Chapter One

With a woods not worth hunting in, the little food joints served quite a big purpose in an RV park located in the town of Janzen. Everyone would still only order frozen meat, a tradition much passed on, so that the people of the Janzen RV park felt more homey about their meals.

There was a potluck dinner on Thursday nights that the neighborhood would gather together for. Neighbors with children lived off of these little breaks from the chaos they called life. It was something to look forward to, without a doubt.

     The Janzen RV Park was known as the more run down side of Janzen, but the innocence of the thriving, bright children occupants gave hope to those in fear of what was going on in reality.

     As there usually are in towns, there were the uptight, nosy pesky neighborhood watchers known as the Williams couple.  Angel Richard feared the Williams on account that they’d fill her in on some information about her peers family situations. When she’d ride her bike and make caution of slowing down at the speed bumps, that's when the Williams couple would catch her off guard.

     “Angel! Come in for some lemonade!” They would offer every time from the comfort of their lawn chairs. She would of course refuse their offer, but before she could regain her speed with her chicken legs, they’d be pulling her aside, chatting away.

     Mr. and Mrs. Williams’ targeted Angel, specifically because she was a gullible twelve year old with a mouth that swore like a sailor, whenever she did talk. They knew she would get word around to Shawn, and that’s exactly what they wanted to fester into more and more drama until people began leaving the area. Angel herself thought their area was too crowded, but it always invoked something not too short of adventure. She never grew tired of the scenery, for it was ever changing. There was a highway on the outskirts of the RV park and she would find herself setting her sights on the traffic lights glimmering in the distance. She wondered whose headlights would pull in to visit.

Angel had the hopes her answers would soon enter through there, for it had seemed like everyone had quickly found the answers they were looking for. If they didn’t, they’d leave to find an answer elsewhere. Angel took advantage of her father’s absence at a young age, and since then it had been a routine to wake up at 7:05 A.M. Every morning when Danny, her father, would leave she would collect any left out things Danny might had left out from being too much in a rush.

Bentley, Shawn's boyfriend, told her to get him “the goods” and what he dubbed that as, came in the form of Danny’s pill bottles. Angel never really paid attention to the labels, she just did her best to continue having a popular status, for that was the only source of attention she received.

Whenever the Williams’ witnessed Angel’s frequent posse of visitors leaving in their cars, driving recklessly, Angel lost her title of being innocent and soon they agreed to make it a point to begin to give her consequences for her choices, although they really had no right to do so. They were shallow humans, destined to cause havoc for the pathetic satisfaction in return they got from butting in.

It was a day before Halloween, everyone was putting up last minute decorations on their property. Everyone was outside, except for Angel. It was unusual not to see her out when others were, so the Williams figured it was due time to pay her a visit. As they waddled down the street in the direction of Angel’s home, fat flopping about as they did so, Angel was on a phone call with Bentley. He threatened that if his supply was a disappointment, he'd break up with Shawn. Shawn was the most important relationship in her life, so she was terrified of losing her. Angel was in tears when she answered the motor home door, the scent of a nearby cookout being held underway.

“We see you’ve been watching too many horror movies!” Mr. Williams laughed, trying to steal a glance into the cluttered debris of Angel’s home. Without fail, Angel had grown suspicious of them and walked outdoors.

“What are you doing?” Mrs. Williams asked.

Angel looked up at them, surprised how much blubber dismissed whatever attractive features that they may have had at one point.

“Dad forgot to get some pumpkins, I’m trying to find some knives to carve some with. And….look!” She shoved her Band-Aid covered finger in Mrs. Williams face. The couple exchanged a concerned look, then inspected the damage done, carefully ripping off the Band-Aid.

“First off, that could get infected and secondly, your father letting you use that knife unsupervised-”

“Thanks for checking up on me, but I have to get my costume ready!” She shooed them away, and sighed as the door shut behind her.

When the midnight hours arrived, so did the dreaded appearance of Bentley. Danny had not specifically stated a time frame of being home, so Angel was only expecting the threatening company of Shawn’s boyfriend.

Angel had been leaving messages to the residential trash removal company to come by to collect hers, until that night, when she listened to an angry manager tell her to look of the meaning of a pauper and, “For Heaven’s sake, quit calling!” She kept replaying the message to kill time.

Angel had been waiting at the door with the stove on and had a couple of matches in her hand. Bentley stammered and stumbled on his way up the stairs to the RV, swung open the door calling Angel by the name of “Devil”. Angel had prepared herself for any self defense she’d might have to use.

“Now I’m going to give you one last chance, Devil!” His breath smelt of booze and she hated seeing him become a spitting image of who he promised Shawn to never be.

“That’s not my name.” Angel threw the empty prescription bottle at him, so he began opening up cabinets, looking for the only thing he cared for. He started screaming and eventually grew tired of trashing the place, so he spat in her face and slammed the door on his way. Angel tossed a match into the mess, wishing it had been lit.

Halloween night wasn’t traditional trick or treating around Janzen’s RV Park.  The usual was the Randall’s, hosting a party, famous for their hospitality, generosity and title as “The Saints” for fostering a total of eleven kids in the last decade. Bentley had the first round at bobbing apples, suggesting that more people would participate had it been apple ale instead of water. The Randall’s rented a hayride for the evening and has promised the younger kids a ride first.

Shawn was a twenty-two year old waitress at one of the local burger joints, called Stormy’s. She was still wearing her work clothes that night as she pounded, late, at Angel’s door. Angel had been planning to go as an angel, and Shawn as the devil, but Angel was triggered of the events last night as she remembered Shawn’s outfit.

Angel wore a halo inspired veil and had been relying on Shawn to help her with the strap on wings. Shawn was so late that there was only the sound of crickets in the usually rowdy neighborhood. Shawn lifted her hands up in protest of Angel nagging her about her tardiness.

“Listen! I got your wings! I am sorry, but all the fun hours is after the party anyway…” Her sentence trailed off as she turned Angel around so she could put the wings on. She looped Angel’s skimpy arms through the designated areas in the set of wings. Shawn side stepped her way against all the debris to bring Angel in front of the mirror.

“There!” Then she hurried to get on her costume and while doing so, she said, “From now on, bring me your trash bags. Sorry, but I cannot let you live like this baby girl. Mi casa es su casa.”

“I-I tried calling, but nothing happened except a voicemail telling me to f**k off? What does that mean?”

Shawn laughed. “You are trying to tell me that you have no recollection of that word?”

Shawn was slipping into a blazed red dress, adjusting the pointy horns on a headband to her bun. She slapped on some flip flops, grabbed Angel’s hand and ventured off into All Hallows Eve.

Now the Randall’s owned the park and Shawn figured it was time to pay a visit to her landlords. Three days prior to Halloween night, when Shawn decided she would be confronting the issues at hand, she had invited Angel a couple days before to begin practicing her apologies and thought since Angel wasn’t much of a talker, maybe that meant she was a good listener. Before reciting her lines to Angel, she had been pacing around the kitchen, a spoonful of the “strongest whiskey Janzen has to offer” in her hand as her reward if she had memorized her lines correctly.

“Ahem,” Shawn cleared her throat and her raspy voice spoke lines of pure sincerity, “Here, under your flexible clearly stated rules, one I have violated.” She paused to look for a thumbs up from Angel, then she downed the spoon with a big sigh of relief afterward.

“You’d think I would have a shot glass, but those tend to be just as easy to lose as those damn bills.” She tossed the spoon back to Angel for a refill.

“For a temporary period was a crime of thinking about the feelings and needs of a wounded animal. A damsel in distress just happened to be in the form of an injured turtle. Now, we all know who the real criminal was; my brother, Amerson. Nevertheless, he has taken him to a local rescue hospital and accepted penalty, yet the blame points to me.” She ran over to Angel for a swig.

“My actions didn’t abide by the rules set, but I assure you I’m busting my a*s-”

“Uh, Shawn they’re pretty conservative folk. Change that or there is no chance of them taking pity on you.” Amerson came in the kitchen. He wore whitie tighties and was chugging a jug of milk from the fridge.

“You could be more helpful and hold this here.” Shawn reached over the table, the page of her lines now put between the lips of her mouth, and handed Amerson an envelope.

“Another charge on the card by you!” She gave him a smile and he took a quick look at it before tossing it in the overflowing trash can.

“Yeah, yeah whatever. I got a landscaping shift tomorrow with Pops.” Amerson said. He began to make a commotion, turning up the volume dial where it was interrupting Shawn’s apologies, so Shawn grabbed Angel and the liquor to take outside.

For a good few minutes, the duo continued to practice until Shawn began feeling dizzy. Angel and Shawn made way back into the RV and Angel made sure Shawn got in bed safely before shutting off the lights in the bedroom. She looked at the alarm clock to see it had been far late into the night. She carried the flashlight they had been using in order to see when they were reading outside, to guide her on her way home. Angel was focused on her shadow as she began dreading her father either sprawled out on the couch with a half eaten TV dinner at his side, or not there at all.

As Shawn and Angel made way, holding hands, towards the Randall’s, Shawn began describing to Angel how that their house was the headquarters and you knew it just from looking at it.

“Don’t be jealous of it’s extravaganza appeal. What you got is a beauty of its own.” Shawn said.

They crossed through the pathway that was cut out in the woods that led them to the Randall’s property. Angel squeezed Shawn’s hand as the darkness was one of her greatest fears. Shawn patted Angel’s petite shoulders with her other hand and began to reassure her that she was safe.

“We worked long and hard on my speech, we got that to be proud of, not some stupid house, right?” Angel smiled and nodded. They then approached a swamp and saw some house lights on nearby. Walking on, they noticed two boys in rollerblades zipping up and down the driveway. Shawn waved, and then got confused as the boys hurried away to the other side.

“What? What did I do?” Angel pointed at Shawn’s headband of horns and Shawn laughed.

“Come on, let’s go borrow those skates of theirs.” Shawn pulled Angel in the direction of where the kids had skated off to. Angel hesitantly followed and Shawn introduced themselves to the set of twins, Reese and Riley; the Randall’s nephews. Reese and Riley didn’t share the same foot size as Shawn, but Angel had been in luck. Shawn helped Angel’s balance and walked beside her. Angel felt extremely alive, for her bike was her usual escape but this was totally an adrenaline rush.

Here is a new experience being soaked up by The Girl of Gratitude, Shawn was thinking. She was admiring the full smile making up most of Angel’s face. Shawn began to delve into her thoughts on how eventually Angel’s enthusiasm would dry up like a kids favorite slush that just got a gush of wind at the wrong timing, then BAM! The fun is over and the ooey gooey treat is forgotten as the sun blends it in the with the dark pavement, while the ICEE cup still remains. And then, litter becomes a problem that that kid will grow up to realize and will complain that he has to pay taxes for “that s**t”; forgetting about how he  once was that kid.

“It’s a travesty, you know.” A middle-aged woman stepped besides Shawn, looking out at the sight of Reese. now helping Angel and Riley while making silly faces at them.

“Hi Aunt Leah!” Riley ran up to give his aunt a hug before Shawn had the chance to respond.

“That’s the Richard girl. Hear it’s even too difficult for CPS to figure out what to do with  her.” Leah Randall shook her head in disapproval. Shawn crossed her arms in front of her as she faced Leah.

“I suspect the only ‘travesty’ here is a parent with no common sense to keep her mouth shut about things she knows jack s**t about.” Shawn hated to interrupt Angel’s good time, but Shawn insisted that they had ought to leave. Angel looked up at Shawn confused, but grabbed her hand as they exited back into the woods.

“It’s okay, if you know...Want to ask me why.” Angel cocked her head to the side in a questioning manner.

“Some people blatantly put themselves in relationships that they know will waste their time. I wasn’t going to do that for you. We don’t need them.” Shawn stopped to give Angel a hug and to look into her eyes. She squatted below to reach Angel’s level and gave her a pat on the back.

Reviews

[Krizito]

First off, I think this piece still needs quite some work.
First, it's a bit confusing. In one paragraph, you mentioned Angel tucking Shawn into bed; and in the next paragraph Shawn was taking her to the party... The same night. Then there's the Randall party they were supposed to attend, instead they chose to ride skates... What happened?
You're trying to create a story here but I feel it is too vague. The story is lost behind a lot of explanations and narrations. I'm not an expert at this, but I feel it could do with a bit more clarity.
On the plus side, I like Angel, she seems like the strong 'gal' :)