Ch. 1-Look Before You Leap

This is an introduction to the setting and characters.

Chapter 1

It was in October that a number of strange happenings began to occur. It was on October 13, a Friday, that I noticed the first peculiarity.

How improper of me not to introduce myself! I'm Carolina Naves. At the time in which this story is set, I was an eighth grader at Snell Junior High School. My parents were in the process of separating, my brother, Jace, was seven, and we had three cats (Mew, a black cat; Catsby, an orange tabby; and Toulouse, a grey cat) as well as a dog named Bella.

Anyway, it was, like I said, October 13, a Friday, that I noticed the first peculiarity. Mom was driving me home from school. When we turned onto our street, I noticed that there was a new house. I hadn't seen any construction going on in the new house's location prior to that day. There were no moving vans, either. It was as if the house had always been there. A nice house, it was white with a garage and a small picturesque porch shaded by an awning. Though it seemed strange for a house to practically pop up out of nowhere, I forgot about it once we got home and my parents' routine fighting began. I went upstairs to my room so I wouldn't hear much. Clutching my pillow, I sighed and sobbed. Everything that was happening to me seemed to be too much to deal with at once. My parents couldn't learn to get along, my life at school was really chaotic, and my best and only friend Molly would be moving soon. Toulouse consolingly rubbed his furry head against my knee, and I returned his favor by rubbing him behind his ears. I slipped on my headphones and let the smooth, sexy voice of Rob Thomas tune out the war waging downstairs.

The second peculiarity occurred that following Sunday. Molly would be leaving on Monday, so she and I took one last trip to the movies. Afterward, her dad dropped me off at the end of my street. I hugged Molly and promised to text her regularly. Bidding her and her father adieu, I headed home. As I dragged my feet down the sidewalk, I glanced to my right and saw a figure making its way out of the new house I'd seen the previous day. It was a man protecting himself with a black umbrella. He looked to be about somewhere between forty and forty-five, but he was handsome. A bit pale, he was tall with dark hair. I wondered what he was doing with an umbrella. Though there was a chill in the air that the autumn regularly brings, it was a sunny day with no indication of rain. I paused for a moment and observed him. He looked back at me. His eyes were glacier blue-so exotic and odd-looking that I was a little spooked at first. He maintained a poker face, showing absolutely no emotion. Considering that some people are offended by stares, I averted my gaze and made my way home.

On Monday, I was face-to-face with the next mysterious oddity...

Author's Note

This is an introduction to the plot, setting, and characters.

If you have any suggestions on how I could improve my writing, let me know.