Chapter 1

Kelsey came through the front door, slamming it hard behind her. It echoed through the thin, long hallway.                               

She was all alone, as she usual. She had no siblings - as she herself was the result of a one night stand. Her mother couldn’t afford to cope with anything more than her. Heck, wondering through every small room of the council house flat, Kelsey knew her mother couldn’t even afford her.                                         

She sighed, opening up the fridge. There wasn’t much there as her mum, Penny, wasn’t due to be paid until later that evening. Kelsey slammed the fridge as she had the front door, still seething from her friend’s betrayal.                              

Today was the last day she’d trust someone again. She’d sworn this before, yet the very next day she cooled down, apologised and carried on as normal. Kelsey couldn’t stay mad at anyone - she felt that if you only had one life it wasn’t worth it holding grudges. Her mum held grudges. She saw the effect it had on her " sitting in front of the bright television in the pitch-black lounge late at night. Kelsey would be up, lying in bed; hearing the mumbled words of the characters on Coronation Street - at it again with their cheating partners and murders.                                      

Her mum’s biggest grudge wasn’t that she struggled with raising Kelsey - it was the fact that the father wanted nothing to do with it. The only thing Kelsey knew about him was that his name was Zack Warren; and that she looked exactly like him. Her mother admired this, loving how her daughter took ‘the one nice trait her father had.’ It wasn’t hard to tell that her mum disliked men due to Zack’s attitude.                             

Kelsey sat down to her computer, reading to look through her emails. She’d received one from her friend. Seeing the name, she clicked off it, logging out of her email and browsing through YouTube videos instead. She needed light entertainment " a distraction.        

It irked her how she was becoming more like her mother. She was starting to get angrier about the world - losing her faith in people.                         

Don’t worry, Kels. I don’t want him, I promise.               

What a lie that was. Kelsey wasn’t daft - from the first moment the new boy took an interest in her - sitting himself down next to her on his first day. He hadn’t asked her permission - just simple sat down without a word. Kelsey had looked at him, then scooted her chair away. He scooted his closer, their elbows touching.                           

She wanted to focus on work. He wanted to do anything but that. During the lessons, he’d make paper airplanes and fly them across the room, or tell Kelsey of all the interesting things he’d done and his hobbies. She wanted to ignore him. The more she did, the more he seemed to prod her. Literally, one day, he did poke her. At that moment, she got up from her seat, marched over to the teacher and was about to tell her how he’d been ruining her education. She went from working at a C to a D. He strutted over, before Kelsey could place her two hands on the desk and tell the teacher everything that bugged her about her new student.                                                                  

Of course, he prevented the move - happily using his charm to stay seated next to Kelsey. Near the end of the lesson that day, he’d told her how he wanted them to meet outside class. Kelsey had been oblivious to his flirtations, so it took her a few seconds to respond.                           

By this time, her friend had noticed him as she sat on the desk behind them.                                            

As it would be assumed, before Kelsey and he could declare they were going out, her friend had already started making the moves on him. The physical signs had been the flicking of the hair, the lingering eye contact, the all-too-wide smiles.                          

She hadn’t been in love with the guy or anything, but she grew attached to him like a new puppy. They spent so much time together; it flew by, making life that little bit sweeter.                  

Kelsey left the computer, flopping down onto her bed. She laid on top of the covers - still in uniform. It itched and as she rolled over to her bedroom drawers she noticed that they were a little off their hinge. Everything in the room was dated. Her bed needed replacing long ago - the springs were mostly broken and so she had to get back ache from sleeping on the mattress. The wallpaper was coming off; the original flowery style still on the wall from the seventies. The year was already 2033.        

With all the technology floating around - the expensive phones and the three D televisions only made the age gap between her home and others seem much wider. Everyone else’s houses had the cream, beige or neutral painted walls which blended in well with their sophisticated houses. Everything seemed so fancy and expensive when it was simplistic. Press a button on the wall and bam - out comes a large computer only millimetres thick. Her friends could tap a couple times and get the weather, a TV sitcom and a few internet websites up all at once. Kelsey’s own computer was hefty. It couldn’t detach itself from the wall and be carried around as all her friends could. She stuck out like a sore thumb.                                

She hated seeing their reactions when they came - and understood why she was impressed by their ‘average’ houses. She could tell they thought it was a little on the small side - calling it ‘cosy.’ At least they’d been trying to word it nicely - but this seemed pointless as they struggled to hold back the looks on their faces. One or two had felt the folded over wallpaper; flaking bits floating down to the floor like snowflakes.     

Her bad home was only made worse by her mother’s appearances and lack of hygiene. She wondered how her mum could possibly have a job.                             

Sometimes the friends would’ve stayed till around six. She’d been grateful how they were willing to put up with a TV that had no three D and neither HD. She was also grateful that they hadn’t complained about the brown rim around the bath or the state of the kitchen - dirty plates cluttering the kitchen side. Even though they never said a word, she told them how she hadn’t had time - as she herself had been looking for a job and had been studying for hours on end.                             

Her friends thought it was great that she was working so hard - but didn’t know that it was because she didn’t want to be a loser like her mother. It wasn’t that she didn’t love her mum - it was that she was ashamed of her and knew how lowly others thought of her. After doing her GCSES, her mum went straight into doing an apprenticeship - only to find that at the end of it - there was no full time job. Her mum dabbled with all sorts of menial jobs after that - waitressing, working at MacDonald’s, taking on other apprenticeships. Her mum eventually got stuck. Her GCSE results barely scraped five Cs - as she’d already been trying to get in with the popular kids at parties and by sleeping around with multiple men.                      

Currently, her mum was doing yet another course - but she was growing bored of it and was thinking about quitting it as she had a previous one. She came a few minutes after six...                                     

The door slammed behind her. Kelsey was in the lounge, vibrantly telling a couple of her friends how excited she was for her date (before one of the so-called friends on the sofa stole him). Penny didn’t care for it - her boss had her running around doing things she considered ‘pointless.’ She could swear he was sexist " not allowing her to do all the important things like the men did. She was also much older than most of them at thirty seven. Her day had been hard and she’d no time to entertain guests.                                            

“Kelsey, are you going to clean the kitchen?” She called to her, pulling a face at all the plates left with half-finished food on the table.                                              

She expected Kelsey to clean up. She had enough on her plate contending with her job and trying her best to put on a brave face. She’d do a better job if her parents supported her.                                                             

Kelsey rushed in, grabbing the plates hastily and sticking them on the side with the other dirty dishes, “I have company,” she simply said, whooshing out the room.                                                           

Penny gave up. She went to the fridge, taking out her favourite wine and opening it. The fizz after the cork came out. Oh, how wonderful. It was the one thing she looked forward to at the end of the day: forgetting her problems.                 

She didn’t drink too much - she could handle her liquor well. After a little indulgence, she wandered into the lounge, wondering why everything was slightly blurry. She put it down to her age.                           

She felt for the sofa - the blur of dark blue in amongst the pink and green of the wallpaper. She felt the seat, fingers outstretched, before turning around and lowering herself down slowly, elegantly.                    

“So what are we talking about?” She clapped her hands together, willing to show the guests that she was interested in her daughter. Truthfully, she couldn’t have cared less until she had a little to drink.                      

“What?” Kelsey asked, “You’re slurring your words.”   

“Maybe I’m having a stroke.”                                

She could hear Kelsey’s voice become firmer, “Don’t joke about that stuff.”                                                                        

The room went silent. Penny felt herself burn up - her child making her look bad in front of her friends. Kelsey was supposed to include her mum - not isolate her. “I’m not going to stand for this. I want them,” she pointed, “out.”               

“That’s not fair!” Kelsey protested. Her mum stank. It was bad enough when she dashed into the kitchen " the smell of fish exuding from her - without it mixing with the alcohol as well.                                       

The only good news was that her mum quit smoking earlier that year. She normally fretted that she’d start again. Every time she had a bad day, she’d proclaim, “I think I’m going to start smoking again!” Her mum’s teeth had already suffered too much abuse.                     

Kelsey kindly asked her friends to leave. As she watched them walk out to the street, it crossed her mind how they wouldn’t return.    

She thought back to that night as she spread out on the bed; now dressed in her own clothes. They’d been bought from Primark. She loved how cheap the clothes were - yet hated the long queues. It didn’t make her feel so alone when others shopped in there too. It was no wonder a shop so cheap had lasted through the years.

Pulling the hoodie over her head, Kelsey headed to the kitchen. She grabbed a quick glass of water, tossing it back, before heading out the door.                  

She’d made arrangements with a real friend. She was set on forgetting the other one’s name completely.                          

She also didn’t want to see her mum when she got home either - especially since she’d been nothing but grouchy.                      

Kelsey got down to the alleyway, after walking around the cracks in the road. They developed through the winter; as the ice sunk in, melted and expanded. Even without heels, Kelsey struggled not to get her shoes caught in the cracks.                    

The narrow, dark alleyway was between the road by her home and a main one with everyday houses on it. A church was only down the road - yet many people outgrew the Methodist church. It was as run down and out of place as Kelsey’s home.                          

“Hey Kels,” Fara acknowledged with the tilt of her chin.                                   

Kelsey hadn’t wanted to be called ‘Kels’ after the betrayal. “Hey Fara.”                    

Kelsey spotted Fara’s lanky new boyfriend, “I thought it was just us two.”                

Fara looked up to her stick-insect boyfriend. He shrugged his shoulders, “Sorry. We had plans tonight,” he pointed to Fara, “this one forgot about them.”                    

Regardless, Kelsey carried on with them to the church; where they were keen to write graffiti on the inside as usual. Kelsey hadn’t the money to visit the club like Fara and (Xavier, as his name was) suggested. They happily wandered over to the church. As long as they were causing destruction, they didn’t mind.               

She knew she’d become the third wheel as the other two began kissing in the pews. Kelsey ignored their soft sounds of kissing and began spraying green letters across a wall, below the colourful glass window of Jesus. She shook her head - she wasn’t going to let his sad face and inviting open arms deter her from her mission. Doing this was her escape.                                  

She sprayed a straight line at first, which quickly became a whole indecipherable letter. It was just the same as art - she started with a line and then it became a whole detailed portrait of someone’s face. She loved adding their flaws; the few bumps representing zits, the scars they had from fights, it all made her portraits seem more realistic. Like her characters had real lives.                         

When it came to the graffiti, she didn’t attach herself to her work. It was simply vandalism, a release from her mother.              

Kelsey finished her green can after having filled the walls with its lime colour. She believed it looked better like this - a change from the drab brown walls of the church.                                                 

She stepped back, admiring her work. Not everyone in art can do graffiti. Kelsey thought herself to be quite creative. She didn’t want to sound bigheaded and so whenever the teacher praised her in class; she pretended to be surprised.                 

Kelsey made her way over to the pews; where she left Fara and Xavier. They were still kissing, his hands wrapped around her back. At least they’re decent. Kelsey knew Fara was underage. She was one of the youngest in the year; having been born in August. Kelsey herself was born in May; and so was already sixteen. She found it ironic. Recently, it seemed all the boys " not just ones at her school " had started taking an interest in girls who weren’t in their year. They were mostly focused on years eight and nine. She pulled faces when she saw some whispering in the naive, young ears of easily influenced girls. She found it a shame how girls seemed to dress more inappropriately as they got younger.                                            

When Kelsey was in Primary school - she already heard of a couple friends wearing padded bras and short skirts. They didn’t know any better. Even today, Kelsey found herself to be more innocent than the majority. There was no way in hell she’d even consider taking her top off. Yet she knew other girls were desperate for attention.                   

Looking at Fara, she was happy that at least she’d waited until this year to change her appearance. Most girls reached secondary school and decided to go for a more ‘mature’ look. Only a select few started in year seven, but within the last few years it turned to be the majority.                                

Kelsey interrupted the kissing, “I’m done. Want to go?”                        

Both Xavier and Fara turned to her at the same moment, before looking at each other and nodding.                     

Kelsey walked out from the pew, out the church, before remembering she’d left one small piece of evidence. The can.            

Fara and Xavier were already ahead, his arm around her shoulders.            

“Is it okay if I go back and get something?” Kelsey asked. The two looked over their shoulders and simply nodded.                               

Kelsey walked back. She preferred to properly dispose of evidence. Even though people rarely swung by the church; she knew anyone would spot the green can of spray and scan it for fingerprints. As much as she loved writing her special signature over every wall, she preferred to remain unidentified. Her mum could do without her daughter going to prison.    

The creaky doors seemed jammed, so Kelsey walked around the side of the building. Despite being on a main road, the church’s sides were hidden by bushes. The summer proved prosperous for plant-life. It rained on and off, with brilliant sunshine in between. Kelsey noted their growth over a few short days; and the bushes went from being barely green to being full and round.                                   

Kelsey; with her thin frame, easily got through the hole in the window she made. Anyone in cars driving past wouldn’t have seen a thing as she picked up a dark grey rock from the floor and thrown in through the window. The glass shattered and she had to clear it out the way. She was hot anyway, and so used her hoodie to sweep the pieces on to the floor.               

Inside, she noted exactly where she’d placed the can. She’d dropped it to the floor after finishing off the last of the can. Looking around, she noticed it may’ve not been such a bright idea to cover every wall. She had no point of reference - except Jesus’ glass window. She turned round and it was his which she broken. The areas around his shins were missing. Kelsey couldn’t have cared less as she looked around the church in the dark.                   

She whipped her phone from her pocket. She had a few unread texts, but they could wait till she was walking home.            

She used the bright glare from it to brighten up the path ahead. She squinted her eyes as she glanced around the floor.              

She finally found it; the paint from her last bit of graffiti still wet on the wall. It was marginally brighter than the rest which already began to fade into the other walls; but she didn’t mind. She picked the can up from the floor and put it in her hoodie’s pocket.            

She was about to leave, before noticing a small blue pulsating light from the pastor’s office. She thought she may as well walk on. If he was in there, she wouldn’t be happy to see his face when he caught the culprit responsible for this mess.                                         

Kelsey did the right thing and began to leave.                           

The door flung open. The blue haze was remarkably bright for being such a dark blue. It wasn’t the flashing of TV’s light flickering within the room - but something much more than that. Kelsey felt drawn to it as a moth to light. She almost felt herself flutter over to it, completely staring as her bright sky blue eyes were only emphasised by the glow.                                

She stepped closer very slowly, a hand extended with each individual finger outstretched. She closed the gap between her and the magical glow, feeling only more compelled to draw nearer as she took each individual step.              

Then she stood in front of it, the glow dying. It swirled around like an ocean, randomly floating mid-air. It hadn’t made sense. There was nothing to cause this phenomenon; science was nowhere near that advanced.                             

Kelsey’s mouth was a gape, her plump lips shining not only from her lip gloss - but the haze of the mystical portal, too. She swore it was a portal.   

She poked it to find out.                             

Like Jelly, the portal wobbled, waves rippling out to the edges of the completely spherical portal. Kelsey wiggled her finger, feeling nothing but the air. It was still the other side " as if she was touching nothing.                                 

She looked behind her. What would it hurt if she did a bit of exploring? She thought it best to check her texts. She only checked one before making her decision.

I’m still SO sorry. We’re out together now, and we’re in your neighbourhood. Would you like us to come round? We’ll be there at eight.                               

The time was seven fifty. She didn’t want to go home and face her. She looked back up to the portal. It was so inviting, almost whispering her to go through. She glanced back down to her phone. She wasn’t going to face her ex-friend and her boyfriend. Especially since that boyfriend was suppose to be Kelsey’s.    

Kelsey thought she’d pop in there until it was eight thirty. That ex friend easily got bored and would head home when she realised that Kelsey wasn’t there. She’s only willing to patch things up to make herself look good in front of the new boyfriend.            

She poked it again with her finger. It was safe enough she reckoned, withdrawing her finger. She poked her head through; seeing the portal continued on to become more like a long blue tunnel. It all swirled with what looked to be small lightning bolts; jumping across and wiggling like worms as they flew past.               

Kelsey thought it looked dangerous. She tried to pull her head back; only to find that the portal made her head shake a little. She was stuck like quicksand. Every time she pulled back, the portal sucked her in more " her shoulders hunching forward as the strength of the portal drew her in. She resisted; shaking her head violently like a horse blinded by a blanket. The portal seemed to grab at each exposed part of her body and pull it as if it were bringing her into a new world.                                                          

As her feet came into the portal; just as her soles kissed the opening on the portal; it closed. Twinkling like a star before popping away. Kelsey was floating like an astronaut in space " her body level a few inches from the bottom of the portal. She tried to move her arms; to stand on her feet; but once again the portal controlled her movement.       

The blue tunnel quickly came to an end; although Kelsey herself was motionless - just floating in the spot. It was like a treadmill - the portal rolling on as she levitated there.                      

In its place came a white nothingness. A red dot in the distance grew, stretching out into a couple of bumps and a semi circle beneath. It formed a pair of dark, red painted lips. The lips were plump and shiny, parting as they came up to Kelsey’s head.                               

Her charcoal hair was awkwardly flat against her head; not hanging down over her shoulder like it should’ve. As the lips came closer; her hair started flying around frantically as if she was in a Mercedes.                       

Beyond the open lips; the inside was completely as dark as the vacuum of space. Kelsey spun her head round; regaining the ability to move " yet only saw white behind her. She squeezed her eyes shut.

It went silent.

Reviews

[AWickedMoon]

I really enjoyed this! I love the description of Kelsey and the boy I think maybe emphasizing that part would be great. The only problem I had was at the beginning it was hard to tell who was talking. Cant wait to read more!

[Persona]

Wow I haven#'t edited this story in a while, yes thank you that's helpful!