When it mentions a 'Dicks,' I'm talking about a burger chain that is popular in Seattle, not a penis. There will be some Washington culture in this, for I am a Washingtonian. I'll explain the references in my author's note.
My dad grabbed my trunk and carried it inside and up the stairs for me. I walked up behind him, taking my jacket off and hanging it on my arm. My dad opened the door to my room out of chivalry, and I walked in.
My room was small, there was a bed by the window that was adorned with old faded sheets and a blanket with a wolf pattern that Sarah Black made for me before she died six years ago. I missed her, she was a kind soul, always giving, and a brilliant artist, her watercolors were beautiful, in fact, I had one hanging just above my desk, it too involved wolves, which were running under a full moon on a starry night.
" This dresser is new." I said, stroking the new oak dresser that originally had been a smaller maple one.
" Yeah, you told be about the drawers on the old one, I tried to see if I could get Embry to fix it, since you know how he is with wood, but Embry told me that the old dresser was just too beat up to repair, so he made that one." My dad said with a pause. I looked at the dresser and smiled, I would have to thank Embry when I saw him later. " Oh!" My dad said abruptly, making me jump a little. " I also have another surprise for you, I couldn't show it to you while mom was here. I'll be right back." My dad said, walking out of my bedroom with a spring in his step.
I smiled, dad was always happy when I was here, but I heard from Charlie and Billy that when I wasn't, he tended to get lonely and rather quiet when not out fishing with them. So this wasn't just good for me, this was good for him too. I always found it easy to talk to my dad, we could talk about anything. Heck, he even made the sex talk not completely uncomfortable, mostly because he made it funny. He made several Mean Girls references, which of course, the lines of Tina Fey were complete brilliance.
Now my mom's version on the other hand was very serious and completely un-Tina-Fey-ish. It was sort of like having a drill sergeant try to convince you to never have sex almost.
My mom when it came to topics that weren't how my day went or something petty like that were in the realm of drill sergeant, she was a very headstrong person, and when someone didn't agree with her, she would not be happy. It was a trait that was good at some times, but generally landed me in my room grounded, all because I was passionate about my side of the argument when we didn't see eye to eye.
Oh well, those were moms, and dads too, except for mine, mine was laid back, he didn't care as long he knew I was out and I'd be safe. Living with my mom most of the time, I was more used to giving my mom more details if I was going places. Even though I know I would just have to tell my dad I was heading out, I tended to give him all the details of where I was going, what I was doing, and what time I would get back, which was no biggie for him, though he probably wouldn't remember most of the details.
I could hear my dad's boots clomp ascending the scuffed up wooden stairs. I walked out of my room to see my dad holding a very large cat, it was a long bluish grey haired cat with yellow green eyes, it looked like it was some sort of Persian mix, but it looked larger than a Persian.
I couldn't believe my eyes, my dad got me a cat! I never had a furry animal of my own since my mom was allergic to dogs and cats. This animal was beautiful, it's large eyes looking right at me, gazing curiously at my unwavering smile.
" That is a beautiful animal!" I said, wide eyed with wonder. My dad handed me the behemoth of a cat, and I held it in my arms, its fur tickling my skin, and its mighty purr rumbling.
" I got him at the shelter a week ago, I thought it was time to get something furry in this house. The cat is particularly kind, whenever I watch some football, it comes to the couch and pretty much is like a furry furnace." My dad said. I chuckled, I could see the comparison of this cat to a fluffy furnace, heat radiated off my new feline friend.
" Does he have a name?" I asked. My dad shook his head. I looked at the cat, wondering what would be a good name for him.
" Nope, I thought I'd allow you to do the honors." My dad said. I smiled, I had just found a good name for this cat. It wasn't a name like Mittens or Snowbell, but the name just fit him like Cinderella and the glass slipper.
" Salavat, it's a good Russian name." I said. My mom was fluent in Russia, as well as Mandarin Chinese, which is why she was sent to China, she was helping translate and negotiate a meeting involving the most important potential partnership her work ever had. Mom had been to Russia many times for a week or so, but this trip had the potential to keep mom in China for four months to a year.
" If you say so." My dad said rolling his eyes. " You and your names. I remember we got all those guppies when you were five, and you named them all after Disney Princesses." My dad said. I giggled, remembering a much younger me dressed in my princess costume twenty four seven, having a tea party with stuffed animals and tank of guppies.
" Speaking of fish, are you going fishing this weekend?" I asked. My dad nodded. " Oh sweet, maybe not this weekend, but one near in the future, mind if I tag along?" I asked. My dad smiled and patted me on the back.
" Of course you can! I've still got your rod and gear in the garage. But something you'll have to do is make your fish spice." Dad said. I smiled, feeling better that I could redeem the lack of my world (meaning Dad, Charlie, and the Quileutes) famous fish spice. It was fairly simple and worked for all fish, but was especially good on salmon and halibut.
" Oh yes, I feel bad about not making it last summer, I'll do a double batch." I said. I put Salavat down and I pranced downstairs and looked to see what we had in the kitchen cabinets. I saw about three quarters of the spices I needed. I looked in the fridge, to see Rainer Beer, and no vegetable or fruit matter of any kind.
" Okay, so those spices, spices I need, and some plant matter." I mumbled to myself, I shut the refrigerator door, ripping off a note from a shopping list pad that was magnetized to the refrigerator. I wrote down what I needed.
" Hey dad! What meat do you want tonight, I was kind of leaning on chicken." I shouted up the stairs. I could hear the loud clomp of my dad's boot descending down the stairs.
" I was thinking we could go to the diner tonight, but chicken sounds good for tomorrow." My dad answered. I wrote it down on my shopping list. I took a stray magnet on the fridge and hung my shopping list on it.
" Okay, I'll just go shopping tomorrow. I should probably get myself settled before I do much else." I said. " I'll be in my room if you need anything." I said to dad before prancing back up the stairs.
I opened the old trunk and started unpacking, putting all my folded clothes into the new oak dresser, which I still had more than enough room for other clothes if I did some shopping in Port Angeles, or went back to Olympia for a little downtown experience. I had packed my backpack in my trunk, filled with everything I needed for school and set it down by my desk. My backpack however felt a little light without some things to help maintain something I had to sacrifice coming here.
That thing was my string bass, since Forks didn't have a music program, it was just about pointless to haul the thing. I was sad to leave my orchestra class behind in Olympia, we were playing Mozart's Divertimento, a relatively easy, but fun piece to play. At least there was another bass player in my class to carry on the part, even though we shared the same notes with the cellos.
But it wasn't too long a wait until I was playing my bass again, there was college up ahead, and I have gotten scholarship offers because of my bass, and some of them were not bad in terms of how much they would pay for me. Washington State offered a six thousand dollar scholarship, which among other things, made me wish to go to WSU. It was instate, so less expensive, I had a six thousand dollar scholarship for it, and it was a good school that was far enough away from my parents and hometown, but still close.
When done unpacking, I slid my trunk underneath my bed. I stood around, looking around for something else I could do in the room, but the search had no result besides that my room was fine and that I should probably stop standing around like an idiot.
Later, my dad and I were at the diner, having ourselves some steak and burgers. This diner was one of those childhood landmarks for me, the food was crappy for your average person, but if you felt nostalgia, it was good.
" So, have you found a college yet?" My dad asked. I was chewing some food, so it took a little bit to reply, I didn't want to seem rude.
" I applied for WSU not too long ago, I should probably hear back from them soon. I also have a scholarship from them too." I said.
" Your mom told me about that. They had better accept you, that scholarship is too good to waste." My dad replied. I nodded.
" I'm excited for college, high school is getting a little tedious." I said. " At least on Monday it'll get a little less tedious, it'll definitely be new."
" Have you heard about the Seattle killings lately?" My dad asked. I nodded. My orchestra had a field trip planned to Seattle just a month ago, but they cancelled because of all the killings.
" Yeah, it's all over the news. I got a field trip cancelled because of them. Also, one of the people who were killed went to my school, they were on a DECA field trip, and they were out with some friends looking for a Dicks, and they got abducted by something." I said.
" Did you know them?" My dad asked. I shook my head. " Ah."
" Yeah, I think it was a sophomore who got killed."
" Listen to me, if you go to Seattle, you're grounded." My dad said, there was nothing jesting about how he said it, he was completely serious. I nodded.
" Don't worry, I do not wish to die before I graduate." I said, taking a sip of water, coughing as it went down my windpipe instead of my esophagus.
" You alright?" My dad asked. I nodded as I coughed a little more, tears welling up around my eyes and my face turning a shade redder.
" Yeah, I guess my epiglottis failed me on that one." I replied with one more little cough.
The waitress walked to our table and took away our empty plates, my dad paid and tipped her, and we were out the door. On the way to the car however, I saw this thing speed right in front of dad and I. I couldn't make out a shape, it was just a speeding blur.
" Holy shit! Did you see that?" I asked. My dad gave me a scolding look.
" Language young lady, and no, what did you see?" My dad asked.
" This thing just sped right in front of us, it was too blurry to make out anything. How did you not see it?" I asked. My dad shrugged and put his hands in his pockets.
" Well, I guess either you're seeing things, or your old man needs to get some glasses." My dad said, his lips curving into a smug smirk. " Personally, I think you're seeing things." My dad added, laughing at my initial reaction. I elbowed him in the arm and laughed with him.
Dad and I got to the car and drove back home. When we got there, dad sat down on the couch to watch some football with a can of Rainier while I went upstairs to charge my phone. I laid down on the bed, looking out at the sunset and pouring rain as I listened to my IPod. I allowed myself some time to think about how school would be like and if there was anything else I really needed at the grocery store, which I then realized I had no pads or tampons, which are sort of important when you're a female. I would have to write it down in the morning, but for now, I was exhausted, and dozing off seemed like a more agreeable option.
When I eventually did fall asleep, I saw this dark corridor, a man was standing all the way on the other side. I walked down and looked him right in the eyes. His eyes were a blue color, and there was nothing natural about them. His coal black hair was long, some was kept out of his face by a hairclip. His skin was a stark contrast to his hair, it was white, a white paler than pure, it was too haunting to be pure. His tall, slender frame was clad in black robes and silver armor which seemed to blend together. He looked like some evil warrior in a magical universe.
There was a frightening howling noise, which made my subconscious self's heart bound. I could see a hairless, doglike beast larger than any wild animal I had ever seen charge right at the mysterious warrior and I. The man pulled a sword from its black leather sheath and slit the animal's throat. But when the animal died, it wasn't a beast, it was human. The warrior looked at me and walked closer, his hand cupping my cheek, his lips curving into a sympathetic smile.
" I am sorry, but it would have hurt you." The man said, his voice a melodic Italian accent.
I woke up, sitting upright on my bed, it was midnight. I shook my head as it rested in my hand.
" What the hell is wrong with my subconscious?"
