Chapter two, I hope everyone Enjoys. Sorry for taking so long to update, I've been pretty busy.
let me know if you enjoy it.
It's been three days at my new school, three days of walking to and from. Hanji offered me a ride, which I turned down. Damian gave my keys back last night so I didn't have to walk anymore, yet I still find myself waking up extra early to start my walk, leaving my keys hanging on the key hook by the door. Leaving my brother quietly sleeping up stairs. The walk, which was normally actually a jog, too and from school has become something I want to do. Its an opportunity to train, to better myself.
The sun had just broke the horizon, it's bright rays painting the sky and causing the dew on the ground to glisten as if the grass was coated in silver glitter. My old worn out running shoes beat against the ground in a steady rhythm as I jogged down the sidewalk towards the sunrise. The cord to my headphones swung with every step. It was a chilly morning, but the movement of my body fought off the bite of chill. After about a 10 minute jog, I showed up at the school. The old building made from brick towered over me. The school yard was silent, not a soul around but my own. A puff of air left my lips, sending out a burst of white to float up into the sky. I sat down on a bench and inspected the abandoned parking lot, pulling out my headphones to enjoy the silence. It was only about six-thirty in the morning, but on a normal day the overachievers would already be here, and teachers would already be planning their lecture for the day. Today was a saturday though, so the normally busy school was empty. The birds chirping drew me out of my daze. With a sigh I removed myself from the bench and continued my jog.
I had never been past the school, so I wanted to take today to explore. I had left my brother a note telling him to text me if he needed anything. I jogged past houses and small businesses until I reached a point where there was more traffic. The small town had grown and the family owned businesses on the corners had become big name retail stores and fancy restaurants. I looked around, searching for a place I could rest. I was tired from my run, my chest rising and falling quickly with deep labored breaths. It had warmed up significantly since the sun rose, and a thin layer of sweat lay across my skin. Off in the distance I noticed what seemed to be a mall, which I decided was going to be my rest point before heading back home.
I was sitting in the middle of the mall, looking at a large fountain. Its water was flowing steadily, not splashing a drop out onto the clean shining floors. Coins lined the bottom of the water, marking wishes made by hopeful people. I kicked back on the bench, letting my tired body rest as few people walked around. There were two floors, connected by escalators and elevators. I felt a light buzz from my pocket, drawing my attention away from my surroundings.
When are you coming home? A text from my brother, I read over it a few times, debating on what I should tell him.
Probably here in awhile, I'm pretty far from home. I hit the send button and his reply came quickly.
Why didn't you drive?
Oh yeah, you gave me my keys back, I forgot. I wrote the lie easy and hit send.
Want me to come pick you up and bring you home?
No I don't mind jogging. I wanted the exercise.
Okay. Be safe. Love you.
Love you too.
I slipped my phone back in my pocket and noticed someone standing in front of me, making me jump. Familiar blonde hair and the bright blue eyes of Armin.
"Hey, Alice." He said cheerfully.
"Hey, what are you doing here this early?" I questioned.
"I could ask you that too. How did you get here? You didn't walk all the way out here did you?" He sounded worried. He was the sweetest, always looking out for the people he cared about.
"No I didn't walk." I smiled and he looked relieved. "I ran."
"You ran all the way out here?!" He exclaimed, shocked.
"Of course, I love to run. I also love to explore new places, so I did both. I didn't expect to come this far though." I laughed nervously, trying to hide the fact that the thought of running home was becoming less appealing the longer I sat there.
"I wish I could be like that. Able to run long distances, explore new places, I think it would be fun." He said with a smile.
"I bet you could do anything you put your mind to. That's what I believe anyways." I smiled back.
We sat there and talked for awhile. We talked about our hobbies and homework, which he scolded me for not finishing yet. We talked about the area and places that were fun to go to, and the places that seemed a little sketchy. He told me about so much stuff to do with the area, good and bad. After a little while an older gentleman walked up to us.
"Armin? Who's the lovely young lady you have here?" He said with a smile in my direction. My guard went up instantly and I didn't say anything.
"This is my friend from school, her names Alice, She's new around here so I was just telling her about some places." He smiled at the man. He seemed to trust him so I dropped my guard a little bit and smiled at the old man. "Alice, this is my grandfather."
"Hello, sir." I said with a big smile. I felt a lot better knowing that he was Armin's family. "It's nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you too, you can just call me grandpa if you want. That's what everyone calls me nowadays." He looked between Armin and I. "Would you like to come over to the house for a little while?"
"I couldn't do that. I would hate to be a burden." I said nervously.
"It's okay, we don't mind. As long as you don't mind coming and hanging out with me." Armin said happily. He seemed like he wanted me to come over.
"Well, I guess if you really don't mind I could for a little bit." I said and laughed a little.
"Whenever you're ready to go home we can take you so you don't have to walk." Armin said.
The Arlerts lived in a little house on the other side of town. It was big enough for just the two of them. Armin's room was smaller than mine, just holding a twin sized bed, dresser, bookshelf, and desk. It had a moderate amount of decoration. Mainly pictures of scenery, like the ocean and the desert. He had some finished homework sitting neatly on his desk. The bookshelf held an array of books about the world.
"You seem to like the world." I said, fingering through one of the books about the sahara desert. "The sahara desert is the third largest desert in the world, and the largest hot desert." I read the book out loud.
"Yeah, I want to travel when I graduate, I want to see the world and what it's like." He seemed happy, his eyes lit up when he talked about his dreams.
"That's pretty cool. Have you ever been anywhere yet?" I asked still skimming through the book.
"No, we don't have the money to spare to go anywhere." He said in a kind of sad tone. "Have you ever been anywhere interesting?"
"I've been to the ocean." I said closing the book. "That's about it."
"Really? I've always wanted to see the ocean, Eren too. It's been our dream since we were kids." He was so excited. "What's it like?"
I thought back on my life when I was a kid. Running on the sand and playing by the water. My mother's long white hair wet and dirty as she played with me in the sand. My brother and his friends swimming ridiculously far out and worrying mom. My father helping build sand castles. Watching the sunset on the water.
"It was nice." I said, suddenly depressed. Armin must have noticed because he quickly changed the subject.
"I'm going to go get us something to drink, is tea okay?" He asked
"Yeah, teas fine." I said smiling, happy for the change of subject.
While he was gone I looked through the books a little more. There were a couple novels, Mainly fantasy novels. I saw one with a emblem on it that had swords and roses. I pulled it out and read the title.
Attack on Titan
By Hajime Isayama
It was a leather bound book. The spine seemed a little worn, it seemed like it has been read many times in the past. I flipped to the first page and began to read. Before I knew it I was already done with the first chapter. Armin walked into the room and walked over to me with the tea.
"That's my favorite book, my grandpa gave it to me." He said, handing me the tea.
"Oh, I'm sorry." I said, closing the book and putting it back, replacing it with the cup. "It's really good."
"Yeah, you can borrow it if you want. Just take care of it." He said happily, sitting back down on his bed.
"You sure?" I asked cautiously.
"Yeah, go ahead. I didn't know you liked to read."
"Yeah, I love reading. Nothing's better than going on a long run, coming home and sitting on the couch and getting into a good book." I said happily.
"I agree, well without the running part." We shared a laugh.
We spent the rest of my time there talking about books and drinking tea. There were a lot of books that we had both read and we shared our opinions on them and talked a little more about him traveling. We talked about what kind of books he would find around the world. We laughed about the trouble he would have reading them if they were in a different language. He exclaimed that he would learn all the languages before he left so he wouldn't have that problem. Soon the day was gone and Grandpa's car pulled out of my driveway, leaving me to go inside and read the new book.
"Who was that?" Damian asked when I walked into the door.
"Armin Arlert. He is in my Art class. I bumped into him at the mall and they offered to let me come over and have some tea." I said setting the book down and sitting at the table where my brother was.
"Armin Arlert? He's in your class with me too isn't he?" He asked, sipping at his coffee and reading the paper.
"Yeah, he is." I held up the book for my brother to look at. "He let me borrow this."
"Seems like a good kid." My brother said as he inspected the book and handed it back. "Just try to stay out of trouble."
"I always do." I said standing excitedly. "I'm going to go read."
"Alright, try not to stay up all night, love ya." He said as he went back to the paper.
"You too!" I yelled down the steps and went into my room.
I was laying in my bed reading the book that Armin had loaned me, it was an amazing story and I was almost done reading it. I looked up from the old pages toward my window, it was dark. My stomach growled ceaselessly, telling me I needed to stop reading and actually provide my body with nourishment. I slid out of my bed, causing my oversized canine to sir awake. As I walked down the steps I noticed a large dark shadow by the door, a closer look told me it was my brothers also oversized dog, Demon. I looked out the window and noticed Damian's car was gone, which would explain why Demon is sitting here waiting. The sky was starting to get a little lighter, I must have been awake all night reading that book. I pulled out my phone to check the time and noticed a text from my brother.
So, I have discovered that we are out of toilet paper. Thanks, you know, for telling me and all, I really appreciate it. Gone to store to get some, couldn't wait till morning.
Sorry,
Hate you always, your brother.
I snickered a little. We weren't out of toilet paper, I had moved the last half a roll into my bedroom. That's what he gets for hiding my keys from me. Maybe he should start checking before he sits down. I opened the door for the dogs, so they could do their business, and noticed a little too late that Damian had left the gate open. In a streak of black and white, Demon was gone. With cat like reflexes I snathched Luna's collar before she could make it out the door, locking her inside and giving chase to her brother.
It felt like I had been running around forever, I had no idea where I was, none at all. I was so panicked that I didn't even pay attention to where I was running. Now I've lost sight of my brothers dog, and I'm lost. The worst part is I dropped my phone when I ran out the door, so I had no way of contacting anyone, and no way of checking GPS. I flopped down on the sidewalk and looked to the sky, the sun was already up. I had no idea how long I had been out here. I looked around at the houses, they were bigger, fancier. I must have chased Demon into a rich neighborhood. Fancy people, with their fancy jobs, and fancy cars. I groaned, rubbing my sore belly. I ran out in such a rush I didn't have time to eat, it had been so long since I actually ate. Must have been before I left for my run yesterday. I felt so weak, and tired, I hadn't even slept. I couldn't even bring myself to get up and move. It seemed like my vision was getting fuzzy, and just like that, I blacked out on a sidewalk lost in an unfamiliar place.