*** Okay! So yeah, I was planning on doing only a one-shot for this, but I've changed my mind (as I have a right to do, being as I'm the almighty author), so I've decided to make a full-fledged story out of the deal. I'm fairly sure that this particular plot has been way overdone, but if that really annoys you, don't read it. If it goes in my favor though, I make it a habit to attempt not to write Mary-Sues. Hehe. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this! Happy Thanksgiving! Onto the story! Oh yeah, I have an extremely difficult time keeping the characters from the movie straight, so if any of ya'll would like to help out, it would be much appreciated. Thanks! ***
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Chapter One: Arrival
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Amy Childs slowly arose from the beaten brown motorcar to stare at the dusty shack that was now her house. At once time, the house had been a stunning white, but now-a-days, it seemed more of a dirty eggshell color than anything else. The girl's dark brown eyes scanned the mess of overgrown bushes, grass, overturned bricks in the driveway, and pieces of wood falling off the house. "And…you're sure this place is safe?" She questioned her mother, right eyebrow raised.
"Honey darling, of course it's safe…it just needs a little fixing up, that's all." Her mother said, not really looking at her daughter. Amy was her only child, and even now at eighteen, she still wasn't turning out to be anything like what her parents had planned for her to be. Amy was supposed to be intelligent, and while she wasn't dumb, she did get B's and occasionally C's and she was only in one advanced class. Amy was supposed to be beautiful. She wasn't. Her outrageously short hair –cut to just below her ears- was anything but proper and in addition to its style, the hair itself was a dark brown that was never going in the right direction at the right time. Worse yet to her parents, was that Amy seemingly had no desire to change anything about her hair.
Mr. Childs turned to his daughter, looking her over. "Honey, have you washed your face today? It's looking rather…bumpy."
Amy closed her eyes in a forced calm before replying. "Dad." She breathed, "I'm a teenager. Teenagers have acne. Yes, I wash my face." Her father looked as if he was going to question her again, so she rushed on, "Yes, with soap. No, I don't want to lose weight. No, I will not be prim and proper. I am not a baby anymore, I am a senior in High School and I simply cannot wait to get out of her. Whatever it is that you want to 'discuses' with me now, it can wait twenty years or so, alright?"
Without waiting for an answer, Amy picked up her bag and walked in through the rusty once forest green door. The girl paused in the dusty, dimly lit hallway in order to give her new home a quick glance. Boxes were piled everywhere on the beat up hardwood floor except where the newly moved in furniture had been sporadically placed by the movers. "I wonder what they did to my room…" She mused, picking up her tired feet and heading towards the stairs. They creaked and moaned ominously, apparently not used to bearing the weight of any other living souls besides the bugs and mice that had claimed the home. "I can't believe this place was deemed livable." She muttered.
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"Amy honey! I was wondering where you'd gotten off to!" Her mothers voice echoed through the room.
"Mom, I've been in here for the past…" Amy checked her watch. "Two and a half hours." The eighteen-year-old brown eyes stared into the thirty-six year old blue ones. "Did you need something mom?" Amy asked after a moment's silence.
"Oh no darling, I was just wondering how you were doing, that's all. Come down for dinner in about an hour, alright?" Her mother sent a charming smile across the piles of books, stuffed animals, and random items that were now littered across the floor.
"Alright." Amy watched her mother close the door to her room again, then sighed when she heard the steps leading away. "Right then…now to organize this place.
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Silverware clanged joyously around the Childs family as they sat in a small booth on the left wall. "So are you ready for school tomorrow Aim?" Her father asked, breaking his daughters concentration. Her eyes had been continually roaming the dinner and the windows giving her a view to the outside, no doubt looking for a friendly face.
"School? Already dad? We just got here!" I'm not ready! I don't have any idea what to do here, how to act, how to dress… Thoughts ravaged through her mind, but she managed to stop them from flowing out her mouth. Her father though, still saw them in her eyes.
"Amy, listen hunny, you'll do fine! You're a smart girl, and I'm sure that the girls, and even a few of the boys, will take to you right away." Mr. Childs was doing the best he knew how to cheer his daughter up, but it wasn't working. The unspoken worries and questions still surfaced through her now frightened eyes.
"Amy darling, you are going tomorrow and that is final. You need to get a good start on your education here if you are be Valedictorian this year." Mrs. Childs took a sip of her herbal tea as she stared at her daughter.
"But mom…I don't even know what classes I'm taking!" Amy tried to find any excuse she possibly could to avoid going to school tomorrow…it was just too soon. And too different.
"You have an appointment with your guidance councilor tomorrow right when school starts. You shall finish up with him and then hopefully still have plenty of time to make it to your first hour class." Her mother's tone ended the conversation and Amy sank further into the seat, thoroughly defeated.
"Fine…whatever." A single tear slid down her cheek as the rest of the town merrily continued on its way and her parents began a new conversation about the cost it would be to fix the roof.
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Though she couldn't find any holes, she could still feel the wind weaving it's way through the room and into her room, chilling her even though it was only the beginning of autumn. I can't believe I'm starting school already…I haven't even been here a full day yet. Off to the left of the bed, in a mostly cleared section of the dark room lay her clothes and school supplies, ready to fulfill their purpose in the new school the next morning.
I wonder what everyone's doing at home… Home…will this ever be my home? She turned onto her side and curled into a ball, trying to hide from the wind, the cold, and the memories. Slowly but surely, sleep found her and she did not dream.
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*** Wow! Look at that, I'm done with this chapter! Yay! I hope you guys liked this and I desperately beg you to review for me…I'll probably review you! Anyway…thank you for reading. This chapter was kinda short, but then again, I'm kinda known for notoriously short first chapters. ***