Okaaaay here's the prototype to my new story. It's a work in progress but I hope you all like it! It's going to be nonlinear, so they'll be stories within ages. Probably a couple chapters for each age. I you have any story/age requests, review or PM me!
Enjoy and tell me what you think! xx
I woke up on a warm July day. Everyone was itching to get out of school—there were only about three weeks left in the term. I pulled the covers up neatly and ran to claim the bathroom. Just as I emerged from my room, John stepped out of his. We stared at each other before sprinting to the bathroom. I reached it first and slammed the door.
"Rose!' he yelled. "Get out! You get the bathroom every morning! Let me in!"
"Piss off and wake up earlier!' I called back. He hit the door angrily and I laughed loudly. He sighed and left and I knew I was forgiven, however slightly. It took me a solid half hour to wrangle my unruly waves into a semi decent look ponytail. I applied bright red lipstick and wiggled into my school uniform.
When I opened the door, I looked around carefully. When I felt it was safe, I stepped out. John suddenly jumped out of nowhere and picked me up. I shrieked as he spun me around.
"So you're finally done being a brat, eh?" he bellowed.
"Let me down!" I laughed until my face turned red. "You're wrinkling me outfit!" He set me down with a smile.
"I don't envy you, there," he grinned. "I dunno how you manage to wear a skirt every day." I looked down at my uniform and shrugged.
"It's a living." Mimi called up for us to come to breakfast. "Hurry up or I'll eat your food."
"You wouldn't dare," he scoffed. "Twenty minutes and we can go." I skipped downstairs and sat at the table next to where my uncle George used to sit. No one sat in his seat. Even though he died a while back, it was still a fresh wound and we liked to keep routine.
"Rosaline, sit up straight this instant!" Mimi snapped. I huffed and rolled my eyes and she slapped the back of my head briskly.
"Mimi!" She took my ear and pulled it upwards painfully until I sat p straight as a pin. "Why're you always on me back?"
"Because you're being rude. If I never teach you anything else, then I'll teach you to be polite. Understand?" she said sharply. I looked down and she merely narrowed her eyes. "Do you understand me?"
"Yes, Mimi, I get it! Jesus Christ." She raised her hand to the back of my head again. "Ouch!"
"Rosaline-,"
"What did I tell you about using the Lord's name in vain?" John scolded in a mock falsetto. I glanced at him and snickered and Mimi pinched my arm.
"Mimi!"
"Eat your breakfasts," she commanded. "Then get on to school." She set our plates in front of us and we dug in immediately. John slid his notebook over to me.
"Can you finish my maths?" he asked. I nodded and pulled my notebook out of my bag.
"Yeah, and you do English." We ate and worked in silence and soon it was time to leave. We threw our books back in our bags and headed out. We called goodbye to Mimi and hopped on our bikes.
"John!" she yelled. "Your glasses! Put your glasses on!" He reluctantly shoved his glasses on his face and I snickered, making glasses with my fingers.
"Glasses, John!" I repeated sternly. He nudged me and we took off.
"Hey, Rose, look!" he crowed. "No feet!"
"Ooh, a real Evel Knieval!" I mocked.
We raced to school and John won by a nose. I informed him that it was probably because of his charmingly large schnoz before deftly avoiding a carelessly placed punch to the arm. He parked our bikes as his friends walked up. Pete, Ivan, and Nigel said a vague hello to John and smiled widely at me.
"Ah, the ever lovely Rose," Pete said. I managed a half a smile at them until Paul walked up.
"Hey, Rosie," he grinned. He patted my cheek softly. "How goes it?"
"Great," I said back. John finished locking the bikes and glared at his friends suspiciously. He stood in front of me and shooed them away.
"Keep your eyes off her," he growled.
"John," I said, slightly embarrassed. No wonder I could never get a boyfriend—he was always getting in the way!
"Rose," Paul said breathlessly. "Who is that?" A tall blonde girl was waving at me and making her way over. I beamed and waved back.
"You know Vi. You've known her for years. She just moved a few blocks away to her grandmother's house." He continued to gape along with the other guys. "She went to the girls' school down the road, you know, and now she's come back for the rest of the year to take her exams."
"I don't know her!" he exclaimed.
"Of course you know her," John snapped. "You all went to nursery school together and we all used to play on the block when we were smaller." Paul kept staring at her as she galloped up and tackled me in a huge hug.
"Rosie!" she squealed excitedly.
"Vi, you're back!" I laughed. "I missed you terribly, but you're choking me." She released me immediately and a wide grin spread across her face.
"I missed you too! Let's go for a swim after school and we can find Col," she suggested. I nodded and grabbed her hand.
"Let's get to class. Bye, John," I said, kissing his cheek. He shooed me away because he was so embarrassed. I rolled my eyes and pulled Violet off to our first block.
I introduced Vi to our teacher and we took some desks in the back of the class. School ended the third week of July so the two weeks we had left were just review. Just as the teacher left to take a call, my favorite person in the world walked through the door. Trudy Brown, in the flesh. Her dirty blonde ponytail slithered like a snake as she walked over to us.
"Alright, you know the drill," she clipped. "Up, slags." Violet looked up at her as if Trudy had grown an extra head.
"And who the fuck are you supposed to be?" she asked bemusedly. The class quieted and turned in our direction.
"Does it matter? Just get out of my seat and out of my sight," she huffed.
"Well, you don't look like me mum or the bloody Queen either, so I don't fancy you telling me what to do," Violet laughed. She stood up and I suddenly realized how intimidating she really was. She made Trudy look like a rat.
"Trudy, just piss off," I sighed. "There are twenty other seats, just pick one for Pete's sake."
"But that's my seat!" she screeched. Vi threw her head back in glorious laughter as she nudged me.
"You didn't tell me your friends were so charming," she grinned. Trudy tried to cattily grab a handful of Vi's hair, but she dodged it angrily. "Hands off, bitch."
"Wow, you're such a lady," Trudy sneered. Vi smiled sweetly and curtsied sarcastically. She plopped in the seat next to me and offered me a piece of gum as the teacher walked in.
"So let's stop by my house to get some bathing suits. Then we won't have to walk that far to your house," I said.
"Gear," she agreed as she popped her gum. Our morning block dragged by, but it was so much more fun when I was sharing my classes with my best friend. Soon, it was lunch and I got to experience the hilarious relationship between John and Violet.
"Oh, for fuck's sake," John complained playfully. "Rose, you had to bring your bloody friend to lunch? Jesus, she couldn't eat in the closet where we can't see that mug of hers?" Vi pretended to be head over heels with him.
"Oh, Jaaaaaaawn," she drawled. "Don't pretend you don't loooooove me!" He rolled his eyes and nudged her. Trudy was staring at our table venomously. She fancied John and was no doubt jealous at the new girl who he seemed to be so friendly with.
"Hey, get her off your back why don't you?" I suggested. John grinned slyly.
"My pleasure," he chuckled. He grabbed Violet round her waist and pulled her onto his lap. She giggled uncharacteristically and twirled her perfect blonde hair around her finger.
"Oh, Johnny," she said loudly. "I'm so glad I've got you!" Trudy's jaw dropped and we all burst into laughter.
"Too funny," I said, wiping a tear from my eye. Violet took a bite of John's sandwich and a handful of his chip before she hopped off of his lap.
"Thanks," she said with her mouth full of his food.
"Vi-o-let," he sighed exasperatedly. "It's like two Roses. I can't handle this." Paul came over soon and offered Violet half of his chips. She politely declined, claiming that she wasn't all that hungry. John's face turned red quickly but he kept his mouth shut.
With no more confrontations for the rest of our day, Vi and I walked home. John had detention (which Vi and I also came dangerously close to because of the argument with Trudy), so we went to my house to change.
"Hi, Mimi," I yelled as we ran upstairs.
"Rosaline!" she shouted back. I threw Violet a swimming costume and we changed quickly. I tossed her a dress to put on over it and we ran back downstairs. "Rosaline, come here now."
"Mimi, can't you just call me Rose like anyone else," I bleated. "You make it sound like I'm in trouble every time I talk to you. Besides we're just going swimming, I'll see you back here in an hour or three."
"Rosaline Ophelia-,"
"Alright!" I screamed, running into the kitchen. "What…oh.'' My mother and father were standing by the counter drinking tea. I hadn't seen them in months. "Hi, Mum! Hi, Dad!" I hugged them tightly.
"Auntie Anna and Uncle Vincent," Vi smiled. "I haven't seen you in ages." She hugged them after me.
"What brings you two here?" I asked.
"We thought we might take you and John out for dinner tonight," Dad said. I nodded and smiled.
"That sounds fun!"
I looked at Mimi and she had a troubled look in her eyes. It quickly went away when she noticed that John wasn't with us. She looked at me suspiciously.
"Where is John, Rosaline?" she asked. I glanced at Violet and back to Mimi.
"He's at school!" I chirped. I grabbed Vi's hand and ran for the door.
"Rosaline!"
"Sorry!" I called. "Really must be going! Bye now!" We ran down the block until we couldn't see my house. "That was close. John would have killed me if I let Mimi know he got another detention."
"Yeah, she'd probably kill him," Vi said.
"Probably?" We laughed and ran to Colleen's house. Her parents sent her to a very upscale, all-girls school on the other side of town and she lived further away, so we didn't get to see her as often. When we threw the rocks at her window, she looked out with a smile on her face.
"Come on, we're going swimming!" She held up a finger to tell us to wait and met us out front five minutes later. We went to the pool by her house and immediately dove in. Our feet were burning from the unusually hot concrete.
We played in the pool until three guys swam up to us. One with blonde hair and brown eyes chatted me up and before we knew it, an hour had passed. We all sat under an umbrella and the guy (his name was Reggie) had his hand on my leg. Vi and Colleen gave me sly looks and soon the sun began to set. We all barely noticed. What I really didn't notice was John and Paul storming through the pool park. John grabbed Reggie and his friend by the collar while Paul grabbed the other.
"You trying to mack on me sister, bloke" John growled. He socked Reggie in the chin and tossed the other guy to the ground. Paul threw Colleen's fella into the pool. "Rose, Vi, Col, let's go. Now." He grabed my wrist and towed me after him.
"John, you are an insufferably louse. How will I ever get a boyfriend?" I wondered desperately. He pulled me the rest of the way home while Paul walked Colleen and Violet back to their houses.
"If I keep doing my job right, you never will," he said cheekily. I ended up riding on his back the rest of the way home and I was faced with my belligerent guardian and my very worried parents.
"Great," I sighed. This would be a long night.