My name is Jia, and I have done horrible things. I've taken lives, subdued innocents to my own malicious hand, and I've forced the people around me into a meticulous hell. But you shouldn't be blaming me for all of this. They had it coming, they all did. I'm just simply doing the rest of the world a favor by throwing them all off the face of the Earth. All the while, I keep a cool grin on my face, put on my black sunglasses, and move on to the next pair of victims.
"But, how?" you may ask. "What has caused you to become the animal you have become?" or "How did your story all culminate together?"
Well, if you really wish to know, it would be wise if you saw my tale…. Right from the very beginning:
I waited inside the orphanage nearby the window as I sat on a padded bench. All I had with me at the moment was an old travel suitcase to my right, and my pug Pops, who was sleeping on my lap. Today was the day that I would get a new family; the day I got adopted. I really wish it was mamma who was adopting me today. I really miss her bright smile, and the way that she would sing to me before bed. But ever since I've been sent to the orphanage, I never got to see or hear from her again. Mamma told me that one day we would be together again one day. Every day, I've been hoping that I would get to see her, exactly like she promised. "You are my bambina, my little dolce agnello. And it will always be like that. And never forget the name Horenso. Because that is what you are." Oh, how I longed to be with her again. The only thing resembling her spirit to me was Pops, whom of which I got on my seventh birthday as a newborn pup. He's been my best friend ever since then, and I hardly went anywhere without him.
I then saw a car pull up into the driveway when I looked out the window. It definitely wasn't mamma's car. Hers was much neater. The car I saw was old, and it looked like it had repairs done on it multiple times. It looked like something from a horror movie almost. "Well… maybe the people who adopted me won't be so bad." I thought. Once the car was parked, I saw three figures step out of it. The first person I saw was a tall and muscular man, with dark brown hair with a thin, barely noticeable mustache. His eyes were a deep blue, and they had a small tint of sky blue to them. He was dressed in a vintage umber suit, along with black men's dress shoes. My guess was that he was either planning to go to work or he had just finished. The next person that I saw was a woman, who looked to be fairly young, maybe somewhere in her late twenties to early thirties. She had bright and curly red-brown hair that came down to her shoulders, with chocolate brown eyes that complimented her heart-shaped face. She was wearing a blue dress with white two and a half inch heels. She looked a really nice and fun person to be around, unlike the man who seemed more serious. Finally, the final figure was another male, but he appeared to be in his early teens, about thirteen years old, just about six years older than me, maybe seven. He had messy brown hair with the same eyes as the woman. He also had muscle, but not as much as the older man. He was about the same height as the woman, who I assumed was his mother, if not, a tad shorter.
I was too busy playing with Pops by the window to notice that the three people I noticed before had walked in. The two adults and a receptionist talked briefly. "Jia, honey. Your new family's here." One of the receptionists called out to me. I got up, embraced Pops in my right arm and held onto the handle of my suitcase with my left hand. I walked up to the trio in front of me, who looked upon my stature, as if they were inspecting me. The husband nodded, and took a step towards me.
"My name is Aldrick Nimitz, or 'Al' for short. This is my wife Irma and my son Gunter." Alrick introduced himself and the others.
"It's nice to meet you." I said, giving a little nod. "I'm Jianna, but everyone calls me Jia."
"I see…" Aldrick replied, somewhat uninterested. He looked me over once again. I was starting to get uncomfortable with him staring at me, but I tried not to let it show. He then noticed Pops in my posession. "There's just one more thing we need to take care of…"
I looked down at Pops, then back to Aldrick. He wouldn't, would he? He couldn't possibly be thinking about… Aldrick looked over at the receptionist, and nodded. As if on cue, the receptionist began to take away Pops from my possesion. I tried to keep him in my arms, and tried to let Pops stay with me. But alas, the receptionist managed to pry Pops from my grasp. "Pops!" I called out as the receptionist took him away, and while I heard Pops whimper, as if calling out to me. I looked back at Aldrick, and the expression on my face asked why he allowed to take Pops away from me, one of my only true friends.
"We have enough German dogs back at home as it is." Said Irma. "I'm sure you'll like ours just as much as your.. Erm, Pops, dear." I looked at her in a toned down expression of dismay. Another thing I wondered at the moment was why she said that they had enough German dogs.
After some time inside the orphanage, the Nimitz family and I headed out to the old car. Aldrick and Irma got the front seat, while me and Gunter got the back seat. My suitcase was below my feet, sort of acting like an ottoman. When we pulled out of the driveway, Gunter informed me about a fourth family member: Uncle Waldo. From what I've gathered from Gunter, he was a wellfare leech who was staying at their place because he got kicked out of his appartment for not paying his rent, in which he has done multiple times. Aldrick yelled at him for calling Waldo a wellfare leech, saying that he has a day job. Gunter soon retorted with saying that Waldo hasn't been able to hold down a job for more than two weeks. The bickering escalated after that point, and I tried to drown out the noise by daydreaming as I looked out the moving cars window. But that came with no prevail. The noise of Gunter and Aldrick yelling at each other sounded like metallic drums in my ear.
Finally, a new voice came up. It was Irma's, and boy was she mad. "Will the both of you be quiet?! I can't leave you two alone to a conversation for five minutes, can't I?! Now either you two be quiet, or I'm taking over the wheel and leaving you stranded on the road with the vultures! God, it's like living with two five year olds!"
That seemed to settle down Aldrick and Gunter for a while. They were completely silent throughout the trip, and nobody spoke another word to each other, not even to me. The only sound that I could hear at the moment was the sound of the car engine and the road below us. The silence was almost eerie, and had a faint sense of trouble to it. It was rather unsettling, to say the least.
We finally made our destination as the rickety old car parked itself into a vertical concrete driveway. Aldrick and Irma stepped out of the car from the front, Gunter got out from the left of the car while I left through the right, carrying my bag with me. I looked up at the two story home that awaited me. The house was painted a cream-ish beige color, and there were three windows that faced the front of the house: two on the lower level horizontal to one another, and one on the upper level, sort of in between the two windows below it, but vertical to them. The house also had a porch, and as I peaked my head to sneak a peak at the back, I saw that there was also a back patio.
"Jianna! Hurry up and get inside!" Aldrick exclaimed, startling me a little. I obeyed him, and quickly made my way to the entrance of the house, not wanting to test him, or risk being abandoned on the first day. I also noticed that he called me Jianna. I already said that is was acceptable to call me Jia, but I guess he likes to be formal. It still kind of got my goat, but I just simply ignored this and met up with the others inside.
When I got inside, some of the first things I saw was a thick brown carpet, a set of side stairs at the end of the living room, green curtains from both the windows that let some sunlight into the house, some mounted animal heads on the walls in the living room, and when I turned my head, a man sitting on a recliner watching TV. The man looked up at us. "Hey, is that the kid you were talking about?"
"Yes, Waldo. This is Jianna." Irma replied to the man. So that was Uncle Waldo, huh? A bit chubbier than I thought, but he had a full head of hair on him, including a beard. He was also wearing a hunter's jacket, in which it was zipped all the way down, revealing a white V-neck shirt.
"Oh, please. Call me Jia…" When I turned my eye to Irma, she had a strict look on her face, as if forbidding me to use the name Jia. A small shiver was sent down my spine, and I gulped, facing Waldo with both eyes once again. "Nevermind…"
"Oh, that's no trouble to me at all, child! If it's Jia you want to be called, then it's Jia you'll stay as to me!" Waldo chuckled lightheartedly. He had a German accent to him, which I thought gave him a Santa-like complex in terms of personality. I felt a sense of security around him, the first time I've ever felt that since meeting the Nimitz family.
Aldrick glared at him. "It's Jianna, Waldo. And it's going to stay that way." He said in a tone as cold as ice. As a result, Waldo slowly removed his sunny demeanor and went back to silently watching TV. Gunter had already taken a seat on a couch right next to the recliner, and joined Waldo in watching the History channel.
After he looked to Gunter, Aldrick and Irma looked to me, with almost soulless eyes. Whatever light was left in them was suddenly diminished when I looked at them. "Come with us, Jianna. We have some rules that need to be… explained."
They beckoned me into the kitchen, in which I followed them. Aldrick and Irma sat across from me at an oval dining table. Whatever I was in store for, I wasn't comfortable with already. Especially when they were staring at me with those cold, heartless eyes.
"Jianna, since you now live under our roof, you'll now have to abide by our rules." Aldrick firmly stated. "First off: your curfew is strictly at 10:30 pm sharp."
Okay, I can live with that. I thought to myself.
"Second: Everyone, including you, has to do their share of work around the house." Irma continued.
Okay, I thought. So far, so good…
"Third: You are to do exactly as you are told."
Uh huh….. While they were listing the rules, I would give a nod of approval, showing that I understood what they were saying. The next few rules were simple enough, such as no talking back, treating the other members of the household with respect, and to tell the truth. But then things started getting weird.
"You are to stay inside the house at all costs. If you feel the need to wander outside, do so only briefly and within our field of vision. If we aren't available, then it would be wise just to stay out in the yard, or don't go outside at all. Unless you choose to take up a sport like the rest of us." Irma said in a rather calm and collected voice. I wasn't sure as to why she and Aldrick wanted e to stay indoors. I'm a bit of an outdoors person myself, so that rule was going to be kind of tough on me.
"You are to only leave the house to go to school, and to come straight back home. The only other case is to watch Gunter's mixed martial arts presentations." Aldrick stated, his voice getting a little raspier and stricter, as if he wanted nobody to hear in on our conversation.
"If you choose to have any guests over, you are one hundred percent responsible for them." Irma had her hands clasped together on the table.
"Finally, failure is not an option in this house. Everything must be perfect." Aldrick announced, with him and Irma glaring at me. "Any inadequacy to follow these set rules will result in dire consequences."
Irma and Aldrick got up from their seats. Just before they left, the two turned back to me. Aldrick spoke in a cold, deep voice. "If you think life here is going to be a fabulous walk in the part, don't press your luck. And don't even think about calling us such demeaning Italian names as 'mamma' or 'papa' either. You are only to refer to us as Irma and Aldrick. Nothing more, nothing less. You are not a part of this family, and never will be. You will never be one of us."
I felt like I just got interrogated for a crime; I was the criminal, and he and Irma were the officers. Aldrick left, leaving Irma and me alone together in the desolate space that we're currently sharing together. If Aldrick was as cold as the Arctic, I'd hate to see what Irma was like.
Irma had her eyes locked on me for a full ten seconds. "You'll be getting the guest room right across the hall from Gunter's bedroom upstairs. You'll know when you find it. Oh, and one more thing: school starts tomorrow, so I suggest you wear something sharp."
Irma finally left me alone in the kitchen as I sat at the table. This place was already beginning to feel like boot camp with all its restrictions its placed upon me so far. I sighed quietly, and let my head lower. Now I wanted my mamma here now more than ever. These people didn't feel like parents at all; it felt like I was just being used as an accessory. I felt my heart sink as I got up from my chair and force myself out of the kitchen with my suitcase. I passed the family watching TV together in the living room as I shot a brief glance at them. They didn't see me, as if I never existed. The only one that bothered to notice me was Waldo, and he gave me a sympathy look in return. I gave a not-so-convincing smile back, as I made my way up the stairs. From that day, I was a prisoner of the Nimitz family.