Prey

Chapter Two

July 2013

It was a Sunday morning. Lauren Wallace was overjoyed for the picnic which all her friends had planned onto. As no parents would like to have their little kids to go miles away without any adult's supervision, Lauren convinced her Mom to be the one to be there on the spot, and thankfully she agreed.

Mackenzie sat at the kitchen table as she watched her mother hastily prepare the picnic basket for Lauren, feeling slightly depressed that Lauren would be gone for the rest of the day and she wouldn't have anyone else to play with on a Sunday.

As if her thoughts had been listened by someone, Lauren’s mother, Meredith walked into the kitchen with Lauren following behind, as Lauren plopped up on a chair out and started to quickly tie her shoelaces, Lauren's mother suggested.

"Melissa, how about Mackenzie joins us?" Mrs Wallace smiled and Mackenzie's face immediately lightened up, she couldn't remember last time when she hung out with people around her age, and the idea of it excited her a lot. "She usually doesn't go out anywhere, so I think it'll be good for her. And there will be other kids too. What do you say, Lauren?"

When Lauren's mother turned at her, she slightly nodded. "Yeah, Mom, it'll be fun." She put more attention towards her laces than their conversation.

Mackenzie glanced at her mother hopefully, who just shook her head. "No, Mrs Wallace, it's alright. Mackenzie doesn't need to go. You guys enjoy yourselves,” A sharp pang of disappointment crumbled upon the eleven-year-old.

"You don't have to worry, I'll take care of her,” Mrs Wallace insisted. "Besides, Mackenzie also wants to go, don't you?"

Before Mackenzie could get a chance to nod her head, her mother cut her off. "She might disturb you guys, I think it'll be better if she stays back." Mackenzie was entirely against her mother's opinion but she was too afraid to do anything that her mother wouldn't want her to do, so she kept her mouth shut.

With sad eyes, Mackenzie watched as Lauren and her mother gathered all their things and walked out of the kitchen. "Sweetheart," she heard her own mother calling her. "I know you're sad but it's for the best."

"You didn't even ask me if I wanted to go or not,” The little girl murmured, feeling hot tears forming in her eyes as she stared down at her lap, hands clutching onto the edge of her skirt. "I wanted to play with Lauren's friends."

Melissa sighed, scooting a chair closer to her daughter as she took a seat. "Do you remember what happened to you last year on Lauren's birthday?" She clearly remembered how the cake had been smeared all over her body and everyone laughed at her, whilst she only cried. "They're mean kids, they make fun of you. If you went with Lauren to the picnic today, they'd again laugh at you."

"But it wasn't Lauren's friends who did that last year." Mackenzie sniffled. "It was Xavier, her brother who did it."

Her mother reached out and petted her hair. "But they laughed at you, didn't they? And might it be Xavier or Lauren's friends, they're all the same. You're not like them, honey, you can't play with them."

Mackenzie looked up at her mother with teary eyes. "Do you mean that that they're better than me?"

"No, I don't mean that." Melissa quickly responded. "You're really special, Mackenzie. But you have to understand that you can't play with those rich kids. You have friends in school, right? You can hang out with them."

Mackenzie sobbed more as the fact of her having no friends flashed in her mind. "Nobody likes me at school,” She murmured underneath her breath, clutching tighter on the fabric of her skirt. She always has been an introvert and awkward little girl, never mustering up the courage to go and talk to anyone, which leaded everyone in her class to think of her as a freak and an object to mess with. Besides all the small talking she sometimes shared with the blond girl she sat next to, she only had a friendly interaction with Lauren. Lauren was at the same age as Mackenzie and she was really friendly, which made Mackenzie adore her a lot.

Lauren was nothing like her arrogant brother. Mackenzie can't even recall when she saw both of the siblings showing affection towards each other. And that's what made Mackenzie like Lauren even more. Lauren was nice, friendly and cheerful, means it was easier for her to make a lot of friends. And sometimes it made Mackenzie upset that whilst she had considered Lauren her only and closest friend, to Lauren, Mackenzie was another girl in her long friend list. Sometimes Mackenzie wished if Lauren would go to the same elementary school as hers rather than a private school.

"Don't think like that, sweetheart,” Melissa sweetly said to her. "If you go and talk to other kids in school, they will definitely like such a beautiful girl like you."

Mackenzie sniffled, wiping the tears off her cheeks. "You think so?"

"Yes, obviously,” Her mother smiled. "They will."

Mackenzie knew that if she did what her mother suggested, it would be easier to make new buddies. But she was too afraid to do that. Still she nodded and mumbled. "I'll try."

"But don't go near Xavier that much, neither his friends,” Her mother reminded her. "I know you play with Lauren sometimes but stay away from her friends. You don't want anyone to bully you anymore, do you?"

She felt a little bit dejected at what her mother said. "But won't they ever be nice to me?"

Mackenzie was too naïve to catch the hint of sorrow hiding behind the lady's face when she softly smiled. "They will, honey. When they'll grow up, they will understand."

Mackenzie only nodded, too much unaware that the real reason her mother refused her to go around those kids was the difference in their social status. Though she got a little upset when Xavier bullied her by calling her the maid's kid, she thought it was only Xavier's problem, no other kid would be picking on her for this lame topic, would they?

She left the kitchen when her mother busied herself with talking to the butler. To forget about all the fun she had missed by not joining Lauren, she decided maybe she could play with the brand new doll set she had stored under her bed.

The Wallaces had a huge house, and at first, Mackenzie found herself getting lost in it too when she first came here at the age of seven. But as years passed by, she slowly discovered all the short cuts to every area. And like any other day, she decided to skip her steps and take a short cut to her bedroom using the route with the swimming pool. As she was making her way to her destination, her eyes caught the two teenagers kissing beside the pool, they were so caught up with themselves that they didn't even notice Mackenzie looking at them with disgust.

Mackenzie had never watched anyone make out, and now seeing Xavier with this unknown girl made her feel sick in the stomach. Why would any girl even want to kiss Xavier? He was so disgusting and disturbing, he would never stop messing around with her.

The little girl quickly scurried her way out of that scene, only being stopped by Xavier's voice booming. "What the hell are you doing here, stupid?"

She turned her head back towards them, finding Xavier had stopped kissing the raven-haired girl and was glaring at her. "I-I was just walking by—"

"You were staring at us like a perv." He retorted. "When will you stop being so weird? Jeez."

"Why are you being so rude to her? She was just walking by." The raven-haired frowned at the boy, glancing back and forth between Mackenzie and him. "Who is she?"

"She's the maid's kid. And a piece of shit." The thirteen-year-old boy sneered, making Mackenzie shrink in her spot.

"Stop being so rude, Xavier." The girl snapped. "She's a little girl."

"Seriously Natalie? You're taking her side?" Xavier's voice was filled with disgust. "Don't be so fond of her. And you?" He looked at Mackenzie. "What? You were f*****g invading our privacy. It's not your house that you can roam around anywhere you want, bitch."

Mackenzie regretted coming here immediately, staring down at her feet as she murmured with a croaky voice. "I'm-I'm sorry."

"What the hell?!" The girl stood up. "What's up with you, Xavier? I thought you were such a nice guy but you're acting like a s**t. Can't you see she's too younger than us?"

"Come on, don't be mad at me for her—"

"You're unbelievable,” Natalie rolled her eyes and walked past Mackenzie towards the house.

"You ugly b***h,” the boy sneered at her when he got up. "I'll make sure you f*****g regret it." And then he quickly followed behind Natalie, leaving Mackenzie to feel a little bit happy at Natalie's reaction. Though she knew she shouldn't be happy if someone else is upset, but if the person feeling down was Xavier, then she could consider the case.