Outsider
by
Robot Zombie
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Prologue
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Miko Nakadai had two loving parents and two pet cats in the place she'd been raised since birth. If anyone was to ask her, she tell them that the reason she came to Jasper, Nevada was because Tokyo was boring. If they were to press farther, she'd laugh and tell them that she was lied to, but she wouldn't go back if they paid her. No one normally asked much more after that and she was thankful. Why? It was simply because things weren't as nice as she claimed and she preferred her host family, and new friends, over anything she had in Japan.
Miko doesn't honestly remember much from her childhood, but she does remember one thing all the time. Since she as long as she can remember, when she was just old enough to realize her parents were having serious fights, she felt like an outsider. If she entered a room that they were arguing, they'd just stop and stare in her direction. It was like she shouldn't know what was gong on in her own life, her own mother would walk over and coddle her. She'd ask what she wanted to eat for supper or if she wanted to go to the mall. Her father would just give that fake smile and say he loved them, then he would walk away.
She felt like she lived in a house made of secrets, as if they were woven into the walls or something. Sometimes she would try to pull one of the loss strands and see if the whole place would fall down, while other times she was so afraid to even look at them. She would come home to World War III, but everything would just stop when she was noticed. That is what started everything, everything that people didn't like about her. She began to act out, to look for danger and try to ride it so she wouldn't have to go home to the house of secrets.
She dyed her hair and began to listen to music, picked up a guitar, anything to stop thinking about her home. One day, though, she found out about a program that she could go to America and live with a host family. There would be no secrets there, she figured, and signed up for it without telling her parents. The house of secrets wasn't her home anyway, she reasoned with herself when she handed the paper in. She didn't have to live in fear of what happened if she stayed home too long, if she unwove one of those dreaded secrets.
She did break down and tell them one night, after she was chosen to go, at dinner. She was picking at her food while her parents tried to discuss something in a code, she just looked up at them and said, "I'm going to America next week." They both stopped talking and turned their heads, staring at her like she had grown an extra head or something. She bit her lip and continued, "I signed up for this exchange program. I'm going to Jasper, Nevada."
"Why would you want to do that," her mother had asked. The girl knew the woman wasn't pleased, especially when she narrowed her eyes at her. "Did one of your friends talk you into this?"
Miko shook her head, "No. It was my choice." She didn't want to tell her mother that she didn't have any friends to talk her into anything. When one lives in a house of secrets, friends do not come easily. "I just need you two to sign something so I can go. Will you? It'll make me happy."
"Sure," her father agreed and turned back to his meal. Her mother still didn't look happy, Miko remembered the same look one day when she was fighting with him. "I think it will do you some good."
Her mother glared at him, "I don't. I think it's a stupid idea." Miko frowned and looked down at the table, poking at her food once more. She could feel eyes on her and she couldn't stop a shiver. "But," her mother added after a few long minutes, "I suppose if it makes Miko happy."
She smiled and looked up, "Thanks mom!" Her excitement was short lived when she noticed the looks her parents had been giving each other. They were having one of their mental, secret fights. She sunk down into her seat and turned her head, staring off to the side. She was an outsider again, no, not again, like always. She was standing outside of the house made of secrets, staring in through the window and trying to figure out what was going on. She shouldn't have to feel this way, she knew even then, and soon she wouldn't have to feel it at all, she knew. Why? Simply because in America was a chance to get away from secrets and standing on the outside, she would make sure of it.
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To be continued.
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A/N: Honestly, I don't know about this. Its a plot bunny that I got while listening to music and reading an actual book. You know, that thing with a cover and paper inside, all the words? No, no, not a notebook! Yeah, a book, like Stephen King writes. Good job. I'm sorry, I had to say that; I was having a conversation with my cousin that went similar to that. Reviews aren't expected until the first actual chapter. Flames will be used to roast goodies and feed actual helpful reviewers.