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Life Between Two Worlds

Chapter Two: Home Sweet Home

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Over thirty minutes passes and all the chattering students left by two's, three's and one's. Jamie left about five minutes ago, and now it was only Steve and I sitting together, alone. ''Want me to come over later on?'' He asked as I fiddle with my black khakis, ''h-huh? Oh, um, I'm not sure yet.'' I nervously said, running my hand through my afro. I was zoned out for a bit, musing over things and later doings at home, which wouldn't be anything amusing other than chores and homework. ''Oh… okay.'' We remained in silence for a while and the bus finally jerked to a stop. I grabbed my backpack and other excess items, treading on through the bus and finally made it down the steps onto the concrete of my hometown with Steve following after.

I inhaled a breath of fresh dusk atmosphere as the wind blows its crispy and cool air in my face. Early October definitely revealed its chilly season, and luckily I carry a jacket with me during these weeks, ''well… see you later Amber.''

''You too.'' We waved and went the opposite direction from the crosswalk. It takes me about five minutes just to get to the bus, and then five minutes to get home. My neighborhood is somewhat deep in the country, aided by the small country stores and a little park within the center of Parsia park. Putting my earphones in my ears, I scrolled down on my ipod and scanned for some decent songs to listen while I walk through the streets, ''Usher… nope, Boyfriend? Not in the mood…'' songs help me during the day, well, actually, they help when I walk alone in the streets… like some form of comfort. I settled with Linkin Park, pressing the play button and shoved the techno gadget in my pockets, ''I gotta fold up clothes when I get home.'' I muttered, pushing up my glasses and then sliding my hands in my black jacket.

I passed the streets, nonchalantly gazing through local food stores and mini antique shops. This is my home in the Mississippi land, in the south, pretending to be someone I'm not…

Like, maybe trying hard to be a freakin' white person when I'm black. Not important though, is it? Oh, and everyone here isn't racist as stereotyped… at least, I think.

I know everyone in the neighborhood, bonded with most people in these stores. So much for a big place when you have a small hometown and everyone knows you. My mind lingered back to my fanfictions and artworks, I picked up my pace faster. What I really want is to go home and just sit on my bed to type some good stories and sketch on my Bamboo tablet all day long, but sigh, that doesn't exactly work when there's shitload of homework on your shoulders, automatic chores, and then working at a small store with only one dollar an hour as payment.

The music flowing through my ears made me lose focus on what to expect when I returned home and instead gave me a fuse for my fanfic. It was a romance, angst story between Donatello, Casey and April. I began forming and typing way early before the second season came around… I just knew once Casey came in the second season and April had some interest in him that it's going to be on between Donnie and Casey. So, I decided to write a story about it, duh. Though, I already had my heart set out for April and Donnie… even though it's highly forbidden to like.

…Secret bestiality ship.

I chuckled to myself. I shouldn't like it, it's wrong, I know… but it's like almost eating cake when you know it's fattening! But it's so good…- aack! Without realizing it, I accidentally bumped into something, or, rather someone. I staggered a few steps back on the crosswalk and in surprise I looked up, ''oh my goodness, I am so sorry!'' Immediately I rushed towards the elderly lady who tumbled on the harden slab of cement and quickly placed my hands underneath her arms in support. Her grey hair covered in a green wrap with colorful beads tightening around the wrap, and those beads layered around her wrinkly, and somewhat hanging neck. With strength, I pulled her up slowly and she grabbed onto my jacket tightly, ''o-oh…'' she groaned and humiliation and guilt filled me.

How careless could I be? I wasn't even looking when I bumped into her! Wait, who is this woman again? I narrowed my hazel eyes and gave a swift, analytical stare at the woman. I… I don't remember this person. The elder stood on her feet steadily, and with carefulness I slid my arms out, ''I'm so sorry ma'm, I didn't mean to do that.'' This woman was about a foot shorter than I was! Her green eyes looked at mines and she smiled, waving her boney and shaking hand. ''No, no, it is fine… I'm too old to be sweeping out here on these empty streets.'' She said with a laugh, ''but, must keep my area and shop clean, am I right?'' Her voice was cracked somewhat, but still held that gentle, yet firm tone. I nodded and smiled nervously, ''I suppose. But it's still my fault for knocking you over. I can sweep right quick if you want.'' I couldn't just leave without doing something for the woman, I just didn't have to heart leaving someone to suffer.

''It'll be nice… but don't you have your folks to return to?'' She asked and I shrugged, ''they can wait for an extra few minutes.'' I looked at her store and narrowed my eyes, ''wait… you're that medium, voodish, witch lady I pass through the streets, right?'' Now I remember… my family, especially my parents, warned me to stay away from this store and this woman. The lady huffed and placed a hand on her long and flowing yellow skirt, ''the correct term is psychic, professional spirit caller and Shaman.'' She seemed irritated about what I said… but it's still the same thing, right? ''oh, I'm sorry. Well, I can still sweep the area if you'd like.'' I offered with a smile.

''Hm… I suppose so; I don't receive much business in this religious town anyway.'' She grumbled and picked up the broom that laid on the ground. I grabbed the broom and started sweeping away the fall leaves, garbage and dust particles in a pile. During most of my life I never paid attention to this store, since my parents forbidden me to be around the place… but I was a bit curious since I heard stories around the neighborhood about this store. Rumors said that those who entered the store to personally make deals with this woman never came out, never appeared again… but that's just made up bullshit to get little children scared, ''so… what's your name?'' I tried lightening the mood.

''Gladys.''

''Oh, that's a pretty name.'' I commented, and swept around the decorated windows. ''Yes… I've been around since eternity! I seriously thought I'd made some money here, but no luck. I was so sure it was Mississippi that dealt with these things! Or was it New Orleans? Hm…'' I laughed nervously, and before long I had all garbage in a pile.

''I'm finished. I'll be leaving now.'' She took the broom and gave me a thankful bow, ''that was faster than a chicken runnin' with its head off!'' She laughed heartedly and continued, ''thank you so much for the help, would've taken me over five minutes! I'll see you next time deary, and stay safe alright?'' I nodded as I walked away, ''you're welcome, I'll be leaving now.'' I waved to the woman and continued ahead towards my home.

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''Mom, I'm home!'' I shouted as I slammed the house door closed. I trudged through the carpet floor in search of my mother, but oddly I couldn't find her… ''mom?'' I said as I peeked through the kitchen.

Empty.

Shrugging, I pulled off my backpack, letting it fall to the tile floor and went to the refrigerator. I grabbed the handle about to pull it open- only to halt, ''a note?'' I muttered and snatched the tiny piece of paper.

Out for ladies night. Mitchell's working until 7:30 tonight and dad's working until morning. I'll be back by 7:00, until then I want the clothes folded, dishes clean and living room swept before I return home.

Made vegetable soup for dinner.

Love you sweetie – Mom.

Crumbled up the paper and tossed it within the garbage. Right… I forgot that Thursday is grown ladies night for mommy, ''yup, hopefully there won't be much clothes to fold.'' I mumbled and went to grab a dishtowel. I came back with determination as I stared at the filthy dishes that were piled in both sinks, ''the faster I get this done, the faster I can work on something else.'' I pulled open the dishwasher, and then went to the cabinets, opening them.

About five dishes already place neatly in the cabinet, going back to the drainer and hauled more clean dishes in my grasp.

Five minutes passed and I closed the dishwasher and turned it on; I already swept the kitchen floor, wiped the counters and stove and finally stuff the dishes inside, now all I need is to fold some clothes… ''we're going to need some music for.'' I grinned. Music gets me motivated for the most boring chores. I ran to the living room and took out my ipod, scrolling through lists of songs; I needed something poppy with an upbeat, it'll help me work faster.

We R who we R

Boyfriend

Around the World

Remember the time

Call Me Maybe

Slave to the Rhythm

''You know what? I should just put this on playlist.'' I tug the connection cord and connect it to my ipod. Turned on the music speakers and raised the volume before I pushed play. Moment of silence, and suddenly a bouncy beat played.

This is my recent favorite song.

I dashed out the living room to grab the clothes with glee. I could do whatever I wanted whenever I'm alone: sing, dance, act stupid- something I'll never do in public. I came back with two large baskets of clothes and set them on the white fuzzy couch. ''So here's my number, and call me maybe~!'' I sang, moving my hips to the beat while I folded the clothes. My mind began to wonder back to my fangirlish fantasy. Turtles. I banged to the music as my imagination took over.

Turtles danced to the music, colorful lights flashed throughout the party as music vibrated through the ceiling. People clad in Halloween costumes danced around them. There were on the dance floor having the time of their live, ''this Halloween party is awesome…!''

Stop this foolish nonsense!

I snapped out of my thoughts and shuddered. I… I really need to stop fantasizing about fictional characters, but ever since I watched one episode of those turtles, I was hooked¸ and I couldn't stop thinking about them. Not one single thought escaped without ninja turtles, and I wasn't too proud to admit it.

An hour passes and I managed to fold all the clothes neatly, setting them in the basket and went retrieve the broom. That whole 'turtle going to costume party.' Isn't a bad idea, it's been on the mind lately… I should probably write a mini fanfics about that.

Thankfully, my house is small, so I only had little to sweep.

My chores are completed, thank god. Plopped on the couch and released a loud sigh, staring blankly at the ceiling. I felt so relieved after doing all those clothes and picking up all those nasty dishes, ''I wonder what else I need to do today…'' I said, looking around the living room. I didn't really have anything else to do besides feed Charles and do homework, other than that I would be left to do nothing… well, it was an idea to bring Steve over, though, I don't think it'll be a good thing to be around a guy… all alone in your house. Suddenly, I pushed myself off the couch and walked through the kitchen, reaching my backdoor.

A whimper greeted me, and I smirked, ''hey Charles…~ missed me?'' Another loud whimper came and I giggled, ''okay, okay! I'm gonna feed ya.'' Unlocked the latch and twisted open the door, a German shepard with cute orange eyes stared at me. ''You missed me? You missed me boo?'' I cooed, waving at him, and I walked outside. The dog wagged his tail and whimpered louder, ''aw, that's okay… Amber's here to give you a decent meal.'' My backyard wasn't that large, but it gave enough space for Charles to roam with freedom. My hands glided across his ebony fur and I patted Charles on the head, ''we have roast beef in a can today! Your favorite.'' I grabbed two small cans and went towards his green bowl near the swing set.

''Great, finished feeding Charles and now… homework, but that can wait until later.'' Most of my chores checked off the list as I waltz upstairs and into my room. I brought my backpack along with me for later doings as I headed towards the purple painted door. Twisted the knob and with a gentle click, I pushed open the door, ''home sweet home.'' A fragrance of peach greeted me, inviting me with gentleness and peace with a rush of nostalgia. I always had Frebreeze air spray in my room because it smelled so good. The walls of my room where painted lilac, covered by numerous wallpapers, artwork pictures, frames and family photos, and just recently half of my wall were plastered with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles wallpapers, particularly most contained Michelangelo, my favorite turtle.

Since I am a neat-freak, most of my bedroom is organized and spotless, well, besides some artwork sketches and novel papers… and a few books here and there. I made my way to my bronze desk and sat down in my black rolling chair, ''let's see what's on Facebook and deviant today…'' hopefully a few deviants would comment on my artwork, I prayed for some form of attention. Flipped open the purple laptop and automatically the screen popped up, ''hi my sweets.'' I said, a pink blush tingeing my cheeks as I gazed dreamily at the background.

Yes… more turtles.

My subconscious couldn't get enough turtles. Michelangelo is my number one favorite out of all turtles, and even as a child, all I knew is that the orange turtle was my favorite. Leonardo and Donatello were also favorites, but Raphael is my least favorite, I never liked him as a kid. The whole background thing was nothing more than a simple screenshot, but damn! A simple screenshot can do some wonders because all you can do is just sit and stare at the screen all day. I moved the mouse to click on the firefox icon and waited for the screen to pop up…

Are you sure you're depressed?

I groaned, shaking my head to remove the thought. No, I'm not depressed! I'm just bored out of my everyday mind and tired… and somewhat sad about certain things, but that doesn't count as legit depression. Does it? I pecked a few key letters into my DeviantArt account and pressed enter, ''please comment… please comment.'' I worked hard on my freaking artwork that takes me over an hour! And all I receive is just one favorite?! I clicked on the message board in hopes of some favorites and maybe a few comments.

Nothing.

I sighed sadly, moving the cursor to click on the subscription button. Hm, no luck, maybe a little later I'll receive something… hopefully. I also joined multiple TMNT fan groups so I can send my sketches and gain some viewers.

I'm on a TMNT binge, so hush.

I clicked on a few TMNT artwork with a critical eye. ''…Character's too cliché… Mary Sue… boring…'' I've searched into a few TMNT OC's in curiosity, to see and understand a character in the turtle's universe. Unfortunately, majority of these OC's were kind of the same…- you know? Loads of female turtles that do ninjitsu and lives with the turtles… a poor girl saved by the turtles in an ally, etc… it gets kind of boring after so long seeing the same thing. I rolled my eyes and snorted, ''like the turtles would immediately accept people.'' I don't really know if April counts, since she didn't intentionally mean to find the turtles… but, whatever.

I had thought of doing a TMNT OC of my own, but I wasn't really sure how to make it uncliche. Most of my hours will probably be nothing more than roaming through the computer finishing my fanfictions and hopefully my novel without suffering writers block.

Busied myself for a little while, my mind slowly reverted to Gladys, the elderly witch- uh, I mean psychic... Shaman…er. My grandparents always cautioned me to be careful around people like Gladys since they're angry religious people… they said something like: if you make people like them angry, they'll place a curse on you, that's why I always avoided her. Though… truthfully, she doesn't seem like a terrible, bad person as judged, just a normal lady trying to make a profit. That's why you should know a person before judging them.

I have been curious about that type of stuff, spiritual and supernatural things. Paranormal doesn't exactly count, but supernatural and paranormal is a hand-in-hand thing. Though, does supernatural connects to religion? It seems like it from all television Christian shows. My grandparents are hardcore Christians, so everytime I sleep over Grandma's house for the weekend, I always have to bring formal clothes for church the next day. My parents? They're Christians too, I guess.

…But what about me?

I sighed. I haven't really considered myself Christian because I always fail at being one. By my knowledge, a Christian shouldn't be goth… and that, I have done before… and then researched into all different spiritual practices. I then I cuss more than an average dirty mouth sailor. Is this worse than being a voodish witch? Hell, I haven't read my bible in about… seven months.

My shoulders slumped and I frowned deeply. I always kept the subject off my mind for it scares me. Wait, how the heck did I get on that stuff again? Oh… right, Gladys. ''Let's see what's the newest episode for Saturday.'' I clicked on the TMNT tab on Facebook and scrolled down the webpage. Ah! New episode! I squealed and read more information, ''new episode at 10:00 Am. Got it.'' Internally I clocked the timing and clicked the X button, exiting firefox.

TCRI, a new episode where the turtles invade the Kraang's building and try to remove the portal. I grinned like a manic and giggled. Alright, my turtle fantasies must be put off now, it's Sonic's and My Little Pony's turn for some attention.

Wouldn't it be so cool for a Sonic and TMNT crossover? I swear that would be so epic.

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''Amber! I'm home!'' I sat on my pink and purple polka dotted bed, staring at the note before me, trying to formulate a decent header for my essay. I hate essays, like a lot, but I'm passionate about writing (more like fiction writing.) I try my best to create a readable, understandable sentence so I can at least receive a B for my grade. I looked at my half-finished paper and stared at it, biting my lip. What is so important about the Bill of Rights? It's not like I'm required to know much information about the government law unless I'm going in some career related to such, ''stupid essays with the most stupidest subjects.'' I scoffed and stretched my cramping hand.

''Amber!'' I rolled my eyes in annoyance, ''I'm upstairs mom!'' I shouted back. ''I brought cupcakes! Come and get some!'' My eyes widen, and suddenly I'm off the bed and heading to my door. Something about sweets always attracts me, and even when I'm trying to write a stupid explanation about laws of my state and basically my country, I'll pass up for a decent cookie.

Moving down the steps, I am greeted by my mother. She's pretty bright for an African American, that's how I inherited the vanilla cupcake cream skin tone, from her. I've been through some mishaps where people considered me white or biracial … but, unfortunately- uh, um, nope, acceptability I'm not.

… Yup…

Her brown hair wrapped in a bun, her arms opened wide, my mom smiled. ''Hey hun, give mother a hug.'' Loudly I groaned, and rolled my eyes for the hundredth time, ''yeah mom…'' I motioned towards her as she placed her arms around me, hugging me. My mom laid her head on top of mine, ''love you hunny…'' I remained motionless and silent, letting her speak mother-daughter sweet nothings like a record player looping. I was never the huggy, happy, sweet, or touchy type of girl… at all, it just feels very awkward for me… and I'm not sure how to respond to it. I glanced at her hazel eyes, the color my brother and I were born with… staring at me with pure love.

Sigh.

''…Are you finish hugging mother?'' I said, and she pursed her cherry red lips, ''you want me to give you more hugs?'' She asked and I quickly shook my head, ''nope, nuh uh, I think I'm good.'' Mother chuckles, walking to the kitchen, ''I brought some cupcakes! You know how those women are with food.'' Mmm… cupcakes. Is it red velvet? Chocolate with filling or maybe a regular cake with delicious icing? Oh God, just thinking about it makes me wanna eat each flavor. Friskily I skipped to the kitchen as my mother laid a set of red velvet cupcakes on the counter… ''it has cream cheese filling with butterscotch icing.'' She stated and I oooed in wonder.

With my experimentation with baking decorating sweets myself, I always had a fondness for creativity dealing with food, artwork, fictions and just in general things. Maybe, maybe that's why I'm different, because I want to set myself apart from the crowd on purpose. Even with food. ''Who'd baked them?''

''You mean the cupcakes?'' She pressed down on her white turtleneck and readjusted her sweatpants. I nodded, ''yeah.''

''Mrs. Evens; she's the best baker in the meeting.''

''Second best. I'm the first.'' I've done my fair share of baking too, and with such a positive reaction to it I've gained a status. My mother laughed, waving a hand to discard my statement, ''of course darling, you're always number one, including Mitchell. Now mentioning it… have Mitchell called?'' Mitchell, my big brother, is always out the house usually hanging out with his friends, working, or going to school part-time. He calls in when announcing he'll be returning home.

''Yeah, he just called about thirty minutes ago saying he'll return home.'' I explained and she nodded. I lift open the container's top and snatched a cupcake, licking the icing with my tongue before biting. Hm, tastes alright, which is odd… wait a second… ''Mrs. Evens rushed through this, didn't she?'' Mother shrugged, ''yeah, I guess you can say she did.''

''I can instantly taste the blandness.'' I commented with a frown, ''well hunny, she did her best.'' I sighed and shoved the rest of the cupcake in my mouth. ''How was your day hun?'' Swallowing the remaining bits, I shrugged, ''you know, the usual.'' What's the point in explaining my crappy, predictable and boring day?

''I see. Did you-''

''Yes, already done that.'' I knew immediately she was going to inquire if I done my chores, of course I did! ''and I fed Charles. Anyway, thanks for the cupcake mom.'' Her slender fingers limped, almost as if mother was going to ask me something else, ''well alright… I'll be in my room if you need me.'' She walked past me as I stared in her direction, confused.

A/N: Any comments, maybe?

By the way, this is waay before Season two and Karai's vendetta, so I apologize for not mentioning this before. And yeah, I'm black, you mad?