Hey guys! Thank you so much for going out to read my book! This is my first one so I'll have to apologize for all the mistakes I am bound to make! I mean, no one is perfect, right? Please leave any suggestions you might have or ways that I could improve the story and continue it in the comments! I also might be a bit lazy in this first chapter because I had already typed out the whole 1st chapter only to have my laptop run out of power, which really sucked. Sorry on that front. I'll try to post a new chapter every few days to keep the story going. Again, thank you so much for deciding to read my book and I hope you enjoy it!
- Casey_Acousta1 <3
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I felt the wind caress my face as I lay on the course but not yet brittle October grass. The small blades tickled my wiggling toes as I relaxed to the sound of tweeting birds and rustling leaves. This was my favorite thing to do. Everything was so peaceful and calm. It helped me push all of my worries away and stay floating on a fluffy cloud, lost in the emptiness of my mind.
"Avery Veronica Wilson! You better come back to the house this instant!" And... there goes the silence. The real reason why I went out here was that I wanted to escape from the girl calling for me. Anyway, I groaned and got up. Even though I was almost 50 feet away from the girl, I guess she still heard me because I got a sassy response.
"I hope you didn't just groan there! I worked my butt off getting the right supplies and dresses. It was not easy! So I better see you in your room or you won't hear the end of it!" I heard the sliding glass door bang as she went back inside.
I grinned, picked up my trusty red converse sneakers, and made my way towards the house. The girl who just yelled at me was my best friend, Vera Blackwood. We've been friends for as long as I could remember, squabbling constantly. She may look harmless and adorable with her big, brown doe eyes, straight, shoulder-length black hair, and 5' frame, but don't underestimate her. She has a horrendous attitude, and so do I, which is one of the reasons why we are such great friends.
Once I'm inside my house, I throw my boots off to the side and make my way up the stairs. A bunch of pictures of me and my mom was hanging up on the staircase wall. Each of us sported the happiest faces in each one, which made me smile. While my mom wasn't home very often, she was still a big part of my life. Especially since I never knew who my dad was.
My mom(or Maman, as I call her) told me that he died before I was born, and she never elaborated beyond that. So, even though I was curious about him, I decided to respect her privacy and not press for answers.
Each step made a creak on the hardwood floor that we never decided to fix. What can I say... even adults can be lazy! Anyway, when I open the white door to my room, I gaped at the sight of it. And it wasn't good.
"How much stuff did you bring?!" I screeched, taking in the monstrosity that was actually my room. Dresses, costumes, jewelry, Halloween decor, make-up, shoes and many, many other items were strewn all across my bedroom. You could barely see the turquoise bedspread through all of the poofs that the extravagant dresses provided and my desk was covered with eye shadows, lipsticks, foundations, mascara, and glitter. Lots and lots of glitter.
When I turned to her, Vera actually had the decency to look slightly embarrassed. "A lot."
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The car jumped upwards from yet another pothole. How many of them were there? I wondered. The town really needed to fix them. The jarring bumps were becoming quite annoying after a long period of time and they could eventually be dangerous. I stopped my midnight blue car at a red light, waiting for it to turn green.
My car was actually a gift from my grandparents on my mom's side, as I had never seen my dads. Anyway, my mom's parents were, to get to the point, rich. And a bit snobby as well. Don't get me wrong, I love my grandparents, but they aren't really the nicest people to those that are not in the family. Like my dad. My mom always said that they hated my dad, but my parents got married and had me anyway.
I glanced over at Vera, who was looking out the window, fiddling with one of the feathers from her dress. Both of us decided to go as swans. Vera is the black swan in her long feather dress, and me being the white one in mine. I haven't actually worn a dress in forever, as my signature style was simple jeans, a T-shirt, and my red converse. I'm never a day without my favorite red shoes.
Now, back to the dresses. As I said, we wore the black and white swan dresses. Vera's dress was shorter than mine, but still long, and was a bit more... poofy. Gold sparkles were decorating the slightly see-through fabric on top of the solid black fabric, thicker on the top and scattering out towards the bottom. The top of her dress was a sweetheart neckline and a black -with a few gold- feathers made a thick belt that looped right where the torso met the length of the dress.
My dress had almost exactly the same design, but in a white fabric with silver sparkles. The top of the dress had straps because I didn't trust the dress enough to not fall down, the glitter design was exactly the same, and the belt was the same except in my colors. The only difference was that the bottom part of my dress was long, thin, and flowy. Almost like silk would be, but with a few extra layers of long feathers so my decency wouldn't be scared. I don't think that I would wear something like this again, it wasn't my thing, but I did find it pretty and appropriate for the party we were going to.
But, we didn't just have dresses on, we had makeup too! Vera would never of let me out of the house if I didn't!
Vera's lips were shaded a blood red color while mine was an innocent pale pink. She had wanted me to have my lips colored a more vibrant color but I refused it. Everything else was already almost too much for me. My eyelids were covered by silver and pearl eye-shadow, which brought my normal green eyes to a beautiful emerald hue and hers were brightened with gold luster. Only a thin line of eyeliner was added to my eyes, but Vera went all out with a swan design.
Both of our hair was curled and sprinkled with glitter that was our color of choice. Not too much though, thankfully. Usually, if I were to curl my hair, which I can't do, it would come out stiff and dry-like, but Vera was a magician. My honey blonde hair was softly curled so it bounced when I moved. But I had to admit, Vera may have done an absolutely amazing job with the make-up and hair, but it was the masks that really were eye-catching.
They were matching, aside from the fact that one was gold and black and one was silver and white, with our separate colored pearls lining the mask and fluffy feathers blooming outwards. Outlined around the eyes of the masks were either silver or gold paint and a stone of the opposite color was embedded on the front. I had to admit, we both were stunning. And the fact that Vera made them herself was an added bonus.
The only thing that I didn't like about the costume was the high heels. I hated high heels and I could never understand how people could walk in them. Not only did it add an extra few unneeded inches to my already 5' 9'' frame, but every time I took I step I threatened to tumble over, and I was already clumsy enough. They were like mini torture devices! But, I somehow just ' had to wear them'. I'm quoting this person's exact words who is *ahem* sitting right next to me at this moment.
I recognized the house we needed to go to right away. I parked across the street from a large, white mansion, where many other cars were parked. And yes, as you probably may be thinking, I can drive at sixteen. Both Vera and I hop out of the car and walk towards the mansion. I check my phone from the small, silver sequined bag my mom told me to take, courtesy of Vera's gigantic closet and my now explosion of a room. We were ten minutes late. I grinned over at Vera as we walked. "Ready to be fashionably late?" I said to her, and she gave me a smile back.
"Oh yeah!" She laughed.
Balancing precariously on my heels, I miraculously make my way up the steps and to the front door without tripping. Vera sends a reassuring grin over at me, mistaking my wobbly feet for nervousness, and rings the doorbell.
A boy of about 17 with floppy brown hair and some kind of vibrant blue tux and a red tie answers the door with a wide grin. I recognized him right away as the mayor's son and the person who is hosting. He was also one of my best friends, but he didn't seem to recognize us yet. "Hey! Thanks for coming!"
He waves his hand dramatically, gesturing inside. The large entranceway is jam-packed with teens laughing and dancing. A DJ is blasting music from an outcrop and energizing the crowd with motivating comments and moderations. I nodded appreciably around the room. This might not be so bad, I thought.
It was the first time Vera has ever convinced me of going. Usually, I made up excuses not to go because... come on, right? I expected a bunch of snobby rich kids sipping a bunch of alcohol and dancing slow dances. I mean, what was a supposed to suspect? When you hear the word Masquerade you think of the Middle Ages in Europe with kings and queens. Also, I can't dance. Like not at all. I have no coordination whatsoever and people have said that I have two left feet. It was really not on my priority to embarrass myself in front of all my classmates, no matter how drunk they may be.
Okay... back to the party. We walked inside and made our way towards the drink table. There was a chance that the punch was spiked, and I told her this, but Vera insisted anyways. Just as I was about to grab a cup a voice whispered into my ear.
"Nice dress you got there."
I rolled my eyes and turned around, knowing exactly who was talking. "You know, Jared, I would compliment you but you look like a superhero in a business suit. It's hilarious, really."
Jared Matthews was the kid who greeted us at the door. I guessed right that he hadn't recognized me at first because his eyes lit up and laughed. "Avery?" He gave me a cheeky grin. "I'm surprised I didn't recognize you! No one could ever miss that snarky attitude. And I'm glad you like my costume." He did a few dramatic model worthy poses, enticing a quick laugh out of me. I could tell he was a bit drunk because usually, he was more serious. But I kinda liked him like this. Him letting loose and actually enjoying himself, even though he's the one who is hosting the party.
Like I said before, he had on a neon blue tux matched with a white undershirt and cuffs, and a red bowtie. To top it all off, his half red and half blue mask only barely covered around the eyes, showing off a sharp jawline and two matching dimples on the corners of his mouth. While I wasn't the least bit interested, I had to admit he was gorgeous with a 6' 1'' body like a model straight out of a magazine. Messy hair and all. Once he was done showing off, he slung a casual arm around my shoulders and said, "I didn't know you were coming. If I did I would have put on my celebratory Donald Duck boots in honor of you."
I snorted and pushed him off of me with my elbow. Jared and Vera used to make fun of my clumsy feet when I was younger. Both of them would stomp around in the big flippers he got on vacation, falling flat on their backs and howling with laughter. I didn't find it hilarious at all at that age, but now I guess it was pretty funny. I was that clumsy. We made some more conversation for a few more minutes before Vera returned from the drink table.
"If you two lovebirds are done flirting, I'd like to dance." Vera had her hands on her hips, her drink abandoned on the table. "Avery, Jared, you coming?"
Nope. I waved my hand, "Nah, I'll think I'll hang out on Jared's porch. Relax a bit." While I did think that Jared's party was pretty cool, I didn't feel good in congested spaces. And the mass of teenage bodies currently dancing drunk all over the entrance and the living room really did meet up with those expectations.
I released my nervous breath as Vera hooked her arm around Jared's and dragged him off so they were closer to the DJ. "M'kay, see you later!"
I headed towards the back of the house, pushing past crowds of people to get there. Halfway there, I trip over my dress and crash towards the ground. Curse those high heels! Thankfully I don't land face first because someone catches me and pulls me up. I'm met with a handsome face.
He's dressed impeccably in a traditional black tux and white tie. His golden brown hair is neatly tossed over his head, shorter on the sides and longer on the top. The only thing that was different was that instead of wearing a mask he had on tinted black glasses that you usually see federal agents and spies wear so I couldn't see his eyes.
He raised his eyebrow and gave a sideways grin, showing off his sharp cheekbones and jawline. "Feathers?" At first, I was confused but then I remembered that I was dressed as a swan.
"Glasses?" I retorted.
He responded by saying, "The one and only." Oh, god. I could already tell that this guy had an ego as big as a planet. I inwardly groaned and then noticed that his arm was still casually slung over my waist.
I glared at it until he took it off, but a little slower than I wanted it felt like he was running his fingers around my waist and back. I elbowed his arm, hard, and he pulled it off, a slight grin on his face. Turning away from him, I continued on, a bit embarrassed even though I didn't show it.
I only looked back once I get to the sliding glass door that opened to the porch to check and see if he followed me. He didn't, but I saw him shaking his head in amusement before walking off and disappearing into the crowd. Rolling my eyes, I walk through the door, eager to see the openness that differed greatly from the atmosphere of the party.
I close the door behind me and take in a fresh smell of the clean air. The wind was blowing the cool air so it brushed against my bare arms, and decorated them with goosebumps, but I barely noticed it. Walking up to the fence lining the porch, I leaned against it and stared up at the sky. The sky was colored a beautiful midnight blue and black, swirled together so it looked like one color.
When I was little I always loved to try and find interesting or hidden constellations with my mom. With each day a collection of new stars, it was an exciting adventure all night. I chuckled to myself when I noticed the constellation Pegasus off in the distance. Even though it's called the winged horse constellation, I never found that it looked like one. I admired the stars some more and tried to match them together.
The fall and winter time were the best times to look at constellations, and I found that they were much more vibrant and easier to see. In the summer and springtime, the heat, fog, and rain mess up how well we can see the moon and stars at night. And in the winter and fall, the sky was much more crisp and cool.
Just as I was about to head back inside, because surely Vera and Jared were looking for me, a distant howl of pain broke me from my thoughts. My head immediately snapped up.
What was that?
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Hey guys!
What do you think of this first chapter! I wrote it a couple months ago but then recently decided that I could fix up and elongate how I had written the story. I wanted to clear up a few things and fix some changes that would better fit the next few chapters. I will be doing the same to the other chapters so it will be a bit longer before I post chapter seven. Also, believe it or not, I love to edit an already written chapter better than actually writing it. It's just what I like to do, so my chapters are always a bit delayed. Anyway, thanks so much for reading this book and I would LOVE if you could vote or comment on what I should do!
Happy reading!
Merci,
Clara
(Casey_Acousta1)
*2/22/21 Edit: uhhhh... looking back on this I'm literally cringing at myself. Definitely embarrassing why is everyone so cliche 😅 I swear I can actually write originally characters but these aren't it.