Fauna

New Beginnings

Ah, Paris. The city of love, romance, relationships, and other gushy shit that I don't have time for.

My life was perfect before Paris, but now I'm here, and I can't go back.
I had it all. Friends, a job at the humane society, a questionable sense of style, and a promising scholarship to a private school across town. But now all of the things I valued are gone. Well, except the fashion part. I can flaunt knee high socks with converse anywhere.

My family, consisting solely of me and my parents, just moved to Paris because my dad got a new assignment for his job. He's an architect for a pretty famous company that you may have heard of. It starts with the galaxy and ends with a male deer. That's right, Starbucks. They're looking to expand in France, which is why I had to leave behind my life in Minnesota.

Of course, this isn't the first time my family has moved. When I was younger, we moved two to three times a year to keep up with my dad's job. But it was all in the United States, and when I reached high school, my parents decided that it would be best for me to stay at the same school until I graduated. So we set up base in Minnesota for two years, my dad travelling all the time while my mom continued her practice from our home office and I attended high school.

But everything changed with the Paris assignment. We couldn't just split up our family for such a long period of time, so my parents made the decision to move our family out here, away from the new life I has just created for myself.

I suppose I shouldn't be as sinnical about this situation as I am right now. After all, it is Paris. I'll be able to experience a whole new life here. I just wish it wasn't so permanent.

"How ya doing Phoebe?" My mom asks, shaking me from my daydreams. We are currently in a taxi, driving through the Parisian streets around midnight. The city, although normally busy, seems almost dead, despite a few passing cars.

"I'm alright. A bit tired, but alright," I mumble through a yawn, getting an eye role in return. Of course, that's not what she meant.
While my dad works for Starbucks, my mom is a successful therapist, and almost always attempts to psychoanalyze those around her. Due to her constant proding for us to show our "true emotions, I've learned to completely hide them. Don't get me wrong, I love her, but I don't like talking about my feelings and mental state every day. I like a few things private.

"Look, there's our new home!" My dad says, pointing out the window to a Starbucks on the corner of a street. The taxi pulls up in front of the barren store, and I give him a confused look.

"Dad, I know that Starbucks is your way of life, but this is a bit excessive," I chuckle. Another eye role is thrown in my direction as both of my parents climb out of the cab. I follow in suit, slamming the door behind me. After grabbing our suitcases out of the trunk, the taxi drives out of sight.

"Okay seriously though, where's our house?" I ask, genuine confusion taking over.

"Don't worry about it sweetie. Follow me," my dad says cheerfully. He walks up to the abandoned coffee shop, pulls out a key, and opens the gates of heaven. I'm just kidding, but they're pretty close, right?

We step foot into the Starbucks and I immediately notice a small door at the back of the store, leading to who knows where. My parents walk over to it, my dad opening it with a new key, and begin climbing a spiral staircase.

No way, I think to myself as I ascend the stairs behind them. Soon, the tiny staircase opens to a large living room full of boxes and mas. A large window looks out onto the Parisian streets, while another leads to a small balcony.

"Wait, this is our new house?" I ask, looking at my parents. They nod in excitement as a smile breaks on my face. This is so cool!

"Here, let me show you around," my mom says while grabbing my hand. She leads me around the main floor, showing me a small office, a bathroom, the master bedroom with its own bathroom, another bedroom, and the kitchen. We go up another spiral staircase to a big, open room with a small bathroom attatched and a balcony, looking out on the Eiffel tower in the distance.

"Since your father and I made you move halfway across the world for us, we decided that we'd give you a room with a view," my mom says, giving me a little grin. My mouth practically falls to the ground in shock and excitement. I immediately tackle her in a hug, taking her by surprise.

"Thank you, thank you thank you!" I practically yell, running down the stairs to tackle my dad. I take him by surprise, and we end up on the ground, both of us laughing.

"I'm assuming you saw your room?" He asks, slowly getting up from the floor. I nod in excitement. "Well, it just seemed right. Plus, this way your mom and I don't have to walk up two flights of stairs every time we go to bed," he chuckles. I roll my eyes, but the smile remains on my face.

Changing mindsets, I look around at the massive piles of boxes around us, and let out a small groan. I can't exactly go to sleep until a few necessities are unpacked.

"So, where are my boxes?" I ask. I noticed while we were in my room, there were no boxes cluttered from the movers. Most of our things, spare a few essentials, were sent ahead of time to our new place, but not unpacked, and clearly not put in the right places.

"I'm not sure to be completely honest," my mom says, looking at the menagerie of cardboard. "I guess the best way to find out is by digging in."
So that's what we do. For the next hour or so, we open up boxes and bring them to their respective rooms. Of course, by "we" I mean that my parents opened the boxes and forced me to bring them to the correct places, because they're "old" and "frail." More like lazy and mean, if you ask me. Although I did convince them to help with moving my furniture up the spiral staircase. If you're wondering, it's a bitch. 10/10 do not recommend.

As the clock strikes 2 a.m., my parents head off to their air mattress on the floor of the living room. But frankly, I'm on my second wind, and there's no way I'm gonna stop unpacking until I fall asleep in one of the boxes on accident. Besides, everything I own is already in my room, so why not keep going?

As another two hours pass by full of unpacking clothes, knick knacks, and books, I find a box full of my blankets.

Okay, I think to myself, I should stop after this box. My air mattress is already set up, I can just lay a bunch of blankets around and fall asleep. After all, it is 4 a.m. here.

I grab an arm full of blankets and throw them across the room towards my air mattress, hearing a surprising *thunk* on the hardwood.

What the hell was that?

I walk over to my heap of blankets and lift up the blankets to see a small black jewelry box with red detailing. Confused, I pick it up, examine it a bit, then open the box, only to be COMPLETELY BLINDED.

"AHHH WHAT THE FUCK?" I yell, throwing the box on the ground. I rub my eyes to try and get rid of the dots no encircling my vision. Once they clear up, I look around my room to see the box had landed upright and was holding a small, intricately designed nose ring.

Did I just imagine the light, or...?

I grab the box off of the floor and walk over to my mirror to put in.

Cute! Man I could get all the bitches with this, I joke to myself. Hopefully the guys here like piercing- "AHHHH!" I screech, now noticing a small floating thing right behind my reflection. On instinct, I chuck the box at it, which is easily dodges.

"What the hell! You could've hit me, and frankly that's rude behavior for what I'm about to give you," the creature says, making my eyes go wide. It can talk? Without being able to respond, my mind starts to draw a blank, my vision goes black, and I feel my body fall to the floor, unconscious.

~~~~~~~

AN: Hey everyone, I hope you like this first chapter! I know it's a bit slow at the moment, it'll pick up next chapter I promise! If you like it, please share and vote!