Writers 
Chapter 5: The Old School
Amara stood behind her mother as they walked toward the front door.
The knocking had stopped.
Her mother reached for the handle but paused.
“Stay behind me,” she said.
Amara nodded.
Her mother slowly opened the door.
Nobody was there.
Amara looked outside.
The street was quiet.
“Maybe they left,” she said.
Her mother didn't answer.
She looked around for a few seconds before closing the door.
“Mum,” Amara said, “who were you expecting?”
“Nobody.”
“Then why were you scared?”
Her mother looked at her.
“I wasn't scared.”
Amara knew that wasn't true.
She went back upstairs without saying anything else.
That night, she couldn't sleep.
She kept thinking about the messages, the photograph and her mother's strange reaction.
Eventually, she picked up her phone and searched for her old school online.
She found an old page with pictures from school events.
Amara scrolled through them slowly.
Then she saw a picture from almost a year ago.
It was from the school cultural day.
She zoomed in.
There she was.
And standing beside her was the same girl from the photograph.
Amara's heart started beating faster.
This time, she remembered.
Her name was Zara.
Amara stared at the screen.
“No…”
The girl she had just met at her new school was the same girl from her past.
But how?
She continued looking through the pictures.
There were several photos of Zara and Amara together.
They looked like friends.
Amara couldn't remember being friends with her.
Then she found another picture.
It showed Amara, Zara and a boy standing outside their old classroom.
Amara recognized the boy immediately.
It was the boy from her new school.
She dropped the phone onto the bed.
Everything suddenly made sense.
Zara hadn't mistaken her.
She had known Amara before.
And the boy had known her too.
Amara picked up her phone again and stared at the picture.
Then another memory came back.
It was the last day she had attended that school.
She remembered standing outside the classroom.
She remembered Zara crying.
She remembered the boy telling her something.
But she couldn't remember what he said.
Then she remembered her mother coming to pick her up.
After that, they moved away.
Amara had always believed her mother simply wanted a fresh start.
But now she wasn't sure.
The next morning, Amara went downstairs.
Her mother was preparing breakfast.
“Mum,” Amara said.
Her mother turned around.
“Good morning.”
“Why did we really leave my old school?”
Her mother stopped.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
“Amara, where did this come from?”
“I found an old picture.”
Her mother's face became serious.
“What picture?”
“The one with Zara.”
Her mother slowly put down the spoon in her hand.
“You shouldn't be looking into the past.”
“Why?”
“Because some things are better left alone.”
Amara stared at her.
“But I deserve to know what happened.”
Her mother didn't answer.
And that silence told Amara more than any explanation could.
There was something about her old school that her mother had never told her.
And Amara was determined to find out what it was.