Well. I'm back. Here's a rewritten version.
Song for this chapter:Joan Jett and The Blackhearts-(I'm Gunna) Run Away
Stories like mine begin somewhere away from all the trouble. Somewhere safe, where crime is unheard of. The only sounds you will hear are the sounds of lawns being mowed, and wine glasses clinking, and little kids chasing each other through their neighbour's yards. Everything should have been perfect.
I did live in one of those 'perfect' neighbourhoods. It was just us, the Shaw family. Mum, Dad and me. The perfect trio.
It started when mum was unusually tired one morning. We didn't know why. She just slumped over herself and started crying into her pillow. We couldn't hear what she said, but we could tell she was in pain. It all happened so fast. Over the next four months, life changed. And I knew it couldn't change back.
Mum was very sick. A few more hospital trips later, and Dad decided to sit me down on the couch one day. "She's not going to come out of this operation alive, Iris"
She needed a transplant. I was only young, so Dad couldn't use 'big kid words'
"Mummy needs a new kidney, Iris. Because the one she has now is yucky, and doing no good for her"
I barely understood then. One night Dad went to the hospital, and didn't come back until morning. Aunt Jackie came over to babysit. I remember I was just waking up when he came through the door. He looked defeated. "It's happened, Iris. Mummy isn't coming home"
The words were soft. Aunt Jackie was crying in the corner. Her signature blonde hair was draped across her face, shielding it from view. Dad was crying, too. And shortly after he, tears started pouring from my eyes as well. We all went back to bed.
After the funeral, life just went on. I'm 16 now. We live in Austin. Away from the memories, and away from the people. Sometimes you just needed a fresh start.
But it wasn't for long. Emilie Heaton, one of the glossy plastic people of Rollingwood High, was throwing a party all night for her sixteenth birthday. And there was going to be alcohol there.
I remember when she confronted me about it. It seemed like every word out of her mouth was a lie. "We would like you to come, you're so cool." Her friends were always behind her, laughing behind their fingers as Emilie lied. "Matt Greene is bringing booze as well. It will be fun, right? Why won't you come?"
And then I did. My phone was ringing constantly. I could almost see Dad pacing on the other end with Jackie. He was always frustrated, even more since Mum died.
But getting into Matt Greene's Mercedes-Benz, half drunk and pulling Emilie along with me was the worst mistake of my life. We were laughing hysterically, and I can always hear it in my ears. It sounds horrible. We pulled over, and I slid into the driver's seat as Matt moved into the back. After he greeted Emilie in a sloppy kiss, I pulled back onto the road.
We were laughing at another one of Emilie's friends, Rachelle. She was snorting like a pig, throwing her head back for full effect.
But we never saw the stop sign. We were too drunk. The last thing I remember is the look in old Mrs. Hugo's eyes as we rammed her down. Blood had splattered across the windshield, and our car spun out of control. Mrs. Hugo had died instantly. We broke her neck when we were being irresponsible. She was dead. I was a murderer.
The Judge had even called it 'negligent homicide'
to commit 'negligent homicide' you need to be drunk, driving a car, and killing someone. That's how he explained it. He was sitting in his black cloak towering over me and Dad, a scowl set on his face. We were standing, and I could hear Emilie and co. sitting in the back of the room, crying gently as they comforted each other.
Why did it have to happen to Mrs. Hugo? To consider the fact I was a murderer was hard enough, but to know that I killed somebody close to me was absolutely horrific. Her house smelled like daisies, and I always used to go over every Tuesday afternoon and help her make dinner for her family. I received many dirty looks when I attended her funeral. They wouldn't let us see her body, but we watched silently as she was lowered into her grave. I gave her a daisy.
"Well Miss Shaw you have two options: I could send you to Jail facing charges against negligent homicide. Or... there's another choice"
The Judge had smiled at me gently, the first time he had showed any positive emotion whatsoever in my hearing.
"Or what, your honour?" I felt small talking to him. He was deciding my fate. "Or I could send you to Camp Green Lake. What do you say?"
Camp Green Lake? That sounded... different. I had supposed that there was a lot more options available then sitting in a cell all day. "Camp Green Lake, your honour"
It was official. "Two and a half years at Camp Green Lake, Miss Shaw"
This chapter wasn't meant to be long. I will edit later. I know it sucked, anyway. Basic intro into Iris' life. Very different from the original. I wanted to spice some things up a bit. Well... what do you think?