Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening/Night(whichever one it is in your part of the world),
Hi! I'm here to leave a quick review!!
First Impression: Okayy...so this was an interesting continuation from the previous chapter. It feels like here we're getting a sense of this family's morning routine somewhat and we meet an interesting character there....in Belle.
Anyway let's get right to it,
The next morning, Q held the watch mom had given her in her hands. She had given up examining it. Q was convinced she would never learn whatever the words replacing the numbers meant. She stared at her reflection in the watch instead. Mom had always said Q shared her dad’s peaches-and-cream complexion. Q couldn’t argue with that: her cheeks were always a shade pinker than the rest of her. Except her freckles. Those were always showing.
The sun was rising over the adjacent apartment buildings and light was finally making its way into Q’s room. Q had woken long ago, but she stayed in bed so the creaky floorboards didn’t wake her mom. She didn’t need to be up until seven, anyways.
Hmmm...so I was meaning to ask in my review of the previous chapter but didn't get around to it. Is Q meant to be the nickname this character generally goes by or is it like a placeholder letter until you come up with a name? Or is her name just Q?
Anyways, I was just curious...this is a nice point to start here. I notice you skip right to her having received the watch..hmm, I get the feeling that this indicates this watch is going to be very important going forward here.
Q’s room was nothing compared to her old one. Her bed nearly stretched the length of the room, leaving space for a small dresser. A desk squeezed in between the wall and the bed. It was small enough to be considered a side table, but, more often than not, Q used it for homework.
I love how you've included a small description, always nice to see that, certainly helps out a bit with visualising the setting here and that's definitely a good thing to see at the start of a chapter....or you do get the feeling people are randomly hanging out in the void.
A familiar jingle filled the air as Belle’s name filled Q’s phone.
She grabbed her phone and answered it, “Belle?”
...
“Alright,” Q said. She wanted to say You’ve been to my house a thousand times, why are you using Google?, but she decided against it. She didn’t want to be rude.
Okay...love that little conversation, that seems like a pretty realistic conversation there and really tells you about the relationship that these two characters may share there...which is certainly nice to see.
Q rushed out of bed to change and brush her teeth. The clothes she had worn the day before were strewn about the floor, almost tripping her as she walked through her room. At the last moment, she decided to put the watch on.
“Good morning, clutz,” Honey said from her spot on the couch. She was scrolling mindlessly through her phone, a can of Red Bull on the coffee table.
Q rolled her eyes, stuffing her phone in her back pocket, “How long have you been up?”
Honey chuckled, “I’ve never been asleep.”
Well, that definitely isn't healthy, just one all nighter is enough to make most humans unable to function, so unless this is not a human, that's just impressive and also seems to indicate someone that's undergoing a pretty significant amount of stress there to end up like that.
“That’s the second night in a row, Honey. It’s not healthy.”
“That doesn’t matter,” she mumbled.
Q knew better than to continue, so she made her way to the kitchen. Mom was sitting there, hunched above her laptop. An apple core sat beside the laptop.
Q walked over to the coffee pot and poured herself a to-go cup.
“Mornin’, mom.”
“Good morning, hun,” mom said, not looking up from her computer.
“Belle’s picking me up.”
That got mom’s attention, “You’re still spending time with that Jones girl?”
Hmm...well looks like besides the mysterious watch, things are going fairly normally in this household. It doesn't look anything that's really out of the ordinary is going on so far here and it looks like after that mysterious piece in the first chapter, now we're seeing this family on a normal morning.
“Of course, mom, she’s my best friend.”
“How is she your best friend?” mom asked, looking up from her computer screen. Her glasses hung low on her nose. Almost like a librarian.
Q sighed, “She’s been my friend since second grade. We took a mother-daughter trip to New York, mom. If that’s not friendship, I don’t know what is.”
“I don’t buy it, Q,” mom shook her head, “This is, what, the second time she’s offered to drive you to school?”
“It’s not her job to drive me to school, mom. It’s nice of her to just offer.”
Well...I am sensing some hostility from the mother to her best friend here...although with the Google thing earlier, I wonder if her mother is somehow right...definitely gives you a few things to think about here, this conversation.
And, with that, there was a knock on the door. Q put her coffee down and opened it, revealing Belle on the other side, looking down at her phone.
“Ready?” Belle asked.
“Yeah, yeah,” Q picked her bag up from the floor, “Totally. Bye mom!”
“Bye, sweetie!” mom shouted from the kitchen.
“Cya, Ms. Polnet,” Belle said as Q shut the door behind them.
Hmm...well that was quick....so Q's not going to have any breakfast I see...and she's taking her coffee with here...I do wonder if she's just in a rush and wants to eat on the way or its just the simple fact that her mother isn't going to be cooking here. Judging by that apple core, it seems like the latter here.
There was almost complete silence as they walked down to Belle’s car. Mom was right: it was a gorgeous car. Its dark blue paint reflected the sky beautifully and it somehow made a black roof look good.
Q buckled herself as Belle set her phone in its holder.
“So, Q-Tip,” Q groaned at the nickname. Belle didn’t care, “I was thinking we head to Starbucks and you can help me with my Latin homework.”
“Uh, yeah,” Q nodded, “Sounds great. I didn’t bring any money, though.”
Hmm....so they might have breakfast after all...although hmm...the way that Belle just kind opened with Latin homework there is a little suspicious there...I definitely think the mom is onto something.
“Oh,” Belle said. Q knew what was coming. Despite her having all the money in the world, Belle had never covered for Q, “You want to go inside and grab some?”
“No, no. I’m fine. I have my coffee-” Q held up her cup “-anyways.”
“Ok. We’ll go to the park, then.”
Okay...yeah that's red flag number too for me, this doesn't seem to be as good of a frienship as Q would like you to believe here.
Aaaaand that's it for this one.
Overall: Overall, I love how the watch is mostly glossed over cause that means I'm definitely checking out chapter three to know more there...and also..well, this Belle character is really interesting. At this point, I'm very suspicious about whether or net she's an actual best friend here.
As always remember to take what you think was helpful and forget the rest.
Stay Safe
Harry
Points: 253913
Reviews: 4100
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