Girl Next Door

1. Haddock Rock and New Neighbours

Chapter One: Haddock Rock and New Neighbours.

☯ℛℐℋᎯℕℕᎯ ℒᎯℕℂᎯЅᏆℰℛ☯

"Higher, Ria, higher!" My younger sister, Chloe, cheers. Chloe is seven years old, and is the sweetest little girl I know. Also the only little girl I know, but whatever. Chloe is sat on a swing in our local park, and I'm pushing her back and forth.

Chloe's natural dark hair flows out behind her, and her brown eyes sparkle in enjoyment. She looks exactly like my Mum and Dad, since they both have brown hair and brown eyes. Somehow, I've ended up with blonde hair and blue eyes. Who knows, it's a miracle.

I'm Rihanna Lancaster, and I'm sixteen years old. I passed my exams early, so I'm in my last year of school a year early, one less year of school for me. Some general facts about me for you. I wear glasses, those black glasses with the thin black frames, that are definitely too big for my small face. I go to Eastmoors Upper School, and my average target grade is A*. I'm from the UK, and I live in a town near the beach, and it's probably the most boring place in the world.

I swing Chloe higher into the air, and Chloe screams in delight. It's windy today, and my hair is blowing out everywhere. Today is one of the few days I've actually worn some decent clothes. Normally I just wear sweatpants and an old top, but today I'm wearing a black top and a cream coloured skirt that finishes at about mid-thigh. My hair is straightened and my side-fringe is a total mess, and my black plimsoles are covered in mud. I don't know why it's so windy, I mean, it's May for Christ's sake.

My phone rings then, and I step away from the swing and answer the call on my pink iPhone 6, which took me months to save up for.

"Hello?" I ask, curious as to who it is. I watch Chloe move down to a nearby slide, and watch her slide down, a grin on her face. A girl around her age comes over and starts playing on the slide with her, so I smile and concentrate on the phone call.

"Hi love, it's Mum. I just wanted to tell you that dinner is almost ready. Oh, and guess what?" Mum says, as Chloe and her new friend try the monkey bars.

"What?" I ask, curiously. What could be so exciting that she can't tell me at home? Chloe and her friend go across the monkey bars separately, and Chloe grins when she reaches the end for the first time. I smile at her, before turning back to the phone call.

"We have new neighbours! A mother and two sons," Mum says, sounding enthusiastic. New neighbours?! We haven't had any neighbours in the house next door since this young couple who broke up one month after they'd been married after we could hear them arguing all night. What's worse, is that their bedroom was the one opposite mine, and there was only a metre gap between the two rooms. That was a month of sleepless nights, just when I had my exams as well.

"Cool, have you met them?" I ask, curiously. I hope they're nice.

"I spoke to the Mum, Lindsay, her eldest son is in your year at school, and the youngest son is thirteen. Her eldest son is pretty fit, just saying," Mum says, and I cringe at her wording.

"Mum, seriously? You're called a guy who is seventeen or eighteen fit? You're thirty-seven, you're like a teenager sometimes," I say, laughing. Mum laughs as well, and mumbles something that I don't hear.

"Anyway, get back because dinner is ready in five minutes," Mum says, before hanging up. I roll my eyes, before walking over to Chloe, who is making daisy chains with her new friend.

"Chloe, we have to go back for dinner now," I say, frowning.

"Do we have to?" Chloe complains, looking up at me with a cute pout.