Better Hollow {Finished}

Smooth Sailing

Smooth Sailing

Chapter 1:

Dissociation: the disconnection or separation of something from something else or the state of being disconnected. Ramona Simmons laid on her torn up leather couch, staring off at the popcorn cieling of the living room. Her long red hair, lay draped across the cushions underneath her. A strong knock sounded on the front door, releasing Ramona from the prison that was her mind. She got up, hearing the soft steps of her cat, Markus, following her to the door. "Hi, I'm James. I'm moving in next door with my family. My mom told me that it's important to get to know your neighbors, so she told me the best way to do that is to chat over pie," said the tall blonde boy named James. James was exceedingly tall, towering over Ramona. Though Ramona didn't believe in God, she thought he must've been insatiable when it came to the amount of height he bestowed upon JAmes. 

"Thanks for the pie, I'm Ramona. Would you like to come in? We can chat over pie, and you won't have to worry about those boxes," Ramona smiled back. She waited for a response, but instead James just stepped inside. She led him to the kitchen, where they sat down at the table.

James looked around and took in the house. The kitchen was a decent size, and it seemed to be spotless. There were loads of spices on a shelf next to the stove. The fridge decorated with many magnets and pictures of the family. After he was finished looking at the kitchen, he turned back to Ramona. Her red hair was long and thick, she often had to push it out of her face. Her eyes were hazel, they were mostly brown, but the sun shined in through the window and illuminated the green. Ramona looked up from her slice of pie and noticed James staring, "Don't mind my appearance, I wasn't exactly expecting guests," she looked embarrassed as she tucked her hair behind her ear.

"No, no, you look fine. Sorry, I guess I just zoned out," James felt bad. He hadn't meant to stare, and he surely did not mean to get caught. The two went back to eating their pie. The silence filled by the buzzing sound of the cicadas outside. Slowly time passed and still there was minimal conversation.

"I -uh- noticed you have a lot of spices, does your family cook a lot?" James asked awkwardly. He normally didn't have a problem with talking to new people, why was Ramona different?

"Yeah, my mom is actually a chef. Personally, I prefer baking. Maybe next time we meet I'll bring over a pie to return the favor," she smiled at him. It was then that she noticed the scar that went through the right side of his mouth. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you get that scar?"

"I don't mind, it was actually from a cat. God, it's so lame, but I had a cat named Frank and when I was seven he got mad at me and put his claw right through my lip. Needless to say, I have not had a cat since," James said as he let out a small laugh. Ramona laughed with him, she had a hearty laugh. She stopped her laugh short and looked back at her plate. It seemed she didn't like her laugh, but James thought it was full of life.

"That's funny, I have a scar from a cat scratch too. It's right through my elbow. I was messing with my cat while he was on his cat stand, and he fell off of it, right onto my elbow. His claw sliced it right open," she said through a laugh as she began pointing to the crease of her elbow. James looked and did indeed see a scar. It was way bigger than the one he had. "The worst part is that it's so gnarly that I wish there was a cooler story behind it. The second-worst party was having to bandage it because it was a pain to get a bandaid to stick." Just then, Ramona heard soft footsteps and looked down to see her cat, Markus, walking over. She glanced at James, who glanced at the cat and then at her scar. The pair laughed, both thinking about how such small, docile creatures could do that much damage.

After the two had settled, James picked up his phone. He noticed that it was getting late and suddenly felt guilty for skipping out on helping with the move. "I'm sorry, I should probably get going. This has been fun though, thanks for getting me out of moving," James said as he stood up. Ramona got up too and walked him out of the kitchen and over the door.