Okay, I'm back. Yeah, it's a little over a month but the new chapter's here. Again, sorry. My wrists have not been doing good and have been preventing me from writing literally all month. I think something's wrong and I'll have to get them checked asap. Luckily, they're not hurting now so that's good, I guess.

Also, I'm very happy for not just the people favoriting but for all of you guys commenting. I look forward to reading more once this chapter goes out as they keep me writing. ^_^

Note: This was originally supposed to be one chapter but the prologue got away from me that I've decided to split the chapter in two. Because of that, the next chapter should be out a few days after this one. :) But this was a hard one to write. I guess I don't like it when a character you like goes through a lot of stuff, especially when it relates to you. I hope it turned out okay though as I'm happy with a few scenes I wrote.

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

A Prologue for Connie

Connie Maheswaran recently moved to Shellpoint after her dad got another job working at a local beach near where they are. She wondered why they weren't living at Beach City which is nearer but if one has the money, then you go for it. Besides to them, Beach City was a tourist attraction that was cheap to live in anyway. The reason they had money anyway wasn't because of her dad, who was, yes, relocating to another city but no, not being promoted. He had hopes of being a cop but had to settle for being a security guard for reasons he would never tell his daughter. Her mother however, had them covered. She was a doctor. Yes, not a nurse, a doctor. She had studied medicine literally all her life and got to go to college, the first in her family to do so. Because of this, she hopes that her daughter follows that tradition and goes to college so that she too could be something big, like a lawyer or a manager of a company or a cop or indeed, a doctor.

Then we have Connie herself. Her childhood was... nonexistent. She didn't grow up playing video games, didn't grow up watching certain shows or certain movies, she didn't have many board games (except for Chess, Checkers, Chinese Checkers, and so on), didn't listen to any popular music (unless it was Classical or a musical score from a movie they really liked), and most importantly, she didn't have any friends. At least, no one her age. Her parents would sometimes have parties for their account and invite many of their friends. They would do the same for her birthday as well as invite many of their closest relatives. The only problem there is that she didn't have anyone near her age as all of her cousins were older than her and now had their own families. Both occasions she would try to talk to someone, anyone who would listen, but they'd have "better" things to do or not be in the mood to listen or just flat out ignore her. It also didn't help that she wanted to talk about what she was into the most, books. That was the only thing her parents would let her do as they didn't have a problem with her expanding her mind, vocabulary and imagination. Because of this, Connie felt like there was maybe something wrong with her and she would always get nervous around other people, her living room would become a sea of unrecognizable faces. It go to the point where if the waves did speak, she would freeze, not say anything, and run. Every year, it got worse to the point where she would not attend said parties and just stay in her room and read.

When she read, she would just get lost in any specific book. She particularly had a thing for fantasy; anything involving a little boy or girl who realizes that he/she is a part of something bigger and has to leave her boring, mundane life to fulfill her destiny and save an entire world from destruction against the dark forces of nature. Maybe even have friends, partners, compatriots, and maybe even, a significant other. She loved these characters, related so much to them, and wished that she could BE them. Then maybe she'd be okay. She always felt out of place in this boring, mundane world that was her life anyway.

She always had broken eyes, not being able to see things right in front of her, always having to squint which would sort of work but rather make things a little more blurry than they already were. She started wearing glasses at age four. She didn't like wearing them then but she got used to them over time. She got herself a bigger pair recently, one with pink lenses. She loved how they made her view the world, as if through a filter, one that showed her what the world was really like. She liked to think she was an adventurer and that the world was one big obstacle course to get through. It made her days much easier to get through, especially school.

If the world was her course, school would be the final boss. Her parents considered homeschooling her but their busy schedules and jobs kept them from doing so. Public school too. They're rich, but not that rich. Connie's school day basically consisted of getting through the school day without a single scratch on her or any of her books. The girls, particularly the more active ones (and debatably pretty ones) loved picking on her, before or after. She would try to ignore them the best she can only to be pushed and tossed to the ground, glasses off, and occasionally a book destroyed. Like clockwork, she went through this. Bookworm, she'd be called or egghead, four eyes, ugly, nerd..., a mistake. She wouldn't have time to cry however, as classes were starting and she didn't want to be the center of attention, nor be sent to someone. Her mother was convinced that if her daughter had a clean record and did absolutely nothing except study and do her homework, then she'd be fine and be recommended to a good college and everything else will follow. So she held everything in and never told her parents about the occasional scratch or expensive book that got mangled. Luckily, her family never even bothered to ask as they were always discussing how their days went and what happened to them. They expected her daughter to just do what she was told and everything would be fine. She sat by herself at lunch, always in the very back of the room on the extra tables where she quietly ate and read. Nobody ever bothered to talk to her as they all had their group of friends or cliques or whatever. Sometimes she'd eat in peace, other times, the girls would come back.

Now she was here at this new home, with a new school, and new things to try out. She thought maybe this is a good thing. She wanted her old life gone and have something new, but how new? And would she even try to make friends? Probably not as the last thing she remembered was something she rather not talk about. The week before she moved out, there was a dance for all the kids. Just a simple get together for everyone to have fun. Connie heard about this and got excited. She'd never been to a dance before but she always wanted to go to one as that's what a lot of her female heroines did, dance when they were at their most at peace with themselves. They had everything they needed with them and that's exactly what Connie wanted. She didn't ask her parents for permission knowing full well that they'd never let her go alone and unsupervised so she kept quiet about it.

That night, she snuck out of her room while her parents were in the living room keeping busy, her dad watching television and her mom looking over some documents. Because her home was one story and was located near a beach, she had a sliding door which she was able to use to leave when she wanted. She put on the best clothing she could find and was comfortable in and left, hoping to return in an hour before her parents found out.

She pedaled in exhilaration hoping to have the time of her life. She deserved something like this, just wanting to free herself and have a good time, hoping that nobody minded her dancing. Then it hit her, has she danced before? Only once, but with herself. Her parents never danced with her, nor does she think she ever saw them dancing with each other. On top of that, if she's only danced with herself, then she's never done so in public either, so what would they think of her? They'd think she was weird, odd, unusual, all the words she never wanted to hear again. This was a mistake, she wanted to go back, but it was too late,...

...for she was already there.

She could hear the music inside, albeit a bit muffled. Some late 80s, early 90s stuff. She set her bike aside and faced the entrance... it felt like ages until her arm raised to pull the handle... nothing. She let it drop and walked back to her bike. Just then, a song came on she was able to hear. The sound entered her mind and she felt something. The sounds she heard were making her smile and her head moved to the beat. She put her bike to the side of the building not facing the building and laid her back on the wall, her head still bopping as the trumpet sounds entered and blasted the song into fruition. Then the lyrics happened:

All this frustration
I can't meet all my desires
Strange conversation
Self control has just expired
All an illusion
Only in my head you don't exist
Who're you foolin'?
Don't need a shrink but an exorcist

Her back started moving, left and right, back and forth. Her arms raised slightly and levitated by her stomach and moved in circles. Her back lifted off the wall and her legs started moving, her left leg dragged the ground as if she were a ballet dancer. The second verse began again:

Show me the movie of who you are and where you're from
Born of frustration
Caught upon the webs you spun
Where's the confusion?
A vision of what life is like
Show the movie that doesn't deal in black and white

She spun around, eyes closed completely immersed in the melody. She was entranced and felt it too. Was this was it was like? If so, she could get used to it. She didn't care, she giggled as she continued moving.

Talk talk talkin 'bout who's to blame
But all that counts in how to change
Stop stop talkin 'bout who's to blame
When all that counts in how to change

"What are you doing?!"

Her eyes opened, her pupils dilated and she froze in place. She was afraid to turn around, but her head did so anyway. It was those girls

"You think you can dance? You think you're something special? Well, you're not! You're just a dark, stupid geek and nobody will love you!"

They exploded with laughter, their sounds piercing through her like blades. The music no longer mattered as it turned to static. Tears began to form and she ran to her bike and pedaled rapidly in the opposite direction, not wanting to face those girls any longer.

She got home, tossed her bike aside, slid the window door open and fell on her bed, hugging her pillow as it began absorbing as many tears as possible, her sounds muffled by it as well.

If this is what it's like, then she didn't want it...

A/N: Thanks for being so patient with me. It means a lot. I hope to get better soon.

P.S.: If you want to know the song I used, it's called "Born of Frustration" by James. (Had a link but the site edited it out. That's weird.)