"Oh come on Symmi! It was just a harmless joke!" The dark haired
boy pleaded at her. The girl storming away turned sharply and
fixed him with a death glare so scary he (and a number of other
people she wasn't even looking at) backed away.
"A HARMLESS JOKE!?" She pointed at her hair with was rainbow colors only they looked old and moldy. "DOES THIS LOOK LIKE A HARMLESS JOKE? I LOOK LIKE RAINBOW BRIGHT...........ON CRACK!" She started walking again. "If you ever speak to me again Nathan I'll kick you in your egg rolls."
She saw him cringe out of the corner of her eye and grinned to herself. It was a 10-block walk to her house and she didn't feel like walking for 10 minutes in the hot sun with this gook in her hair. She looked to the side where a rack of bikes was chained. She surveyed it for a long moment frowning thoughtfully then pulled a hairpin out pocket and picked the lock on one of the bikes. I'll bring it back, she thought silently. Eventually.
She threw her leg over the bike and rode from the school parking lot onto the sidewalk and down the street. She sighed in relief. She pulled up into her driveway after a few minutes and let the bike fall by the door right where she stopped and pushed open the screen door of the small house she lived in with, as she called the woman who spawned her, mommy dearest.
She had planned to simply sneak in. Unfortunately her mom was in the kitchen tearing the cabinets apart. Her mother spun on Symmi instantly eyes dark and red from another hangover. Symmi groaned.
"Symanthis Faith Jones!" Her mother screeched in a hoarse yet shrill voice. "What are you doing home at 12:15?"
"I set the school on fire mom." Symmi said annoyed at her mother using her full name when she knew Symmi preferred the sweet and shortened version. "Isn't that what you wanted to hear."
"DON'T YOU SASS YOUR MOTHER!" Symmi rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to reply but her mom suddenly yelled. "What's that!? Where'd you get that bike? Have you been stealing again!?"
"Of course not mom. That was the prize I got for setting the damn school on fire." She grabbed a soda then marched towards the bathroom and called over her shoulder. "Oh, and if you're looking for your vodka, I brought it to Sheryl's party last week." She closed and locked the bathroom door on her mother's scream of outrage.
She kept herself in the bathroom for an hour, until she heart her mother's incessant banging and curses knowing that she had found probably found the scotch under her bed. God I hate her, Symmi thought to herself as she entered her room and pulled out a pair of shorts with frayed bottoms and a blue shit that almost hid the shorts then went to the mirror.
Her hair looked normal again. Well............as normal as it had been before all that gook. Symmi had colored her hair blue and pink. Her hair was cut so it felled to shoulder length then dying it dark electric blue and coloring her bangs, which fell down a couple of inches past the rest of her hair, dark pinkish-purple which now looked more maroon thanks to the paints Nathan had dumped on her in art class.
She pinned her bangs back out of her dark amber eyes then climbed out through her window into the yard. Even while her house was tiny and cramped, her yard was expansive and wild. Trees shot up through it making it look like a forest. Symmi sighed and leaned against the bark of an oak tree and fiddled with the gold locket around her neck.
Her locket. The only thing of any value Symmi had. Not just money wise but also emotionally. She'd had the locket for as long as she could remember. Mother dearest had said it was an heirloom from Symmi's grandmother. "And a piece of worthless junk" her mother had concluded. Mainly because the locket wouldn't open, as if it were jammed.
Symmi remembered little of her grandmother or her grandfather. Just a black haired man and woman. Symmi's mother had given her the locket on her 6th birthday, the last birthday she would ever have after her father abandoned them 4 months later and mommy dearest became a roaring drunk. Speaking of birthdays...
"Tomorrow's my birthday and no one even knows." She rolled her eyes and spun her finger in the air "Woopy. Sweet 16, my ass." Suddenly she felt compelled to turn into the trees and scream. "I'm almost 16 already!!" Something flashed in the early afternoon sun and Symmi blinked in surprise. "Oh great. A gift from my karma."
She walked over and noticed something metal under the dirt and herby moss of the ground. She tilted her head and kneeled clearing away the grass and weeds then scrapping away mud revealing a large square metal lid that sealed something in the ground. It wasn't bolted of even hinged, just lodged in there. Even stranger it was covered in odd Japanese symbols Symmi could no more read than she could even begin to speak it.
The hallow base right below her chest started itching as she stared at the steel lid and she reached down to scratch and her fingers met the warm gold of the locket. Her curiosity sparked then her mind plotting.
"I could go get the crow bar from the work shed." She blinked at the lid for a moment then shrugged standing. "I always was a nosy bitch." She ran of to the old rusted shed that used to be her no good father's. She scowled at the outside of it before picking the lock on the doors and walking in. The old hinges gave a loud screech as she pushed it open. The crowbar lay on the floor right near the work shed.
Symmi picked up the crowbar then stood her eye catching on an old saw and a few scraps of metal lying on the table. She softened for just a second then her eyes turned steely and she hurried out slamming the door with raged strength not caring if her mother heard. 'She's probably already drunk so it doesn't matter.' Symmi mused.
She lodged the crowbar under the corner of the cover and forced her weight on it for a long moment trying to pry it up. For a long moment there was no movement then she heart a metallic scraping and the heavy lid slid over.
The entrance was a large square whole braced with wood. Darkness peered up from the whole and Symmi dropped down to her knees drying to see farther down. Suddenly the shadowy floor seemed to shift for a moment. Symmi screamed and jumped back.
"Bugs!?" she shuddered "I hate bugs. I hat bugs. I hate bugs." As a matter of fact, she hated anything larger than a rabbit that had more legs than she did.
She slid the lid back over the whole as best she could which left it a sliver of its original base. She eyed it worried that whatever creepy crawlies were down there would get through but the lid was fucking heavy so she left it to climb back into her room and wait till her mom was wasted enough that Symmi's sudden blast of music would do considerable damage to mommy dearest's ear drums.
"A HARMLESS JOKE!?" She pointed at her hair with was rainbow colors only they looked old and moldy. "DOES THIS LOOK LIKE A HARMLESS JOKE? I LOOK LIKE RAINBOW BRIGHT...........ON CRACK!" She started walking again. "If you ever speak to me again Nathan I'll kick you in your egg rolls."
She saw him cringe out of the corner of her eye and grinned to herself. It was a 10-block walk to her house and she didn't feel like walking for 10 minutes in the hot sun with this gook in her hair. She looked to the side where a rack of bikes was chained. She surveyed it for a long moment frowning thoughtfully then pulled a hairpin out pocket and picked the lock on one of the bikes. I'll bring it back, she thought silently. Eventually.
She threw her leg over the bike and rode from the school parking lot onto the sidewalk and down the street. She sighed in relief. She pulled up into her driveway after a few minutes and let the bike fall by the door right where she stopped and pushed open the screen door of the small house she lived in with, as she called the woman who spawned her, mommy dearest.
She had planned to simply sneak in. Unfortunately her mom was in the kitchen tearing the cabinets apart. Her mother spun on Symmi instantly eyes dark and red from another hangover. Symmi groaned.
"Symanthis Faith Jones!" Her mother screeched in a hoarse yet shrill voice. "What are you doing home at 12:15?"
"I set the school on fire mom." Symmi said annoyed at her mother using her full name when she knew Symmi preferred the sweet and shortened version. "Isn't that what you wanted to hear."
"DON'T YOU SASS YOUR MOTHER!" Symmi rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to reply but her mom suddenly yelled. "What's that!? Where'd you get that bike? Have you been stealing again!?"
"Of course not mom. That was the prize I got for setting the damn school on fire." She grabbed a soda then marched towards the bathroom and called over her shoulder. "Oh, and if you're looking for your vodka, I brought it to Sheryl's party last week." She closed and locked the bathroom door on her mother's scream of outrage.
She kept herself in the bathroom for an hour, until she heart her mother's incessant banging and curses knowing that she had found probably found the scotch under her bed. God I hate her, Symmi thought to herself as she entered her room and pulled out a pair of shorts with frayed bottoms and a blue shit that almost hid the shorts then went to the mirror.
Her hair looked normal again. Well............as normal as it had been before all that gook. Symmi had colored her hair blue and pink. Her hair was cut so it felled to shoulder length then dying it dark electric blue and coloring her bangs, which fell down a couple of inches past the rest of her hair, dark pinkish-purple which now looked more maroon thanks to the paints Nathan had dumped on her in art class.
She pinned her bangs back out of her dark amber eyes then climbed out through her window into the yard. Even while her house was tiny and cramped, her yard was expansive and wild. Trees shot up through it making it look like a forest. Symmi sighed and leaned against the bark of an oak tree and fiddled with the gold locket around her neck.
Her locket. The only thing of any value Symmi had. Not just money wise but also emotionally. She'd had the locket for as long as she could remember. Mother dearest had said it was an heirloom from Symmi's grandmother. "And a piece of worthless junk" her mother had concluded. Mainly because the locket wouldn't open, as if it were jammed.
Symmi remembered little of her grandmother or her grandfather. Just a black haired man and woman. Symmi's mother had given her the locket on her 6th birthday, the last birthday she would ever have after her father abandoned them 4 months later and mommy dearest became a roaring drunk. Speaking of birthdays...
"Tomorrow's my birthday and no one even knows." She rolled her eyes and spun her finger in the air "Woopy. Sweet 16, my ass." Suddenly she felt compelled to turn into the trees and scream. "I'm almost 16 already!!" Something flashed in the early afternoon sun and Symmi blinked in surprise. "Oh great. A gift from my karma."
She walked over and noticed something metal under the dirt and herby moss of the ground. She tilted her head and kneeled clearing away the grass and weeds then scrapping away mud revealing a large square metal lid that sealed something in the ground. It wasn't bolted of even hinged, just lodged in there. Even stranger it was covered in odd Japanese symbols Symmi could no more read than she could even begin to speak it.
The hallow base right below her chest started itching as she stared at the steel lid and she reached down to scratch and her fingers met the warm gold of the locket. Her curiosity sparked then her mind plotting.
"I could go get the crow bar from the work shed." She blinked at the lid for a moment then shrugged standing. "I always was a nosy bitch." She ran of to the old rusted shed that used to be her no good father's. She scowled at the outside of it before picking the lock on the doors and walking in. The old hinges gave a loud screech as she pushed it open. The crowbar lay on the floor right near the work shed.
Symmi picked up the crowbar then stood her eye catching on an old saw and a few scraps of metal lying on the table. She softened for just a second then her eyes turned steely and she hurried out slamming the door with raged strength not caring if her mother heard. 'She's probably already drunk so it doesn't matter.' Symmi mused.
She lodged the crowbar under the corner of the cover and forced her weight on it for a long moment trying to pry it up. For a long moment there was no movement then she heart a metallic scraping and the heavy lid slid over.
The entrance was a large square whole braced with wood. Darkness peered up from the whole and Symmi dropped down to her knees drying to see farther down. Suddenly the shadowy floor seemed to shift for a moment. Symmi screamed and jumped back.
"Bugs!?" she shuddered "I hate bugs. I hat bugs. I hate bugs." As a matter of fact, she hated anything larger than a rabbit that had more legs than she did.
She slid the lid back over the whole as best she could which left it a sliver of its original base. She eyed it worried that whatever creepy crawlies were down there would get through but the lid was fucking heavy so she left it to climb back into her room and wait till her mom was wasted enough that Symmi's sudden blast of music would do considerable damage to mommy dearest's ear drums.