AN: Hey! I finally got up chapter two. Sorry it took a while. I couldn't think of any good ideas, and then I was getting it beta-ed by Muse (music4evah). Quality work takes time! Anyways, on with the story!
Chapter Two: A New Life
After a long day on an airplane, most people would be very happy to be back on the ground in an airport.
Amy was not like most people. The whole plane ride she had dreaded getting to England. She had never been good, or even mediocre, at making friends- her small circle (Dan, Nellie, Grace) which had gotten even smaller when Grace died, was her whole world. Opening up to other people was a terrifying concept. Not to mention Amy had no idea what was going to happen to Dan. Would he like his family? Would he have siblings? She prayed that he wouldn't have some horrible family with fighting parents and kids that would set bad influences on her brother. He never had been good with peer pressure...
Time went by much too fast as Amy went through customs and the other airline security checkpoints. The time seemed to just slip off of the plastic wristwatch she wore... The poor girl was shaking from head to toe when she had gotten through every safety measure and was now going to get her luggage.
After she found her small suitcase, and was heading out into the lobby, her hands were sweating and her teeth were gnawing at the inside of her cheek. 'Nervous' didn't cover what Amy was feeling right now. She was far beyond nervous.
What would her family be like? Amy hoped they would be kind. Were they athletic? Or did they sit by a television all day? Were they rich? Amy hoped they weren't incredibly rich, for that would mean she would most likely be going to a lot of balls, and luncheons, and galas... the idea alone gave Amy a headache.
The different possibilities of what her new family might be like ran through Amy's head at a million miles an hour. Her brain was on hyper-drive.
Amy waited for about five minutes, with suspense hanging in the air, when the moment came.
"Amy Cahill?" A rather high pitched, female voice questioned from behind her.
Amy turned around, with quivers running down her spine. In front of her was a woman, who looked to be about thirty five. She had strawberry blonde hair, ocean colored eyes, and full lips. She wore a skirt and silk blouse that looked very expensive. In her hand was a large bag, with a designer logo stitched into the cloth all over.
Definitely rich, Amy thought weakly. Just what she had dreaded.
The woman looked at her patiently, sensing that Amy's shock.
Since words couldn't make their way out of the poor girl's mouth, she simply nodded once.
"Amy!" The lady exclaimed. She clearly was not anxious at all. "It's so nice to meet you. My name is Gabrielle. I've been so excited to have you as part of the family! Come and meet my husband, and our daughter." Gabrielle gestured to a man and a girl. The girl looked to be about Amy's age.
Numbly, Amy walked over to them. She felt hideously small and useless, with her vocal cords shriveling up while Gabrielle chatted on and on. It was going to be a long day.
"This is my husband, Stephan, and this is our daughter, Ali." Gabrielle said.
Amy studied them in silence. Stephan seemed to be in his mid to late thirties as well, with dark hair, tanned skin, and chocolate colored eyes. He was slim, like Gabrielle.
Amy's attention was drawn to the daughter, and her first thought about Ali was that she was very beautiful. She had long, curling dark hair, and tanned skin, like her father, but had her mothers blue eyes.
On closer examination, though, it seemed she was wearing quite a bit of makeup. Her curls seemed too uniformed to be natural. Amy tried not to judge her, but Ali gave off the stereotypical impression of a rich girl. She wasn't glaring or anything, though, so Amy stayed open with her opinion.
"Hello," Stephan greeted. He gave a small wave.
"Welcome to the family," Ali said with a smile that seemed a little cautious, but it was a smile nonetheless.
Amy was still twitchy and tongue-tied. "H-h-hi," she managed to say. Her eyes flitted from person to person, and, despite her thoughts earlier she quickly formed opinions about each of them.
Gabrielle was a strong woman, talkative, and friendly. She must have been athletic, for she was muscular and slim, and yet in a way, she seemed rather delicate... something in the back of her eyes gave off a vague impression of sadness to Amy.
Stephan was quieter, less outgoing than his wife. It was harder to figure things out about him, for he'd only spoken one word. But the way he analyzed Amy, with a cool, measured look, made her think of a professor.
Ali seemed nice enough. She looked like a popular girl who would be snotty and mean, but she had welcomed Amy into her little trio easily. She had a high class aura around her, but hadn't commented, or even looked down on, Amy's sloppy ensemble. Ali was harder to read than the other two, for her face was completely blank, but Amy had a funny feeling that Ali would be constantly surprising her.
"So." Gabrielle started. "To start you with your new life, I think we should go shopping!" She smiled eagerly.
Internally, Amy groaned.
Dan did not like his new family. In the four hours he had been at the dreadful house, he had been only been allowed thirty minutes of television time (with every good channel blocked), had been restricted from video games (because he had already had thirty minutes of T.V. time), and had his computer taken away for "mouthing off at his new mother."
Needless to say, Dan hated his new family. Patricia, the single mother, was unbelievably controlling. The six year old twins- Jack and Jane- were seriously annoying. They would bother Dan outrageously by dragging him into playing "house," "horsie," and "doctor."
"House" was where they pretended to be a family. Actually, it was more that Jane and Jack were being waited on by Dan to their every need. Most of their so called 'needs' were for Dan to make them a mud pie, or fetch them a salad out of grass and twigs.
"Horsie" was even worse. Jane and Jack took turns hopping on Dan's back and guiding him around the yard while he pretended to be a horse. This included him being on his hands and knees. A few bruises were already forming from it.
"Doctor" was Dan's least favorite. The twins pretended that Dan was sick and needed medicine, so they bandaged him up well (er, messily) and fed him medicine, which happened to be whatever concoction the kids could think up. Dan thought he had tasted a blend of spinach, mayonnaise, and mustard. And various spices made their way into Dan's mouth, too.
Not wanting to be attacked by the kids, or as Dan called them, the Mini Beasts, he fled to his room. He hadn't actually seen it yet, but he assumed it couldn't be too horrible.
How wrong he was.
When the jade eyed boy walked into the room, he saw farm animals. Everywhere. Pigs, cows, chickens, even llamas. You name it, it was there.
The bedspread was a ranch scene, with a farmer, a plow, and a bunch of other animals. There was a rug on the floor with "Old MacDonald" written on it. And the walls- the walls!- were painted with the top half blue, the bottom half green, like grass and sky. And where the two colors met, there was a white fence. On one wall, there was a garden scene painted.
Dan's eyebrows raised higher than they had ever been before. This was his room! What had they done to it? Dan hadn't expected his family to be mind readers, but at least he had expected something solid and boring, or perhaps a sports themed room. Not this! He held back a scream.
What was with this family? This was worse than Aunt Beatrice! It made Dan miss the orphanage!
I bet Amy isn't living like this, Dan thought with envy.
From downstairs, Patricia's shrill voice screamed, "Dinner!"
Sighing with relief, Dan ran downstairs. It was pretty hard to mess up dinner, so this was the one thing he hadn't been dreading all day.
Little did the boy know he would be eating Vegetable Medley.
AN: Did you like it? Please review. Constructive criticism is appreciated! Or give me ideas, note questions, tell comments, give concerns, etc. Also, since no italicizing showed up, or the little break between Dan and Amy's lives, I re-put this chapter up after saving it differently. I hope it works! Thanks to everyone who already reviewed, by the way!