- Aria's POV -Sunlight seeps through my room, lightening every dark corner. The painted designs on the walls only pop out more. I'm disappointed there is no more room to paint on the walls, ceilings, and the door due to the fact that they are covered in different colours and shapes from my paintings over the past three years.My enormous window took up a lot of space, and all I can think about is if it weren't there, I would have much more space for more paintings. There are colours splattered all over the floor, but I'd never bothered to clean it up.Taylor Swift's 'Red' is blasting through my stereo while I am finishing up my charcoal sketch of a black jaguar. I shade in the entire thing but darken the lower body and the side of the legs, ears, and nose.I can't stop myself from singing along, but then my door swings open and my Aunt—Lydia—walks in, forcing me to turn down the volume.Aunt Lydia and Uncle Paul had taken me in and became my legal guardians after my parents were murdered. I've been staying with them for the past three years. The whole town knows that I'm an orphan and what happened. It was, after all, the first homicide in the town. Nothing really ever goes on here, so when my parents were killed, it came as a shock to everyone. I miss my parents, but especially Mom.No hard feelings, Dad.Mom and I were always closer. I would tell her everything, and so would she. The last thing she ever gave to me was my Stitch plushie, which I'll treasure forever. It's like my lifeline, after Mom. I can't sleep without Stitch, it's just impossible.Tomorrow's Monday, and I am dreading going to school. I can easily feign being sick, because Lydia and Paul are terrible at seeing through my lies, but I'm too lazy to pretend being sick anyways.I'm sad that Lydia isn't able to have a child. I don't have any siblings, and not having a cousin in the country sucks too. The only person that is close to a sister to me, is my best friend, Zoe. I'm an ambivert, meaning that I'm in between an extrovert and an introvert. I don't mind hanging out with a big group or socializing with people, but sometimes I need time to myself or just to be with my close friends.When Zoe and I are together, all hell breaks loose. We go from innocent teenage girls to crazy possessed psychopaths. I would be lying if I say I didn't scare myself sometimes.Today, however, is Me Day. All I need are snacks, my art materials, and music. I can't cook to save the entire population, so whenever Lydia and Paul are out, I usually either order pizza, eat leftovers, or survive the entire day on chocolate ice cream.I'm currently dressed in sweatpants, a black tank top, and my brown/blonde hair piled on my head in a messy but—my usual look for whenever I am in the mood for anything art. I continue with my drawing, and when I am finally finished half an hour later, I write my signature and close my sketch pad, packing up all my materials and putting them away.The sound of a truck makes me jump. I peek through the curtains and see a moving truck pull into the driveway next door. Great, new people. I always wondered what happened to the annoying old couple next door. Wherever they are now, I feel sorry for their new neighbours. They don't know how torturous that old couple is. Or maybe they do, I don't know.I shrug it off and go downstairs to grab a snack, only to see Lydia looking through the living room window. Huh, I guess she likes stalking people too."Oh, hey honey. Did you know we were getting new neighbours?" She asks when she spots me.I shake my head."What happened to that lovely pair of old hags? Thank goodness they've disappeared." Lydia sighs with relief.I almost spit the water in my mouth all over the floor at her wording."Lydia, that's rude." Paul scolds, stepping out of the bathroom.Lydia shrugs it off."I heard the wife passed away, and the grief was too overwhelming for the husband, triggering a stroke," Paul says.This time, I really do spit out the water all over the floor. I mutter a 'sorry' before getting tissues to clean it up."Serves them right for mistaking dog shit with that chocolate pie they made us. Thank god we didn't eat it. I knew they were always evil." Lydia comments.Paul and I chuckle at this because we can't help but agree. I mean, I did feel sorry for them, but to be honest, not really.I grab a bag of chips and text Zoe, telling her about the new neighbours.Zoe: Well, let's just hope your life turns into some cliche romance novel and there just happens to be a really good looking dude living next door.Me: Let's hope not. Boys are the last thing on my mind right now, and they always will be.Zoe: I seriously doubt it. But just so you know, whichever stupid guy you marry, I'll be telling the tale of the Famous Fries.I let out a laugh. The story of the Famous Fries was remarkable. We were fifteen, only two years ago when the incident occurred.Zoe had spent forever frying fries for us to snack on at one of our sleepovers, and when she finally brought the paper plate to her room, I had somehow miraculously managed to place my foot on the plate.We had been dying of laughter then, even though the fries had been infected. Being the evil people we were, we fed the fries to Zoe's younger cousin, Caleb. I was surprised he didn't fall sick. We never told him he ate Fries, and he still doesn't know till this day.He doesn't ever have to know . . .I quickly reply back to Zoe, grinning.Me: You wish, man.