"Sit, Alf, c'mon." I frowned at my dog—Alfie—because he was being stubborn again and it was getting on my nerves. I had been trying to teach him how to sit when I order him to do so, but all he continued doing was fake-napping. Stomping my foot angrily, I exited the living room.
Ding dong!
The door bell.
Who could it have been so late at night? Mum wasn't home yet, and neither was Grams. But... Alfie would protect me, I knew it. I glanced at the clock in the hallway. It read 8:05 PM. On my tiptoes, I walked up to the front door. Out of nowhere, thunder crashed in the distance, making Alfie bark and me scream.
When I peeked through the peephole in the front door and was met with Mum's gaze, I rolled my eyes and opened the door for her to come in. She was under her umbrella, fresh rain dripping off it. "You could have hurried. It's freezing!" she snapped in her British accent. "An adult isn't supposed to be as freaked out as you just to open up a damn door."
She went into the kitchen—to hunt for something to eat, I supposed.
"Mum, you do realize I became an adult a day ago, right? Not used to it." I explained. "Anyway, it's half your fault that you didn't come home on time."
"Shut up." Mum laughed. She had found some bread and peanut butter to snack on. "Has a university caught your eye?"
"Ugh, forget about that for now, Mum, how was work?" I asked, skillfully dodging her question from years of experience.
"The usual." she mumbled. "Boss getting angry at me because I'm 'not taking things seriously'." she mocked. "What, am I supposed to be stuck in the office staring at a computer all day long? And have a stone face? Huh? No, for God's sake! I make a joke, and the old hag gets fussy because 'Anthea you're not taking things seriously'." She made her voice high pitched for the last part and I hid a smile. It was always amusing for me to hear Mum ranting, but it was helpful for her so I didn't mind at all. A win win. "Anyway, I did meet some interesting ladies today! They were around your age, and I told them that you'd love to meet them." she grinned.
I froze at that, mid-step. My insides turned cold. I knew what was coming next. "If you want me to befriend them, I'd rather go jump off a bridge." I scowled, getting up from the dining chair. what pissed me off was that Mum said something along the lines of 'teenagers and their hormones' under her breath. This had nothing to do with that!
"Get over Ella and Maddie!" Mum threw her hands up in the air. "She was an idiot, yes, but not all of them are like that!" she got up and looked at me dead in the eye. "Get out of hiding already. Please." she said quietly.
"To be stabbed in the back again? To be betrayed? Nah, I'm good. I'd rather not." I aid flatly and ran upstairs into my room. Before I slammed my door shut, I heard the front door open. That must have been Grams. I hid under my blankets and hugged my knees to my chest. Not all of them are like that! Mum had said. I pushed my thoughts and blankets away and reached for my MacBook. "This girl can't waste time, 'cause she's gotta find a frickin' medical university." I whispered to myself. "I don't need distractions."
* * * * *
The next day, Mum brought them over. Them. The people who were apparently my age or something. I could have torn the house down from anger. "What?" I screeched when there was a knock on my door. I was attempting to vanish but i guess it wasn't exactly possible at that moment.
"Honey, they're here!" Mum banged on my door. She might as well have shot it down. "Hurry, now!"
I looked at my reflection in the mirror. "You can do this." I told myself sternly while I combed down my hair. "It's okay."
With a swirly mind and sweaty hands, I walked down the stairs and into the living room, thankfully not trembling from anxiety. It had been a while since I made friends. Mum had laughed at something with the guests. I entered the living room. The guests were facing opposite me and Mum looked up, eyes bright. "Ah, Julia, here you are!" Mum exclaimed.
The two girls turned to look at me. Those familiar piercing blue eyes and mocking brown ones burned into mine. The girls smirked in unison. Their faces were caked with makeup and them smirking just made my stomach have an even more sickening feeling. Ella Rowe and Maddie Rainnie.
The world is indeed small...
A/N: Yeah, I cliffhanger. Y'all can guess whatever happens later. The girls and Julia have been enemies for a while. 😆
I really like this story! It’s got good dialogue, pretty good characters, and a well-explained beginning. But one thing I’m wondering: what is Julia? I mean, I know she’s a girl, but what is her relationship to Ella and Maddie? Is it (hopefully not) lovey-dovey? Or is it just friendship gone wrong?
Bahahaha omg I enjoyed this little snippet (and I hope there's more to come)!!
Alfie must be, like, five years now? What a good boi <33
I loved the bark/scream when the thunder happened. XD That was perfect and made me giggle.
Does Anthea not have a house key? D: Or maybe they only have a couple, and Grams had the other house key?
Omg she just jumped RIGHT into the university topic, didn't she. She ain't got NO time to waste!!
oh nonono not one of those mothers plz don't force new friends on poor julia
Actually, I love this attitude she has regarding new friends. She has this built-in caution, now, for meeting new people or getting closer to anyone else. I'm guessing Maryam and Imogen are already kinda on their own. I know they were keeping in touch later on, so I imagine nothing bad happened to them (or maybe some dramA DID happen and they patch it up later ??). But even still, she could maintain those friendships and refuse to get closer to others or make new ones. It's a very sensitive balance, though, to maintain so as to make sense with Julia's already-established history/future!
LOL OMG. Okay the fact that it turned out to be Ella and Maddie made me laugh. I guess... Anthea never met Ella and Maddie, maybe never knew how they looked? Or maybe Anthea thought she'd try to force them together and was tricking Julia into meeting up with them, but the way she snapped at Julia earlier to forget about them makes me think otherwise. So Anthea's perspective on this situation is a bit clouded for me.
but lulz it turned out to be ella and maddie
AND WHY ARE THEY SMIRKING ?? Aren't they 18 noW WHY ARE THEY SMIRKING?!
I have to admit, it was super fun meeting these characters again. I didn't realize how much I missed reading Unlucky 13 until now. <3
I liked this pretty much, Hedwiggle.
Let's get into the review then. Firstly, typos.
"An adult isn't supposed to be as freaked out as you just to open up a damn door."
I think you meant to write '...as you were just to open up a damn door'.
'what pissed me off was that...' The 'w' here needs to be capitalized.
'I'd rather not." I aid.
You missed a 's' in 'said' here.
'...but i guess it wasn't exactly possible at that moment.' Another capitalization, the 'i' needs to be 'I'.
Typos are done, now the actual review.
'She went into the kitchen—to hunt for something to eat.'
Hunting for something usually means searching for something desperately. It's a very intense phrase you used here. I think you can just write 'search for' here.
'It was always amusing for me to hear Mum ranting, but it was helpful for her so I didn't mind at all. A win win.'
You just said it was 'amusing' for you to listen to your mum ranting, and then you said 'you didn't mind it' because it was helpful for her. That seemed a bit contrasting to me. Do you not mind your mum's ranting because it amuses you, or because it helps her? And if you don't stop her from ranting because it feels amusing to you, then how is it a win-win situation? Win-win situations are those where both of two hostile parties get what they want. But if your mom's ranting is amusing, there's no hostility between you and your mom. So, maybe you should reword these two sentences. (I hope you get what I mean)
You organized this story quite well. The MC uncomfortable with friendships, the mother trying to get her daughter mix with people, the frustration between the MC and her mother, it was all nicely portrayed. But as a reader, I expect a bit more clarity. What had happened between the MC, and Ella Rowe and Maddie Rainnie? Why did the MC not want any friends? If you can elaborate on these things a bit, this could be a more engaging story.
Finally, I loved the way you ended it with a bit of irony. 'The world is indeed small'. Brilliantly done!
Like I said, I totally enjoyed reading this. But a bit more elaboration of the plot, and the story would be even more enjoyable to read. Keep writing!
(By the way, does this have anything to do with the 'side short story' thing? Did you elaborate on this story somewhere else?)
Oh god. How did her Mom not remember them? For goodness sakes! Lol.
Also, Unlucky 13 content! Yay!
So, it looks like Julia just turned eighteen, I think. Judging from the line, "I've only been an adult for a day" Now, I call out this line in particular because she isn't really acting like one. Now, I might be wrong, as I personally have never been an adult, but it still struck me odd that Julia was still struggling to make friends. Even then, what happened to Marylyn? And Duncan? She gets married to Duncan later on, so you'd think they'd still be friends.
Also, middle school is a WEIRD time. A lot of drama that happens then, doesn't matter next week. So again, it seemed odd that Ella and Maddie are still acting like they're thirteen years old YEARS after the events of the main series. And I don't think they've stopped by just to say hello, either, judging by their evil smirks.
Other than that, I'm really happy that there's still things going on with this series. This was a super fun read, and judging by the cliffhanger, maybe there is more? 
Have a great day!
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