Before I post any more chapters, what do you think of it so far? It's bound to get a little more exciting in the future! Tell me what you think of the characters and please tell me if something doesn't seem to make sense or if you think something should be different... Thanks and happy reading:)
The morning had been rushed since I'd gotten up a little late. I was barely in time! That always drives a little bad type of panicky thrill inside you. I searched for my friends and found Drew sitting by himself, staring at a booklet thingy. He was wearing funky sunglasses like always, only a different pair. I sat down beside him, "So what are you reading?" I leaned over to see. He looked up and smiled. I always love his smiles because he's just so unique. "Something about pine apples I think." He threw it over the seat. "Ready for a History test today?" I already knew the answer. "Nah... I didn't get time to study... Oh my word! What am I gonna do?! My mom's gonna kill me-again!" He suddenly smiled, "I'll just swing it." I rolled my eyes and shrugged, no idea how to reply. The bus stopped in front of the school and all of us students began pouring out. I wished I could just shut my ears and brains against the language everywhere. If you didn't use any language, you weren't cool in the school. It made me so frustrated. After school at home, the words would spin around in my head all the time making my head hurt. Anyhow back to school. Today was Tuesday in June 12, 2012. School is gonna end this week Friday. I can't wait! Anyhow, Riffi found us and began talking about a zoo. Apparently her family was going to a zoo this Sunday after Church. Anyhow... I did terrible in History but I did pass! I didn't know that till the very next day though. As I walked through the hallway after a few classes, I looked across and saw Nico being cornered by a few mean dudes. They were taunting him. He didn't say anything but tried to push them away when they tried to touch him. I sighed and watched. I couldn't hear what they were talking about but it was obviously something Nico didn't like. His amber eyes were full of fire but he didn't hit anybody which is how I always remembered him being. Not violent. I wished I could help him, but even if I tried out of my good heartedness, I'd probably end up embarrassing him and with a broken face by the looks of those guys! I tensed as one of the guys kicked Nico in the leg. I wondered if the principal wasn't planning on acting up, but he was nowhere in sight. Suddenly I felt someone behind me I turned around and saw Jack. "Hey is that dude your brother?" He asked. I nodded. He turned around and almost seemed to leave me for a second. Then a very angry Buck stormed up to those guys. Jack came back beside me, "I hope I did the right thing... Maybe he'll need some help." "Thanks... I know he'd wish to die if tried to help him. Buck, is a different story entirely." Buck walked up to them and grabbed one of the guys' shoulder, "Whatcha doin'?" He asked almost casually. "Beatin' up a loser!" He laughed maliciously, then noticed that who he was talking to was not on his side. Buck bloodied up his nose in an instant. Another guy turned and pinned Buck against the wall. But Buck distracted him and wriggled out. Then something strange happened. A guy I'd never seen before came over and fixed the entire thing. He was just as tall as those guys and looked hard to beat in wrestling. He was real cute too. He came over and after a few words, had all the boys cowering away. Jack and Buck came back over to me. I thanked them both for sticking up for Nico. Buck put an arm around my shoulder casually. "Who was that guy?" I wondered referring to the cutey who'd broken up the fight. "A new kid." Drew came up, "Apparently he's been face to face with those guys before. He beat them. He's not violent unless he has to protect the good people. Or that's what he told your sister." "Carmen?" I wondered. "I think he likes her. Does she have a boyfriend?" Drew questioned. "Yep... This will be awkward. But I really don't like her boyfriend. This guy's probably much better. We should hook them up!" I looked excited. "Nope I'm out!" Jack quickly stated. "Aww c'moooon..." I moaned. "Not happening!" Riffi was right behind us. "Well this has been a very interesting Tuesday!" But it wasn't over yet! That evening, me and my sister decided to go for a small walk and talk like we didn't do everyday. "Ok see ya soon Dad!" Carmen called. "See ya girls, be back soon!" Dad yelled back. We were planning on being back before half an hour was spent because it was now 9:26 to be exact, p.m. We walked out the door and began walking. "Carmen, how are you and Howard getting on?" I was really thinking about the new kid in school. Great, I think." Carmen smiled. "I'm your sister, you can be honest!" I really wanted her to say something negative. "Actually it's pretty awesome! Last week, on our one-year anniversary, we went out and had the greatest time ever!" She smiled up at the stars, the breeze ruffled her wavy black hair. "What'ja do?" I wondered. "We went for a movie, a scary one! So we snuggled together at the too-scary parts," She paused to giggle while I turned away to roll my eyes, "And we had dinner! It was very romantic. We talked like we've never talked before. I opened up that night and told him things I've never told him or anybody before. I feel as though I'm at a point where I can really trust him with anything. He's so great and soo cute!" I didn't see what was so cute about him. Sure, he had looks, but not like that other kid! And where was he when Nico was being bullied? I stayed silent. "How about you? Do you have anyone special in your life?" Carmen asked, smiling in a way as though I could tell her anything. I knew I could. I shrugged, "Nope I don't think so." "Aww c'mon! There's a lot of cute guys your age. Let's see... What about Sean? He's cute!" I made a face, "Have you ever been near him? He smells awful!" "How about Dale?" "He's mean and pushy." "Or... Cale?" "Too cocky." "How about Jack?" "He's great, but he's just a friend." I sighed at the thought of my great friends. "Yeah! right... There's Buck and Drew too! They're adorable. What do you think?" "Well Buck's still got some growing up to do! Drew isn't my type. My type of friend of course but nothing more. He needs a different girl. Besides he's too old for me." I shrugged and repeated, "They're just my good friends." "Drew's way older than you?! How's that possible?!" Carmen looked confused. "He's turning sixteen." "Sixteen?!" Carmen gasped. "Yeah... By the end of this year anyhow. I don't easily notice though..." I smiled at the thought of Drew and his strangeness. More interestingness actually. "Yeah he's got something about him. He's very sweet though. So is Buck, although is sister is a pain. She always thinks she's so much better than me." Carmen looked very agitated all of a sudden. "You two should really try to work something out! Though, come to think of it, I don't either really like her. She thinks she's better than everybody. Even Buck! He says he thinks she hates him. She once threw a can at his head when he came into her room." I didn't like Buck's pretty older sister any more than Carmen did. "She poured soda all over my jeans the other day, and declared it was an accident!" Carmen huffed. I patted Carmen on the shoulder, "People are-" "Shhh!" Carmen stopped and grabbed me, "I hear something." We were at a quieter part of the city and it reminded me a little of the story. We stood still as statues but never heard anything else. "Let's go home!" I whispered. "No, I know I heard something!" Carmen insisted. Suddenly we heard it again. A howling cry far far far away. "It sounds like a baby or something." I whispered again. "Yeah... Maybe a toddler. It's not coming from inside these buildings. or anywhere in the city! It's coming from behind the city!" Carmen sounded excited. "Do you think the kid is lunch for the monster?" I was scared now! "Do you seriously believe in monsters? You're pathetic! It anyhow sounds more like miserable crying, than terrified crying. It's very far away though. Maybe someone lives way out there." Carmen smiled at me. "W-what's the time?" I asked. "9:55..." Carmen's face paled, "Dad's gonna be angry!" "If it took us half an hour to get here, how are we gonna get back in five minutes?" I was more afraid of the legend than Dad, right now. We began running back. Carmen got tired real soon and insisted on walking. I didn't wanna walk alone just as much as I didn't want Carmen to walk alone so I slowed down too. In the distance, I saw our house lights. It looked so welcoming. "It's a minute over 10:00 now!" Carmen's voice shook and I knew right then and there, that she was as afraid of the monster as I was. "You are scared of the monster!" I said, almost triumphantly. "At night in the dark almost anything is believable. Tomorrow I'll see just how silly all this is!" But she looked uneasily at the empty streets. There was absolutely nobody in sight. Not even a cop, even though they were supposed to keep watch and make sure nobody walked the streets at night. Suddenly we heard a rustle in one of the bush. Something black emerged. But it was small. It passed under a light, giving away white stripes. "Skunk." Carmen half-whispered, half-snickered. I didn't like the skunk either though, so we crossed the carless road to the other side and kept walking. Lights were turning off, making everything seem so much more lonely. But finally we stepped onto the porch of our house, only to find it locked, almost making me panic. I reached over and pushed the doorbell over and over again. I heard running and the door opened. Dad looked as though he were expecting us to be half-eaten. "I thought it was an emergency by the sound of the doorbell!" He opened the door wider. "Sorry..." I stepped in gratefully. "It's after ten!" Dad looked actually angry. "I'm real sorry! We lost track of the time! We tried to get back in time but, we couldn't." Carmen looked truly repentant. "I know... Next time I'll only allow you girls on a walk if the time is 9:00. No later." He hugged us before letting us run up to our room. I thought about the walk a long long time while laying in bed. I was scared for the little kid crying far far away. I began to pray quietly, "Dear God, only you know what's really going on. Please protect us from the monster or whatever it is. And especially the little kid we heard. I'm scared for him. Or her. Please look after him, or her. Thanks for keeping me and Carmen from being eaten today. Amen." I dropped off to sleep pretty soon afterward.
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June 13, 2012, Wednesday
It was afterschool, when I had to go to this girl I hardly knew's birthday party. She was turning fifteen and she was inviting only girls fifteen an under because sixteen-year-olds apparently think they're so much better than the younger kids-that's what she said-and no boys, since we were supposed to have a sleepover. Me and Riffi were gonna be there today. Nico was driving us since Dad made him because he needed to do something useful for once-that's what Dad said. We climbed out of the car, waved at Nico, and rang the doorbell. I really was not looking forward to this event, but Heather came to the door and invited us in, with a giant smile. "Hello girls! I'm so glad you could come! Sit down in the parlour and put your presents with the other presents." We walked through the giant fancy house to that parlour and plopped down on the carpet with some other girls. There were a lot of girls actually. Some on couches, some on the floor. They were all talking at the same time about millions of different things. Finally Heather invited us all into their carpeted basement. "Let's have an ice-breaker since most of us don't know each other. how about some karaoke?" She suggested. I shivered a little. Riffi didn't look nervous, though probably because she had an awesome voice. "I have a karaoke machine, but, we're alotta kids with different songs and stuff so we'll use Dad's laptop. He's got Internet and YouTube has everything. We'll just hook it up to the big speakers. I've got a mike too. So who's first? Let's have the girl who comes up, say her name, age, song choice and whatever else necessary. Whoever makes fun of anyone will go upstairs and help my mom make a snack. This isn't a competition, just a game. So who's first again?" Heather looked over us girls. "How bout you? This was your idea." One of the girls suggested. "Good point. Alright my name is Heather, I'm fifteen and my song choice is I'll Try, because I'm growing up, and I don't wanna." Heather sang the song with feeling and looked like she was enjoying herself which was much more important than great singing. But she wasn't bad, just normal. After that, one of the more confident girls volunteered. She sang Lady Gaga's Born this Way, which she performed beautifully. After that, slowly the girls began raising their hands for their chance to shine on stage. Everyone from the nerd to the cheerleader, all equals. So many different types of song choices. From "Imagine" by John Lennon, to "Want U Back" by Cher Lloyd. Finally Riffi went up. "I'm Raffaela, and I'm fourteen years old, and I've got a rather unusual song choice. I'll be singing Angel." I knew that although Riffi wanted to be a pop singer rather than an opera singer, she was extremely talented in opera and so that was what she was singing for now. Although normal teenage girls would laugh at such music, everyone was silent while Riffi sang. They all knew her voice was special. "Thank you Riffi. We'll be taking a small break for cake and ice-cream. The girls cheered and got up as Heather's mom carried in the birthday snack. "Hi girls, it's great to have to here, celebrating Heather's fifteenth birthday. She's blessed to have so many friends. It's nice to gather together as equals to have some fun. Let's do something to honor the birthday girl although the birthday girl hates it. Let's sing her a birthday song." So we sang "Happy Birthday" while casting mischievous grins at the blushing Heather. Then we sat down in a large circle on the floor of the spacious basement. We all kept the lively conversation going. Sometimes a girl insulted the other, but it was mainly nice talk. I was almost sure though, that something dramatic would happen ruining a part of the sleepover. "What do you think is wrong with that creepy guy in school?" Bee began. "What creepy guy?" Sandra wondered. "Well the depressed, creepy guy. He's cute enough, I have to give him that much, but he's so quiet, and depressed. He was surrounded by bullies again today but he didn't do anything. He just shoved them away when they touched him until Lemuel saved his hide." Bee shook her head. I perked up feeling defensive. "I heard he lost his mom four years ago. Do you think it's still bothering him?" Penny suggested. "But it's been four years! He needs to get over it." Riffi spoke up, "I spoze you've never lost a parent. You might be a little cautious about who you jump to conclusions about. Why don't you just ask his sister?" Everyone was little stunned for a second, not sure what Riffi meant. "His sister Izabelle!" She put her hand on my shoulder. I get very very defensive when people insult my family or friends!. I pressed my lips together, squinted my eyes and glared at Bee. She turned bright red, "Hey I'm sorry for anything I said Belle! I didn't know." "So if you knew, you would've saved it for when I was gone?" I couldn't help it. "Why so defensive? Brothers are disgusting." Macy another rich popular girl shrugged. "You don't understand. I don't care how annoying and disgusting my siblings may be, it doesn't give you the right to speak about them that way." I stared at the floor. Freda's eyes were round, "Why make such a big deal? She didn't say anything real bad about him." "She called him creepy and depressed," Ally pointed out. "Maybe he isn't creepy but admit it, he seems depressed." Macy looked very innocent, "But it's understandable..." Before I replied, Heather stepped in to calm down the situation, "Let's avoid gossiping please. Next time we can be more careful with our words. Bee didn't mean to hurt anyone. Everyone is special and Nico is part of everyone. Would you like to tell us a bit about him, Belle?" She smiled at me. "Nico is unique, I know. I guess I don't blame you for wondering. He's become different since Mom's passing. It was a shock to all of us. I don't know if that's the reason he is the way he is, but it's definitely part of it. I think that if any of you lost your mom, and maybe some of you have, you would always feel something empty in your home. If you never got the chance to heal, you'd still be hurting." I was glad to see that I'd made sense to most of the girls. "Let's get back to solos!" Heather jumped up and placed her plate on a table nearby. "But we just ate!" Macy complained. "Okay... Let's do modeling!" She ran over to a door in the basement wall and opened it. It was full of racks with outfits of every type. In the corner was a case with every type of make-up, hair items, and combs and brushes. "We even have a model runway! We borrowed it from Uncle Mark and Aunt Esther." Heather pressed a remote and two big sliding doors parted revealing a lit up runway with seats at the sides. Everyone cheered and got to work making each other pretty. Me and Riffi of course teamed up to style each other. I never usually did this type of thing but surprisingly I found it fun! Riffi was an awesome partner because she knew exactly what looks good on people no matter who they are. So when she finished me, I must admit, I thought I was kind of pretty! I made Riffi tell me exactly what she wanted to wear and how she wanted her hair. Make-up I'm okay with since Carmen often makes me help her with that if there was something she couldn't do herself. Every girl was changed from head to toe. Everyone was so unique and awesome. It took ages to finish dressing up but we eventually did and sat down. Heather's mom and sister came to watch us parade up and down the runway. We had five line up at a time while the others watched. My turn finally came. I'd never modeled before, but I'd seen it on TV. But just before I went, I panicked and turned to the girl behind me. "What am I supposed to do up there?" I asked. It was Macy who was behind me. It shocked me a little because Macy never was a very nice girl to losers like me. But surprisingly she was nice enough, "Just hold your head up, walk with confidence, walk with one foot placed right before the other instead of beside each other like normal people walk. Oh, and push out your hips as you walk. Feel free to put your hand on your hip if you wanna. Especially if you wanna pose at the end of the runway." "Thank you Macy!" I looked relieved. "Okay Jeanette is coming back so you better go ... NOW!" She slightly pushed me. I tossed back my short hair and began my model-walk, remembering what Macy said. My hand rested on my hip, which I pushed out as I walked. My steps were with one foot in front of the other instead of side-by-side. Everyone was friendly and clapped for me when I went off. I felt so good! When Riffi went on, she was awesome! She looked fantastic! She looked like she'd modeled before. I think even Macy looked a little jealous! Although I think she tried to cover it up. But if Macy's jealous, then the thing she's jealous of is definitely awesome. "Alright how about we now play 'Truth or Dare'?" Heather suggested. Everyone agreed. We sat down in a large circle. Heather decided to start, "Truth or Dare, Candace?" "Truth!" She looked very excited. So with the song 'Girls just Wanna Have Fun' by Miley Cyrus playing in the background, Candace had to name up all the crushes she's ever had. She turned to Macy, "Truth or Dare?" "Da-no-Truth!" Macy stuttered. "What's one thing your jealous of Izabelle for?" Candace smiled. Macy blushed, "I spoze that she has so many people who care about her. Her friends and family... They're ready to listen to her and pay interest in whatever she has to say which isn't just all about cool stuff, trust me... And that Jack is one of your friends. He's soo cute!" I was a little surprised that there was actually anything Macy was jealous of me for. I shot her a smile and she barely returned it. "Alright Belle, I'm going straight to you. Truth or dare?" Macy looked intensely at me. "Dare!" I felt a rush of excitement. "Alright, I want you to kiss Drew. On his lips!" She looked happy with her dare.
There it is! The second chapter... I'm a little nervous about submitting this story but I hope you will like it:) I'm gonna submit the third chapter some time soon too unless you'd rather I didn't. Oh who cares I might anyhow:) Enjoy!