Sonora. That was her name. With Spanish origin, the name meant "pleasant sounding," and for the most part, Sonora was just that.
The girl was kind, though had a quick wit about her. Not the brightest in the STEM portion of academics, she had no problem writing an English paper on the hidden meanings of any given book. Art was another hobby of hers, though not necessarily a passion. She was decent in music, if you counted playing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, on the piano as musically driven, or strumming Island The Sun by Weezer on guitar. Her singing voice was slightly above average, just not enough to make her stand out in choir.
In all actuality, Sonora Lynn Greene, was as average as they came. Her hair was a dark ebony brown, matching her equally as dark eyes. Her mothers Latin-American heritage mixed with her fathers Native American roots gave her a rich olive skin tone that singled her out to receive quite a few racist remarks from fellow classmates. Nothing that bothered her, as her parents drilled into her mind that, "hate will only breed more hate." Like the feathers of a duck, she let those nasty words directed at her roll off of her back. Sometimes.
Sonora's mouth got her into trouble more so than she would like to admit. Her quick retorts had others turning red in frustration and nearly stamping their feet. Very rarely would the verbal matches turn into physical fights, but the girl knew how to throw a punch in self defense. To save face, her parents would scold her to the point that they were out of breath in front of the principal. However, behind closed doors they would remind her violence is (usually) never the answer, then send her on her way. They knew their daughter wasn't an inherently violent person, but they also couldn't let her go about her business without some form of reprimand.
"I can't believe you punched that girl, Sonny," her mother sighed.
The trio sat at the dinner table with a plate of that nights dinner in front of them. Sonora pushed her vegetables around her plate half-heartedly, mulling over the last hours lecture from her parents.
"Well, she kept saying she was gonna kick my ass all day. I thought I might as well confront her about it," Sonora shrugged.
Janice Alpine was her bully since the third grade when the class found out Erick Ford had a crush on Sonora. The revelation was nothing, if not embarrassing for Sonora, since at that time all the girl cared for was what she was going to do at recess and if a new episode of her favorite cartoon was going to be playing on T.V after school. Due to petty elementary jealousy, Janice tormented the girl for the next four years.
"That doesn't mean you do it in front of the school! Her parents are even considering pressing charges. What were you even thinking? Didn't we raise you better than this?" Her mother sounded exasperated at this point. Anita was rubbing her temples and her Latin accent was starting to thicken. Mrs. Green meant well but she had a tendency to say things that bordered on hurtful. Sonora winced and looked down at her plate, deciding that looking anywhere else was better than meeting her mother's disappointed eyes.
Kai rubbed his wife on the back in comfort, but Sonora caught the small wink her father gave her at the corner of her eye. She gave a crooked tight-lipped smile, but the small act of comfort did nothing to soothe the wave of guilt that washed over her. They had raised her better than this.
"'Nita, hun, ease up, alright? What happened won't change by yelling at her and making her feel even worse about the sit-" The glare Mrs. Greene sent her husband was cold enough to freeze hell over. It shut him up quick.
"First of all, Malakai..." Her mother laid into her father like cement. All Mr. Greene could do was sit there with his hands in his lap and his head hung low. When his wife got going on her triage of "I'm right, you're wrong," there was little one could do to get a word in edgewise until she was finished.
Sonora took this opportunity to quietly slip away back to her room. Her father can take the heat.
OOO
The Alpines had decided to press charges against Sonora, after all. A few days later, Sonora was in the community library after having been court ordered to help Mrs. Abernathy around the building. She was an old woman, anything but frail, and had a bad habit of neglecting her librarian duties in lieu of reading her cowboy romances.
The work was as easy as it was mind-numbing. Tasked the simplest of duties, Sonora was dusting surfaces, cleaning computer screens, and shelving returned books. She couldn't find it in herself to complain, though, as her options were either this, or helping the garbage dump sort through recyclables. The lack of people and surplus of reading material was also a bonus. Sonora was awestruck when she ventured down the fantasy aisle.
After going through her fourth cartful of books, Sonora made her way to the children's corner of the library and plopped down in one of the bean bag chairs. No one frequented this part of the library, especially in the middle of a work week. Just exercising my worker's right to a ten-minute break, she thought.
She also took this time to browse the titles and find something that sparked her interest. Sonora had read, Harry Potter, when she was in the fourth grade and liked it very much. She wondered if there were other hidden gems in the children's books. Deciding to close her eyes, she spun in a circle and randomly chose a direction to walk in. Feeling along the shelves, Sonora plucked a small book from it's place and opened to a random page.
After reading a couple passages, Sonora recognized the story to be, The Chronicles of Narnia. A classic story, in her opinion, she hadn't read it yet because the first book was "boring." The pacing was slow and the vocabulary wasn't something she was used to. Her friend, Faye, also raved so much about the books that, after what seemed like the hundredth time of her mentioning it, Sonora basically knew the entire story from beginning to end. Of course, that was years ago, and now she could barely remember the main protagonists, now.
Regardless, the girl continued to read, soaking up the words and losing herself in the story. Literally. It felt like Sonora couldn't look away from the pages and was forced to continue. A tugging sensation pulled at her belly, though not unpleasant. In fact, the girl was so calm that the swift wave of dizziness barely registered in her mind. She felt as if she were on a boat, swaying back and forth in the undulating waters.
The grandfather clock at the front desk started to chime, and that was the last thing she remembered before she was suddenly spiraling downward, falling at an alarming speed. She opened her mouth to scream but it drowned out by the wind rushing past her. The tugging in her belly intensified to the point she thought she was going to pee herself. Then, it stopped. The spinning, the falling, the clock. All of it.
It wasn't until she was looking up at gloomy grey skies that she noticed she was on her back. Snow flakes fell softly around her and melted on contact with her over-heated skin. Despite the coldness seeping through her clothes, Sonora couldn't find it in herself to care. Her only focus was not trying to throw up her lunch, but her efforts her futile. She sprung to all fours and hurled everything that was in stomach. Only when she was dry heaving did she stop.
Her mind was disoriented that Sonora barely knew how to react to her sudden change of scenery. One minute she was in the stuffy, old library, and the next she was six-inches deep in snow. She could hear the faint ringing from the clock in her ears. The book had landed a few feet from her, its pages already soaked through.
Was she drugged? Drugged and kidnapped? Or worse, was she admitted to a conversion camp for misbehaved kids? Sonora didn't think punching Janice Alpine warranted her being shipped off to a religiously aimed program to convert kids to Catholicism through mental and emotional abuse.
Woah, slow down. Mom and dad wouldn't ship me off to some random place. They aren't even Catholic. Sonora did all she could to keep from sending herself into a panic, but the more she tried to answer her own questions, the more questions she had.
"I'm dreaming, you're dreaming, Sonny. Just wake up," she pleaded.
"Well, if you're dreaming, then how am I real?"
Sonora spun so fast she nearly threw up again. The voice came directly behind her but no one was there. I must be going insane. She fell on her butt and hugged her knees to her chest, burying her face in her hands. tears pricked the corner of her eyes, and just before she started to cry, something small tapped her foot.
She looked up and came eye to eye with a... beaver? A live, very real, beaver. It's glassy, beady eyes regarded her with a surprising amount of sentience.
Feeling a little stupid, but with no other clue as to who spoke, Sonora asked, "did you just talk?"
"You're sure right I did. M'names Beaver, Mr. Beaver." The animal straightened its back proudly and dusted its paws on its chest, as if proudly stating a well known fact.
Sonora opened her mouth to say something, anything. Instead, she threw up.
A/N: Oh boy. It's been a while since I wrote and shared something. Last time i think i was 19? I'm 23 now soooo... yeah. I decided to get back into writing and thought i should share it. I wanted the pevensies to be older, but decided they'll just stay the same for the time being.