Author's note:

I've never written before, except compositions for class. So please bear with me; for this posting at least, and review when you're done. I'll need all the help I can get. I had wanted to have a couple of chapters instead of this one chapter I've written, but I couldn't for the life of me find any appropriate part to divide. Once again, please bear with this chapter. I'm not sure where I'm going with this story, if I'll go anywhere at all.

Secrets: The nether chronicles

Chapter 1

Abby had always been strong. It's how she managed to hold the KND together whenever Nigel was not in command for a mission for some reason. No, no, not Nigel; when it came to missions, he was Numbuh One. However, deep down Abigail was just another softie. Maybe not as much as Kuki, but she was definitely not as strong as everyone thought. What helped her out was the fact that she was so good at keeping her emotions buried deep within her. Allowing them to surface would not garner as much respect and authority, or so she thought. The KND knew it was all just a façade, but no one dared to let her know.

Even at the airport as she bid her fellow KND goodbye, she did not shed a tear. She was instead the one who was busy consoling Kuki, as if it was Numbuh Three heading to a future unknown. Abby never imagined that she would be leaving her beloved friends for Africa. It was still a bit of a shock for her. As she hugged Kuki close, she could feel a lump grow in her throat, which she very uncomfortably swallowed before her could grief could get the best of her.

"I'm gonna miss you Abby," Kuki said with a loud sniff.

Abby could not even bring herself to reply, she just nodded, hoping that somehow she conveyed the message she wanted to put across.

"I'll miss you too Kuks. All of you," she finally managed to say, as she looked around at her other three best friends who were hurdled around the two embracing girls.

"Don't you dare go and forget us now, okay?" Nigel said, as he smiled sadly at Numbuh Five.

"Yeah, and you better write to us, or e-mail or whatever," Wally said as he playfully hit the tip of Abby's trademark red hat so that it limited her line of vision to within an inch or two ahead of her .

"You better believe it," Abby said with a chuckle, as she let go of Kuki and went round hugging the rest of her friends. She got to Hoagie last, and she looked into his sad eyes which had tears delicately balanced within his eye lids. She figured that if just a milliliter more of liquid exited his tear ducts, his water works would be set to begin, although they'd be nowhere near as flashy as Kuki's performance.

"Take care of yourself, Abby," he said as he took her in his arms and embraced her to his chubby self. He was so warm, Abby could have stayed there forever, what with the chilling temperatures of the airport. Mrs. Lincoln gave a quick clap of her hands to indicate that it was time to go. She came and gave the five kids a group hug.

"Be good," she advised, knowing that she would miss her daughter's best friends. They were pretty much like her own children, having watched them grow so fast before her eyes. They were always at her house, playing games and whatnot. "Goodbye everybody," she said, with a final wave at them.

Abby was lost for words. As she and her family walked through the glass doors towards the international departures section, she turned her head to look at her friends for the last time, waving at them as she walked forwards.

The Lincoln's went through the last gate to the waiting area. They sat there for two hours before being prompted by the voice over the speaker to head for gate 23 and board their plane. Abby's little brother Jamie ran to her and clutched her hand tightly as they walked down the corridor. He too was a bit overwhelmed by everything, though for him it must have been the crowds and the expanse of the hall that did it. Abby adored her little brother, but she wondered if he ever really knew it. She was glad to have his hand to hold on to as they began this transition in their lives.

They were booked into the economy class, and they each took their seats, Abby at the window. Her mother sat next to her, while her other two children, Jamie and Cree, sat to her right. Mrs. Lincoln looked at her daughter seated at her left side, leaned towards her and planted a soft kiss on her cheek and whispered, "It's okay to cry, you know."

Abby looked through the window as if that was all she was allowed to do. She could feel her mother's gaze on her, and she steeled her face before turning to her mom.

"I don't want to cry. I will not cry, and it's not okay to either," she said, before turning and facing the window again.

Mrs. Lincoln simply held Abby close, and felt her heart break for her daughter for the umpteenth time. Of all her kids, Abby was taking the move the hardest. She did not know how to make it better, but there was nothing she could do. It was her husband's job. They had to move with him. He had been assigned to Kenya to assist in the running of his company's overseas medical foundation in East Africa. He could be assigned there for up to eight years. Abby was only twelve. Her entire teenage hood could be spent in Africa, away from her best friends. All Mrs. Lincoln could do as a mother was pray that her daughter would be able to adjust. Luckily, Cree was excited about the move, but maybe that was because she knew she would be headed back to America in a couple of years to attend university. Jamie, well, he was still too young to be deeply affected by the move, so, good for him. The Lincoln family matriarch would miss her friends, but she knew she could cope. As long as she was with her husband, everything would be fine.

The plane finally took off. In the same way that it seems all weights keeping an aeroplane to the ground are suddenly removed so that the plane can rise, all the weights keeping Abby's emotions deeply buried within her were suddenly released. Before she knew what was going on, Abby found herself crying, sobbing really, so much that it hurt her lungs as she gasped for air. She tried to stifle the sound of her emotional breakdown, but sometimes it was damn near impossible, and she knew she could be heard by even Cree, who was three seats away from her. Abby felt embarrassed, she could not remember the last time she cried. Her mother leaned over to comfort her daughter, as she felt a tell-tale sting in her own eyes. Abby sobbed into her shoulder for an hour, all the while Mrs. Lincoln held her daughter close, and whispered all the little things a child would like to hear.

xxx

Life wasn't so bad, Abby came to realize. Her school was pretty awesome, no doubt about that. The boys, were cool too, and cute to boot. But despite all the great stuff, Abby was never the same. She wasn't as confident as she once was. Thus, she was neither as outgoing as she used to be. Being separated from her best friends took a toll on her, and Mrs. Lincoln had realized that. Although Abby had made friends, even within their neighbourhood, she never really hang out with them as much as other teenagers would. Mrs. Lincoln just hoped Abby was okay, all things considered. She seemed alright generally. They still joked around about all sorts of issues, and would have a great laugh about them. They still played around too – you know, the general 'run around the house and bully and tickle each other' sort of thing. So maybe, just maybe, with time Abby would begin to enjoy her friends' company a little more.

Abby did like her friends; she just wasn't so quick to label them as best friends or anything like that yet. She didn't want to replace her KND best friends, but she was also afraid to have new best friends in the event that they too might have have to move away in future. She wasn't sure she would be able to cope with something like that again.

Well, at least there was Vince. He was pretty awesome. She liked him a lot. They'd been going steady for about six months now. They met at some diplomat's Christmas party last year. His two older sisters were there too. They were really friendly, and they instantly became pals with Cree. Vince and Abby chatted throughout the evening, and his eldest sister Diana got them some apple cider, which they said was ginger ale when Mrs. Lincoln asked what it was. They laughed about it later and had a great time together. They exchanged numbers before leaving the party. They spent about a month chatting over the phone before Vince asked her out. Mrs. Lincoln could not have been happier about their relationship, because that was the first time in months Abby looked really happy.

Vince was Abby's first boyfriend. He used to attend boarding school - in another province! When he was around they'd go to the movies and chill like other couples do. They never made out though, which Abby was pretty jazzed about. She never knew some guys could be so cool about that. He never pressed the issue, never even suggested or made any reference to it. He was definitely one of a kind. So their dating never got to any base whatsoever. The most scandalous thing they did was talk dirty. Or rather Vince did. Abby was just on the receiving end of it, giggling about the stuff he said. It's not that she didn't have anything to contribute towards dirty talk, she was just shy. Maybe in a few more months she'd be able to tell him some of the crazy things she'd been thinking. They would definitely blow he's mind, she thought.

One day he sent Abby a love letter through a little girl attending the elementary part of her school. When Abby boarded the school bus she opened the letter and read it with her friend Pauline. Pauline was fast becoming Abby's best friend, whether the latter was ready for it or not. The letter said that Vince missed his girlfriend's awesome rack, and Abby's cheeks flushed a deep crimson. Pauline laughed out loud and rolled her eyes. She wondered what rack Vince was referring to, because these two best friends had nearly identical racks, which were virtually non-existent.

"Really, Abby, you know your triple A boobies are a sight to behold," Pauline giggled as other students seated behind them tried to read Abby's letter. "So you've been around the bases and you're not telling me. Wow, great friend you are!" she said sarcastically.

"Please girl, you know if we'd gotten around them bases I'd have told you," Abby replied in her American accent. Pauline loved Abby's accent. It was fresh off the plane, unlike hers, which was just plain. Since she was a local, everybody else sounded like her, except of course for the international students attending her school.

"D'you think that maybe your man is trying to hint at something? You know, like his finally ready to get a taste of you and all?" Pauline asked, trying to wipe her grin off her face.

"I don't know. I hope…not. I don't think I'm ready for anything like that just yet."

"Come on, not even a smooch, or a tiny little peck on the cheek?"

"Well, I suppose a little kiss ain't so bad, right?"

"Now that's what I'm talking about," Pauline said, suddenly very excited.

Unfortunately for Pauline, as the year progressed, Abby's little crush on Vince fizzled. It probably had to do with the fact that he was away in boarding school for most of the year. While he was in school they couldn't even talk on the phone, because cell phones weren't allowed in school. So during the August holidays she decided to end things. He did not take it very well. He texted her to tell her that she was a little bitch who played with his emotions, and other stuff along the same lines. Abby thought that the whole incident was pretty funny, juvenile indeed, but funny nonetheless. When she relayed the story to Pauline, her Kenyan friend had few words to spare. " He's such a…dudu," she simply said after a while, having seemingly lost her expletive dictionary. Abby had come to learn that dudu was Kiswahili for insect/creepy crawly. "What, he preferred that you cheat on him?"

"Who said anything about cheating?" Abby asked, looking perplexed.

"Don't play dumb sweetie, I know you've got a thing for Steve. I've seen the way you look at each other," Pauline said matter-of-factly.

Wow, Abby was impressed. It seemed like there was nothing that Pauline did not know about her. She was pretty observant. The truth was she only knew what Abby wanted known; nothing from her shameful past. Actually not even her four best friends back home knew about her secret past. Well, Hoagie knew. A little bit.

...

Abby had always had a curious spirit. This led her down paths that she would, under other circumstances, preferred not to have led at such a tender age.

She had watched enough TV, and seen so many couples in bed making out and making love. Of course as a kid she did not know they were getting freaky under the sheets, but she did want to know exactly what they were doing under there. Really, she had no idea, and clearly neither did Hoagie.

Hoagie had gone to Abby's place to play video games with her. After they got bored with that they went to hang out and play with her toys in her room. They had a blast with the action figures and toy horses. Abby had never been a fan of dolls, so her parents had bought her toy cars and action figures, and other toys boys liked. When the two children grew bored of that game too, the nine year old Abby and eight year old Hoagie just lay on the bed, telling stories. Abby then decided to get into bed, and Hoagie got under the covers too. Then Hoagie's face lit up when he got a light bulb moment.

"Let's play Days of Our Lives," he suggested.

Their moms used to watch that soap opera religiously, so when extreme boredom arose, they'd watch the program with their respective mothers.

"Why not, we've run out of games to play anyway. So what exactly should we do?" Abby asked.

"Well, I guess we take our clothes off, like we that guy and lady on TV yesterday."

"Cool."

The kids got undressed and threw their clothes onto the floor, all the while they were still under the covers, so they had not seen each other's naked bodies.

"Okay, now what?" Abby asked.

"I get on top of you, like that guy."

"Okay, come on."

Hoagie got on top Abby, and she struggled under his weight. She tried to be strong and rise to the challenge, but after a couple of minutes, she suggested that they switch positions. She was careful not to hurt his feelings by highlighting the fact that it was his weight that prompted the change.

"So what happens now?" Abby asked innocently, as she fidgeted against him to get more comfortable.

"I don't know. On TV they kiss, but, you know we can't do that. We're best friends, that would be weird. Besides you're not my girlfriend. I guess we just stay like this till we get tired."

So they stayed like that till they got tired, totally oblivious to the contact between some very vital areas of their anatomy. They whole time they had just been telling stories and laughing about all sorts of things.

xxx

It was Wednesday morning, and Abby felt so dead tired that she could not believe Pauline was walking up to her with that ridiculous grin on her face. The previous day had been a national holiday, and Pauline's birthday. Her Kenyan bestie had thrown a house party, to commemorate her coming of age. The big one-six.

It was a fabulous party. All the cool kids from school were there. People managed to smuggle in alcohol. Well, you don't really smuggle in alcohol if there's no adult supervision, do you? Abby asked herself. She still could not believe that Pauline's folks were so trusting as to let their own teenage daughter throw a huge party in the evening with lots of boys, and girls, (especially boys) invited. Maybe if we were university students it would another matter, she thought. Kenyans, Abby had come to discover, were pretty conservative folk. That's why she felt that Pauline's parents were kind of against the grain.

Whatever the case, Abby had a great time, and she looked cool and knew it. All the chicks were looking sexy, with their tiny outfits or tight fitting clothes. She rocked skinnies, an oversize Eminem t-shirt and sneakers to die for. She was the only girl she knew who rocked sneakers to a party. Probably back in the US B-girls rocked that look too.

Dan was there. He was tall and good-looking. The height did it for her, he definitely stood out. Literally. She always had a thing for tall dudes. She remembered his cute smile, and -

"Hey Abs," Pauline greeted her, as she rudely pulled Abby back into the present. Abs? This was the first time in four years anyone had called her Abs. Usually it was just Abby or Abigail. She seriously missed her KND friends at that point.

"Wassup?" Abby greeted back. "Why are you so happy and energetic this morning? You must have slept pretty late last night. I left your place at about one and you guys were still going strong. What time did people finally leave anyway?"

"The second last person left at about two. I pretty much kicked them out," Pauline said, looking exceptionally gleeful.

"What about the last person?"

"Seven, as I was coming to school."

"What?" Abby asked, raising her eyebrow. "Who the hell was that?"

"Pete," Pauline yelled happily, with a naughty look on her face. "I, my friend, got laid last night," she said proudly.

"How?" Abby asked, totally perplexed. " You've always been afraid of the penis!" She exclaimed.

"Shhhhh!" Pauline shushed her reproachfully, swatting Abby across her mouth as their classmates began to pay attention to them.

"What kind of question is that? I got laid, laid. It was awesome. It's amazing how alcohol in the system boosts one's confidence. Goodness, if I'd known Peter was so talented, wow…and we did it all. I gave him head, like twice. And he – "

"Whoa, woah...shut up ," Abby interjected. " What the hell man, leave something for the imagination. Dammit! You're traumatizing my virgin ears," she joked.

"Don't act all high and mighty, okay? I saw your hot make out session with my cousin on the dance floor… living room...dance floor, You know what I mean. You guys were practically speaking in tongues. And don't you blame it on the alcohol, because sparks were flying between the two of you all night," Pauline said, before Abby could come up with a defense.

"Uh…but…Dan, he was – we were dancing…" Abby couldn't find a come-back. She was stumped, dumb-founded. Pauline smiled when she realized she had won that round, and she quickly took her seat as the teacher walked in to class.