Collide
Pilot Part 1
I've heard people say after particularly upsetting events that they always had a feeling beforehand that something would happen.
Personally, I call bullshit on that; I mean I never foresaw the catastrophic mind fuck that would befall me, annoy me, and took longer time to bathe than my cats. But perhaps that's just me.
And it started out as a fine, usual day; usual Hermione-Hair that I didn't bother to curl that morning. I was on an afternoon run with my dog Rocky along the bay, as we simultaneously decided to ignore the pack of kids by the dock who were clearly, very high.
As it so happened, these were people I never met before or ever spoke to, and yet if my high-strung mother found out about them I'd be with her in Washington-where she was currently under the thumb of some slime ball politician as his campaign manager.
I can hear her connotations even now, "Marley Jane Roberts! No back talk! You don't know those kids and they just might try to rape or kill you during one of their drug trips!" Yeah Mom, because a bunch of twelve to fifteen year olds with the munchies would take the time to commit assault in broad daylight, and in front of a long string houses owned by retired military men.
Then again, as much as I love him, it wouldn't be much better then hanging out with Dad in L.A. where he frequently tried selling his latest gizmos. He seems to have failed to understand that if an Iphone wielding teenager like yours truly couldn't understand it, chances are neither would the rest of his audience.
I suppose in theory I could've been sent to my oldest sister Amber's house, but none of us liked to impose on her and her husband Timothy. They both worked long hours, and still barely managed to see each other even in their tiny apartment.
And after the rift with my other sister, Charlene, and her fiancée, her rundown flat in New York was out.
Really though, I was glad I finally was old enough to stay in Rockaway by myself. Turning sixteen made it much easier to convince my parents that I knew where everything was, could get around easier, and could spend more time with the family pets.
I had two cats named Ra and Cinnamon; Cinnamon was a round, furry, friendly little black/orange/white calico who loved nothing more than to be admired by guests and her daily prowl around Lorna's (my pet cricket) cage.
Ra had a somewhat opposite personality; he loved the people he bonded with, but anyone else was ignored or tormented-and most prayed former would be their fate. What I found funny about this was the strange almost human facial expression he had, and the diabolical one he used when he was at the scratching post, as if to say "I'll be watching you".
The only downside is, his appearance did not match his nature; Ra was an orange tabby that had self-inflicted bald spots, and was nearly ten years old.
Then I had Rocky, my golden retriever who was possibly the loudest and friendliest dog in the universe, but ate more than a football team and weighed more too.
He was extremely hyper that morning, more so than usual, and so our run went longer then it was supposed to. I was heaving once we finally got around the corner of Gretel Avenue, but of course, Rocky was just fine and continued pulling me towards Minnie's secondhand bookstore.
Minnie Brent owned the cute little shoebox of a store since before I was born; I think it was passed down her family. She was a tall, short-haired blonde woman who was in her mid-seventies, was widowed when she was thirty, and had been happily remarried for twenty years to Mr. Brent-who I'd still never met even after sixteen years of knowing his wife.
From what I heard, Mr. Brent was a kind, decent man but his personality was very somber and-for lack of a better term- a little boring. Minnie was cheerful, energetic, and loved theater so much she tap-danced at their wedding.
I decided to visit Minnie, see how she was, so I tied Rocky's leash to a bike stand and walked inside where I heard Minnie singing "Bill Bailey".
"Bill Bailey won't you please come home!" She sang, still not noticing me as I entered, "I'll do the cookin' honey."
"You just bring home the money." I sang with her.
She turned around with her open-mouthed smile and ran over to hug me, "Hello dear, how's my girl with moxy?" she joked.
"Fine." I laughed, "Just walkin' Rocky and I thought I'd say hello."
"And I'm glad you did, I just got some new items, and I thought I'd give you a first look at 'em before I start charging."
Curious, I followed her around the counter to see a cardboard box, and when she opened it I saw it was filled to the brim with Harry Potter books and memorabilia.
I smiled at her, "You live to feed my addiction don't you?"
"Oh, stop it. Take your pick dear, anything in there is yours."
I looked through, taking out a time-turner, a copy of "Tales of Beadle the Bard", and at the bottom saw a very well-treated copy of Chamber of Secrets.
It was a little bent at the spine, like most books were, but was otherwise in perfect shape despite a missing title page inside. My copy at home looked much worse, and was barely readable after years of being passed down, torn, and having coffee spill all over it.
So I decided, why not, it might be nice not to have a crumbling book anymore.
"I think I'll take these items Minnie, how much?"
"Oh don't be silly, just take them."
"Oh I can-"
"Don't bother sweetie, it's a gift from me to you, just enjoy." She smiled.
I sighed, "Thank you, I really appreciate it. I better get home though, it's getting dark and Mom's gonna call soon."
"Oh go ahead dear, I'll see you soon." Minnie replied, giving me a hug, "Love you Marley."
"Love you too." I smiled, gathering my things.
As she turned to go do something at the cash register, I looked at my new gifts guiltily and then back at the tiny deserted shop. And because I'm the kind of person that I am, I quickly pulled a twenty out from my pocket, left it on the counter and ran.
Rocky and I walked straight home, where Cinnamon happily greeted us at the door while Ra sat lazily on the ripping grey couch, and Lorna chirped noisily.
"Hey guys, guess what? We got new Harry Potter books!" I said pulling out my new copy.
Rocky and Cinnamon both walked away from me, while Ra got this annoyed expression on his face, and even Lorna stopped chirping.
"Well that was plain English." I joked, "Well, I for one am going to enjoy the awesomeness of J.K. Rowling's best bad boy, Tom Marvolo Riddle."
With that, I plopped myself down next to Ra, who turned his annoyed expression directly at me.
"Well, look how many fucks you give."
I reread the second to last chapter for about an hour, before I heard a knock on the door. I looked through the window to see it was my neighbors, the Standfords.
Mr. and Mrs. Standford were the couple whose daughter I babysat since I was fifteen. By then Jenny was around seven years old, with chin-length red hair, and a little button nose that sat between her round little cheeks.
She looked exactly what one might imagine Ginny Weasley looked like as a seven year old, or at least what Rose Weasley might look like. She was shy, but she was a sweet little girl who helped me with my writing.
"Hi guys, what's up?" I greeted, opening the door for them. I noticed the somber expressions on the parents, and that Jenny's brown eyes were barely peering from behind her bear that she clutched tightly.
Mrs. Stanford looked very disturbed, and said very quickly, "Hi Marley, I'm sorry but we need you to watch Jenny tonight. We have to go to the hospital and we don't know how long we'll be there."
"Oh I'm so sorry, of course she can stay, come in sweetie." I said, gently ushering a scared looking Jenny inside, "Is everything okay? That is to say, was there an accident?"
"No, but my mother's been in surgery and she's very weak right now, so we're going to make sure she's comfortable." She explained, "I'm sorry to put this on you-"
"Oh no, it's nothing, Jenny's a sweetheart."
"Thank you. We'll call if we need to stay overnight, here's the spare key so Jenny can get anything she needs." Mr. Standford said, handing me the small bronze key.
"No problem, my condolences for your mother." I said, closing the door as they left.
I turned back to Jenny, who was petting Rocky on the floor, her bear still tightly held in one arm. I smiled, walking over and petting him with her.
"Did you eat anything yet sweetie?"
She only nodded.
"Well, I know that Rocky and the gang still haven't eaten." I smiled, brushing a strand of hair from her face, "Why don't you give each of them a treat while I fill their dishes?"
Jenny began to smile and nodded again, running over to the cabinet where we kept the pet food, while the rest of the animals-besides Lorna- followed her.
While she did that I filled the water bowls, "Hey Jenny, wanna watch a movie, play a game, or what?"
"Movie."
"Good choice, go ahead and pick one once you're finished."
After I placed the bowls and fed Lorna, I turned to see Jenny had put in Tangled. I smiled, and ran over to her, picking her up into a hug and spinning her around. We laughed and plopped down on the couch, waiting through the commercials.
"I love this movie." She said.
"I know it's a good one."
"I'm learning the songs." She smiled proudly, "But I don't know the flower song yet."
"I can teach you, if you want." I offered, "I've watched this one ten times over."
Her grin broadened, "Really?!"
"Yeah, but let's wait till after the movie, get it into your head first." We both nodded in unison, snuggling up next to Rocky who had come to join, and as I absentmindedly scratched Cinnamon's ears when she jumped into my lap.
We got about halfway through the movie before Jenny's mom called and said they needed to stay overnight, and to remind her daughter to brush her teeth.
I complied, and helped Jenny find her Little Mermaid Pj's and get ready for bed. I decided that she could sleep in my room while I slept in Charlene's old one.
"Okay, now if you need me I'm right next door, and the bathroom is right downstairs, got it?"
"Yeah." She said, pulling the covers over her and her bear.
"Do you want a story before bed sweetie?" She nodded; giving me permission to grab my manuscript, "Alright, I've got a new one just for you."
At the time, I was aspiring to become a writer, and so I decided to practice by adjusting fairytales and Shakespeare plays for Jenny so they were a bit more appropriate for a younger audience-and by writing fanfiction as well. So I read my latest revision of Hamlet.
After I read for a little bit, I looked over to see Jenny had fallen asleep already; smiling a little at her sleeping form and I tucked her in before heading to Charlene's room with Chamber of Secrets in hand.
I brought in a roll of cookie dough I bought from the store during mine and Rocky's walk, and even decided to get fancy with my favorite little blue tea cup for my hot beverage. I thought it might somehow class up the fact I'd be scarfing down raw dough in my Strawberry Shortcake pajama bottoms and tank that said "Please Go Away".
Last thing I remember, I was reading about Dobby's badassery, than I must have fallen asleep because Edward Cullen was asking me to waltz and I ran away screaming, "But it's not for the salad!"
Suddenly, I heard a voice yelling at me to wake up, and hands briefly shake me. At first I thought Jenny was up already, but I soon realized the voice was definitely male-and British.
Hope you all enjoyed that, sorry it took me so long but I appreciate your patience and support. Given that it's taken me so long to get this out, I've decided to make this a once a month series. So Part 2 will be coming out November 5th.
Please review, I'd love to hear your opinions, they help me write. And I'd like to know what your thoughts on Marley's character is, thank you all so much!
COOKIES!
