Chapter Two
"BEEP!!! BEEP!!!"
Sydney furiously swatted at her alarm clock at 5:45am the next morning.
Note to self, Sydney, remember to shut your alarm off on the weekends.
Sydney decided that she might as well go for a run since she was already up. She willed herself out of bed and walked the length of her large room one of her two dressers. She opened a drawer and rummaged through it to find her favorite red sports bra and black track shorts. She quickly washed her face and got dressed, then went downstairs. Her bare feet made soft thuds as they moved across the hardwood floors. Sydney disarmed the security system from the console in the laundry room, and grabbed her sneakers from atop the dryer. She went out through the garage, and was pleased to find the weather was much cooler than the day before, it couldn't have been more than 70 degrees out. SHe quickly stretched all her sleepy muscles, then began briskly walking down the sidewalk. After a few moments, she broke into a fast jog. She rounded the corner, and before she knew it she was well into her favorite early morning jogging route. She made a left onto Mango Court, and passed her best friend, Francie's house. She continued along the sidewalk through her picture perfect gated community. She exited her neighborhood, and paused to wave at Michael Vaughn, the gatekeeper. A college student home on break, Michael always had friendly things to say to Sydney. She would always find herself having a five minute conversation with him as she punched in her code on her way in and out of the neighborhood. This morning was no different. On her way back after she had run her usual 5 miles, Sydney paused at the gate.
"How are you, Michael?"
"I'm doing great Sydney, I'm glad to be home for a bit."
"How's UCLA?" Sydney inquired. She was very interested in going to UCLA, and hoped Michael would give her some pointers.
"Oh, it's good. How's Danny?" Sydney was floored by the sudden change in conversation.
"He's....fine. Everything's fine." She managed. She hoped she hadn't sounded too rude.
"Oh, that's good to hear. Have a good day Syd." Michael waved to Sydney and opened the gate for her. Sydney felt herself blushing after this awkward exchange. Many people chose Syd as their nickname for her, but for some reason it was different when Michael said it.
Sydney sprinted the extra distance back to her house, and when she walked through the door the aroma of waffles and syrup surrounded her. She loved it when her mother made breakfast.
"Smells awesome, Mom! I'm gonna hop in the shower I'll be right down!" Sydney raced up the stairs, two steps at a time. She threw her clothes to the ground and hopped in the shower. When she got out, she took note of the time. 6:47am.
"Danny stopped by while you were running. He said to give this to you." Laura handed Sydney a manilla envelope. "He said it was for the school paper."
Sydney was editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, and recently they had been doing an expose on a former student. Mike Harrigan, a young, blonde, British student that attended Sydney's quiet, beachy school for one year. Last year just before midterms he mysteriously disappeared. The schools principal, Mr. Sloane, offered little information. Sydney and her boyfriend of 8 months, Danny, were commited to finding out what had happened to this boy.
"Thanks mom!" Sydney replied eagerly. She opened the envelope and was stunned by what she saw.
Mike Harrigan, Mr. Sloan, and Sydney's own father, Jack Bristow, were all sitting down in what looked like a very official, top-secret meeting. There were many other people, none of whom Sydney recognized. Sydney nearly choked on her orange juice.
"Everything okay, honey?" Laura inquired, looking concerned.
"Yeah mom. Everything's fine." Sydney managed. She studied the picture further. By the looks of it, this wouldn't be the last lie she would tell.
