It was the first day of summer for the town of Simport, Maine once again. The sun was shining in the sky above, there wasn't a single cloud in sight, the birds were chirping, and the weather was warm; in other words, any typical day when it comes to a season like summer. For many, the next three months were going to be nothing but fun and relaxation; while some others were probably going to face nothing but drama throughout the entirety of the season, regardless of whether it involves family, relationships, or life in general.
Now, about Simport; in a town like this, it was nothing more but a regular standard town that anyone would see. During the day, the city was mostly silent; the citizens would usually be either at work or doing their daily chores around the house; but when it's nightfall, that's where the real fun begins. The one thing that this town was probably best known for was its parties; more specifically the ones that take place in the multiple clubs that were scattered throughout the city, where everyone would be dancing to loud techno music or having themselves a beer or two...or on occasions, probably five. Some of the residents here would call it a dream come true to live here, while some others would probably call it 'Hell on Earth'; but for the most part, almost everywhere here would usually call this place only one word, and that was 'Home'; despite that though, everyone in this town has their own personal problems or struggles to deal with, whether it's regarding family, friends, romance, or anything else of the sort. It was inevitable that not even a town like this is safe from the harshness of reality; and a few of the town's residents are going to figure out why that's the case.
At this very moment, a girl was entering the town via their monorail train, since that's how most people would usually enter or exit this town; aside from just driving, taking the bus, or the airport. This girl, in question, has brown shoulder-length hair and freckles all over her face; and she wore a black jacket with a dark blue t-shirt underneath, as well as some baggy light blue cargo pants; and to her side was a black backpack with a skateboard sticking out of it, which she tends to carry around with her every day. Just from the looks of her alone, she appeared to be just your typical average tomboy; which in hindsight, was pretty much what a lot of people around here tend to think of her as; not that it really mattered to her all that much. Her name was Katie Morris.
Katie used to be a resident here at Simport for pretty much her entire life; but then after graduating high school, she decided to leave town in order to pursue college up north in the city of Augusta. It was a hard decision for her to make, especially considering the fact that she was going to be leaving her friends, and even her parent; however, after giving it some more thought, Katie decided to just go for it anyway; besides, she needed about a year or two of college in order to be able to work at her father's dentistry building, which was her lifelong dream ever since she was a child. Now that she was back, she couldn't wait to finally reunite with her father, her best friends, and finally work in her very own dental office.
As she sat there waiting to get to one of the monorail stations, she decided to check her phone to see if she had received any texts from any of her friends lately. When she checked, she saw that she had received only one new message after she had left Augusta an hour ago from one of her closest friends; Crystal. Since she still had awhile until she arrives at her stop, she decided to see what her best friend had texted her.
'Dude, where are you? Me and Annie have been waiting here all hour.' The text said.
Katie couldn't help but smile at this text; she always knew her Crystal was probably impatient for her return ever since they talked about it the night prior. Letting out a chuckle, she decided to text her friend back. ' I should be there in a few more minutes. Main Street shouldn't be too far from where I'm at now.' She said in her text.
Within seconds, Crystal immediately texted back; which is something Katie expected, knowing how quick to the button her friend usually was whenever they text. 'Hopefully not too much longer, because me and Annie have been waiting here all morning.'
'Don't worry, dude; like I said, I'm sure I'm seconds away from the station now.' Katie then texted back, in hopes of calming Crystal down.
Right as Katie sent her text, the monorail train began to slow down a bit. She checked out the window behind her, seeing that she was now approaching the station that she was planning to get off at; or in other words, the previously mentioned Main Street; and she could tell that it was Main Street, since she recognized the beauty salon and the pizzeria that she and her friends usually hang out at before she left town a while back; it seems like Crystal and Annie weren't actually going to be waiting any longer for her to arrive after all. Once the monorail came to a complete stop, Katie picked up her backpack and got off of the cart.
Once she got down to the ground level below the station, Katie began searching the area to see if Annie and Crystal were close by; and lo and behold, they were. Both girls were sitting at the bus stop's bench by the side of the road, presumably talking to each other in silence. One of the girls has short black hair and dark skin, and she wore a dark purple t-shirt with a black vest over it; a red plaid skirt with black and white striped leggings underneath; and she wore some spiked bracelets. The other girl has extremely messy red hair, and wore a green tube-top with musical notes on the front and a jean skirt with dark gray leggings underneath, as well as black boots with a lot of visible buckles on them.
The girl with the black short hair was Crystal Montell; Katie's best friend, and childhood friend since they've known each other since the fifth grade. The two have a lot of things in common, such as their love for skateboarding, video games, and interests in the same kind of TV shows and movies just to name a few; however, the thing that made them different was that Katie was a bonafide rule-follower and a student who got nothing but good grades, while Crystal was more rebellious and has a bit of a temper; despite that, neither of them saw that different as a detriment to their friendship. Another thing that's worth mentioning about Crystal was the fact that she has a huge hatred for cheerleaders; mainly due to the fact that her four other sisters were cheerleaders, and she was literately the only one who wasn't, because she found them super annoying; how a girl like her can stand living in a family like that to this day was anyone's guess. Regardless of everything, Crystal was somebody that Katie wouldn't trade for the world.
The girl with the red hair was Annie Radd; a rocker that Katie had met one day during her junior year of high school. Unlike her best friend, Annie was never a student at the same high school Katie went to; in fact, she didn't even go to high school in general; she was a dropout. Neither of the two knew why she decided to drop out in the first place, but they only assumed that the reason was something personal; Annie didn't have much of a good home-life, knowing her father was a raging drunk compared to theirs. The one thing that she had in common with Katie and Crystal was the fact that all three of them loved rock music; mostly either metal, emo, pop-punk, or pop-rock.
With a smile, Katie began making her way over to her friends. "Hey, Crystal! Annie! I'm here, guys!" Katie shouts as she walked over to the bench her friends were sitting at.
Crystal and Annie immediately looked behind themselves, seeing Katie walking over to them. "There you are!" The former said, standing up from the bench. "Here I thought you would've been late trying to get here."
"I've already told you that I would've arrived in just a few minutes; and, well, here I am." Katie and Crystal then hugged for a few seconds as Annie stood by and watched them. "I really missed you girls."
"We really missed you too, Kate." Annie said, finally chiming into the conversation. Once their hugging stopped, the rocker girl finally decided to ask the tomboy another question. "So, tell us; are you finally able to work at your father's dentist?"
"You bet I am." Katie answered happily, before tugging on one of the straps on her backpack. "Now, all I need is to sign a few applications that my dad must hand to me, and I'll be working alongside him in his building."
"That's totally awesome, dude; I'm glad you're finally able to work with your dad." Crystal said, giving her best friend a pat on the shoulder. "I've been hoping your dream comes true ever since middle school."
"Thanks, Crystal." It was just then, Katie's fond smile turned into a depressed frown, as she suddenly remember something that had recently happened in her life this year that she wasn't there for; it was something that she dreaded having to remember upon coming back here. "Um...I know I should...probably move passed this; but...how's my dad been doing? I haven't spoke with him since...you know..."
Annie and Crystal glanced at each other, knowing what their friend was talking about; not even them wanted to remember such a horrible event months later. Now feeling a bit solemn about what was asked, the former decided to answer the tomboy's question. "Me and Crystal visited him regularly after the issue happened; he's been...silent about it, for the most part; but...we can tell that he's still pretty depressed about it." The red-haired tomboy explained.
"Oh..."
"But hey, chin up, dude; I'm pretty sure a smile's going to reappear on your old man's face again once he figures out that you're back in town." Crystal said, trying her best to comfort the soon-to-be dentist. "Speaking of which, I think we should get going now; your dad's probably at home wondering where you are right now."
"You're probably right." Katie then glanced at the road for a second, before looking at her best friend once again. "So, how long until the bus gets here?"
"Who says we were taking the bus to get to your dad's house?" Annie asked as she was beginning to walk away from her two friends. The rocker girl went over to where the beauty salon is, where parked right in front of it was a red Accord 2013 with a black lightning bolt painted on the side; when she approached the car, she leans against it while giving her friends a smirk. "Feast your eyes on this sexy beast, girls."
Katie and Crystal walked over to the car their friend was leaning against, as the former suddenly recognized it. "Isn't that your boyfriend's car?" She asked upon approaching the rocker.
"You bet it is; and he's allowing me to take it out for a spin." Annie gloats as she pulled the car-keys out of her pocket. "Oh, yeah; I completely forgot to mention this, but I recently got my driver's license a few months ago; back in March, during Spring Break."
"Do tell." Katie said as she, along with her friends, got into the vehicle; unfortunately for her, she was the one who ended up in the backseat. "What made you decide to finally go out and get it? I thought your dad..."
"Who gives a flying fuck what that asshole has to say? It's not like he has any say on what I can and can't do." The rocker girl immediately interrupts, causing her friend to stare at her in awe, mouth agape and everything.
"Well, jeez; sorry I asked..."
Annie glanced up at the driver's mirror, seeing that the soon-to-be dentist was clearly offended by her sudden outburst; her expression of anger slowly disappearing, and now being replaced with that of guilt. She didn't mean to end up snapping at Katie over asking such a simple question such as that, but she should've known that talking about her father to her was a very bad idea from the jump; and what makes it even worse is that after a decision that she made months ago for her own well-being, she definitely didn't want to talk about her father anymore; but she still couldn't help but feel guilty for snapping at her friend regardless. After silently starting up the car, Annie glanced into the reflection of the front mirror and then spoke to Katie.
"I-I'm sorry for yelling at you, Kate; you know I always hate talking about my fucked up home-life." Annie said sincerely, before grabbing a hold of the steering wheel in front of her. "I swear to God, my dad doesn't know when to calm his sorry ass down; nor knows when to put the bottle down."
"I-I know, and I'm sorry again for asking about it; I should've known." Katie replied with mutual sincerity.
"Don't worry about it, Kate; it's no big deal." Annie then grabbed a hold of the steering wheel, and then began to drive. "You know what, girls? So far, it doesn't seem like things are getting off on the right foot here; so, does anyone want to listen to some music, for old times sake?"
"You mean drive to Katie's house while blasting Good Charlotte or Simple Plan on the way there?" Crystal asked with a smirk on her face.
"Exactly like what we did after you guys graduated; except for the fact that Odin's not the one driving us to you house, it's me." Annie reached for the radio and began searching for a song for them to listen to during their drive; ultimately, she decided on the song 'The Anthem' by Good Charlotte. "Ah, just what I was looking for."
"Awesome, this song kicks ass!" Katie commented, getting a laugh out of both of her friends in the process.
"Glad you like it; now let's get going!" Annie shouts, before beginning to drive off to the soon-to-be dentist's house.
After some time driving, the trio of girls finally arrived at the Morris's House; a typical two-story house that you would normally see in any suburban neighborhood. It brought a smile to Katie's face, seeing her old home again after all this time. It felt like it was just yesterday she had made her decision to leave this place for a few years; and now here she is, staring at the house that she grew up in all her life once again.
After they parked in front of the house, all three girls got out of the car and walked over to the front door of the house. Thankfully for them, they didn't have to worry about unloading the car of any luggage since Katie only brought her backpack with her to carry around her essentials; and anything she had bought during her time in Augusta were in any available pocket that was on her jacket or her jeans, since most of what she had bought were mainly just stuff that was minor; most of which were dental-related items. When they got up to the door, Katie gave it a firm knock and stepped back towards her friends, who were both standing behind her when she did such.
The wait didn't last very long for them; because literately seconds after they knocked, Katie's father Maxwell immediately answered the door for them; and when he saw the three girls standing outside, his bored expression turned into a look of surprise. "Kathryn?!" He asked, clearly referring to his daughter. "Is that really you, dear?"
Katie lets out a bit of a chuckle, before answering her father's question. "Yep, it's me; and before you ask, no, you're not dreaming."
"I know my daughter's sarcastic wit anywhere." Maxwell said with a smirk, before rubbing the top of her baseball cap. "Welcome home, dear; I really missed you."
"I really missed you too, dad." The two then hugged for a few seconds, before Katie decided to tell him something that she's been dying to say before she made it back here. "By the way, I got some awesome news to tell you."
"What is it?"
Katie pointed at herself with her thumbs while her trademark smirk appeared on her face. "I'm finally qualified to work at your dentist."
"Really?" Her father asked in surprise. "Well, that's amazing! I'm so proud of you, Kathryn."
"I knew you would, dad; and now that I'm back, I can't wait to finally be working alongside you in your office; or work in my own office room, whichever works, I won't mind."
"Now, don't get too ahead of yourself there, kiddo; as much as I want you to work at my office, there's still a few things that needs to be sorted out before we can actually make that happen; so, it might be a few days." Maxwell then gave his daughter a kind smile again, before rubbing the top of her head. "But worry not, dear; just like we promised, you will be apart of our family's dentist one way or the other; all you need to do is done paperwork, and you'll be hired in no time."
"Katie Morris doing paperwork? Now that's something I never expected to hear." Crystal said sarcastically. Just then, he phone started to beep, causing her to glance down to see who was texting her at this moment; and when she did, her smile immediately disappeared. "Oh, these impatient sons of bitches..."
"Who just texted you there, Crystal?" Annie asked, pointing at the rebel's phone.
"Oh, just some guy I hang out with whenever my goth friends are busy. He's totally cool, and he's totally hot."
"Totally cool and totally hot?" Katie asked, clearly sounding skeptical about hearing this situation. "I take it that this dude's a new crush of yours, right?"
"Yeah; but unfortunately, for me, he's already got a girlfriend..." Crystal then turned angry saying the next part of her sentence. "Even worse, that girlfriend of his happens to be the bitch herself, Summer Baxter..."
"Summer Baxter? The school's head-cheerleader?" Annie then asked, getting a nod as Crystal's response. "Damn, that sucks."
"No shit it sucks." Crystal then took a step back off of the porch. "Anyways, as much as I want to stay and hang out with you guys some more, I must be going; but don't worry, I will be there at Gino's Pizzeria to celebrate your return, Katie. You can count on it."
"Alright, then I'll see you tonight, Crystal." Katie told her best friend who began walking off soon after. Once Crystal had left, she then turned her attention to Annie. "So, I guess if you don't have anywhere else to be right now, you could stay here and hang out for awhile."
Annie smiled, then shrugged one of her shoulders before responding. "I would; but since you and your dad just got reunited a few seconds ago, I rather not ruin the moment for you guys. It's cool." She said, wanting to be courteous to the family of dentists.
"That's thoughtful, Annie; but since you have treated my daughter with all the respect in the world, I'm allowing it." Maxwell insisted. "Just whatever you do, don't blast loud music throughout our home please; because I seriously don't want Nancy Louiston across the street stopping by to complain about it, again."
"Hey, at least I had your back when it happened."
"Annie." Maxwell said, sounding a little more stern this time.
"Okay, okay, I won't."
"Thank you, Annie." His smile returned as he decided to treat his daughter and her friend to some lunch. "Anyways, before you arrived, I was currently cooking up some grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. Are either of you two hungry?"
"The only thing I had for breakfast today was just a blueberry muffin; so, yeah, I guess I am." Katie answered.
"Eh, whatever tides me over until we go to Gino's." Annie then answered afterwards.
"Splendid." Maxwell announced as he clapped his hands together. "Now, I'll get that ready while you two sit tight." He then walked back into the house and went straight to the kitchen.
"I'll probably be upstairs for a few minutes to unpack everything." Katie told the rocker girl. "Do you think you can pick something for us to watch in the living room?"
"I'm sure of it." Annie replied before walking into the house, leaving the tomboy alone on the porch.
Now that she was by herself on the porch, Katie decided to glance behind her at the neighborhood that stood before her home; the one that she missed while she was out of town. Out of all of the things that she missed the most about Simport, aside from her family and friends, was the neighborhood itself. She had a lot of fond memories when it came to this section of the town; such as skateboarding through the streets when their empty, to the neighbors across the street bickering; granted, one would find the latter to be a nuisance, but to her, two dorm-room partners getting into an argument doesn't compare to two step-siblings arguing over who takes the trash out. Seeing this place again brought a smile to the young tomboy's face.
'It's great to be back.' Katie said in her thoughts, before walking inside her own house.
Note: So, this one was probably something I didn't expect to do, but I guess it would've been inevitable. Despite saying that I'm done restarting stories, I found myself looking back at some of the previous chapters and hating some things about it; such as terrible grammar, plot holes, and some things that just...don't make sense. So, I decided to start all over and hopefully try to make some things a little better, and probably change a few things too in the process.
Also, since I've been seeing a fellow author LostOracleTD(amazing author who does Total Drama fics, check him out when you get the time)do this; I might respond to some reviews as I'm writing this story too.