Introductions : Bridgette

Bridgette was the kind of person who had had her fair share of bad days, her clumsy nature an unlucky curse which more often than not ruined her day. Occasionally, like when she wanted to get out of chores or gym class, being able to fall "accidentally" was certainly useful.

But when she was running home from the Saturday market trying to avoid the heavy rain, it certainly was not.

It started that morning, with her staring rather dismally out the bakery window at the pouring rain and the promise she made to her mother the day before to pick up fresh groceries weighing heavily on her mind. The market was a fifteen minute walk away, five minutes if she ran, so when the rain finally ceased in the late afternoon she took off as fast as she could.

As she ran she recited the list of fruits and vegetables she needed to buy in her mind. Strawberries, for the cake. Blueberries for the muffins, raspberries for the jam, carrots for the soup we're having for dinner tonight. What else, what else? Right. Apricots. They're in season.

As soon as she got to the plaza she took a mental note of all the stalls that were located there, quickly planning the most efficient path to purchase everything. As she waited for the customers in front of her at the first stall to pay, she impatiently bounced up and down on the balls of her feet, looking up at the dark sky with a worried expression every few seconds.

"Bridgette!" The market vendor greeted her amicably as she weighed the cartons of strawberries she was handed. "How are your parents?"

"Good," Bridgette replied politely, gathering change in her wallet.

"That's great to hear!" The cheerful lady chuckled, putting the berries back on the counter. "That'll be six euros and ten cents. Is that everything, dear?"

"Mmhm," Bridgette counted out the coins and dropped them into the lady's palm. "Thank you!"

"Anytime!" The vendor smiled, watching the pair of long black pigtails swish as the small girl ducked her way through the crowd.

Bridgette marvelled at her unusual luck that it still hadn't rained by the time she finished buying the last item on her mental list. Calling out a rushed merci to the vegetable seller, she repositioned her hold on the two heavy bags she carried in each hand before taking off again.

As she turned the last corner before her family's bakery, something felt different. She glanced around briefly, trying to find the outlier, when she heard it. A mass of people, shouting at something, that seemed to be coming from… her left. And to her left was a mansion, a beautiful one at that, but as far as she remembered no one actually lived there.

As she continued running down the sidewalk she came into view of the house's front gate, where she noted a large group of people with cameras and sound equipment, huddled on the driveway. It's no wonder somebody famous lives there, she thought, grinning to herself. She had half a mind to stop and try to find out who it was, but one quick look at the threatening sky and all she did was speed up even more.

As Bridgette was about to hop off the curb and cross the street, a large blue car intercepted her, hardly braking to turn at the corner. She stumbled backward and caught her heel on a loose cobblestone. Completely caught off balance, she fell down, landing butt-first into a large, very unappealingly-hued puddle of water. It splashed up, covering her entire back.

"Hey!" She whipped her head to shout at the vehicle, but it was off no use. Through the darkened glass she caught a glimpse of a teenage boy maybe around her age, not unattractive by any means but with rather severe straight features that she didn't immediately recognize. As he passed her, Bridgette noticed a flash of fear cross his face as he was confronted with the image she herself had seen just a few seconds ago, only for him to be instantaneously recomposed with his earlier harsh indifference.

She sat there on the sidewalk watching the limousine turn into the driveway when yet another car hurriedly turned the same corner, this time driving straight into the collected water on the side of the street. Dirty rainwater rose up and drenched her completely.

"Hey!" She screamed again, but again it was of no use, they were already gone. She inspected her groceries, glad to have had the foresight to carry them in plastic bags which protected them for the most part. With a sigh she got up and looked both ways before stepping onto the street, carefully striding her way across to reach the other side where her family's bakery proudly stood.

The little golden bell jingled its familiar tune as Bridgette pulled open the foggy glass door. The scent of freshly baked goods attacked her nostrils, and she stayed at the entrance for a moment, wiping her shoes on the welcome mat and letting herself feel the comfortable warmth.

She stepped briskly aside as the customer her mother was just helping made her way for the exit, and she took the opportunity to step up to the register while her mother was distracted in the kitchen.

"Maman!" She called out, setting the wet bags on the floor behind the register. "I got the groceries, they're a little wet though!"

"Huh?" Her mother called out from the kitchen. "What did you say?"

"Groceries!" Bridgette shouted a little louder. "They're wet!"

"Yes, okay, sweetie!"

Bridgette sighed, not bothering to try again. She made her way up the stairs and into her room, where she quickly undressed and tossed the wet clothes into the laundry basket. She took a quick shower to hopefully wash away the unfortunate scent of the dirty water that had lingered in her long black hair and afterward plopped down sideways on her bed, wet towel and all. She stretched over to her nightstand to grab her phone, mindlessly checking her social media before noticing that it had begun raining again.

Sighing, she sat up and walked over to the window. Through the raindrops she could see the grey blurs of the giant mansion, and for a second she thought she could see a light flicker on, but she wasn't entirely sure.

Bridgette suddenly felt a twinge of curiosity about the mysterious newcomer. Thumbing in the passcode on her phone once more, she opened up a tab with Google before realizing she had no clue what to search up. "Famous people arriving in Paris" didn't yield any relevant results, and she set the phone down on her desk with a hum of dissatisfaction. She looked once more toward the grey building, hoping to see another light, but there was nothing. Giving up, she put on a fresh pair of clothes, and went downstairs to see if her parents needed any help with the bakery.

Author's Notes: In order for me to post I have to have a full chapter ahead of whatever I'm posting.

Unfortunately chapter one took me like... a month to write? Whoops. But that's where the story begins, so hopefully chapter two doesn't take anywhere near as long!

As always, please enjoy and like/favourite/review, it means a ton~ thank you!