Since I'm swamped with reading and writing, not to mention I've been sick all week, I'm going to take this week to post some chapters from my last year's NaNo novel. I got some good responses from friends at the time, but I'm curious to know what my new friends and followers think :-)
I'm not sure if I'd classify it as Sci-fi or paranormal, but it's somewhere in there. It definitely needs some tweaking, but... here it is in it's basic first-draft-form. Let me know what you think!
BACK TO NETAE
Chapter One
My
alarm went off again.
I
hit the snooze button.
Again.
The first day of school always seemed to sneak
up on me, and I was totally not ready for it today. Then the inevitable
happened…
“Maelie! Are you almost ready? Breakfast’s
cold, and we need to leave in ten minutes.”
Ugh. Mom.
She’s not even my real mom. She’s my adopted
mom, but I’ve never had anyone else to call ‘mom.’ Don’t get me wrong, I
appreciate that she and ‘Dad’ took me in, they obviously wanted kids, but recently
they hadn’t really treated me that way – like they wanted me.
“Yeah, I’m coming, Mom.” I shouted, and
covered my face with the blanket again.
Why did I even have to go to school? I’d been
taking college courses since I was fourteen, and yet they still insisted that I
go to the public high school ‘for the experience.’
Right.
What experience would I get in high school
that I couldn’t easily get somewhere else? They could never come up with an
answer for that. I drew the conclusion that it was because that’s what they
did. And they always want me to ‘do what they do’ no matter how much I detest
it.
For example: last May, we lived in Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania. We’d lived there for eight years, and I finally had some close
friends. It was great: the history, the city, with some rural areas to boot; I
loved it there. Then this summer my parents – avid campers and hikers – decided
to fly us all out to Colorado to see The
Rockies; Pike’s Peak, specifically. And they loved it so much that the
moment we got home they packed everything up and drove us and all our stuff out
to Colorado Springs.
They never asked me how I felt about it.
Would you like to know?
I was angry.
I don’t think they noticed.
They took me away from the only friends I had,
and all of the things I loved, plopping me here in the middle of a mountain
range. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that it’s a beautiful place; but I’m
about to start my junior year of High School, and my parents obviously didn’t
understand how traumatizing it is to start over in a new place at age sixteen.
So here I was, hiding under the covers,
waiting for it all to just go away.
“Maelie? I need to get going. Dad’s going to
take me to work, so you can have the car. The keys are on the counter and
school starts in an hour. Make a good impression honey! Love you!”
Wow. That’s nice.
“Thanks Mom. See ya’ later.”
The front door shut.
Sigh.
Now what? Should I pull a Ferris Bueler? No
way. That takes planning and guts; both of which I have none. Ok, better get
ready. I stumbled out of bed and made my way to the closet.
I pulled out some dark jeans and a black
t-shirt; best to blend in on my first day, right? Then I went to my dresser to
turn on my hair straightener before heading to the bathroom. After the
essentials in there, I brushed my teeth and went back to straighten my hair. I
don’t know why I bother with it since my hair is naturally pretty straight
anyway; I guess it’s just habit.
I watched myself in the mirror and remembered
that I needed to put contacts in. Here’s an interesting tidbit about me: my
eyes are purple. You think I’m kidding, but I’m not. They’re bright violet –
like highlighter purple. It’s really weird. My parents thought it was cool when
I was little, and so did everyone else. Now, it freaks people out. And when I
say it freaks people out, I mean I’ve been reported to authorities multiple
times for it. For some reason people get scared and refuse to listen to me tell
them I’m fine. After the fourth or fifth time, my parents invested in colored
contacts.
Brown, colored contacts.
I know, seriously.
If I’d had a choice in the matter, I probably
would’ve picked blue, but they never asked me.
So I put in my ugly contacts, and got my old
backpack out. Searched and found a binder and some pencils from last year out
of a box I still hadn’t unpacked, and left my room.
I went down the stairs to the kitchen and
grabbed a piece of toast and the car keys, feeling grateful for the first time
that morning – at least I’d arrive at school in style.
My mom’s car is a BMW. Yeah, my parents aren’t
hurting for cash. That means I get everything I want. Always. It just sucks
that they never realize what I really want.
So, yeah; you guessed it. I’m one of those
kids: the ones who are totally spoiled, whose parents ignore them while trying
to buy their love, when the kid really just wants attention. Quality time
people! That’s what it’s about! I think my parents kind of get it, because they’ve insisted on bringing me on all of their camping trips lately. I’m
not into it. I’d rather go bowling, or to a theme park, or even a skate rink;
somewhere cleaner than ‘nature.’
I turned the radio up, looking for a country
music station. Yep – I’m one of those too. Now you know why it took me so long
to make close friends back in PA. I’m just weird on the surface; but I don’t
want to change who I am just for the benefit of having stupid people like me. I
was okay when I didn’t have friends. Being an odd ball is nice sometimes. But having
people know you for who you are, and
still like you, that’s the best.
I drove the three miles to school and parked
in the student parking lot. Luckily my mom had gotten me a parking permit for
occasions like this. I pulled it out and hung it on the rearview mirror. Then I
checked my hair – black and straight – and contacts – brown as ever – and got
out of the car.
I locked the door and looked up: Coronado High
School; my new adversary. Well, I wouldn’t be beaten on my first day; this
battle has to last all year. I pulled my schedule out of my backpack and saw
that my first class was English… ugh…
with a Mister Banks. That made me think of Mary Poppins, and I wondered if the
teacher would look like David Tomlinson…
Yep; I’m one of those kids too.
I wandered for ten minutes until I found my
classroom. Walking in, I found a seat in the back row and set my bag under my
feet while other students milled around me, talking about summer and trying to
get a spot by their friends. I leaned on my desk and let my hair fall forward,
blocking my face from view. A few minutes later the bell rang, and in walked
Mr. Banks.
For those who are wondering, he looked nothing
like David Tomlinson.
He was short, stout, and his hair was a yellowy
blonde that looked like he’d dyed it with a cheap box of color from the grocery
store. It had so much gel in it, it looked like a helmet. I wondered fleetingly
if it was a toupee. His cheeks and nose were red with rosacea, and I could see
that he carried an inhaler in his shirt pocket. Poor guy…
“Good morning class. We’re going to start by
having everyone stand, take your things and move to the outer walls. I will be
assigning your seats.
I pulled my bag out and waited for him to call
my name, ready to correct him when he said it wrong.
“Weston, Maelie?” Wow, he got it right… I
suppose he might be a decent English teacher.
“Here,” I said, taking the same seat I was in
before.
“Nice to meet you, Maelie. Did I get your name
right?”
“Yes; good job,” I said, giving him a thumbs
up.
He moved on, and immediately I noticed people
giving me weird looks. Oh, here it comes.
I thought, giving everyone raised eyebrows and a toothless smile that said it’s not polite to stare you silly kids…
honestly, why was I even here?
I made it through the first four classes of
the day (advanced English, history, P.E., and advanced math), only receiving
looks – no mean comments, thank goodness. Lunchtime finally came and I slipped
out of my math class quickly so that no one would ask me where I was from. I
made it to the lunchroom early and found round tables set up all around the
room, with windows for purchasing food running along one wall. I went to the
first one I saw that was open.
“Hey! What can I get for ya’?” said a skinny
boy with blonde hair and a big smile.
“Um, got any pizza?” I asked.
“Sure do, pepperoni ok?”
“Yeah; and fries and a bottle of water
please.”
“You got it.”
I waited only a couple of seconds for him to
grab my food. I paid for it and found a table in the far corner where I hoped
cliques and teams would be less likely to have their territory. While I ate I
pulled out a book to read, Planets and
Stars: A Guide to Our Galaxy.
I love science. Everything about the way
things work is fascinating to me. Last year, I read my biology textbook for
fun. I know, I know… but we’ve already established that I’m a nerd in many
ways, right? So, moving on…
This summer for my birthday my parents got me
this book on Astronomy and I’ve been hooked – can’t put it down, it’s like how
old women get with their romance novels.
Sick, yes, but a good example.
Okay, maybe not…
I picked up my pizza and took a bite while
turning a page, and noticed someone sit two seats down from me. I looked up and
saw the skinny blond kid who had served me lunch.
“Hi,” he said when I looked up.
I waved, as I’d just taken a bite of pizza.
“Oh sorry, I just wanted to introduce myself.
I’m Danny.”
I swallowed a little too soon, nearly choking
myself in my haste. After taking a quick drink from my water bottle I said,
“Hi, I’m Maelie.”
We shook hands and he said, “Maelie, huh? Cool
name.”
“Thanks,” I said. Back to the book.
“What are you reading?”
“Uh, a book about the galaxy.” I went back to
reading.
“Oh, cool.”
I nodded, not looking up.
There’s the awkward silence I’d been waiting
for.
“So uh, are you new here?” he asked. “I mean,
I’ve never seen you around.”
“Yeah, I just moved here this summer.” I said,
nodding. I guess this guy wasn’t giving up.
“What grade are you?” he asked.
“Junior. You?”
“Uh, junior. I’m a junior too.”
I closed my book at this and raised an
eyebrow. This kid wasn’t fooling anybody.
“Freshman,” he said guiltily.
I laughed, shaking my head. It was time to get
real. “Why in the world are you trying so hard to impress me? You don’t even
know me!”
He smiled sheepishly, “I dunno… you’re cute,”
he said with a shrug.
“Well thank you,” I said, “but you don’t have
to pretend to be someone you’re not just to make me like you.”
He stared down at the floor. He looked so
pathetic then, like a puppy that’d been passed over at the pound.
“Danny,”
“Yeah?” he said, looking up.
“My favorite subject is science. What’s
yours?”
We talked and ate for the rest of the lunch
period. Danny turned out to be a nice kid. He was almost as much of a nerd as I
was – he was in band, played the trumpet, and his favorite subject was math. We
parted (only after he’d casually mentioned the school’s ‘welcome back’ informal
dance that Saturday), promising that we’d hang out again during lunch the next
day. I didn’t think I’d make any friends on my first day, but it was nice to
know I had one – even if he was a scrawny freshman.
I left the lunchroom to a few stares from
random ‘cliquish’ girls, and made my way to the arts building. I was in choir;
probably my second favorite subject. I hadn’t been here in time for auditions,
so I was automatically placed in the lowest level group. When I saw that we
were singing songs from “Phantom of the Opera” and “Carousel,” I made a note to
ask the director if I could audition and possibly be placed in a more advanced
group.
Luckily she said yes.
My last class was Earth Science. I’d already
taken chemistry and biology, and I wasn’t quite ready to move on to physics
yet, so I’d chosen the science often labeled as ‘easy.’ I learned during that
first class that we’d be covering astronomy – it made me happy.
After science I made my way to my locker. I
started off the day with my binder and galaxy book, and now I had a hulking
pack filled with a book for every class except choir. I loaded them in and took
a deep breath, readying myself for my audition in fifteen minutes.
I closed the locker door and turned a little
too quickly, running into someone and getting knocked back into the lockers.
“I am so sorry!” I said, the same time as
another voice.
I looked up to see a very handsome specimen,
speaking to me. He looked like Clark Kent. In an instant I took in his
appearance: shining blue eyes, hair as black as my own that was cut short and
neat, parted on one side, broad shoulders, just slightly taller than me, and a
crooked smile to die for.
In the midst of all this I realized he was
still talking to me.
“…totally didn’t see you there.”
“Oh, it’s alright, I wasn’t really paying
attention either.” I was yammering… stop, Maelie.
He laughed, and what a magical sound it was,
“I don’t think we’ve met before; I’m Ryan; Ryan Houston. What’s your name?”
Ryan ‘Hottie’ Houston…
“Maelie. Uh, Maelie Weston” I said.
“Maelie? Wow, that’s pretty.” Oh my name on
his lips was like heaven.
Then hell came along.
“Ryan!” A tinkling voice approached. “Didn’t
you say you’d take me for a ride in your jeep today?” A bouncing blonde –
probably the cheer captain by the look of her – skipped up and threw her arms
around Ryan, who smiled patiently while her golden locks flowed around her.
Wow. This guy was nice to everyone.
I had a sudden image of all that blond hair
gone from her head.
“Yeah, totally,” Ryan said. “Uh, Maelie, this
is my girlfriend, Stephanie. Steph, this is Maelie; we just ran into each other...
literally.” He laughed.
I was coming to really love hearing him say my
name.
“Maelie, huh?” Stephanie said. That, I did not
like; here comes the first rude comment of my new life. “What, were you born in
May?” She laughed at her joke, and Ryan chuckled, giving me an apologetic look.
Wow, was that really the best she could do?
“No,
actually I was born in July. You may not know this, but people’s names don’t
have to match the month in which they were born. If that assumption were true,
you wouldn’t be here, seeing as there is no month called ‘Steph.’” I smiled
coyly at her as she stared bewildered. Then I looked to Ryan, whose eyebrows
were raised, and his crooked smile was back. Yes, this guy was smart, and I’d
impressed him. “It was nice meeting you, Ryan.” I said, turning to make my
audition in time.
