amy Hale considered herself something special and aimed to destroy anyone who got in her way. She was self-deluded to the highest degree and behaved as though the rest of the world owed her something.
I knew Amy better than Russ did, I felt. I had observed her enough during our lunch hours together to see through her facade. Though she wore a good mask there were always a few seconds when her real feelings could be seen. Within those few seconds her true reaction could be read from the twisted expression on her face, but as quickly as they had crossed her features her true feelings would disappear once again. This quick flash of emotion was where the real Amy lay, offering an interesting insight into her true character. Like all naturally manipulative people, she had a crowd of followers who wanted to become pawns in her elaborate game.
Two of these were Sarah Brown and Stephanie Duff, Amy’s closest allies, both attractive girls with carefully styled hair and perfectly applied makeup. Sarah and Stephanie were devoted to Amy. She only had to click her fingers and they would do whatever she wanted. It was a loyalty that Amy would never return. She thought of other people only in terms of how they could help her. If they weren’t useful to her, she would discard them like yesterday’s leftovers.
Among the many friends Amy had acquired, Sarah and Stephanie had managed to linger the longest, but even they knew how fragile their friendship with her could become if they annoyed her, which was why they always tried their best to please her.
I never fully realised how deep Amy’s jealousy of Lucy ran or just how evil she could be. That all changed one day as the end of the school year came ever closer. It was also the day of Lucy’s last
Due to our childhood friendship, Russ knew Lucy pretty well and would often try to draw her into conversations he knew she had an interest in. He would slyly bring up the next book in a series she had been reading or try and get her into a heated debate about fox hunting or mention the latest Jim Carrey film, knowing that he was Lucy’s favourite actor. He knew that this was the only way in which he would get her to notice him.
Often, and to Lucy’s discomfiture, Russ would invite his latest brain-dead girlfriend to have lunch with us in the high-school cafeteria. Most of them were so self-obsessed that they would remain blissfully unaware of Russ's need for Lucy's attention and would mistake the heated arguments between them for evidence of mutual hatred.
However, there was one girlfriend in particular who saw the truth behind Russ's sudden interest in Lucy. Her name was Amy and she was the most popular girl in our year. She would watch the two of them intently and would often come out with sarcastic comments aimed to belittle Lucy's views on a subject. Lucy would always ignore her and continue her heated argument with Russ, who would also ignore the indignant comments of his bitterly jealous girlfriend.
No matter how hard she tried, Amy always failed to turn Russ's attention away from Lucy. Her pitiful efforts to gain his attention only made me feel sorry for her. That was until Lucy became her victim.
Chapter Four
Amy Hale led a privileged life. She'd had the kind of upbringing other girls could only dream of. Her parents treasured and adored her and she was idolised by her two younger sisters. In return she was selfish and conceited and had an air of self-importance that only increased the entire village’s admiration for her.
She looked down on most people, was respected by the teaching staff, and thought of herself as powerful, admired, worshipped even by the student body. In fact Amy Hale considered herself something special and aimed to destroy anyone who got in her way. She was self-deluded to the highest degree and behaved as though the rest of the world owed her something.
I knew Amy better than Russ did, I felt. I had observed her enough during our lunch hours together to see through her facade. Though she wore a good mask there were always a few seconds when her real feelings could be seen. Within those few seconds her true reaction could be read from the twisted expression on her face, but as quickly as they had crossed her features her true feelings would disappear once again. This quick flash of emotion was where the real Amy lay, offering an interesting insight into her true character. Like all naturally manipulative people, she had a crowd of followers who wanted to become pawns in her elaborate game.
Two of these were Sarah Brown and Stephanie Duff, Amy’s closest allies, both attractive girls with carefully styled hair and perfectly applied makeup. Sarah and Stephanie were devoted to Amy. She only had to click her fingers and they would do whatever she wanted. It was a loyalty that Amy would never return. She thought of other people only in terms of how they could help her. If they weren’t useful to her, she would discard them like yesterday’s leftovers.
Among the many friends Amy had acquired, Sarah and Stephanie had managed to linger the longest, but even they knew how fragile their friendship with her could become if they annoyed her, which was why they always tried their best to please her.
I never fully realised how deep Amy’s jealousy of Lucy ran or just how evil she could be. That all changed one day as the end of the school year came ever closer. It was also the day of Lucy’s last
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