Forest City Book 1

Chapter 1

I made my way towards my aunt Hazel's apartment, living in the city was a new experience. I felt another flood of anxiety fill my head. I looked back at my father in his old red pick up truck, rust had begun to eat away at the paint. My father ran a huge farm out in the middle of nowhere, what did we harvest, well, nuts, we are squirrels. My father bent his head down so he could see my nervous face, he grinned. Dang it! My buck teeth are showing. I tapped on the window of the truck nervously.

"Kiddo, everything is going to be fine," my dad reassured through a mouthful of pecans.

"What if I mess up everything, what if I make a bad first impression, what if-" I was interrupted.

"Everything will be alright, hey look, you got neighbors!" my dad sounded slightly excited.

I glanced over to the apartment next to my aunt's. A small dark alleyway separated the two buildings, I didn't want to think of what gross things were hiding in that alleyway. I looked at the steps of my new neighbor's apartment. A tall slender blue wolf sat on the concrete steps that led up to the doorway to my new neighbor's apartment. The wolf sat with his head facing the ground, he had his phone in hand and in the other... well... a cigarette. I turned towards the apartment towering over me and sighed.

"I think I'm going to be sick," I said while facing my dad.

"Oh don't worry kiddo, here take some chestnuts in for my sister, I'll grab your bags," dad replied.

"I don't want to live in the big city!" I whined.

"It will only be for a year of school, then... maybe... you'll come back, I don't like having to do this, but your sister was the same way," my dad reminded me.

My sister Clove, she was the oldest of us all, along with her twin brother, Chester. Dad sent Clove to live with Aunt Hazel because Clove showed up one day with a girl and proclaimed, "This is my girlfriend and if you can't respect my choices, then I'll live with Aunt Hazel." It has been two years since I saw my sister Clove. Chester begrudgingly took it upon himself to inherit the farm. As for me...

Oh my lovely er... niece," Aunt Hazel called from the doorway.

I slid past her avoiding as much eye contact as possible, being called niece was like a harpoon to the face, if only I knew what that felt like.

"What's the deal with this one, little brother," Aunt Hazel eyed my dad, "girlfriend, nut allergy, doesn't want to work, video games. What is it this time." She rolled her eyes.

"You have the attention span of Mac when she was younger," my dad replied.

I winced, SHE, I can't believe my own dad, after I explained thoroughly what I meant in the car, I corrected, "Them, they, them, I'm not a girl."

"Then what are you, a boy, I heard that Canter's kid is now a girl," Hazel replied, her face contorted into shock.

"I-I," my dad glared at me, "I'm neither," I responded.

"Well, then, I guess," Hazel said with a hint of worry.

I stepped inside of Hazel's apartment building. The wallpaper was a light creme color and the floor was a dark brown wood. I glanced at the tight staircase that led up to nothingness, was this where my room was. I glanced around the staircase to see a small kitchen and dining room, if there was any way I could describe the kitchen it would be... yellow. My aunt seems to really like the color yellow, from yellow curtains, to yellow flowers, to the yellow rug that greeted me at the doorway. On the other side of the staircase was a small living room, I could tell that Aunt Hazel had some influence from Savannah. The walls were dusty green and had tacky palm leaves printed on the wallpaper. I noticed various books were stacked neatly on bookshelves, I wondered what some of them were about, I noticed a small desk with a journal on it. I took a few steps towards the desk, on the small journal lay a yellow post-it note, it read: "To: Mac, your sister: Clove."

The only other family member I ever told about me being Non Binary was my sister, Clove, it was when I was thirteen, now as a seventeen year old, I just felt bad bringing the subject up to anyone, I lost the only person I could trust. We kept secrets, as most siblings do, it felt fun at first, but then my parents found out about Clove and her girlfriend and immediately kicked her out.

I took the journal instantly and hid it under a cushion on the couch. The couch was only a small loveseat, it was the color of key lime pie and reeked of perfume. I noticed small crumbs on the couch and as I took a step back I felt it, how had I not noticed the small coffee table sitting in front of the couch. I heard a loud crash as I stumbled over my bushy white tail, luckily my head landed on the plush rug laying on the floor. It appears that I tripped over the coffee table...

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Either the room is spinning or that's just the ceiling fan. Hazel and dad were leaning over me. I must have tripped over my tail then the coffee table. Small shards of teacup lay scattered across the wood flooring. I sat up on the plush white carpet beneath me, now stained in tea, that's going to leave a big stain.

"My tea set, the carpet!" Hazel cried, "I was hoping the ladies and I could have a lovely afternoon, now it's all ruined!"

"You might have to take it to the dry cleaning, Hazel," dad replied, "Mac, I'll be leaving now, please don't break anything and your stuff is in your new room."

I felt sick, now dad was going to leave me, what else could I break. I glanced around the room, a china cabinet, the window, the TV mounted on the wall, I could break anything. If I wasn't so clumsy, none of this would have happened.

"Do you have a clean shirt?" I asked dad, "I think there's tea on my back."

"I have extra shirts from the farm," dad replied.

Great a bright fluorescent yellow shirt, it doesn't help that there's an acorn right in the middle. I decided, to avoid any further embarrassment, to just head up the old stairs that led to the second floor. There actually was a hallway and a-

"No, Mac, your bedroom is on the top floor, that bedroom is mine, and so is the bathroom on this floor," Hazel directed me towards an even smaller and even slimmer staircase.

Each stair made a slight creaking sound, so that meant that I couldn't sneak downstairs for any midnight snacks. Dang it! That's when I felt a thud, did my aunt just make me hit my head on the ceiling.

"Mac, dear, the latch," Hazel pointed out.

I peered upward, a latch, I unhinged it and pushed, it opened, as it should. I poked my head into the ceiling, there actually was a room in here. It was a bit dusty and a bit dirty, but it will do.

"You just unpack your things, I'll be in my study," Aunt Hazel hollered.

My bags were neatly placed on the bed. The bed had a white blanket and many pillows of many colors and patterns, which were horribly clashing with the brick wall that the headboard rested upon. Some string lights hung above the bed on the brick wall, this all reminded me of Clove. The room was cozy, even a little tacky in some areas, but I still could live in it. There was a comfy angular couch that sat under the window. It was gray and had white pillows with small leaves printed on them. My aunt sure loved her plants. I peeked out the window looking down upon the dark alleyway, it wasn't that creepy and gross from up here. Yes it was.

That's when I looked straight ahead, I met some deep blue eyes shadowed by a set of thick eyebrows, his face was full of confusion and slight frustration. I gently waved and shut the curtains quickly. I had no idea who this was or why he was staring awkwardly. I peeked out from behind the window, he seems to have done the same thing I did. I really shouldn't be invading other people's privacy, so I kept the window shut.

"Mac, dear, come get your shirt!" Hazel called.

Shoot I forgot my shirt, did that wolf see me with this tea stain, dang it, I think he did! I rushed downstairs to the entrance hallway of the apartment and took the shirt from my aunt. Who would have thought that the very first impression my neighbor had on me was going to embarrass me forever!