Chapter 1
I stared pathetically at the package of sour straws in my hands. I had been munching on them throughout the game. It was a Friday night foot ball game. I was sitting by myself on the last cold metal bench of the bleachers. Just me, myself, and I (and my sour straws).
I pulled out another straw of delicious sour-ness while rolling my eyes at my classmates that were a few rows up. I could hear their obliviously loud whispers
"Who's the loner?" the newest clone, Mackenzie, asked her 'friends' while motioning towards me.
I frowned at her and attempted to push their voices out of my hearing by concentrating on eating the sour straw.
"That's Kalea, she moved here a couple months ago," said Brittany, the queen bee of Rutherford High.
Brittany and her groupies (i.e. Mackenzie and the others) were all clones. They had the bleach blonde died hair and the perfect nose job that Michael Jackson would've killed for.
Finally, Brittany caught my glare. She returned her own right back at me before standing up and walking away, her 'friends' following closely.
I flipped my black side bangs away from my icy blue eyes with a sigh. Sometimes I asked myself why I even subject myself to this. And then I remember. My parents think that I have friends and that I moved from our old town of Philadelphia easily. I moved to Gotham, how could I have managed that 'easily'. I didn't make any friends either. But, I didn't want my parents to worry. So I put on an act that I had friends that I would meet at the mall and at high school foot ball games. When I ended up going places where I was 'going to meet friends' I usually wandered around or just sat and did nothing. Any way it was boring.
I stared out at the score board as it buzzed the final buzz. We won. Yeah. Please, note the sarcasm coating my voice. I stood quickly and pulled my hoodie's sleeves over my fists. My hands curled around my car keys, anxious to get out of the crowd of people. I used to love doing this kind of thing back in Phili with my friends. Getting into trouble equaled having fun. And now having fun equals, well I don't know exactly. I guess I just don't have fun all together.
Crossing the road, I finally reached my car. It was a minivan. It was ugly as heck. But, I loved it with a burning passion. I worked so hard to earn this car.
I got into my beloved car and put the keys the ignition sending it to life. As soon as I did Dragostea Din Tei by O-Zone filled my ears. I sang along with the Romanian lyrics.
"Alo, alo, sunt eu Picasso. Ti-am dat beep, si sunt voinic. Dar sa stii nu-ti cer nimic."
A couple songs later I was home.
I killed the engine and hopped out of the van. I unlocked the door and walked in while humming Somebody Told Me by The Killers. My parents were most likely already asleep. So I tip-toed up the steps and passed their room. My mum had her eyes wide awake. She looked at me and I gave her a nod before she smiled at me and closed her eyes. I walked to my room around the bend. When I opened the door I was greeted with my familiar space.
I quickly changed into a baggy t-shirt before sliding into my bed.
The annoying buzz of an alarm clock awoke me the next morning. My hand reached over lazily and slapped the snooze button. I sat up and stretched my arms up and out while yawning. I had another boring day to look forward to, how exciting.
My shoulders rolled back and forth while I looked through my wardrobe. I finally settled on black skinny jeans, a black & white long button down form fitting shirt, and white pumps. I slipped on the pumps which made me 5'9". I walked out of my room and down the stairs. When I reached the dining room I saw my father sitting there reading the paper and drinking his coffee. His salt & pepper hair was neatly combed and he was wearing his usual business clothes.
He and I were usually the first two up, even on a Saturday such as this one. We exchanged a small smile and nod of recognition before returning to what we were doing. This was the way things were. A comfortable silence. It was always like this with me and my father. Unlike my mother, we both preferred silence while enjoying the others company. You buttered a bagel and ate it while staring at the wall in boredom.
The relaxing silence was broken when her mother walked down the steps. Her brown curly hair was sticking out in every direction. She had her silly cow bathrobe on and matching slippers. My mother was eccentric to say the least. But she was still very nice to have around when there was any random awkward silences. She's a people person unlike her husband and daughter.
"Good morning, sunshine," I stated to my half asleep mother.
My mom rolled her eyes at this as she poured her coffee.
"Are you going to the mall with Angela?"
Yup, my imaginary friends had names. And personalities and appearances that my mother asked for when I first 'made friends'.
"Yeah, around 12. We're going to get lunch there."
Well, I was going to get lunch there. I bet there's some girl named Angela who was going to get lunch at some mall, so I wasn't technically lying.
Later on, around 11:30, I left my house and got into my minivan. When I turned the started the ignition the song "Dear Jamie... Sincerely Me" came out of my speakers. My mine van reached the mall and I parked towards the back. My tall white pumps hit the asphalt and I slammed the door to my minivan. My long legs carried me to the entrance of the shopping center. I immediately walked into FYE and browsed the posters. I found one of The Beatles in a blue, green, and white pop art type of style. Deciding that it fit my room, I bought it.
After that, I just roamed the mall randomly. Around 2 pm I got a soft pretzel and cheese. I parked myself towards the end of the mall where there were open couches. No one was sitting on this side of the mall. So sitting there eating my cheese pretzel, by myself, is when my life suddenly took a new course. Whether for the better or for the worse, I was still unsure.
