Normal Girl

Chapter One:

Chapter One: 

I stood up on my balcony, looking over the small pond behind our apartment complex and smiled as I watched someone sitting on the side of it, feeding the ducks.  Unlike most ducks around other lakes or ponds, these were people friendly.  They didn't mind you petting them, loving on them and feeding them.  They'd been raised around humans and their wings clipped so they couldn't fly away.  In the winter, dog houses were put up and filled with hay so they could stay warm.

It was nice being able to watch the ducks all year round and apparently the person who owned the property that the pond sat on, and the person who had bought the ducks from a farm thought so too.  

As I heard the front door of our apartment open, I dashed out of my room and grabbed some groceries out of my mom's hand, lightening her load.  She smiled, sighing as she sat her bags on the counter and together we put everything up.

"How was work?"

"It was.. work.  Deborah decided she didn't want to make the donuts today, complaining about cramps.  You'd think a grown woman would learn to work through those, but no, so I had to fire her.  You should put in an application, Elloise.  You'd do well there, and you could-"

I interupted her before she got on a roll.  "Mom, I told you, I dont want to work at the bakery.  I know you're completely ready for me to have my own job and move out of the house, but I dont want to bake cakes and cookies."

She sighed again, smiling towards me softly before kissing my forehead and pulling me in for a hug.  "I dont want you to move out, I just want you to have a job and a way to buy things that you want or need.  I can't afford much for your and your sister, so you two having jobs would make sure that you had everything you need."

I grimaced at the mention of my sister before I moved to sit down in the living room.  The hard wood floors creaked slightly as I walked along them and the fluffy blue couch nearly swallowed me whole as I plopped myself down into it.

"Mandy is too young to have a job, ma.  The only thing she's good at is being a hateful brat." 

Mom pulled on a lock of my hair slightly, making me turn to her as she looked at me with sad, depressed eyes.  "Dont say those things about your sister.  She's still a child, I know she's not the most loving but she's your sister.  When she gets older, it'll be better.  She's acting out, rebelling so to say.  It'll blow over, it's just a phase."

"Just because she's angry that dad didn't want her isn't reason for her to say the things she does," I pulled my knees to my chest and set my chin atop them, staring at the black TV screen. "He didn't want me either, you dont see me acting like her." 

"You're older, Elle.  Amanda is only fourteen, this is normal.  Why dont you go into your room and talk to your boyfriend or something, maybe it'll help you feel a bit better."  

I smiled and blushed as she mentioned my 'boyfriend'.  It wasn't as if we were dating, we'd never gone on a date.  We'd never even met each other or seen each other.  But everyday we talked online, instant messaging each other and we texted each other almost constantly.  We talked about meeting, of course, all the time.  He'd wish he was here with me, or I'd say that I wished I was there with him.

I loved him.  

Not that I had ever told him that.

I'd never seen his face or heard his voice, but he told me stories about his childhood and his friends, he told me about his day, funny things he'd said or done, and I knew enough about him to know that I loved him.  I often wondered if I was stupid for falling in love with some guy I met over the internet. He could be eighty or fifteen, but I trusted him.  I believed it when he told me he was only twenty, though he was nineteen when we met, and I was only eighteen then.  We didn't even know each others real, full names.  

Of course, that was all at my request.  When we met, I refused to give out any important, identifying information, scared that I'd be stalked or he was a pedophile rapist.  After a while, we decided we just wouldn't ever give out that information to each other until we met.  We could give out our phone numbers to each other, and I told him the city in which I lived, what I looked like without giving him pictures.. but that was as far as it went.

I stood up and ran to my room, booting up my laptop quickly as I grinned at the thought of talking to him.  I knew he worked a lot, so most of the time he couldn't get online and we settled for texting, but tonight he had promised me he would be online.  

[EllAManiac]: Good evening, Louis

[HarryIsInMyPants]: Good evening Ella!  How are you doing this fine beautiful amazing loud rainy day?  

I blinked, staring out my window as the sun shone brightly and giggled lightly at his name.  It always got to me, his screenname.  I always wanted to ask him about it, but I never had the guts to do it, figuring it was an inside joke, in the beginning when I met him, I actually thought he was gay and Harry was his boyfriend.  It was made all the more hilarious (to me anyway) by the fact that one of my good friend's was also named Harry.

He made it clear that that was not the case, though, when we became a 'thing'.  It wasn't really official or anything, but we called each other babe and baby and love and we knew we were a 'thing' even if he had never asked me to be his girlfriend.

[EllAManiac]: It's sunny here, lol.  I'm doing pretty good though, mostly really tired. Hows about you?

[harryIsInMyPants]: I am cold, and wet.  I went out and played in the rain like the cool kid I am.

We kept up our steady stream of talking for a long while before I finally decided I needed to get some sleep, my eyes were drooping and stinging just a bit from staring at the screen for such long moments without blinking.  

[HarryIsInMyPants]:  Good night, Ella.  Talk to you tomorrow or something.  Sweet dreams!

I smiled, replying the same good night, sweet dreams before closing up my laptop and lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling in thought.  What would happen if I told him that I loved him? That was a question for another day, I supposed.

I heard my sister in the room next to mine, blaring her Justin Beiber music and grimaced as I placed my pillow around my head so as to cover up my ears.  

How she could fall asleep to music that loud was beyond me.  

[[A/N: Hola guys, I hope you liked the first chapter of my brand new story <3 Remember to vote if you did and tell me what you think :)  VOTE.  This is for the Watty Awards guys!  I've been entering 3 years in a row now and I would really love to win this time around..]]