Hello! This is my next story called Discovering Alaska :D It might help if you've read my previous story but it won't make a difference if you haven't :D

It's set in the future where Yves and Phoenix are married (it's based on one of their children)

Attribution: By Rolands Lakis (originally posted to Flickr as Princess 1) [CC-BY-2.0 ( /licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Please review my chapters so I now whether or not your guys like it!

Alaska's POV

'Goddamn it Ally! Get out of my goddamn way!' My younger sister, Tiffany, pushed past me, knocking me against the wall.

'Sorry.' I muttered and shut the door to my room so I don't bother anyone.

'MOM! Where's my new DKNY bag!' Tiffany shrieked, her voice echoing around the house like a siren.

'I don't know darling. Have you unpacked it yet?!' Mom shouted back. We had only just moved to a small town in Denver named Wickenridge so most of our belongings were still in boxes. If either my mom or sister had bothered to help me pack up our old house, they would know that each box is coded and organised.

'Ask Alaska!' Mom called back to Tiffany.

Tiffany burst through my bedroom door with the picture of despair on her pretty made-up face. Her dark brown hair hung in curls around her shoulders.

'Alaska! Do you know where my DNKY bag is?!'

'If you listened to what I told you, you would know that your bag would be in the box labelled Tiffany's accessories.' I rolled my eyes and diverted my attention back to my book.

'Tiff! Are you ready yet?!' Mom shouted up the stairs. That's all everyone seems to do in this house: shout. Leonardo Da Vinci once said 'where there is shouting, there is no true knowledge.' When I quoted this to my mother, she asked me whether or not he was still alive. I guess that just proves his point.

'Inside voices, please?' I muttered under my breath.

'Coming Mom!' Tiffany yelled in reply.

'Alaska! I'll see you later this evening. There isn't any food in the house so I need you to go shopping!' Mom said before I heard the front door slam with fairly excessive force.

Mom decided to treat Tiffany to a meal of her choice since Tiffany got a B in her end of year maths exam. Tiff specifically requested that I wasn't allowed to go since she wanted some bonding time with mum alone. Not that I would want to go anyway; Tiffany chose a restaurant that specialized in meat and I'm a vegetarian.

I get A's in every one of my subjects yet mom has never taken me out for a meal. I understand though; mom has explained to me many times that she just can't love me as much as Tiffany. My father was an abusive drunk who used to hit both me and my mom, even though I was only a baby. My mother said that I look so much like him that it's uncanny. She said that simply by looking at me, it reminds her of him. When I was one year old, mom took me and ran away from my father.

Fortunately, mom found her soulfinder and they had Tiffany together. I was left on the side-lines since I was an outsider to the family. 6 years ago, my mother's soulfinder died in a car crash. We were all upset although it hit Tiffany and my mother the hardest. It didn't break her though, my mom. She stayed strong and brought up Tiffany and myself on her own. Mom tried to make up for the loss of Tiffany's father by showering her in love and designer gifts.

I have no interest in designer items; what makes something worth more value than the same item with a lesser brand? Besides, all I could ever ask for was a room full of books and then my heart would be content. A room without books is like a body without a soul. The thing I like the most about reading is that you could travel to the furthest star in space or the deepest point in the ocean, yet not actually leave the room. You could have gazillion friends, yet never have to remember their birthdays or actually hold a conversation with them.

I guess I should probably go get some food right now. It was mid-afternoon and I kind of wanted to avoid the rush of school children coming out from school on a Friday. I looked in the mirror, just making sure I looked presentable. I brushed my blonde, silvery hair which was dead straight and reached half way down my back. I put on some subtle lip-gloss to stop my lips from getting dry. The only thing I couldn't make better was my eyes. I have this thing called heterochromia iridis meaning that the irises of my eyes were different colours; one was light blue and the other was dark, emerald green, making my face look relatively un-symmetrical. I have grown used to it over the years although it still makes people stare at me in an odd way.

I remembered seeing a supermarket on the way into our new house and the walk wasn't that long. Thankfully, I didn't draw any attention to myself on the journey to the supermarket. Part of me was kind of hoping that I would go through school in a similar fashion since some people can be a hindrance on my theosophical pondering and thinking. Another part of me told me that I should stop being so exclusive and perhaps try a socialized with other humans and get noticed. However, forgot being noticed at school, it's hard enough for the automatic doors at the supermarket to acknowledge my existence.

There wasn't that many people at the supermarket, probably because they were all at work or school. I quickly grabbed the basics we would need for a few days: food, toiletries, snacks, washing powder...e.t.c. A quote of John Kenneth Galbraith popped into my head: 'A person buying ordinary products in a supermarket is in touch with his deepest emotions.' I guess you could say I am in touch with emotions yet I try hide to mask it. I guess you could say that I guess a lot of things.

Just as I finished paying, I noticed a pregnant woman carrying two shopping bags that looked quite heavy and quickly rushed over to her.

'Hey, I'll carry those for you.' I said, taking the bags from her hands.

'Thank you ever so much!' She smiled at me gratefully. I could see her staring at my eyes although she didn't say anything. She seemed nice enough though; she had dark brown hair pulled into a messy bun and wore stylish but mum-like clothes.

'Where are you walking to?' I asked.

'Just over to my car back there.'

'So how far are you along?' I said, nodding towards her stomach.

'7 months. Not long now.'

'Your first child?'

'Seventh actually.' She grinned at me.

'Wow! How do you manage it all?!' I exclaimed. Mom always complained that it was hell raising both Tiff and I but I couldn't imagine what she would say if there was another 5 of us to look after.

'I haven't seen you around here, are you new?' She asked politely.

'Yes, I just moved here today with my mom and sister. My name's Alaska.'

'Such a pretty name. I'm Phee. Short for Phoenix.'

Once we got to her car, I helped her load the shopping into the boot of the car and noticed that she had stacks of books in the boot ranging from 'Oxford dictionaries to 'Peter pan.'

'Wow I haven't read peter pan in ages! It used to be my favourite book.' I laughed.

'Me too. I work at the library, you see. You can borrow it if you like?'

'If that's okay. I promise to return it. I don't suppose there are any job vacancies at the library?' I asked since I have to help out with the rent at home.

'If you're looking for a job, I'd me more than happy to take you on. I can't exactly lift too many books in my condition.' She smiled warmly.

'That would be brilliant. When would you like me to start?' I smiled in gratification. No one knew what paradise was like, but in my opinion, it would resemble a well-stocked library.

'Just pop by anytime this week. You can start straight away.'

'Well thank you very much.' I grinned in surprise.

'You're very welcome. Would you like me to give you a life home?'

'It's okay. Thanks for the offer though. I quite like walking.' I replied. All great thoughts are conceived whilst walking.

'I'll see you sometime this week then?' She asked.

'Yes, it was nice meeting you Phoenix. Thanks very much for the book.' I waved as she drove off in her car. It was only my first day here and already I had made a friend and got a job. Maybe moving to Wickenridge was a good idea after all.