The Whimsical World of Wanda

Chapter one

"An extroverted introvert? What the hell does that mean?" Wanda exclaimed. She had just taken one of those monotonous online quizzes on which personality type are you. Wanda prided herself on deviating from societal norms which made her engagement in this quiz all the more embarrassing. "I don't know what the fuck that is and I don't give a fuck about it either," Nick replied. Nick was one of Wanda's closest friends, they met in the eighth grade and now a year later, in their first year at the same high school, they remained inseparable. He was a grumpy Greek boy who would slide in a sarcastic remark whenever he could. It was not just this Larry David-esque attitude that was why Wanda liked him. He could also be incredibly kind. Once, after he heard people were trolling one of Wanda's Youtube videos, he replied to all the trolls under his Charles Manson account to scare them away. Then there was one Christmas where he played up the fact she is British and got her the British Rose gift pack from the Body Shop. Many people marvelled at the fact they were able to maintain a platonic relationship despite neither of them being gay. Everything about Wanda seemed to confuse her peers. She did not care what others thought yet carried an extremely cool air about her. She was dark and mysterious yet friendly. She was a puzzle no one could solve.

Wanda intensely disliked math class, she was intelligent in specific subjects like English and History, but math was far from her strong suit. "Okay, today I want you all to get into groups of three and do this worksheet together," Mr Schnider said. "Groups? Kill me now!" Wanda thought. She would have far rather done the worksheet alone so she could at least listen to The Smiths while she did it. Much to her chagrin, she was paired with Abby and Jessica, who in her mind were the most stereotypical basic teenage girls. Many people had warned her before choosing Patrick William Collegiate Institute as her high school that she would encounter annoying, boring, popular kids. Though Wanda had found some gems, she found most of her fellow students to conform to what she had heard.

Science class was another one that Wanda struggled with, however, she found it much more enjoyable on account of her crush, John. Wanda was absolutely in love with John. Though she was a goth girl who shopped exclusively at Hot Topic and had green hair, she often found herself attracted to tall skinny boys with light-coloured hair who dressed in a rather preppy style and John was no exception. John was the first person she thought of when she woke up and the last person she thought of before she went to bed. Though she was just fifteen, she was already happily imagining the two of them getting married and what their kids would look like. In her mind, there was no man more perfect than John. Alas, there was a discrepancy in feelings. John liked Wanda and enjoyed their conversations in science class, but at the end of the day, Wanda was just another girl to him. He did not crave her, the way she craved him. "So, what are you doing this weekend?" Wanda asked him. She had two goals in mind when she said this, one was to see if she could weasel in asking him out on a date based on his plans and the second was to make sure there were no other girls involved. "Nothing much, just practicing my saxophone playing. I have to make sure I'm ready for May Lyrics," he said. Wanda never knew what to say when John talked about his music, she was no fan of jazz but it was such a crucial part of John's life. They had many other things in common like loving Doctor Who and enjoying old movies, but jazz was her blind spot.

When Wanda got home she was warmly greeted by her dog, Bowie (David Bowie was one of her favourite musicians) and her dad, Greg. Wanda felt that her parents added another layer of peculiarity to her life. Rather than the patriarchal standard situation where the man is the hard-working breadwinner and the woman stays at home with the kids, with her parents, it was the reverse. It wasn't that her dad didn't work but his work only took place for one month, he ran a horror film festival. Then for the rest of the year, he stayed home with her and their dog during the day. Wanda's relationship with her dad was complicated, to say the least. Hate is a strong word and not one she would attribute to her feelings toward her dad, annoyance was more fitting. She did have fun with him and loved how joyful he could be. However, there was a harshness he carried towards her. His father was a strict Pakistani man and it was clear he had inherited many of these traits. The fact that Kate, her mother, was her best friend did not help matters with her dad, it only made the polarizing differences in these relationships all the more clear. "Fancy a cup of tea, luv?" he said. He had been born and raised in England which meant every now and then his accent thickened, whether it be on purpose or for show. "Sure, just make sure it's not too milky," Wanda replied. She went upstairs to her room and ten minutes later her dad appeared, tray in head as he carefully placed the cup of tea on Wanda's laundry basket that was used as a make-shift table. Wanda frowned, "What's the matter? I made sure to put a minimal amount of milk in it!" her dad inquired. "You used the wrong mug! This is the Beetlejuice mug, I wanted the Haunted Mansion mug!" she huffed. Wanda worked at Spirit Halloween every year and used her employee discount to stockpile as many horror-themed mugs as possible. "Blooming heck, luv! I can't be bovvered!" he replied.

When Wanda's mom got home from work, she immediately debriefed her on all the romantic happenings that had taken place between her and John that day. Wanda's mother was not just her love-life advisor, she was also her world. Everyone that knew the two of them would agree that they were the real-life version of the Gilmore Girls. She was her moon, stars and the whole galaxy. She brought her the most love and light out of anyone else in her life. She was basically her other half, foundation and whole support system. After Wanda had dinner with her parents, she watched an episode of Six Feet Under with her mom in the living room. Rituals were a crucial part of Wanda's life, her nighttime one was to watch TV with her mom while Bowie sat in between the two of them as they drank a cup of tea and lit a candle. They were currently watching Six Feet Under because Wanda had briefly undergone a phase where she wanted to be a funeral director.