Fire and Ice
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
-Robert frost
The warm breeze blew though my hair flinging it around my face. I giggled softy and pulled the dark reddish brown pieces away from my face looking at the sky. The sun setting off in purples and blues, pulling the clouds with it. If only I knew that day would be my last normal day. My friends passing off our bag of taffy we just bought. The soft sweet pieces melting in our mouths with the flavor of summer strawberries.
The grass flopping over my sandals tickling my feet. I tuck my soft skirt in as the three of us sit down on a metal bench. A girl with blonde curls to her shoulders hands me the last piece of taffy and I throw the wax paper wrapper, into a brown paper bag they came in. The wind decides to take our hair again attacking each other's faces. We all laugh quickly holding our hair down. The blonde girl to my right takes a small orange leaf from my hair letting it get caught in the air and flying away.
"One more week till school..." She says quietly.
"Why do we have to go to school again?" A girl on my left with her hair pulled into a braid which was falling out. Her green eyes matching the trees around us.
"So we can learn from abusive amounts of homework, red face teachers, and the zombies we call our peers." I chime. The blonde laughs which gets carried with the wind, picks up the brown bag throwing it in the trash.
"Don't worry Violet only two more years... then we all go to college..." Emerald eyes says. Violet sighs twisting her blonde hair.
"I rather put up with high school then leave you guys."
"Same here..." The rest of us chime. My phone then vibrates softly in my purse releasing the sound of wind chimes. I quickly flip it out.
"Chris." Sprawls out across the screen. "Ooo Lover boy is calling." The girl to my left says leaning over looking at my phone.
"Be right back guys." I say ignoring her comment and got up answering the phone.
"Leave her alone Clairisse." Violet says before I was out of earshot.
"Hey Chris, What's up?" I say putting the cold phone to my ear.
"Hey Alex... Did you forget something?" I squeezed my eyes shut to open them a second later.
"Sorry... Sorry, I totally forgot. I can meet you at the theater in a half hour?" A chuckle comes from the phone.
"Okay talk to you later."
"Talk to you later." I check my phone, he must have been standing at the theater for an hour now.
I really got to manage my time more. I quickly walk back to the bench were the two busted into laughter, I didn't bother to ask. "I have to go... I was supposed to meet Chris, an hour ago."
"You need a ride?" Violet asks causing me to shake my head no. "It's not far from here I should be able to make it." She nods.
"We'll have fun." I nod, walking off.
I turned into a fast paste walk as I left the park, checking my phone frequently for the time. When the sun finished setting, I finally met Chris leaning against the crowded entrance of the movie theater. "I'm so sorry." I start to say and he chuckles.
"Its fine, don't worry... Well come on let's stop wasting time and go in" I nod, following him inside the theater to our seats.
We sit through the movie and leave after it, he offers me a ride home which I accepted. As soon as I was getting into his white truck my phone chimes. Clarisse the girl on the end of the bench, texted me. "Dad came home drunk can I crash at ur place plz????" I sighed and texted her back, telling her she could.
"Who was that?" Chris asks pulling out carefully from the parking lot.
"Clarisse."
"Her father?"
"Yeah..." He nods and stays silent all the way home. Clarisse's mother left them three years ago, her father turned to a drunk. He is always intoxicated and is slamming things while yelling. I offered my place for her to stay whenever she doesn't feel safe with him.
My legal guardian Miss. Melanie doesn't mind. I don't have parents of my own. I was left at an orphanage in a basket, abandoned. I been to several different homes and orphanages to I finally got to stay in this small town with Miss. Melanie, Violet, Clarisse, and Chris. Miss. Melanie is basically a person to look after me till I go to college. She is an old widow, who lives in an old historical home her great grandmother lived in.
Chris pulled into my driveway and Violet's car was already in front of my house. Clarisse got out her face blotchy with and a string bag swung over her shoulder. "Thanks for the movie... and the ride. I text you later." I say and Chris sighs, as I quickly get out of the car running to Clarisse wrapping her in a hug.
"Are you okay?" I ask looking at her and she shakes her head.
"He kept calling me these names... he threw a book at me... When is my mother coming back?" She whispers the last sentence crying again.
"Don't cry." I whisper and Violet signals she is going to leave and I close the door waving good bye. "Come on, let's go inside." I say leading her through my backdoor.
I turned on the lights in the living room revealing a small kitchen and living room, which had a grey couch that wrapped around the wall. We sunk into the couch cushions. "You want to watch a movie?" I offer.
"Didn't you just come back from the movies?"
"Yeah so?"
"Let's just watch TV." I nod flipping on the TV and we did that till the clock hits midnight.
I got up going to the fridge handing Clarisse a soda-pop and opened my own. I pulled myself up sitting on my counter. "Hey, Alex? Can I ask you something?"
"Yeah." She hesitates taking a long sip from her soda-pop.
"Does it bother you not knowing your parents?" I almost choked on my drink.
"Yeah... it does somewhat." I say and awkward silence follows as she waits for me to elaborate.
"Knowing I have no one to walk me down the aisle when I marry or cheer for me when I graduate. I never had someone that wasn't just there to make sure I don't become a juvenile child.Mother's day and Father's day are the worst. The stores are filled with gifts and cards. How are you supposed honor someone you don't even know? Christmas is just as bad, all those movies on T.V with kids running down stairs opening presents their parents gave them. I have no family traditions or even a religion that was passed down. I became a Christine because that was what my first foster parent was, a strict one too. I don't even know my real last name. I am just Alexandria Melanie."
She nods. "I never knew..."
"Yeah." More silence followed till I crunched my can and threw it out.
"I don't know about you but, I'm tired... I am going to get ready for bed." I say going to be room temporally locking my door and changing to my pajamas. I unlocked my door and brushed my teeth in my bathroom. Miss. Melanie is already in bed she wakes up really early and comes home early. She works at a breakfast diner in town.
Clarisse was in the kitchen texting on my phone. "Violet wants up to come over tomorrow to help with set up the Last Week of Summer party." She says without looking up.
"Okay." I say walking to the living room pulling out blankets and pillows from a chest. I laid them out for Clarisse and I. After a few more senseless chatter we went to bed.
I woke up by someone shaking my shoulder. I sat up to see sky blue eyes instead of green. "Chris?!" I shrike surprised. I instantly leaned against the couch pulling the blanked over the top half of my body. The tank top I had on was thin... really thin because it was hot and I didn't think a guy would be waking me up. Not to mention my hair looked like a mess.
Clarisse was giggling behind him and Chris chuckles standing up. I could feel my cheeks get red, Clarisse is going to pay for this. "Mornin." Clarisse says.
"Umm...excuse me." I say getting up wrapping the blanket around me and walking to my bathroom. I tossed the blanked on the bed and checked the time. It was ten, when the heck did I start sleeping for ten hours?
I got ready and took the fastest shower in my life. I got out quickly pulling my hair into a messy braid. I got out of the bathroom and the air smelled like a good morning, the smell of cooking eggs. I sat down at the small dining table and a plate was pushed towards me. Chris and Clarisse sat down with their own plates. It held simple eggs, ham, and half a piece of toast, simple yet delicious.
We ate in comfortable chatter and Clarisse eventually had to leave for work. Chris and I both worked on cleaning the kitchen. He washed the dishes and I dried them, putting them away. Afterwards Chris took me to town and we wondered around.
Some say Chris and I are dating, like boyfriend and girlfriend but, I wouldn't say that. I wouldn't say we were friends either, almost somewhere in between I guess? I never asked him and he never brought it up. I like him, Violet and Clarisse say he likes me back but, I don't see it. I don't see him liking me more than a friend and that agitates me at times.
After we wonder randomly around town he gave me a ride to Violet's. "I like the yellow ribbon it looks great in your hair." I blush slightly and remembered back when Violet insisted I wear a ribbon every time I wore a braid. Then she gave me a box full of ribbons and this is the first time I wore the yellow one. I look at him smiling.
He looks back at me smiling and I turn back to look at the road. I screamed, as a chuck of metal on wheels came hurtling at us. In a flash of screeching tires, our car spun off the road, into a ditch, and slammed into a sign. My body jerked to the side, my head banging against the window. "Alex! Alex! Are you alright!" Chris screamed while he was only right next to me.
((Hey guys i hope you like this and I plan to put a famous poem or insert of music every other chapter. Fire and Ice is my favorite poem and it sounds appropriate for the start of this book. :) I plan to publish the next chapter in the next two-three days. Give me your honest advice good? bad? did I miss spell aything? I probally did. Anyways hope you have a good day!! Also i know this chapeter is slow with a cliff hanger but the next chapter will be better!