Hey there!
So yea, started a completely new account and decided to get more serious about writing, so I'm practicing with some fanfics.
I decided in this story, the main character, Alice will have a lot of characteristics that are completely foreign to me, like being a single child and things I don't even experience or feel. I'm trying to challenge myself by putting myself in a completely different persons shoes because after all, my characters aren't just empty words on a paper, they have to be someone. Of course I will add some familiar aspects of life just for the comfortable-ness...Is that a word?...I'm pretty sure that's not a word. Anywho, please review and tell me how I'm doing!
Loneliness had never really been an issue, especially since Alice Storms preferred her company much more to the company of others.
Sure she had small circle of friends, but of the fifteen or so people, she had only clicked with a couple and the rest were mere acquaintances Those two friends were the only people she had really kept in contact with after moving to her new school. It was already sophomore year of high-school and she was behind on credits. Alice was an intelligent girl, but her problem was with teachers and their irritating ways. There were a select few she got along with, but almost every teacher the past few years irked her. She didn't like how they always looked for a way to correct you, or demanded respect they seemed to think they had earned. Alice was far from a troublemaker, but her grades suffered when she skipped homework and classes just to get away. This new school wasn't so bad, though. She only went once a week, every Tuesday in the afternoon. The homework was horrendous, but at least she could sleep past six and avoid all of her teenage peers, most of whom she disagreed with. After a quick talk with her teacher that day, it was official that by the end of the year she would be caught up on all of her credits. Alice walked down the wet sidewalk with a feeling a freedom, kind of similar to the feeling of just finishing a hard test.
The wind rustled suddenly through her dark blonde hair and tickled her neck. She couldn't help but smile slightly every time a gust of wind brushed by her. The feeling of chilly wind was one of her favorite sensations when she was younger and to this day she always loved the feeling of the wind. Windy days always meant good days. As she walked on she noticed how quiet it had gotten when only the clud of her boots on the damp leaves was in the air. A brief pause of the oncoming cars in the street next to her, along with the sudden absence of the wind and gray skies, made the empty street feel a bit eerie. She took advantage of the moment of silence to reflect on the day before. She had gone to visit her friend Alo, the only person really worth making an effort to see these days.
~o~
"You need to get out of that house more, your turning into a hermit Alice," Alo said slinging her arm over her best friend, " why did you have to go and leave me here alone in the first place?" She asked, putting on a pouty face. Even though she was just messing around, Alice still felt a tinge of guilt. She ignored it a fake punched her jaw.
"Anything to get away from you." She joked. Alo played into the fake punch by falling back in slow motion. They had a laugh and chatted until the bell rung, and then shared a goodbye hug. Alice sneaked out of the school and began the three mile walk to her charter school. She wasn't supposed to be there anyways.
"If you are caught on school premises, we will have the schools security escort you to the office where you will have to be picked up by your parents." The attendance staff had said in a snide voice when she withdrew from the schools enrollment to attend her charter school. Still she looked like any other student as long as she wore her backpack, so no one really noticed.
~o~
Alice finally arrived at her house and turned down the driveway, avoiding a few worms that seemed to of decided it would be a good time to slither on the pavement and get squashed. After hanging her coat and messenger bag up near the door, she sat on the couch with some noodles and flipped the TV on, revealing an hour long marathon about black holes on the science channel.
"Cool." She said to herself, glad there was something interesting to break the noisy silence, and proceeded to burrito herself in a little cocoon of blankets. She recorded it in case she fell asleep, not wanting to miss anything being the scientist at heart that she was. She had always wanted to be a scientist since second grade, which was a little strange for a seven year old girl. Being sixteen now there was still something about the vastness and spectacular beauty of the universe around her dazzled her curiosity and she often wondered why not many others shared her enthusiasm about the wonders outside of the little cradle they lived in.
"Alice."
She felt a rush as someone called her name and her eyes darted around the room for about a minute until she relaxed into the couch again.
"Dang it..." she muttered when she caught sight of her noodles on the ground. Somehow she always managed to doze off, and just at the point of sleep someone would call her name. Sometimes it was her friend's voice, sometimes her step mom's, and sometimes it was the voice of people she couldn't even recognize. It didn't happen all the time, but just often enough to annoy her. After quickly cleaning up her noodles she decided to go back to her room to do some homework. 'At least it will pass the time.' she assured herself and walked up the stairs books in hands, as inevitable boredom started to creep up. Her room was cozy, not too small, but not crazy large like Alo's. That girl could hide an elephant in her room. She flicked the light on and the walls light purple paint, not her choice of color, reflected off the walls, brightening the mood mildly. Throwing her books on her bed she walked over to the window and peered out just in time to see her step mom park in the drive way.
Her dad had married Ashley when Alice was young, maybe around five, but he knew Ashley for a long time before they got together. Her father wasn't even her biological parent, actually her adopted one. He adopted her around the age of three. Though she had heard stories of people tracking down their biological parents, she had never been to interested. Whoever they were they didn't want her, so the feeling was neutral at the moment. The image of a parent in her life had always been her step dad, Walter. Alice had faint memories of tossing a football and seeing a movie, but the memories of his smile seemed to fade with each passing year. Life dimmed when he passed away a year after he married Ashley, making her Alice's legal guardian. He suffered a heart attack while at work and was discovered at his desk before anyone could even call for help. It was tragic for both of them, but it took its toll on Ashley more than it did on Alice. Her step mom now worked two jobs and usually wasn't home most of the day. She always seems tired, though she is mostly a bubbly person. On the weekends she attended classes with some girlfriends and sometimes even when out on a date every so often, though no one was currently lucky enough to have her. Even though she cared and provided for Alice, they had always been more like sisters. Sure she had talks and even dropped her off at Alo's house on the weekends and some weekdays always telling her to be safe and such, but there really wasn't a mother daughter relationship between them which actually made it easier to communicate believe it or not.
Alice walked over to her bed and plopped down on it. She hated thinking about this, about her mom, and about dad. She wanted to forget it all, but at the same time she felt obligated to remember her dad. Reflecting on everything always put her in a funk, and she silently kicked her brain for bringing it up. She heard Ashley come in the front door and shuffle around downstairs.
"I'm home!" She finally yelled as her footsteps approached the stairs. "You up there?"
"Yea." Alice shouted through the walls.
"Well come down here I want to show you something." She said and her footsteps faded into the living room.
Alice groaned and got up. She probably got some kind of new cooking device. Anything from waffle irons, cake pop makers, to snow cone machines you name it Ashley has it. She did have a certain knack for cooking, but she hardly ever uses any of the things she buys. Alice tiredly walked down the stairs, wanting to sleep, but not wanting to mess up her schedule. She walked into the kitchen to see Ashley with her back turned to her.
"You ready?" She said when she heard Alice approach, a hint of excitement in her voice.
"Shoot." Alice said as her curiosity sparked.
She twirled around gracefully to reveal the smallest dog she had ever seen. It was definitely something.
"You got a dog?" She asked shocked. It was certainly adorable, its little face a perfect blend of light and dark brown, with black eyes that sparkled with youth.
"No, you got a dog!" She said beaming a hug smile. She handed the little guy to Alice and she couldn't help but melt when it looked up at her.
"Diane at work has a dog that just had a liter of pups, so I thought you could use a companion. It must get pretty lonely when I'm not here, so she gave me one for free!" She said happily as she walked over to the table and started unpacking groceries. "Isn't he a cutie?"
"So its a boy?" Alice said, cooing and awing as she pet his little head.
"Yup, and hes eight weeks old, so hes gonna need a lot of attention." She said with a more serious tone as she put some milk in the fridge.
"What kind of dog is he?" Alice asked, noticing he was started to fall asleep in her arms.
"I'm pretty sure hes a Yorkie...wait...yea I think its a Yorkie." She said hesitantly.
"Do you like him?" She said with a more concerned tone as she looked over a her from behind the fridge door.
"Yea I love him, thanks a lot." She reassured her. Alice never really had a dog before, only a couple of guinea pigs and parakeet, all of whom has either passed, been taken by another family, and decided to fly free but she didn't dislike pets.
"Now remember, you have to train him and make sure he knows where to to potty and such." She said. Of course Alice knew that, it was her dog now after all.
"Don't worry, as long as the all wise and knowing internet is by my side I should be able to handle him." Alice said sarcastically. "Do you think-", she was cut off by the sound of Ashley's phone. She held a finger up and answered it, so Alice sat down at the table and kept the sleeping dog in her arms as Ashley struggled to talk with the phone between her head and shoulders as she put the last of the groceries away. She finally hung up and turned to Alice with a sigh.
"I have to go back in." She said tiredly, and went to grab her keys.
"Ok." Alice said simply, not really surprised. "What about the dog?" She asked.
"What about him? Just show him around your room and make a little bed for him. There are puppy pads sitting on the couch in the living room along with some soft dog food, so make sure you put it down in your room somewhere with some food and water. Diane said they were already going potty on the pads, so I think it shouldn't be much of a problem."
"Cool beans." Alice said, getting up to follow her to the door. Her keys jingled as she walked out the door and to her car.
"I might be late so don't wait up for me." She said giving Alice a brief hug before getting in the car.
"Ok, and thanks for puppy, Ash." Alice said nudging her head toward the little ball of fur in her arms. Ashley smiled and gave his head a quick pat. "No prob."
"See ya." she said shutting the door. Alice watched her pull out of the driveway and wave just before taking off. She let out a small sigh and noticed the light rain starting to fall. She hadn't noticed the pup had been shivering so she rushed back inside to show him around.
Dang that was tiring. I know this first chapter might of been a little boring, but I felt I had to introduce the characters and get a feel for them. Don't worry the next chapter starts to take off.