The Other Side: A Coraline Fanfiction

Chapter 2 - Lyric

"This move will be really good for us, honey. You'll see."

That's what my mom told me when she first announced we'd be moving to Ashland, Oregon. Not that I needed much convincing to begin with since, apart from my small group of friends, there isn't much about our soon-to-be-old home that I can honestly say I'll miss. Plus, I've always wanted to move to a small town like Ashland and, come next week, we're finally bringing that dream to life.

"Knock, knock!" I hear from outside my bedroom door. It's roughly 12:30 in the afternoon and, although it's delightfully sunny where I live, I've chosen to stay indoors. Music floods throughout the room from my laptop speakers, carrying the voice of Trevor McNevan along with it in the form of Thousand Foot Krutch's The End Is Where We Begin. The album of the same name is my absolute favourite, as my parents are painfully aware of at this point since I've listened to it on repeat so much.

"It's open," I call above the music, and in walks Chelsea Smithson. "Hey, Mom."

"Hey, there. Oh, wow, that's one cool-looking fairy. Very gothic," Mom comments, her eyes having fallen on the doll I'm in the middle of customizing. I've paused right in the middle of creating her wings, whose pattern resemble that of a monarch butterfly. Their colours, on the other hand, will be a black-to-periwinkle gradient once I've finished painting them. Blue and purple glitter will be the finishing touch, naturally followed up with a coat of matte varnish.

This is one of my absolute favourite hobbies. Usually, I like to customize Barbie dolls, though I'll occasionally do the same with Bratz. Making things like fairy wings, new outfits and little wigs is easily the aspect I like most, as well as the one I have the most proficiency in. Drawing faces, on the other hand, has never been my strong suit, especially ones meant to be realistic, so I have a lot more practice ahead of me there.

I hold the right wing, half-finished and trying to dry, up to the light so she can see the existing detail better. "Thanks, that's what I was going for. And I had a feeling you'd be a fan of the colour scheme since, you know, you like periwinkle so much."

Mom chuckles and gives me a warm smile, full of love and admiration. "You have no idea how proud of you I am, Lyric, you're so incredibly talented." She moves to sit on the edge of my bed. "So have you thought of a name for her yet?"

"Uh...no, to be honest," I say, "I kind of wanted to finish her look first. That way I can come up with a name that fits her."

"I suppose that makes sense. But just to let you know, lunch will be in fifteen minutes, so you should probably clean yourself up soon, especially if it's paint you're messing with."

"Alright then, thanks for letting me know." I set the wing on the desk in front of me next to its sister while Mom exits the room, presumably to finish cooking our meal. I don't bother to put my materials away since I'll likely be returning to this project later on, though I do close the paint bottles and rinse the brushes before going to wash my hands of the paint that stains them.

"Hey, kiddo," Dad greets me when I enter the kitchen a few minutes later, "Excited for the move?"

"You know she is. She can't stop talking about it," Mom responds for me. "Although she won't be as excited when I remind her it's her day to do the dishes."

"Aw, come on! I just did them yesterday," I protest.

"Yeah, that's because you put off your dishes from the night before. I still did my dinner ones, remember?" Dad reminds me as he begins to set the table.

"How come Mom's not in the rotation?"

"Number one, because of her work hours. Number two, because she's the one that does most of the cooking in this house. It's only fair you and I tackle the dishes, am I wrong?"