Wednesday, November 7, 2012

A story by me, Addie


So I'm writing a story on here. Please enjoy, I'll post chapters 4-6 later!

PART ONE

THE BEGINNING

The day we moved to New York, it was raining. As we parked the car in the driveway of our new apartment- Mom's so obsessed with “cheap living” that she didn't buy plane tickets- I stared out of the window and gawked. I had seen pictures of the inside before, when we decided to move from our miniscule apartment to something a bit more “spacious” (Mom's words, not mine- I never would have referred to an apartment with only one bedroom and a pull-out coach spacious!) But the big thing with the house was that it was painted all over, even the roof, all the same color. Bright. Hot. Pink. Mom must have seen my expression as we walked out of the car, because she turned to me and said, “You may not love it now, but I sure do! Isn't it just spectacular, darling?” I groaned inside. Mom was never going to get it repainted. And I, Gabby Sariha, was going to have to deal with it. This ruled out the chance of me ever making friends here. Thanks a lot, Mom.

Two hours later, with the help of all the movers, we had finally transferred all of our furniture into the apartment. It really wasn't that hard, considering that seven years ago, when I was still pretty little, Mom had decided to “downsize” and had thrown away almost everything that we owned. If this happened now, I could stop it. Maybe. She had been on a Feng Shui kick last year, and I had to stop her from wrecking the house. (“Mom, we can't put the bed on the balcony, no matter what your magazine says!”) But the downsizing urge seemed even more powerful then that.

I was sitting cross-legged on my bed, looking at notes that my former classmates had given me at my Goodbye party. I was tossing most of them in the garbage. About to toss another pile, a shiny note caught my eye. I grabbed it and pulled it closer to me. This card was special. I read the words that Charlotte had written, about us always being best friends and about how I could email her anytime. I felt my eyes getting wet. Shaking my head furiously, I told myself not to cry. It only made things worse. I would miss Charlotte, but I could make new friends. At that minute, the doorbell rang.

“Who could it be? We've only just moved in.” Mom said curiously. I called out to her as she ran to get the door, “It's probably just someone who wants to see Mrs. Badger or whoever you said lived here.” Mom ignored me and threw open the door. 'Welcome!” I heard a voice shout. Mom, confused at first but then warming up to this neighbor, started chatting with her. “Gabby!” I heard Mom sing. “Will you please come be social?” I hated it when Mom said that. It sounded like I didn't have any friends at all.

Grudgingly, I swung my feet over the side of the bed and walked to the doorway. A tall women with very blond hair pulled up into a beehive hairdo silhouetted the door. Behind her, almost hiding behind a potted plant, stood a boy who looked like he was about my age. “So this is Gabby!” The women said. “Welcome to the neighborhood. I'm Megan McDonald. This is my son, Ethan.” She looked next to her, didn't find him, and then spotted Ethan playing a video game behind the potted plant. “ETHAN!” He looked up, startled. 'What, Mom?” “Put away that video game and say hello to Gabby!” Ethan stood up, and saw us standing in the doorway. “Hi, Ethan.” I said, smiling. I might as well try to make some friends in New York. Ethan stared at me, and I tried to resist the urge to laugh. Who's unsocial now?

That evening, when I was walking down the hall to take our clothes to the laundromat, I saw Ethan staring at me. Trying to be friendly, I waved, expecting him to ignore me again. But he didn't. Ethan walked over to me and started talking. “Gabby, you can stop pretending now. I know why you're here. I'm here to help you. There's a Council Meeting tomorrow. Your attendance is mandatory. But you knew all this before, right? That I'm your Protector? Please tell me he told you?” He actually said all of this in one breath. 'I...You're...What is going on? What is a protector? What is the Council? And who are you, really?” I practically screamed. Either this guy was crazy, or I was crazy. What was going on? Ethan smacked his head into his hands. “So you don't know. Why did they give me this queen?” “Wait, what? I'm a... a queen? Of what?” A few minutes ago, my life had been normal. Now this guy was telling me that I was a queen! “Listen.” Ethan said, “I know it seems crazy, but you are... a queen. You're one of us. Your father was the king until... you know.” I nodded as Ethan continued, even though I had no idea what he was talking about. My dad was a real estate agent. “We come from a land called Elcaine. But, we're... different. I'm a protector, and you're a... never mind. The Council is a group of people who have all the power in our land. Even over the queen. And that's you.” I just stood there, mystified. It was a lot to take in, but if this guy was telling the truth... then I was a queen. A real queen. I guess then, I didn't know just how hard it was going to be.

MY LIFE TURNS UPSIDE DOWN


When I went to sleep that night, I wasn't as convinced. Me, a queen? I'm not queenly or anything. I'm just Gabby. And, you know, there was that whole made-up-country-thing. This was probably just some prank that kids around here played on unsuspecting new girls. But still, there was something inside me that wanted it to be true, for it all to be true. I guess I just wanted to be special in some way. I had a hard time going to sleep that night.

The next morning was a blur. I was whizzing around, brushing my hair and trying to eat some yogurt, while my mom was filling out some forms and having a frantic phone conversation. Finally, Mom shoved me out the door. I walked out of the apartment, shuddering at that pink (Love it or List it would have had a field day, that's for sure.) “Gabby!” I turned around, and there was Ethan. Oh, great. “Hi.” I said as he walked next to me. “H...Hello. Listen, did I tell you that the meetings at nine? I'll take you there.” I sighed. I guessed that I should just play along until he confesses. “Can I just find my own way-” “No. That'll never work. Gabby, I'm your protector.” Oh, great. This guy had to be a good actor, too? “Gabby, we gotta go now! It's nine already!”

We got to school, and Ethan was whisked away by a couple of guys in chess shirts that were staring at me. He glared and tried to talk to me, but the other guys pulled him away. I got the feeling that Ethan didn't hang out with a lot of girls. I headed to the office, to get some kind of orientation. The principal was a confused girl who looked like it was her first day, too. “Oh, are you Gabby? Welcome to Oakridge! I'm Ms. Meyer. What grade are you in, Gabby?” “Seventh.” “Oh, now isn't that just-” Suddenley, a giant teacher wearing a pink poncho and heels burst into the room.
Hurricane.”
She breathed, panting. Ms. Meyer and I looked at each other, surprised. I hadn't heard anything about a hurricane. “Isn't it a bit... uh, sudden?” Ms. Meyer said. The teacher nodded. “Oh, but its coming. Level Five. It's a freak of nature. It was only discovered two hours ago, and it headed right for us. We gotta get the kids out. Now.” Ms. Meyer was nodding when something small and hard hit the window.
Ping.
Two more followed it.
Ping.
Ping ping.
What is that?” yelled the big teacher. “A student throwing rocks at the window? How disrespectful!” “Who cares about that? A student is outside during a hurricane! Go get them, Mrs. Blasber!” A few minutes later, she came back. With Ethan. He glanced around the room, and then spotted me. I spent the next two minutes hearing Mrs. Blasber chew Ethan out, while he sent me the sharpest eye-daggers I had ever encountered. What on Earth did I do wrong?
And then I remembered.
The meeting.
Was it real, or was I just jumping to conclusions. All I knew was that a very dangerous storm was headed our way, and there was nothing we could do to stop it. “They say that their calling it “Iris.” I felt a shiver go down my back, even though I didn't know why. Ethan caught my eye, and mouthed The council. And I guess that's when I knew he was telling the truth.

Chapter 3

“We've got to get the kids out. The hurricane won't hit for maybe ten hours, but we need to be prepared in case the power goes out.” said Ms. Meyer. She ran out of the room, probably to talk over the loudspeaker. Mrs. Blasber ran after her. Ethan amd I sat in nervous silence; he was spitting angry, and I was hating myself. Why hadn't I listened to him? Too many years of being pranked, and tricked by other kids, I guess. The new girl was always the target, and I was always the new girl. “Ethan... you're right. I didn't believe you.” “You should have. Look where we are now. A hurricane. Way to go, Gabby.” I felt tears spring up in my eyes. Now we were possibly going to die, and it was all my fault. Ethan saw me crying, and he sighed. I could just see him thinking: Oh, great. The Subject's crying. What do I do so I don't lose my job? “Listen, Gabby, I'm sorry. It does sound crazy. I'm not mad... its okay, Gabby.”

But it wasn't okay.

Hope you guys like it!

Sincerely,
Awesome Addie

7 comments:

  1. It is REALLY good so far. By the way, Ms. Mayer is spelled like that.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Replies
    1. Thanks Molly! Just got back, but I guess you already knew that.

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  3. WOW!!! I LOVE IT!!!! Please make more soon!

    ReplyDelete