Chapter 11: Ellen's perspective

Note: this chapter will go off from Ellen's P.O.V and will focus on Ellen from the day she learned about the California plan to the present day. Enjoy!

Note 2 on 2/26/2023: Just found out that Nate's mom is named Leslie, according to the Complete Big Nate 4, not Sara, sorry about that.

I had the most perfect life ever.

I had a part-time job at Daffy Burger and I have had a sixth-month anniversary with my boyfriend Gordie. Life couldn't get any better.

One day I was in my room reading when I hear a knock on my door.

"Come in," I responded.

The door opened.

It was Nate...my brother. He never knocks on my door... (much).

"Family meeting," Nate says with a bit of concern.

"About what?" I ask.

"I have no idea."

And so, the siblings appear before their father in the living room for a meeting.

"I've been trying to figure out how to say this, but I'll go ahead and try to tell you the best I can," Martin says to his kids. Suddenly, he hesitates, unclear on how to deliver the news to his kids. Nate and Ellen started to worry.

"...d...dad?" I asked, starting to freak out a bit. Even my brother was scared.

"Come on, dad. You're scaring me," Nate says to his father.

After a few moments, Martin finally speaks up. "I...I lost my job. The company laid me off last month."

This greatly shocks the siblings. " Wait... last month?" I asked in confusion. "Didn't we see you go the office a few weeks ago?"

Nate jumped into the conversation. "Yeah, remember you were all dressed up and everything?"

It was true. About a few weeks ago, Nate returned home from school to find his dad getting ready to go to work (or what it seemed to be, let alone the truth was going to be revealed in the present day). Nate didn't mind this since he thought his dad had a job to go to.

"Actually, kids...I wasn't going to the office," Martin explains. "I had a job interview. I've been going to lots of job interviews lately, trying to apply for work, but unfortunately, it hasn't been going so well. My first choice would be staying here."

"And the second choice?" Nate asks.

"Well...there IS a company that wants to hire me… in California."

The word 'California' felt like a horrible echo to me and Ellen. Not to mention, it felt like all the air has left the room.

"We're...we're moving?" Nate asks in shock.

"If I can't find any work here in town, yes Nate, I'm afraid we'll have to move," Martin replies sadly.

I turned desperate...quickly. "D-don't make us go, dad. Please? I can't leave my boyfriend and...and…"

"Sorry Ellen, I can't leave you two here by yourselves," Martin responds to Ellen's pleads to stay.

Immediately, I ran to my room, slamming the door shut, and cried into my pillow for a few hours until Dad called me for dinner. And I wasn't in a mood to talk about whatever I wanted to talk about at the table.

And the next morning as I woke up, I wondered why I was in a cruddy mood until about 10 seconds later, I knew why.

It was about 6:10 when I woke up when I heard slight noises coming from Nate's room, so I went over to investigate.

The door was closed so I slightly opened it to see the lamp light on and Nate on the ground seemingly organizing some papers, it seems.

"You're up early," I said.

Nate noticed.

"Yeah, had a bad dream so I couldn't get any sleep," he responded back.

I peered down on the papers Nate was organizing.

"...what are you doing?" I ask.

"Organizing my school papers," Nate responded back.

"Going to do some make-up work?"

"Yup."

"Cool. Good luck with that."

And after that conversation, I went back to my bed and fell asleep again. Even at breakfast, I was still in a bad mood. And while I was eating, I kept wondering to myself:

"What am I going to tell Gordie about the news today?"

At work today, I did my best to not let my emotions get the best out of me today as I took orders from customers for food. During my work break, my boss noticed that I wasn't in a bright mood today, so she asked what's wrong. I was a bit too hesitant to answer in fear that my last-second miracle would be destroyed.

But before I could respond, one of my coworkers jumped into the conversation saying:

"Hey, guys! Check out the news!"

And everyone turned their eyes to the news, and to my shock, I saw the news report that a husband and a wife were murdered by car crash and gunshots.

"Jesus Christ! Who would do such a mean thing?" My boss cried out.

"I dunno. Maybe some knucklehead, of course," one coworker said.

Everyone else agreed. Then my boss pulled me over again and asked what my problem was. I had no other choice but to tell the news about what is about to happen to me and my family.

My boss was shocked. And soon enough, everyone became aware of what is happening. And everyone began comforting me, trying to reassure everything will be okay, but I was too sad to be happy.

Later...

"You can take some time off, Ellen," my boss said.

"Okay, thanks," I replied back.

And soon I left Daffy Burger, I went to take a walk, try to clear my head.

"What to do, what to do..." I mumbled to myself.

Then I decided to visit Gordie about the news. So I went down to the mall and headed to the comic store where Gordie works, and let me tell you that Gordie can draw with BOTH OF HIS HANDS. Can you believe it? Probably impossible, of course...

Gordie was the first to notice me.

"Oh, hey. How's it going, Ellen?"

"Alright...I guess," I replied back barely.

Gordie frowned immediately.

"What's wrong?" he asked me.

I sighed, then I letted out the truth.

"If my dad doesn't find a job here in town, I will have to move to California," I said with a tear falling down my face.

Gordie looked stunned, or should I say shocked. then he walks over and gives me a comforting hug.

"Well, is there anything I can do? Anything at all?" Gordie asks in support.

"I dunno. Only thing I can do is pray," I responded weakly with more tears running down my face.

Then me and Gordie heard a few commotions in the distance.

"What's going on?" I ask.

Then me and Gordie headed straight to the source of the commotion.

"Dude, you gettin' this?" said one male shopper to me as Gordie and I got close to the TV and sure enough, I saw it:

Breaking news: A school, named P.S 38, has had a horrifying shooting today as police, and doctors rush in to the aftermath of the massacre and out with injured students and crying students. Witness say that...

My heart dropped. Just hit the ground.

"That's where Nate goes," I realized as my eyes widened with shock and tears.

And the news showed that there where two perpetrators, a student at P.S 38 and some assassin working for some secret organization or whatever were shown onscreen.

"That's Gina Hemphill-Toms. She worked with Nate on some history project and is one of the smartest kids around.

...and police shown here is questioning two boys about one of the perpetrators who went to this school here.

Then the TV screen showed a brown-haired kid and...

"Is that your brother?" Gordie asked to me in shock.

Then I let out a scream in shock and pain. How could Nate go through this?

"THAT'S MY BROTHER!" I screamed out loud.

Everyone looked at me. I noticed.

"Sorry...sorry," I said back before turning to Gordie, who asked:

"I take it you have to leave."

I nodded.

"I'll call you later about the matter," I said back before rushing out the mall.

And I didn't care about how fast I was going. I didn't CARE about who or what was in my way. All I cared about was if Nate was going to be okay.

I rushed over to the school, and saw Nate in tears along with the brown-haired kid.

"NATE!" I screamed on the top of my lungs and rushed over to my brother but was pulled back by a few police officers. But luckily Nate spoke up and said I was his sister, so the officers let me go and and I threw my arms around him in a tight hug.

"Oh, Nate. Are you okay?" I asked with tears coming out of my eyes.

"Fine," Nate replied back.

"What happened today? Tell me!" I pleaded to Nate, feeling so scared even I can't control myself .

Nate explained to me what happened today and at first I was angry, but when Nate explained more of Gina to me, I just felt bad for Nate. But it didn't matter. The only thing that mattered that Nate was alive and well. So I held on to Nate for a while until me and Nate slowly made our way home.

Unfortunately, someone wasn't happy when we got back home.

Yup, you guessed it. It was dad.

After I was ordered to go upstairs (though I didn't actually do so as I hid behind the corner as much as I could) I heard dad yelling at Nate for his part in the incident today, most notably, the taser part. And the argument kept going on and on until I lost it and SLAMMED my hand on the table after getting out of the corner, causing the argument to stop and Nate and Dad looked at me in surprise.

My hand slam was so hard it caused a little shockwave to the living room and kitchen, causing one of the glass cups to fall and smash to the ground.

It was silent for a few minutes, until I spoke, my voice clearly angry:

"How about, for the rest of the day, NOT rip each other's heads off! We can at LEAST be grateful that none of us were killed and that the bad guy is in handcuffs."

Dad and Nate looked at me in shock. Then Dad's angry began to cease.

"Well...I guess you're right. Though..." Dad started then gestured to the broken glass on the ground. "Are you gonna clean this up?"

"...eventually. How about we go from that...to Nate NOT actually being at fault for the school shooting?" I responded.

This got Dad's attention very well. Then he turned to Nate for the truth and asked:

"Is this true?"

Nate nodded and said that he and Gina (one of the perpetrators) didn't like each other very much BEFORE the school shooting.

Martin was surprised by this, then nodded, then he said:

"I see. But I need more words and details to include to that claim, otherwise I won't take it."

And Nate did so.

"Well...she's a big suck-up, always brags about how smart she is, likes getting other people into trouble, provides more work for the class, and she has a big mouth (which she can humiliate you in front of the class."

And Nate explained everything about Gina, leaving me and Dad in surprise.

"Wow. And here I thought you and Gina were good friends. I guess I was wrong about you before," I said in surprise.

"Well, that will do. But your punishment is no dinner tonight," Martin responded before turning to me and said with a pointing finger at the broken glass:

"And YOU, young lady, clean up this mess."

"Yes, sir," I said with a sigh and cleaned up the mess as Nate went upstairs.

"I'm too emotionally drained to eat tonight," I said to Dad after I cleaned up the broken glass.

"You are?" Dad asked.

"I am."

"...I guess we all are too emotionally drained to eat. Guess dinner won't be on tonight."

And after a few days later or so, Nate stayed in his room for most of the time (with the exception of bathrooms, breakfast, lunch, dinner) and refused to leave his room. I felt worried. And so did Dad.

And as I was reading a book, I overheard Dad hustling Nate out of the house.

"But Dad, I don't want to show my face out there! People would recognize me for what I did to Gina and-" Nate started.

"It's not your fault. Just relax and go get some fresh air," Martin interrupted Nate before kicking him out of the house.

And as soon as Nate disappeared from Dad's sight, I went up to him and asked:

"Why did you kick him out?"

"I just don't want Nate to become a house hermit his whole life," Dad responded back.

"Didn't had to do that, you know..." I quietly said back.

Oops. Mistake. HUGE MISTAKE. Dad gives me the hairy eyeball.

"You wanna take that back?" Dad hisses at me.

"Okay, okay! You're right! You're right! It's just that it's hard to live a normal life when everyone knows who you are and what you you did!" I spoke back in a speedy voice.

Dad's look of anger turned to confusion.

"What's was the last part?" Dad asks.

"It's just that it's hard to live a normal life when everyone knows who you are and what you you did," I said with a normal speed of speaking.

Dad admitted that was true.

"Oh...I guess you're right. My apologies for the sudden anger and..."

I came over to hug Dad in comfort.

"It's okay, Dad. You're fine," I said in a forgiving tone.

Then Dad said this:

"And if I was still married to Leslie, none of this would be happening right now."

I looked at Dad in surprise.

"Dad?"

Dad had a tear sliding down his face.

"Do you remember how your mother and I got divorced?"

Flashback: years earlier

"Is this how you always are, Martin? Is this what't BEST for Nate and Ellen?" Leslie yelled at Martin.

"What? No! I'm not always like that," Martin responded back.

The two were arguing over (A) Martin's terrible cooking skills, (B) keeping sugary candies to himself while handing out healthy foods to kids on Halloween, (C) buying things they should have, and (D) what's best for their children.

"Well, I am SICK of you not taking a CLUE in your life! I'm getting a divorce from you and I'm moving out!"

Plus, the couple were fighting in front of Nate, who started bawling so loudly that the fight actually stopped for once as Leslie rushed over to Nate and picked him up and carried him to another room and cradled him for awhile then looked into his eyes and said:

"Oh, Nate. I don't think I will be able to take care of you and Ellen in the future, so I wish you the best in life."

Leslie then kissed Nate on the forehead and continued to rock him for awhile.

End of flashback.

"Gee, that...that was pretty deep. Too bad I wasn't there to see it," I said in sadness.

Dad had tears pouring out of his cheeks now.

"And if only I got at least one clue in my life, I would have still be married to Leslie and none of this would be happening right now. Leslie would be working, and I would be the stay-at-home Dad," Dad sobbed quietly as I hugged him in comfort once more.

Even I had a few tears coming down my face.

"And to make it worse, this might affect my upcoming job interview. I don't know what to do," Dad continued, getting much of his thought out as much as he can through sobs.

I felt numb hearing this. I didn't want to leave. So I offered a suggestion.

"Just, uh...try to stay calm as much as you can and, uh...act like nothing happened. Then, you get the job, then everything goes back to normal...for the most part."

Dad looked at me with bloodshot eyes.

"Really?" Dad asks.

I nodded.

Then Dad eventually agreed to the suggestion.

Days passed and word got around that Nate and his friends won the Mud Bowl for the first time in 36 years. I was proud of my brother, and so was Dad. Soon, I was introduced to some girl named Ruby Dinsmore. And I took an immediate liking to her. And as soon as Ruby left, I turned to Nate and said:

"She's very pretty and nice."

"Thanks," Nate said.

But somehow, the thought of the California plan faded from my mind, because on the day of the interview, Nate came home as if he was about to have a breakdown.

And the second Nate explained that me, Dad and Nate will have to move, the second I broke down. Tears were coming out of my face like a waterfall. And as soon as Dad got home, I ran up to him and:

"Dad! W-what happened? D-d-d-did you try to stay calm or-?" I choked out my words to Dad, who replied back:

"I tried, but unfortunately, I failed, mainly because I was suggested to take the job in California to escape scrutiny here in town, and there was nothing I could do about it."

Now I was in a full-panic mode as more tears kept pouring down my face.

"P-PLEASE DON"T MAKE US GO! I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE!"

But Dad said it was over and not worth fighting anymore, so I ran over to my room, slammed the door shut and cried into my pillow as I did when I learned the news.

And soon, moving day arrived and I had to break up with Gordie, knowing that I will probably never see him again in my life. I saw Nate say his goodbyes to his friends and girlfriend and soon, the family car pulled out of the driveway and the trip to California had begun.

And the city we relocated in was San Francisco. I was STILL sad that I had to leave my old home behind, but after eating out at The Cheesecake Factory? That made me feel a LOT better...for now.

Even the new house made me surprise, because there was a mini gate at the entrance, a little flight of stairs to main door entrance, a chef's kitchen with a breakfast bar, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a fireplace!

But was it hard to make new friends? It sure was for me, but not for Nate (I don't blame him though, because he made some nice friends). I could not find any friends for most of the summertime until one day (which was a week before school started), while I was walking around the new city I live in now, I spotted a nearby girl (who looked like my age and looked like Zendaya) and was sitting down on a bench by herself, looking lonesome. I couldn't help myself but decide to go other to the girl to comfort her. Hopefully, she doesn't leave on me...

And I was the one to start the conversation first.

"Hey," I said.

"Um...hi," the girl said back.

I sat down on the bench and introduced myself.

"My name is Ellen Wright."

"My name is Charlotte Coleman," the girl-Charlotte-replied back.

"I'm new here to this city."

"Are you? I lived here since I was born."

And I began to take an immediate liking to Charlotte right away, mainly because we both had a lot in common, like breakups (though mine was forced because I wasn't an adult yet, and Charlotte was dumped by her boyfriend a few months ago), and having siblings (me having Nate as a brother and Charlotte has a sister named Olivia), but what we DIDN'T have in common in friends, because Charlotte didn't have very many as much as I did back in my hometown. I felt bad for her, so I offered to be her friend. She accepted my offer, and after that, we were best friends from here on.

And I felt so much better for the first time since the California plan.

*PHEW! Tough and hard, but totally worth it. I had scheduling conflicts and writer's block in my way, but I finally got it done for you. Hope you enjoyed it! And I decided to take time answer some comments.

"Eddy chapter 10 . Apr 25

Is Rackleff supposed to be a building in Maine, just wondering." My response: its supposed to be a fictional town in Maine. I did a little researching and found out where Big Nate takes place. Hopefully, that answers your question. "Guest chapter 2 . Jun 21 dude. I can not tell you how much I have wanted to read this fanfic. No joke, I remember writing a draft of this chapter over a year ago in a notebook, but incredibly different. (it ended with randy telling the whole classroom that Nate was boarding a place to California) huge thanks to you right now. good lluck writing this story! I hope you continue!" My response: thank you. Plus, I would love to see your spin on the story sometime, so let me know if you want to do it. I would love to see it. Oh, and one last thing is that I had to remove the comments so that I can provide more room for more feedback, support, and ideas for more chapters to come, not to bring hatred to you guys. You are the best! :) Peace out for now! Can't wait for more ideas. Bye! Happy 4th of July!