Prologue:
"I don't believe I ever got your name." The ship's captain was a gruff man with white, misshapen sideburns straight out of a decade long past. He grabbed a little cloth from his pocket and shined the outside of his pipe, not bothering to look at me as he spoke. "Mine's Pascal," he said, taking a puff from the pipe and sending tufts of noxious smoke in my direction.
I paused for a minute, turning my face away from the wind and letting the salty sea air whip my short, brown hair into my face. The air felt moist and unclean, and it reminded me of my childhood.
Meridian Heights Orphanage was never sanitary. The ever-present musky smell wasn't remedied by the leaky plumbing and the cobwebs that ornamented the corners of every room. I spent most of my time there sneaking out, leaving to go to the park or the library, any place where I could get away. The entire town knew me by name. They would always say hello as I walked by. Sometimes they'd offer me sandwiches, water, a place to stay for the day. I always hated being treated as a charity case.
When I was finally eighteen, I snuck out for good. The last of my money went toward a boat ticket to some funny little island I'd never even heard of. The important part was, it was far away from what I'd called home.
"Angela," I answered. "My name's Angela."
"Well, Angela," Pascal said, his raspy smoker's voice carrying out to sea, "Welcome to Waffle Island."
Chapter 1:
Intro - POV: Angela
I was greeted first by a portly old man with grey hair growing in formations that could not be possible without buckets of styling products. "Welcome to our fair island!" he triumphantly declared, attempting to be the island's poster boy as he once may have been. "My name's Hamilton, and I'm the mayor of Waffle Town!"
"It's nice to meet you," I said. "My name's Angela."
"Angela? Alright! If there's anything you need, you can ask me!"
"Where can I find the Town Hall?" I asked.
"Well, it's the one big building you find up those stairs to your right!" He pointed to indicate the direction of the stairs, as if I didn't know which way was right.
"Thank you, sir," I said, bowing and taking off. I didn't want to chit-chat; I wanted to move in.
Chapter 1a - POV: Angela
The town hall was a clean and deserted place, staffed only by a short-haired girl in a long blue dress and a domestic-looking apron, and a sweater-vested boy in plaid bermuda shorts and dress socks with hair that made his head look like the moon. "I'm Gill, and this is Elli," the boy introduced. "Would you like a gisitor's vide to the island-- I mean, a visitor's guide?"
"Actually, I'd like to inquire about moving in." I said nervously. "Are there any houses available?"
Gill's face lit up like a child who'd seen candy falling from the sky. "Oh! The housing district's practically deserted! Follow me, I'll show you some houses... that is, if you have any money."
My heart sank as I reached into my pocket. I'd forgotten I was completely broke. Would they send me back if I couldn't pay for a house? "I have... 27G... a rusted paperclip... and this bit of pink string."
Gill's brow furrowed as he tilted his head, staring contemplatively at the contents of my pockets. "Well, that won't buy you a weed flower." he said, his voice tasting of condescension. "You really came all the way out here without any money at all?"
"I apologize for wasting your time," I quickly spat out, spinning a quick one-eighty and heading toward the door.
"Hold on!" Gill shouted as my hand touched the doorknob, leaving his post behind the town hall counter. "You can't live in the housing district. But there's a little plot of farmland by the river with a shack you can live in."
"I don't want your charity!" I snapped. "I'm perfectly capable of living my own life!" I stormed out, slamming the door behind me. Even in other towns, people didn't think I could survive alone. I felt like I was worthless, like I didn't deserve to be alive, much less take a free house from people I'd met five minutes ago. A tear spilled from my eye as I ran from the town hall.
"Hey!" Gill's voice called from behind me. I ran faster. He couldn't possibly run very quickly in dress shoes. "I never got your name!"
"It's Angela!" I shouted through tears.
The sound of his dress shoes pounding across the square stopped. "You can pay rent, if you really want," he said.
I stopped. "Really?"
"2000G a month. We can send you eviction notices if you don't pay on time and everything!" he joked.
I turned around and walked back to where he stood. "I... uh, thanks... Gill."
He stuck out his hand. "We have a deal, then?"
"Sure," I said, shaking his hand. Gill started walking toward the stairs to the square. "Hey, where are you going?" I asked.
"To your land," he said. "Are you coming or not?"
Chapter 1b - POV: Gill
Another day working at Town Hall meant another day standing poised at the counter, staring at the front wall, with no one to talk to but my coworker, Elli. Today, she was on a cake rant. I knew I wouldn't hear the end of rolled fondant, piping techniques, and how to get juuuust the right amount of sweetness in strawberry topping until I interrupted her. But I was too polite. And no one would come by to stop her.
I was beginning to fall into a slump when the front door creaked open. In the doorway stood a visitor, a classically down-to-earth-looking girl with a certain smile in her eye that told she was actually pleased to be here. Who would be pleased to be in Waffle Town in its current state, I had no idea, but I wasn't about to let her think we were rude. It's only good practice, after all, to introduce oneself, right? "I'm Gill," I said. "And this is Elli. Would you like a gisitor's vide to the island-- I mean, a visitor's guide?" Stupid, stupid Gill. Think while you're speaking.
"Actually, I'd like to inquire about moving in. Are there any houses available?" Her voice was like fine summer sand slipping through dry fingers. Sly, but warm, and leaving an odd feeling on the ears. I could listen to it for hours.
She looked at me expectantly, her angular brown eyes open with anticipation. What had she said? Housing! "Oh! The housing district's practically deserted! Follow me, I'll show you some houses... that is, if you have any money."
Her excited face immediately fell as she reached down into her pockets. She started laying out the contents on the counter in front of me. "I have... 27G... a rusted paperclip... and this bit of pink string," she said.
And that was it. That was all she had. How could such a girl, so pretty and well-mannered, forget that money was the basis of civilized life? "That won't even buy you a weed flower," I said, disappointed. "You... really came all the way out here without any money at all?"
"I apologize for wasting your time!" she spouted, bowing and running away.
"Hold on!" I shouted as her hand graced the knob. I couldn't let her get away from me. "You can't live in the housing district, but there's a little plot of farmland by the river with a shack you can live in," I said. There was; it was an extremely disappointing little bit of land, but I'd do whatever I could to keep her around. My father would have to live with losing the little plot.
"I don't want your charity!" she shouted. "I'm perfectly capable of living my own life!" She slammed the door behind her as she left. Her face as she shouted at me will never leave my mind. She seemed so angry. I wondered what I could have possibly said or done to set her off. All I did was offer her a place to live. I took off running from my post. "I'll be back later!" I told Elli as I ran out the door.
"Hey!" I yelled at the girl, attempting to stop her. Hey? What kind of barn was I raised in? She has a name! But I'd never learned it. "I never got your name!"
"It's Angela!" she called back, her usually smooth voice shattered by tears.
Angela. Like Angel, but one step further. The poetry of it stopped me dead in my tracks. I was losing her. "You know, you can pay rent if you really want!" I said, fearing my last attempt had been drowned out by her running footsteps.
She stopped. "Really?"
"2000G a month," I said. "We can send you eviction notices if you don't pay on time and everything!"
Angela turned around and walked back toward me. It had worked. "I... uh, thanks... Gill."
I smiled and offered my right hand. "We have a deal, then?"
She put her gloved hand in mine. It felt warm, and it was slightly damp from wiping her own tears. "Deal," she said with a quick shake.
I smiled, and headed toward the steps to show her to her new home. "Hey, where are you going?" she asked.
Silly girl. "To your land. Are you coming or not?"
