Also, I cut my chapters in half so...this one isn't long.
Well, Hope you like this and Happy Reading!
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CHAPTER ONE
Things seemed to revolve as the world spun around me. I heard myself scream with glee as I spun faster and faster, my voice sounding higher pitched, younger sounding. Then, I saw a darker figure mesh with the already blurred images and I felt my world start to slow, until it stopped in front of the figure. I saw tears poor down the figure’s face and I felt myself yell. “Daddy! Don’t cry daddy!”
“I’m so sorry my dear sweet Melody.” I heard him sob, covering his face in his hands.
Then, I woke up.
I found myself lying on my back in my room, eyes wide open, staring at my plaster ceiling. Sweat beade created a tiara on my forehead. My body was sweltering so I yanked off the covers in frustration. Swinging my feet to touch the chilled floor, I pulled my head into my hands and groaned. I heard the creak of footsteps outside my door and froze. I heard them grow faint and then, the bathroom door shut with a snap. I could relax then. It was just my mother, up for a late night bathroom break.
I glanced at my clock and it blinked back at me. 3:24. I groaned again and stood, stretching my arms high above my head. I felt my muscles loosen as I walked to my dresser, flicking on the light to my desk. It illuminated my dark circles and my bloodshot eyes, along with my skin, which was abnormally pale. My hair looked like I had stuck my finger in a light socket and I shoved it back into a loose pony at the base of my neck. Suddenly, I heard the padded feet outside my door again and I quickly flicked off the light. But the footsteps didn’t stop and I heard the creak of my mother’s door close.
I breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that my mother was still oblivious to my sleepless nights. I made myself crawl back into bed after that and the sea of blankets enveloped me. Knowing the dream was at the back of my mind, waiting for me to close my eyes and haunt me once again, I fought off the fatigue that plagued my body ever so persistently. Soon, however, my impotent efforts couldn’t hold back the drowsiness that aspired to take me and my eyes slipped closed with little restraint.
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My alarm seemed to ring sooner than normal and soon, I was rubbing the grit from my eyes and slamming my fist onto the alarm clock, silencing it. I dragged myself to the shower with slow deliberation and closed it with the click of the lock. I waited until the room was steaming before stepping into the shower and pulling the curtain closed. Letting the water run over my skin, I felt my body relax and my mind cease to a quiet silence.
After washing my hair and body, I turned off the water and stepped from the tile to the carpet, pulling a towel around my shoulders. The mirror was too fogged to see so I swiped at it with my wet palm and saw, only briefly before the steam over took it once again, my face, clean and fresh, my eyes bright and no longer bloodshot and tired. I sighed and then, left the bathroom, feeling much better.
Downstairs, my mother waited, already dressed and drinking her hot green tea before work. She was thin and petite with her smooth, chestnut brown hair pulled back from her soft-featured face. She had big, brown eyes and rosy cheeks and she wore a crisp white blouse beneath her ironed suit-and-skirt-combo. Sensible heals were snapped onto her feet. She glanced up briefly from the pamphlet she was reading and greeted me with a smile full of white, straight teeth. “Good-morning Melody. Sleep well?”
“Yes.” I lied, smiling back. “You?”
“Actually, I was up a lot last night.” Her brow was furrowed, as if she was troubled by something.
“Oh.” I replied, digging in the cupboards for something edible to eat breakfast. “Why’s that, mom?”
“I don’t know.” My mother shrugged, her brow loosening before sipping at her green tea. “Would you like me to make you something. Eggs? Toast?”
“That’s all right. I can manage.” I assured her with a wink.
“Well, just don’t be late for school. I have to run. Have a good day Mel!” She called as she lifted the suitcase leaning against the wall beside the door. I heard my mother’s Mustang start with a soft rumble and I watched as she backed out of the short driveway into the quiet, suburban neighborhood. I shook my head at her ostentatious car before going back to making myself something to eat.
After inhaling some stale cereal, I finished drying my hair, running my fingers through it before leaping down the stairs, four at a time. Pulling my bag over my shoulder, I raced out the door. Outside, parked in all its glory, was my flagrant white BMW. It was my sixteenth birthday gift from my mother and it was the love of my life. My baby in ivory white with shiny rims, leather seating, and the top pulled back. I flashed the lights from where I stood and grinned in spite. Then, I hopped behind the wheel and pulled from the driveway, spinning it straight in a smooth motion of the steering wheel.
I looked around me as I drove thirty in the fifteen-mile-hour-zone. House upon house ranked each side of me and the sun was peaking out over the top of the rooftops in front of me. Soon, however, I left the neighborhood and entered the country. It was such a quick transition; I didn’t notice it till I smelled the manure from the fields drifting in freely because of the top down. I wrinkled my nose but there was nothing I could do about it. The sun was too heavenly to close the top.
I assumed that’s why most families with kids moved here, however. It wasn’t a bustling city but it wasn’t a desolate barren landscape either. It was rural area meets suburbia. And that’s why I loved it so much. Even though my mother despised ever little bit of the sweet town of Dainsford.
I reached school with ten minutes to spare. I parked my car in the usual spot, with one empty space on either side. It helped when your mommy was the richest woman in town with pennies to spare. Then, I exited my car, locking it securely and slipping my keys into my pocket just as another person joined me. I looked up to see my friend Carly. She was small and blonde with a permanently up-turned nose and pale complexion. “Hey Carly.” I greeted warmly.
“Hey.” Carly replied, her nose twitching as if she saw something disgusting but I ignored this, as this was always Carly’s expression. She noticed my BMW then and grinned slyly. “So, this is your baby?”
I beamed and ran an admiring hand across the back of the car. “Yes.” I sighed in ecstasy and Carly shook her head.
“Let’s go.” I could hear the irritation in her voice and I grinned again before catching up with her.
We entered the school in silence, just strolling along in sync. The school was brick and older looking. The school board restored it in it’s former glory a few years back, keeping it’s aged look, pleasing me. It felt like I was walking back in time, every time I stepped through its wooden doors.
The school was already buzzing as we entered, children scattering the area, chatting and making noise. Carly spotted her group of friends and quickly looked up at me. I shrugged, but mentally, I sneered at her. “Go. I’ll see you in English.” Carly smiled, without a trace of guilt present on her scrunched face, and headed off to join the other blonde and slender girls who barely reached my chin. I sighed and pulled my bag higher on my shoulder as I self-consciously walked by them. Carly could be so selfish sometimes, I thought angrily. I felt her friends’ eyes piercing my side but I dared not look over. I already knew how Carly’s friends felt about me but I wasn’t about to give them the satisfaction of knowing how I felt.
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