This is my second fanfic. It was inspired by the book The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer.
The year is 2013-Small town in New Jersey
Chapter 1: Trouble
Allison, a short, thin girl with long brown hair, was sitting in history class, the last class before school let out. She was counting down the minutes until the bell rang. She was going to meet her boyfriend after school; that was the only thing getting her through the day. School really wasn't her thing. She was always getting in trouble by the teachers, sometimes the other students played mean jokes on her. She didn't have many friends either; they were more like acquaintances.
The bell had finally rung and she couldn't get out of there faster. On the way to her locker, she ran into Colleen and her 2 clones-Charlotte and Christina.
"Where are you off to in such a rush?" Colleen asked twirling a piece of her blonde hair between her fingers. She knew Allison didn't have many friends and loved to pick on her.
Allison grunted. "Get out of my way, Colleen." She really didn't feel like dealing with this girl right now.
"Are you going to meet Kyle?" Charlotte asked, already knowing the answer.
"It's none of your business where I'm going so tell your little posy to get out of my way, Colleen." She said angrily as she gritted her teeth.
Colleen stepped closer to Allison's face. "Or what?"
Allison wasn't backing down. "I'll move them myself."
Christina knocked the books out of Allison's hands causing a bunch of papers to fall out. "Oops."
"Nice one Chrissy." Colleen said with in an approving tone.
"Have fun picking up those papers." Charlotte said with a fake smile on her face.
Allison was pissed. Normally, she would ignore them but this was the last straw. When they started to walk away, she ran up behind them and pulled Colleen's hair hard, making her fall backwards.
"What the hell are you doing, you freak!" Charlotte screamed.
Allison ignored her and jumped on top of Colleen and began punching her. By the time Christina came back with a teacher, a huge crowd had gathered to watch the fight. Colleen's screams could be heard all the down the hall. Allison was quickly pulled off of Colleen and was restrained by Mr. Maz.
00000
She was waiting outside the principal's office to be called in. The door opened and the principal called her name.
"Have a seat, Miss Decker." The Principal, Ms. Craig, said motioning towards one of the seats in front of her desk.
Allison complied and Ms. Craig began speaking once she was settled in her seat. "I just got off the phone with Sister Rita of the orphanage. I informed her of the trouble you have caused this afternoon and it has also come to my attention that you are failing algebra."
"In my defense, it was much easier when they left out the alphabet…" Allison replied. Ms. Craig was not pleased. "And Colleen had it coming." She added.
"We do not tolerate fighting at this school, Miss Decker. You are 14 years old and need to start acting like it." The principal scolded. "I'm afraid I am going to have to suspend you for two weeks."
"Two weeks?!" Allison stood in protest.
Ms. Craig folded her hands in front of her. "I could easily change that to an expulsion if you'd like."
Allison sat back in her seat. "Two weeks is just fine."
Ms. Craig nodded. "Good. This also means you can't play softball until the suspension is over and you have brought your math grade up."
"No, please! I need to play. It's like the only thing I have. Please let me play." She begged.
"I'm sorry but those are the rules." Ms. Craig said shaking her head. "And you also have detention right now."
"Seriously!?" She complained. Ms. Craig shot her a warning look.
Allison sighed. "I'm going, I'm going."
00000
She sat in detention for another hour after her meeting with the principal. She was hoping Kyle wasn't too upset with her. Surely he would understand…
When she finally was released from the prison she called school, she went to meet Kyle by the trains tracks.
"There you are! I've been waiting forever." Kyle exclaimed when he saw her approaching.
She put her hands up in defense. "I know. I'm sorry. I got in trouble at school. The principal gave me detention, along with a two week suspension."
"Jeez Al, what did you do?" He asked putting his hands in his pockets.
She sighed. "I got in a fight with Colleen, like literally."
"I knew you two had your differences but I didn't think you'd actually fight her." He said in disbelief.
Allison shrugged her shoulders. "That fight was long overdue. She's been tormenting me and making my life a living hell since the 1st grade, you know that."
"Did you hurt her? Is she okay?" He asked concerned about Colleen.
Allison furrowed her eyebrows. "Why do you care if she's okay?"
Kyle rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, you see, I've been meaning to talk to you about this…"
Allison crossed her arms. "Talk to me about what?"
"I've been…kinda seeing Colleen…for a while now." He admitted.
She glared at him. "What do you mean you've been 'kinda' seeing her?" She asked him in a low, menacing voice. "And behind my back?!"
He put his head down ashamed. "Yea, sorry about that."
Allison pushed him hard making him fall to the ground. "No! You're not sorry. You don't care about me. You never did."
"It's not like that, Al." he said still sitting on the ground.
"It's exactly like that!" She shouted. "You just dated me until something better came along."
"You said it, not me." Kyle said as he got to his feet.
"Go to hell." She yelled. "I bet Colleen was only interested in you because you were dating me. She probably doesn't even like you."
"No. She likes me." He replied sure of himself.
"Whatever." She picked up her backpack and walked home, the orphanage.
00000
"Allison Rose Decker! Where have you been?" The head nun, Sister Rita, yelled when she saw Ally heading up the stairs.
"I don't want to talk about this right now." She replied. She just wanted to go to her room, even though she shared it with 5 other girls, she just didn't want to be bothered.
"Allison Rose, my office, now!" Sister Rita demanded.
Ally couldn't disobey her so she complied and followed Sister Rita to her office and took a seat. The second time she was in trouble today. It just wasn't her day at all.
"Why can't you behave for once, Allison?" Sister Rita asked sounding annoyed.
"I can explain." Ally said quickly.
Sister Rita put her hand up to stop Ally from talking. "Save it, child. I am sick of your excuses."
Ally tried again. "But..."
"Stop talking!" Sister Rita said sharply. "Your behavior has gone on long enough. And since you went and got yourself suspended for two weeks, you will be spending those days with me and we will continue your schooling."
Ally rolled her eyes. "Whatever." There was no use fighting with this stubborn nun, she would only lose. It didn't mean that she would obey; it just meant she wasn't going to fight her on it. "You are not allowed out for the next two weeks as well."
"It's not like I have anything to do now that I can't play softball or hang out with Kyle." She mumbled. Sister Rita than excused her and she ran up to her room. She couldn't wait to get under her covers and cry herself to sleep, something she did almost every night for one reason or another. She was used to it by now; pretty much the only constant thing in her life was crying herself to sleep at night.
00000
Ally was lying in her bad facing the window when she heard someone call her name. "What's up Sean?" She asked not turning around.
"I brought you dinner. Sister Rita said you have to eat." He replied setting the tray on her night stand.
Ally sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Thanks, I was starving but didn't want to face her."
He crawled up on her bed and she brought the tray in front of her and began eating. "So what's wrong?"
Sean was the only person Ally really talked to in the orphanage even though he was a few years younger than her. He was also an outcast, so they were buddies. Ally sighed and told him everything that happened earlier that day.
"I wish I'd seen this fight!" He exclaimed.
She giggled. "You should've heard her scream."
He smiled before saying, "That really sucks that you can't play softball. It's your favorite thing to do."
"Yea, tell me about it."
"Why don't you draw?" Sean suggested. "That used to take your mind off of things."
"I haven't done that in years." She said. "I hope I remember how."
"You will. It's like riding a bike. Once you learn, you never forget." He said smiling.
She smiled back and ruffled his hair. "Thanks Sean. You always know how to cheer me up!"
"It's what friend do." He replied before leaving.
She got out her sketchbook from under her bed and opened up to a clean page. She stared at it waiting for something to come to mind, but nothing came. She had no inspiration to draw. She got fed up and decided to read until it was lights out. She fell asleep with the book lying on her chest.
00000
Her alarm woke her up and she got dressed for school, putting her stockings, plaid skirt and white polo shirt on and then remembered she was suspended. She didn't feel like getting changed so she stayed in her uniform. She wasn't going to stay in all day even if Sister Rita told her she had to. She'd be back for her lesson at 2pm of course.
She decided she would sneak out and go on a hike through the woods, following the path that led to a beautiful river that she would like to sketch. She packed her sketch book, some snacks and a couple of juice boxes in her backpack along with a few other things she thought she would need. She threw her school sweater in there, just in case it got chilly.
She thought about running away but she didn't have anywhere to go. She tried to get her mind off of the problems that seemed to be consuming her life. She took in the beautiful scenery around her that seemed to take her further and further into the woods, straying from the path. She realized it was getting dark and decided to head back but everything looked similar to her. She couldn't tell which way was home. She tried to get directions from her phone but she didn't have any service. She put her sweater on for it was getting cold. As she walked further, nothing seemed familiar to her.
"Why do these things always happen to me?!" She complained. "Wait…" She pulled out her phone again and checked the time. "It's only 12:30pm, it shouldn't be dark."
She suddenly saw a flash of lightening and heard a loud rumble of thunder. "There would be a storm when I'm lost in the woods with no umbrella."
She started running, not knowing if it was the right direction. It started raining; no pouring was more like it. She saw a cave just up ahead and ran to take cover.
She looked around. "I hope I won't be spending the night in this disgusting cave, although no one will miss me if I do."
She put her backpack on the floor and sat beside it, resting her back against the back of the cave. She was watching the rain fall when she heard something from the back of the cave. It didn't sound menacing, almost inviting. She picked up her bag and went further into the cave. The noises were getting louder. They sounded like birds chirping.
She saw something on the wall in the back of the cave. "What is that?" She walked closer to it, its features becoming clearer. "Why is there a random mirror on the wall?"
The noises were the loudest when she reached the mirror. "It almost sounds like the noise is coming from the mirror…but that's ridiculous." A forest quickly appeared in the mirror. Allison looked behind her then back at the mirror. "How is that even possible?"
She reached her hand out to touch the mirror, sending ripples throughout it. "It has to be like an illusion or something." She told herself to remain calm. She backed away from the mirror slowly. "Okay, this is too weird…"
She heard a low growl behind her. She jumped at the sound and saw a bear only a few feet away from her showing his teeth.
"Oh no." She whispered. She was terrified.
The bear roared loudly, scaring Allison making her fall backwards. She tripped over a large rock. She knew she was going to crash into the mirror so she put her hands up to brace herself for the impact but there was none. She was surprised when she didn't hear glass breaking. She opened her eyes and saw that she was surrounded by tall trees, taller than the ones she had previously been in.
Allison rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't imagining things. "Maybe I died and this is paradise."
She stood up and looked around. "This seems too real to me."
"Why are you talking to yourself?" A voice asked her from behind. She turned around and saw a blonde girl with long braids and a slightly shorter boy with brown hair standing by her side. They both seemed to be in old clothes, something people from medieval times wore. Maybe I time traveled.
"Who are you?" Allison asked cautiously.
"I'm Gretel and this is my brother, Hansel." She said motioning to the boy next to her.
Allison scoffed. "Right, and I'm Sleeping Beauty."
"That's a pretty weird name." He said suspiciously.
"I was being sarcastic, kid. Calm down. Can you just tell me what you're real names are?" She asked. "I'm really not in the mood to play games."
"We already told you. Now tell us your name." Gretel demanded. "And don't lie this time."
Allison was confused. Why would anyone name their kids Hansel and Gretel? "It's Allison, but you can call me Ally. Could you tell me where we are?"
"The Enchanted Forest, duh." Hansel replied.
"Maybe she's hurt, Hansel and doesn't remember things." Gretel suggested.
"The Enchanted Forest?" Ally questioned. "What state is that in?"
"State?" Gretel asked confused.
Ally nodded. "Yea, like California, Pennsylvania, Vermont…because this is definitely not New Jersey."
"I've never heard of those places before." Hansel said.
Ally realized that she wasn't home after all. "I must be dreaming. If I pinch myself. I'll wake up." She closed her eyes and pinched her arm. "Ow." She opened her eyes and saw the same two people staring at her with blank expressions on their faces.
"You're weird." Hansel said with a disgusted face.
Allison's eyes grew wide. "It is real."
"What are you talking about?" Gretel asked her.
"This place…" She looked around. "It's real."
Gretel nodded. "Yes, and so are we."
"The mirror!" Allison shrieked. "It must've been a portal." She turned to look at the spot she thought the mirror was at. She then turned in a circle looking for it. "Where is it?" She asked herself.
"Maybe you should lie down and rest." Gretel suggested.
"No." Ally said firmly. "What I need to do is find a way home. Is there a town nearby?"
"We think there's one close by. About a day and a half's journey." Hansel replied.
"Oh...that's it?" She asked sarcastically.
Gretel placed her hands on her hips. "Do you want to come with us or not?"
"Yes, I'm coming." Ally picked up her back pack and began following them. She couldn't believe she was following 'Hansel and Gretel' through the 'Enchanted Forest'. She thought she was going crazy.
Thoughts on the first chapter? I would love to know what you think so far.
