Andilynn

Chapter One: Change?

*Leave comments if you'd like to tell me what you think about Part One!

Change? What's change? I guess this is where a dictionary comes in handy for once. The act or instance of making or becoming different. Different? Another word I don't know. A way in which people or things are not the same... I'm kidding. I know what change means, and I know what different means. I just never experience it.
"Andie!" It was hot, as usual. Eggs over easy on toast, orange juice, and a bowl of blueberries to the right. Andie could predict her breakfast every time because it was always the same. "Andie, get up! Let's go!"
She dragged herself out of bed, and went downstairs. A town like Cricket would be a child's last choice for a summer vacation. It had a population of fifty-three people, and it had been like that since ever.
Andie met her father and grandmother in the kitchen. "Happy Monday. You okay? Usually you are the first person to spring up out of bed in the morning," Mitchell greeted.
"I'm fine, Dad. I just have a headache."
Mitchell looked up from the daily paper to judge his daughter, her wild, curly red hair like a birds nest. Her green eyes seemed faded and grey, the usual symptoms to her sickness.
"Come here sweetheart," Belle said from behind the counter. "Let me feel your forhead."
"It's okay, Gram. It's normal. This always happens. I've been-" she used air quotations, "blessed with Schizophrenia." She sat.
Belle stirred a pot of oatmeal on the stove. "Your mother did too." Andie winced at the thought of her mother. "I remember when she used to have it." She smiled sadly, "Oh, the hallucinations she had to deal with."
It was silent for a while as they ate. Finally, Mitchell cleared his throat. "So, are you ready for work?"
Andie stuffed her mouth with berries. "Ash ushual." It was Mitchell's idea to get Andie a job at the gas station.
"Well, don't be like a tortoise. Hurry it up or you'll be late," Belle said.
Everyday at eleven Andie went to work. Even though she was sixteen, she still felt too irresponsible for a job. She dressed, skinny jeans, grey wool sweater, beanie, converse.
Every time was the same. Andie would stay behind her register, staring googly eyed at Will Church. She never would actually talk to him. She was so captivated by his curly brown hair, his deep brown eyes, she'd always ignore that fact that he was twenty-two. Andie leaned against the counter, resting her chin on her hand, staring.
"Miss?" a customer asked. "Miss?"
"Oh!" Andie snapped back into reality. "Oh, gosh! I'm sorry. Sorry!" She began scanning groceries. After a few short seconds, she could feel his eyes on her.
"How do you like town?" the old man asked, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"It's alright."
"How long have you lived here?"
"About two years. Moved here after my mom died."
"Sorry. I've lived here all my life. Cricket's a small town, but there are a lot of secrets that lay underneath it's ground."
Andie scoffed. "To me Cricket's pretty blunt." She stuffed a box of chia seeds into a grocery bag. "I'm a boring town with boring people in a boring desert," she said mockingly.
The old man laughed, "Seems to me you don't fancy Cricket too much."
She stuffed two more boxes of chia seeds into bags. "No, not really. The only thing here for me is my dad and Gram. And my best friend, Tazanna. But I still want to leave."
"Then leave. As a matter of fact, trying to leave could reveal Cricket's darkest secrets."
The word, trying, lingered in the air as Andie packed more boxes of seeds. "How hard could it be?"
"I like to label myself as apart of Cricket's history."
"How come I've never seen you before?"
"Some... things are better left unsaid, Andilynn."
She shuddered. "My...name. How-"
"Your nametag, dear."
She laughed. "Of course," she said, packing the last five boxes of seeds. "Are you planning on gardening?"
The old man took a glance at his purchases. "No. Just a fan."
"Of chia sage seeds?"
"Yes ma'am. Lovely the pumpkin soup."
Andie finished up, tapping away on a screen. Your total is $74.25, sir."
"For seeds!"
"You bought fifteen boxes!"
"This is the truth, Andilynn." He laughed, taking out a one hundred dollar bill.
"Your change, twenty-five dollars and sev-"
"Keep it. My gift to you."
"Oh. How sweet." She placed the money in her back pocket, hesitantly.
"Good day." He grabbed his grocery bags, heading for the exit. "Atticus Sanford."
"Good day, Sanford."
Four hours passed of close observation. It consisted of four adorible smirks, twelve cute "Good morning" welcomes, once he ran his fingers through his hair, three awkward eye contacts with the weird redheaded girl at register two, and one conversation Will and Andie never had face to face.

"So then we went to the diner to talk. I guess it was one of our chill dates. He was cute though...tryna get him to eat fries dipped in a shake was difficult. After, we ate-"
"Chicken and waffles?"
"Good guess, Andie! How'd ya know?"
"You eat it all the time."
Andie and Taz everyday after their work went to the library. It wasn't to read because Taz hated books, but to talk. Tazanna was the conplete opposite of Andie, outgoing, fearless, fashionable. Taz was seventeen working at the multi-purpose salon. She loved Cricket.
"Okay then. How was your day?" She began twiddling with her burgungy, spirally afro.
"As it always is." Andie slid her finger across the title of the book she picked from the shelf.
"Any news about Will?"
"Nope."
"Starstruck. That's your problem. You needa talk to him, you work together."
Andie placed the book back where she found it. "Okay, we work together, but we don't work together together. Plus, if if he wanted to talk to me, trust me, there would be a lot of talking."
"That's what I thought about Darian. And now we've been dating for two years."
"Taz, this isn't about forcing people to eat shake covered fries or dating. Will's like, what, twenty-two?"
"Well, yeah. It would be illegal."
Andie laughed half-heartedly, reaching for a book. "What time is it?"
"Almost five."
The title of the book was printed in gold. "My life should be like a book."
"Meaning?"
"You know, the main character living in her boring, ordinary life. Then one random day, ends up changing her life forever. But in order to change her life she must go through adventurous challenges first." She put the book back.
"I think I'm getting the message you're trying to send."
"Is that so?"
"Very unhappy vibes."
Andie faced Taz. Not thinging she said, "I'm a human Taz! What do you expect? Huh? For-for me to be, what? H-happy all the time like you? Well I can't, okay. Unlike you I'm not perky and outgoing, and-and I can't produce fake happiness from my anger of the fact that I've lived in the dead end town for seventeen years!"
Taz stood there for a moment, face emotionless. About half of everyone in the library eyed Andie, but Taz knew what to do. She was basically numb to Andie's insults. It was what she had to deal with when it came to Andie's mental sickness. "I think..." she said, "it's time for you to go back home. You need your medication."
Andie sighed, as if just realizing she yelled at her best friend. Yeah, yeah. You're right. I'm sorry."
All a person had to do was take two leaps they'd be practically on the other side of town. Andie liked how the burning sun in Cricket caused some people to have hallucinations, and even though they were insignificant unlike Andie's, it made her feel less alone somehow. Andie's hallucinations varied. Sometimes they are scary, sometimes they were realistic, and sometimes she didn't want them to end.
And then there were the voices. Sweet ones, scary ones, singing voices, old voices, angry voices. The angry voices were the worst. The threats, the screaming. It all seemed too real.
"Soup is on the stove, Andilynn. The rolls are in the bowl by the refrigerator, as usual."
Andie had walked herself home after her blow up at the library. Belle was knitting a table cloth on the rocking chair near their small television. It was as hot inside as it was out, but Belle's presence made it comfortable, as usual.
"Thanks Gram."
"Are you feeling alright?"
"Peachy keen."
"Have you been taking your medication, doll?"
"Yup," Andie lied, heading straight to her room. Mitchell would work until seven. Belle would be in her room for the rest of the night in about an hour. It was like that everyday.

*If you got this far thank you 😂 I didn't think anyone would read! In my opinion the story gets way better after Chapter 4...