Okay, I realized my first story wasn't doing so well so take 2. This chapter is just to set up the story. More to come soon. I decided to edit this chapter, however. The one before worked better as an outline. Both chapters have been edited since posted.
Tonight couldn't have been worse. My boyfriend, Jordan, cheated on me with another girl! I saw him holding her hand! I was supposed to meet him at the rink just to see him with this other girl! Ugh! She's such a mean girl, too! She bullies me all the time in the bathroom! I hope she's mean to him! That will show him to pick the mean girls over a good girl any day!
I was walking home alone feeling disgusted, angry, and absolutely hurt. I was crying angry tears as I stomped home. Oh was I going to rip into him on facebook! And I will make sure everyone knows he's a cheater! But then, maybe he'll give me a reasonable explanation. Maybe I should text him? Oh but what if he is cheating on me? Grrr... I'll go on facebook and see how he likes it! If there's a viable explanation, then he'll tell me. Oh he's so going to pay!
As I was about to turn the corner, my mind made up, when I saw something weird. I stopped and stared at it, trying to make sense of it. A hole? No, that's not right. It looks like part of the world surrounding it is spinning around it. It looked like a glitch in a game or a weird portal. Maybe I should get a closer look? It got bigger though and I got scared. I thought about running but when I was about to, I felt it pull me. I tried to run, scream, anything but before I could do anything, it was too late. I felt my body get hurled through it before I could even register what was going on. The last thing I remember was a light before going through.
After the light, there was a flash of dull colors and then I crashed into something. I felt a lot of pain: my nose hurt and was definitely bleeding, I'm pretty sure I crashed into a few things made of glass, and I was face first against a wall. Black spots clouded my vision. I heard someone rush towards me but things went black before I could see anything else.
I awoke on a bed. My nose had something over it, my legs hurt, and I had the worst headache of my life. The light in the room was really hurting my eyes, forcing me to keep them closed for awhile. I felt one of my legs to feel bandages on my thigh. I think I really did crash into glass but it felt like my right leg took most of the damage. I slowly tried opening my eyes but the light hurt too much. What kind of lights were these? Why were they so bright? Then the lights went off. I opened my eyes slowly and saw the figure of a man in the doorway.
"Who's there?" I asked.
He stepped towards me and turned on a dim touch lamp next to me. He smiled at me with a friendly smile.
"My name is professor Callaghan. Who might you be, child?" he asked.
"Riley Anderson. What happened?" I asked.
He seemed uneasy and hesitant. What? Do I have something on my face?
"I suppose it wouldn't be fair if I didn't tell you what happened." He said.
"Where are my parents? Where am I?" I asked, starting to get nervous.
"You are in a guest room at my house. You came to me through a portal I had made in my house at my private lab in the basement. I meant to bring my daughter back through that portal but, instead, you came through. Forgive me, child, but I cannot guarantee that you are even from my world or if you're from another timeline or universe. Why don't you tell me some general information about yourself? I might be able to get you home." he said.
"My name is Riley Anderson. I live with my parents, Bill and Jill Anderson. We used to live in Minnesota but then we moved to San Francisco California." I said.
"Hold it, San Francisco? What date?" He asked, surprised.
"2013? Why wouldn't it be?" I asked.
"San Francisco... but the same date... This is just as I feared." He said.
"What?" I asked, fearfully.
"San Francisco had all but been wiped out years ago in 1906. This city you're in today is that same city but it goes by a different name. You're in San Fransokyo." He said.
"San Fransokyo?... that can't be right! I was just about to go home right after I saw Jordan with that other girl! I mean, my phone probably would prove this! Uh... where is it?" I asked him.
"Child, other than some strange music and a few apps, I have not been able to find anything on your facebook. In fact, your facebook says you have no friends on it." Professor Callaghan said.
"What?! That can't be true!" I said.
"Look." He said, handing me my phone.
I looked at my phone. I tried to find something that would tell me where I was. He was right about the facebook thing but I still had my pictures and my music at least. I tried my GPS and I typed in an address. Nothing came up. I tried my Minnesota address instead but my house wasn't there and instead some old business.
"Oh god..." I said, panic setting in.
"I'm so sorry, Riley." Professor Callaghan said.
"Can you put me back?" I asked.
"I don't know." He said.
"Can't you just reverse that thing I went through?" I asked.
"The moment you came through it, the portal collapsed along with my machine. It would take me years to rebuild it much less figure out a way to get you home." He said.
I felt like a heavy brick of ice settled in my chest. Hot tears brimmed my eyes.
"Listen, I will get you settled into this world as best as possible. I will make sure you get through your studies well and find somewhere for you to live. For now, just rest. You suffered a concussion, several cuts, and a broken nose. You need to heal." He said.
I do not think I ever truly could heal. I'm not talking about the wounds. I'm talking about learning that I may never be able to go back home. I'm surprised I managed to get some sleep that day.
Professor Callaghan left the room and knew he had to act fast if he wanted to keep this secret. No one in their right mind will likely ever believe this girl but still, he had to stay on the safe side with this. So he got an agent on the phone and arranged to buy an apartment for his new charge. Once he got that squared away, he also did some computer work by making up an identification for Riley. Callaghan hadn't hacked anything in awhile but he knew a few tricks. Within a few hours, he managed to get Riley a legal document that he had forged. It would be like she had just appeared. Luckily, he actually guessed her birthday spot on.
He had Riley registered as a foster under his care. So Riley could be adopted by another family potentially. However, until then, Callaghan was going to make sure Riley was raised well under him. No, she wasn't going to be a daughter: he didn't want to get attached to her. So he hired a tutor to start seeing her daily for eight hour lessons. Callaghan will be damned if Riley didn't do well in her studies. In fact, he was going to make sure she'd be beyond high school level by the time the year was through.
Weeks later...
Needless to say, I had no choice but to settle here in this weird world. But, it's not too much different from mine but... the technology is different. I managed to convince Callaghan to get me on a hockey team. I was glad that at least playing hockey was the same as it always was minus having friends. But I did manage to befriend some of the team so that's a start. I actually have some facebook friends in this world now. Or, this reality anyway. It's still the same world.
I had to head home now. My tutor was rough and made me study hard. I didn't like these studies. They were so intense and almost too much. My head would hurt for awhile after each session. Still though, at least I knew it would be over within the year. I try to count down the weeks to just remain optimistic through it all. I had just left to go get some donuts and quickly come back. I was given the break to go get some treats. Luckily, I lived only three blocks away from the Lucky Cat Cafe. I had to power walk on the way over. But I bump into someone on my way around the corner just as I glanced at my phone. I fell backwards onto my butt, my donuts landing next to me.
"Ow!" I said.
I grabbed my bag of donuts off the ground and look up to see a boy my age with dark hair and dark eyes. I blushed from a mix of embarrassment and, well, he's cute. He offered me his hand to help me up and I took it. I don't think my eyes left his nor did his leave mine. I never thought a girl could be so enamored with dark eyes until now. I never thought love at first sight existed until now. Or am I being ridiculous?
"Sorry." He said with a sheepish smile.
"That's okay. I wasn't looking where I was going." I said with a shy smile.
"Are you alright? You're not hurt, are you?" He asked, looking at me worriedly.
"No, I'm fine. What about you?" I asked.
"I've had worse." He said with a shrug.
I noticed a small cut on his leg.
"You're bleeding." I said, letting go of his hand.
"Oh. I didn't notice." He said, a little surprised that he even had a cut.
"Here. I'll fix it." I said, kneeling down in front of his knee.
"You don't have to." He said.
"I'd feel bad if I didn't help." I said, taking out a band aid and a small wipe from my bag.
"Alright." He said.
I carefully cleaned the cut and stopped the bleeding. I then covered up the cut with a Superhero band aid. Don't ask, my tutor got them for me thinking it would be cute. I got back up and grabbed my donuts. I checked my watch. I was alarmed to see that I was a minute late for my lesson.
"Oh my gosh! I got to go!" I said, about to sprint home.
"Wait, what's your name?" the boy asked.
"Riley! Riley Anderson." I said, pausing at the corner.
"I'm Hiro. Nice to meet you! Thanks!" He said.
"You're welcome! Gotta go!" I said, bolting around the corner.
I ran down two blocks and then went into my apartment building. I lived right above a crafting store. A furry owned the place and while her shop did cater to furries like her, it also sold glass and ceramic work. Downstairs is a studio where people can rent rooms and make things whether it's glass, ceramics, or even a fursuit. It's kind of cool to see some of the furry get togethers. I don't get why there's a stigma around these guys: they just like to have fun and act like their characters. Anyway, I don't have time to ponder this with you guys! I got to go!
I bolted up the stairs and into my apartment to see my tutor giving me a stern look.
"Riley, you're five minutes late." He said.
"Sorry. I kind of ran into someone and they scraped their knee. I had to stop and fix what I did. I'd feel bad if I didn't." I said.
He sighed and calmed down.
"Fine. Get your snack put together and come join me at the table for the rest of your lesson. The longer you take, the longer the lesson, and the shorter time we get to hang out." He said.
I love my tutor to death but he can be a bit strict when it came to my studies. Once we're done studying, he hangs around for a bit and we play video games. Sometimes he'll order me a pizza if the lesson went off without a hitch or if he's in a particularly good mood. I grabbed a chocolate donut out of the bag, placed it on a small plate and then went to the fridge to get milk. Some days, my tutor will even help me shop for groceries if I am running low. He does share some of my food with me, after all. He's basically a babysitter that teaches me things. I poured myself a cup of milk, put everything away, grabbed my donut and milk, and then pulled up a chair next to my tutor.
"Okay. We're doing chapter ten of biology today." He said.
We began the lesson but, I kept getting distracted. My mind kept wandering back to Hiro. I wonder if he goes to school like a normal kid? Does he like hockey? I'd love to show him what I can do on the ice! But, my wandering mind was getting me in trouble on the lesson. My tutor kept bringing me back from my daydreams... I wonder if Hiro's eyes are brown or actually a shade of black? I did not get a good look at his eyes.
"Riley! Focus! You're more distracted today than usual. What's up with that?" My tutor asked.
"Sorry. It's just that the guy I ran into was... cute." I said, blushing in embarrassment.
He let out a frustrated sigh and then pointed to a paragraph.
"We can talk about Mr. Wonderful when we're done. Now read this paragraph." He ordered.
I paid attention to the rest of the lesson for the most part. Don't take his frustration personally, he just wants to get things done so that we both have more time together and for ourselves. He doesn't tutor me all the time, only about three days out of the week. I do homework the rest of the week, other people come in to help me out. Most of them were my tutor's classmates. Finally, we were done and he started putting the books away. Surprisingly, we only went a half hour overtime. He stretched and I cleaned up my dishes from my snack.
"Okay, kiddo. So who's this guy you ran into today, hmm?" he asked with a smirk.
"I don't know if I want to tell you, Tadashi." I sighed.
"What? I get it. I had my share of crushes, too. So who is it?" He asked.
I blushed and decided I could trust him.
"I was on my way over here. I was in a hurry and about to go around that corner when we ran into each other. He helped me up, I noticed he had a cut on his knee so I cleaned it up and used one of those stupid superhero band aids I got to fix him up." I said.
"That's the story but who is he?" Tadashi asked, still grinning.
"Well... his name was Hiro." I said.
Tadashi froze for a moment. Then suddenly, he busted out laughing. He literally fell out of his chair and was clutching his sides. I got even more flustered. What was so funny? I thought he wasn't going to give me crap about this. He looked at me and sat up.
"Ehehe. Did he have dark hair? It's a bit longer than mine but not too long." He asked.
"Yes." I answered.
"Shorts?" He asked.
"Yes." I said.
"Dark eyes?" He asked.
"Yes." I answered.
"Teeth that look much like yours?" He asked, still trying not to laugh.
I didn't realize that before but... yes he did. They looked cute on him though.
"Now that you mention it, yeah, he did." I said.
"That's him! I can't believe this! What are the chances?!" He said, laughing hysterically.
"Umm... Tadashi, do you know him?" I asked, even more nervous than before.
"Know him?! He's my little brother!" He said before laughing again.
I was mortified. The biggest crush I ever had... and it's Tadashi's brother. I hid my face in my hands and blushed redder than anything in existence. Oh god! This world is driving me crazy already!
"I could invite him over one of these days. He could use some friends. I think he might actually like you." Tadashi said.
"Tadashi, nooooooo!" I said, flustered.
"I could call him up right now." Tadashi said, getting his phone out.
"NOOOOO!" I said, trying to grab his phone.
"Hahahaha. Just kidding, sis. You'll see him again someday. Besides, I'd rather you not have anymore distractions." He said.
"Aaawww..." I said, disappointed.
"Okay, I'll call him up!" Tadashi said, dialing a number.
"Tadashi, nooooooo! Get back here!" I said, chasing him around the apartment.
"Yeah, I'd like to order one large pepperoni pizza, please." He said, smirking at me mischievously as he held me away with one hand on my head.
I gave him a dirty look before leaving the room. Outside of my studies, Tadashi is just plain annoying sometimes!
Okay, the real chapter 1 is done. I'll be working on chapter 2 before I post this one.