Chapter One-Rhiannon (Part One)A Chapter by Rachel Hanne This story overall is going to consist of 2 points of view indicated at the header; Rhiannon and the other main character Darin. Takes place in the mid to late 70's This is edited. Hope its better Rhiannon It had never been so hard for me
to wake up in the morning. I felt half dead. My eyes were sore, and I was weak.
It took every ounce of my energy to get up and ready. I almost decided to skip
school. I hated the people on my bus-and the fact that I even still had to ride
the bus. All the rest of my friends had cars. I envied them, pulling into the
school parking lot with their new trucks and Impalas. Having a car was
expected, especially being a senior. We lived five miles from civilization, and
I had no friends to give me rides. I was the first on the bus, and the last
off. The people were obnoxious, and our bus driver was a veteran from World War
I that couldn't hear anything. His face was like a shriveled up piece of paper,
and his bottom lip covered his top. Every Friday he handed out candy and
stickers. He was like the Mr. Rogers of the town. As more people came on to the bus, I kept getting stares, and comments like,
"I'm sorry." I did not want so much pity in one day. I thought they
had to be stupid, why would they remind me of something like that? I barely
even made it to the bus, why would I want any more pity? I knew hoping wouldn't
make things different, but I hoped that the day would go smoothly with hardly
any questions or reminders of my brother Bobby, or his friend Jared Fischer. Of
course, that didn't happen. When I entered the school building I saw my locker
from the front lobby, and it was covered in cards and balloons. I walked up to
my locker and within a minute, I was surrounded by people. None of which were
any of my friends. They asked me questions, and I got plenty of reminders. I
had tried my locker combination multiple times, and couldn't get it open. I
wanted to scream at them. I knew that they had only good intentions, and
were being kind, so I did not do as I wanted to do so badly. I had only known
one of the girls, a cheerleader named Maria. In seventh grade we were both in a
ski camp together in
"I am so sorry about Bobby. You are in my prayers. If you need anything,
let me know okay?" In
terms of academics, everything was the same as it always was. The failing
Physics test grade disappointed me, since it was one of my easier
classes. I sat next to a kid named Jonathan Bale in nearly every
class. He reeked of pot, and once I even
saw some stuck in his long beard and his hair! The combination of
the two features wasn't abnormal, as it was the fashion of society. I'd hardly
call it fashion though. It looked disgusting -almost like he had come out of
some shack in the boondocks. Jonathan's girlfriend Claire always looked into
the classroom window, and mouthed words to him, and made a heart shape with her
hands. It was irritating, and the teachers never saw it. Or they just didn't
care. I hated
how they made a huge deal out of small things, and didn't make a big deal
out of truly distracting issues.
Claire talked to me constantly in my typing class. I didn't mind, I just
couldn't quite understand her. She was nothing like me. I was rather dull, and
she was full of energy. I never said much in reply to her stories, but I could
tell anyone who asked all about her.
"You will never guess what happened to me this weekend!" Claire
grinned. I took the paper out of the type writer.
"What happened?"
"Well, Johnny and I were in the woods alright? And we were a little
um...high I guess.. the acid was kicking in. Johnny was like 'I have to sit
down.' I was fine, so I took a walk. I started getting a little light headed,
and I saw bugs crawling all over me. Beetles, spiders, and I even saw little
snakes slithering up my legs. The leaves on all of the trees like, swooshed
after me, and tried taking me away. Then I fell and then I saw the
beginning of time...you know, the big bang? It was like 'boom!' Then I
woke up and it was morning. So I walked on and yelled out Johnny's name, and I
saw him laying on the ground asleep where I last saw him." I was standing
as she told me of her tale. My mouth was hanging open by that point. Claire
laughed. "What?" Could she be that stupid, I thought.
"Are you okay?" Claire shrugged at my question.
"For the most part. I'm still a little hung-over though." She
giggled, and flipped her blond hair behind her shoulder. I rubbed my eyes and
shook my head. From her attitude it was as if this kind of occurrence was
normal for her.
"You should find a hobby." I suggested.
"Are you kidding? I ain't good at anything. I can hold a good party."
"You're good at talking." I mumbled, as I turned in my assignment. I
looked at Claire's paper, and saw that she had nothing typed. She was messing
with her makeup, holding a small mirror in one hand, and mascara in the other.
I remembered I had forgotten to wear my makeup, and regretted not bringing any
along with me. People probably thought I resembled a zombie.
Looking at the clock was the only other thing I had accomplished that day in
the rest of my classes. I didn't eat at lunch, and I saw from across the
cafeteria, that Darin Fischer, Jared's younger brother, didn't eat
either. He just spun the spaghetti with his fork, and messed with his
silverware. I just wanted to escape the prison of school, and go some where
different. I felt trapped in the valley of the majestic mountains. I felt
trapped in my own home. I wanted to see
A cold wind sliced my skin as I walked from my bus stop to my cottage house.
Winter was going to come early. I saw Darin down the street under a tree
wearing a sweater and reading a book. I had half a mind to go ask him how
his day was, but his eyes intimidated me. He probably hated life that day as
much as I did, with the day before burned into our memory. As
I reached my quaint home, I saw my mom messing with her garden. She had her
brown hair up in a bun, and an apron around her waist that was covered in soil.
Blood vessels stretched out to her blue eyes, and dark circles shadowed beneath
them. She greeted me with an exaggerated smile. "We
are going to have the McFeely's over for supper tonight." The McFeely's
were my grandmother's side of the family that I had only seen once in my life.
They really were from the hills, and were the most obnoxious people I could
recall meeting. They had immigrated to "Oh
no." I replied. Mom laughed, and brushed the soil off her apron. "They
may have changed since you last met them. Don't be too quick to judge." "I
guess." Mom sighed, and took down her hair. "I
need to get ready myself. I look like I just rolled around in the dirt." "Well...you
kind of did." Ignoring
my smart remark, mom opened the door for the both of us. She said she was going
to get ready, but I knew that 'get ready' meant that she was probably going to
sleep for an hour, then wake up five minutes before company arrived. She looked
as tired of life as I was. The
McFeely's had brought more food than my mom prepared. They were a very large
bunch of people, so I was not surprised. One little boy, my cousin Jeremy,
yelled at his dad, to 'go to hell' when his dad had told him he was grounded
for talking back before. No one in the family had really 'changed'. Some of the
adults were more mature, but their kids were becoming their parents; they
behaved in a manner that resembled their parents when they were teenagers. "You
are so pretty. You must get that from your mom." One old man said, missing
three front teeth. I hated the compliments, but said my thanks anyway. I mostly
hid behind my mom like a little girl who was going to school for the first
time. I got good vibes from the McFeely's, and grew to be more comfortable the
longer I was around them. They talked about old times, and about the world news
and all of it's horror and tragedy. I wanted all of my family to be gone once
they started talking about Bobby. I began to hate their presence. I started
picking out each of their flaws as they carried on about him. I left the front
room without saying goodbye, and slipped into the shadowed hallway to my room.
I didn't do any of my homework, and I laid in bed, with tears running down my
cheeks. I
remembered the previous day with detail. A cloud of black was formed in front
of the two ditches six feet below. Eyes around me dropped salty tears, and the
Priest spoke final words before my older brother and his best friend Jared were
gone forever. I did not cry. I looked up, viewing the cloudless sky
above us. Nature did not coincide with the emotions of the people. The
birds sang in the trees, and flowers were bright and in bloom. While my
surroundings were very much alive, my spirit was frozen and empty, and inside I
felt I might as well have been dead. Nothing is ceased for those in despair.
When people die, nothing stops and everything continues like nothing happened.
Time waits for no one. The wind will still blow, the sun will still rise
and set, the grass will green and brown. The leaves will grow, fall, and grow
again. The seasons will continue, and the oceans and rivers shall catch
the rain as it always has. I began to fear that nothing of existence was
created by any kind of God. If God doesn’t exist, there will be no afterlife of
peace and joy for those deserving. I do not want to just be nothing, I
thought. What of me would live on? What of me would remain animate other
than that of my children and kin? Would I have no thoughts or feelings at
all? No, I’d be just another decaying body, in a mind of black abyss. What is
the point of existing, I wondered, if we all have to live life full of worry, pain,
stress, and only temporary happiness? Will nothing of each of us last
forever? I
pondered these things as my mother next to me wept silently, resting her head
on my shoulder, clenching my right hand. I had never seen my mom cry before.
She was always headstrong, and the happiest of our family; always laughing, and
telling those in trouble everything would be alright, and she was the first to
make a comeback at any rude comment. Mom could always back herself up, and was
strong in any depressing situation. Even when dad left. This was a side I had
never seen of her, and I didn't like it. I averted my eyes to see Darin
Fischer. Tears glided down his cheeks, and he was looking down, his fists tight
and shaking. I hated him before that day. He seemed almost robot-like,
with an abrasive and cold attitude towards people. Seeing him cry reminded me
that he was indeed human. We witnessed the two companions being buried, and the
wind whistled on as it always did. The
only news I received about their death was that they were killed in a
drive by shooting, and blood was everywhere. It was on camera outside a
liquor store, where they had gone to purchase beer and other college party
necessities. The gunman was masked in the passenger seat of a car, and no one
could suspect anyone with such little evidence. I
planned to take down the balloons and cards from my locker. I felt like
breaking down again, but there wasn't much left of me to break. © 2012 Rachel HanneAuthor's Note
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Rachel HanneSomewhere in, MOAboutI obviously enjoy writing, and I am a band geek. That should tell you enough :) more..Writing
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