THE
FALLEN
Chapter 1:
It was 50 degrees out and raining like always. Living in Long Beach, Washington was by no means my ideal place to live. I had been forcefully relocated there on account of my father's new job at some sort of a metal factory. Ya, you could say that I truly didn't know what my father's exact job description was, but I guess we didn't talk a lot these days for me to even ask.
I could hear him now, shouting some nonsense to my mother. I truly believe that our move wasn't just for the job either. My parents seemed to be in a constant argument these days, and maybe moving out of the city to a small town would help their situation. Ya that didn't seem likely to help.
Luckily I had my first day as a sophomore at a new high school on my mind to drown out their bickering. Since moving here a couple of month's ago from California, I had met some new friends who lived on my street, so at least I wouldn't be so terrified of attending a new school.
After finishing packing my last few things in my bag I decided to head down for a quick bite to eat before walking the mile hike to Long Beach High School. My mom was sitting in the kitchen drinking her usual cup of coffee, while my dad hid his face in the morning newspaper.
"Ellie," my mom said to me. I could tell this would be the typical first day of school talk that happened every year. "Have something better to eat than just a piece of toast."
"Mom you know I have to walk to school right? If I don't grab something quick and leave now I will be late my first day, and that will just be embarrassing." I knew I wouldn't get off the hook that easily, and of course, my mom saw right through me.
"You should at least have something nutritional."
"Fine, I'll grab an apple," I complained.
After taking a few munches out of my apple my mother chimed in, "you know Robert, we should really think about getting Ellie a car."
I could just imagine my dad rolling his eyes behind the mask of the newspaper. There had been a year long debate about the chances of me getting a car, and it ended the same way each time. I still haven't got the car.
"Susanne, please let's not have this debate again," my dad said as he shifted nervously in his seat. You know that we can't afford that right now."
That's when I decided it was time to leave for school. I had heard this same conversation way too many times for my liking. As I left my house, I could smell the sweet salty air that came with living so close to the ocean. It reminded me of home, just without all of the rain. I could see that my next door neighbor Kylie, who I had met upon moving here, had already left for school; probably in her new truck that her parents had bought her.
By the time I reached Long Beach High, I was wet, cold, and had only five minutes to reach my first class. I was lucky that the high school was as big as my elementary school had been.
My first class of the day was Math, my least favorite subject. As I walked in I could tell that my teacher, who I soon learned was Mr. Warner, had already begun with his introductions. I couldn't believe that there was still a whole three minutes before the bell rang for class to start, and he had already begun class! I was late already, how embarrassing.
"You must be Miss Elizabeth Connolly I presume," Mr. Warner asked.
"Ellie, and yes," I mumbled.
"You may sit down now Miss Connolly."
As I sat down in the first open seat Mr. Warner started his lecture. I could already tell that this was going to be a very long day. The class was relatively small, probably only fifteen students in total. The interior screamed 1970, but I guessed that not much changed in the town very often. As I started scribbling down the notes I heard someone talking near me. After a couple of seconds, I realized that the person was trying to get my attention.
"Hi, you're Elizabeth, aren't you?" she questioned.
"Ellie," I corrected.
"I'm Jill. I'm friends with Kylie, and she said that you two live next to each other."
"Yes, I met Kylie when I first moved here. She lives in the house across the street from me."
"Kylie and some of our friends all sit at lunch together. You are welcome to join us if you would like."
"That sounds great. I'll be there."
She seemed quite nice, and I was glad that I was having an easier time than I thought, of meeting new people.
Jill had golden colored hair and blue eyes. She seemed to be one of those girls that liked to visit the tanning bed a little too often, but I guess that didn't matter.
I on the other hand had wavy dark brown hair with green eyes. I have always had a fair complexion, even when I lived in California for most of my life. It didn't bother me though, I was used to it.
As the day dragged on, it was soon time for lunch. I ate quietly, listening to the different conversations that went around our table. Kylie and Jill introduced me to some of their friends, but I could only recall a few of their names. There was a shorter girl named Sam, and three boys, Calvin, Jack, and the third I couldn't quite remember. I'm sure it started with an M. Calvin seemed like the talker of the bunch.
"So Ellie, what classes are you taking this quarter?" he questioned.
"Well, I have Math first period, then English, Physical science, History after lunch, and I'm taking this Aviation class for an elective."
"Wow that's cool, so you like flying then?"
"Yes, I've always loved planes and flying. I hope to one day get my pilots license. I would love to be up in the air."
Everyone seemed to be listening in on our conversation now, which made me feel a little self conscious. After talking for the rest of our lunch period about what sort of planes I wanted to fly, it was time for my next class. I was surprised that being in a new school wasn't that terribly bad. I still had the rest of the day to go though.
History was bearable. It wasn't anything that I hadn't learned before, so that made it easy for me to zone out, but I was super excited for my last class of the day. Flying interested me so much, and I was thrilled when I saw there was an elective for it.
As I entered my Aviation class, it immediately felt like home. There were model planes hung from the ceiling and we each had little plastic clip on wings on our desks. Photographs of old navy jets were scattered around the room. I could just explore the room the whole class period and I would be content. As I backed up to get a better look at the whole classroom, I accidently bumped into someone behind me. That's what I get for being uncoordinated.
"I'm so sorry," I said as I turned around to see who I had bumped into. "I was just looking at the planes and…," I trailed off.
The person I had bumped into smiled as I tried to explain myself. He was absolutely gorgeous. I was speechless.
"It's quite alright," he laughed. "I have a hard time not gazing at them myself. I'm Angelo Garron."
"I'm…I'm…Ellie Connolly…," I choked out.
He smirked. "Well Ellie, it is very nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you as well."
"So your either scared that the planes are going to fall down from the ceiling, or you have as much interest in flying as I," he said as he gazed up at he model planes.
"Yes!" I commented a little too loud. "I mean, yah, I love flying. I want to become a pilot. It is like my dream to be up in the sky."
"Yes, flying is magnificent," he stated.
I was confused. "Have you flown a plane before or something?"
"Hah yes, you could say that," he said as he quickly looked away.
"What do you mean by that?"
"It doesn't matter," he calmly said. "Hey look class is starting."
As Angelo went and sat down in a seat by the window, I couldn't help but wonder what exactly he had meant about loving to fly. He was way too young to have his pilot's license, so I couldn't exactly comprehend what he had meant. He must have seen me looking puzzled, because he soon beckoned me over to him.
"You can sit next to me if you would like," he smiled up at me.
I couldn't believe my eyes. First off I make a total fool of myself by falling into someone, but the fact that this someone was absolutely gorgeous, and was talking to me. Not to mention that he loved flying. He was like perfect. His dark brown hair was disheveled—even so, he looked absolutely perfect. He wore a buttoned up long-sleeved shirt that matched the color of his hazel eyes. He was tall and lanky, but you could tell that he had a lot of muscle. I swear it was like I was looking at an Angel. I was getting a little to crazy there. I took my seat next to him, while our teacher came in the classroom wearing a pilot's outfit. I could tell this class was going to be entertaining.
"I heard that our teacher was going to be a retired pilot. It looks as if he's still on the job."
"Well I hope he isn't," I laughed as I looked at our teacher again. "He looks like he's ninety years old. I don't know if I would want to have him flying a plane that I'm on."
"Haha, you think so?" he stated.
As he said this a little smirk crossed his face. I couldn't help staring like an idiot. It was so beautiful. I couldn't help wondering though, he seemed like it was a joke or something. Did he really think that a senior citizen could handle the stress and skill it takes to fly something so huge? There was definitely something about him that puzzled me. I just couldn't put my finger on it.
The rest of the class period had its interesting aspects, yet I was most fascinated with Angelo. I couldn't help staring at him from the corner of my eye. He was just so gorgeous. At one point I looked a little to long, and he caught me staring. The beautiful smirk crossed his face again, and I couldn't help blushing.
As the bell rang, signaling the end of the first day all of us packed our bags and left the building. I didn't want to be too obvious that I was stalling, so that I might have the chance to talk to him again, yet when I looked back, there was no one there. I scanned the parking lot, in hopes of catching a glimpse of him somewhere, yet he was nowhere to be found. My heart fell a little, but I knew that I would see him again tomorrow. I was liking the move to Long Beach more and more by the minute.
As I walked down the windy road to my house, the image of Angelo's face kept running through my head. I wanted so badly to get to know him more. There was just something about him that had me fascinated from the beginning.
Upon reaching the driveway of my house, I saw that my mother was eagerly awaiting my arrival by the front room window. The first day of school tradition never wavered. I knew I would be tormented with questions about how my day had gone, and how many new friends I had met. My mom opened the door right as I had my hand on the doorknob.
"Hey honey, so how was your first day at a new school?" my mother said enthusiastically. "You must tell me all about it. Did you meet anyone nice?"
I should have memorized the answers to these questions by now.
"It was good, some of my classes are a little boring as to be expected, but I like them overall. My Aviation class is really neat."
My parents had just recently accepted my choice of wanting to become a pilot. They both thought that I would become a scientist or doctor, or something crazy like that. Those were never in my plans though. I had spent countless numbers of hours explaining why I wanted so badly to become a pilot, but both of my parents thought it was a dangerous job. Even though I tried telling them that you were more likely to die in a car crash than in a plane crash, they still were really worried about my choice. I could still tell that my mom was hesitant about the subject.
Brushing off that subject, she quickly asked about the rest of my school day. "So did you make any new friends?" "Are there any cute boys in any of your classes?"
"Mom…," I groaned.
"Come on I want details," she smiled hugely.
"Well I did meet this one guy," I said as I felt my face grow warmer. "His name is Angelo, and he is in my Aviations class."
"Well does he like you?"
"I just met him today!" I scoffed.
"Well I'm sure he already likes you," my mother cooed.
"Okay Mom that's enough of that," as I rolled my eyes. "I have some homework I need to do."
"Alright honey," she stated. "Dinner will be in two hours."
I headed up to my room to start on some of my homework that was due at the end of the week. I knew I could get it done in an hour, but I had, had enough of my mothers pestering about boys.
After dinner, I helped my mom wash the dishes and then went off to vacuum the house. I didn't mind doing chores. They kept me busy. When I was done helping my mom around the house I was tired from the long day. I went up to my room and set my clothes out on my desk table for tomorrow. I went and took a shower, then brushed my teeth. Putting on some pajamas that I've probably had for 6 years, I hoped in bed. As I fell asleep, I dreamt of Angelo.
