The Player Next Door.

Chapter 1// The New Neighbor

Chapter 1// The New Neighbor.

"Not again!" Jake whines in defeat as I get labelled "the winner" in Mario Karts. I smirk victoriously, watching him stomp to his bedroom. "What happened this time?" Mom sighs from the kitchen. "He lost in Mario Karts!" I shout back.

After closing the TV, I go upstairs to my room. Let me tell you about it for a moment; it has black walls, (I know what you're thinking, but wait, I'm not the dark), with random splotches of vibrant paint everywhere on the walls. The floor is covered with a violet wall-to-wall carpet, which adds more color. My bed's wrapped in a metallic blue blanket, while being surrounded by pillows of the same color. I've got a white desk beside the semi-balcony that gives a full view of my room, and a walk-in closet beside the door. As for decorations, there's a punching bag in a corner and my drum set in another.

I laid on the bed for a little nap, and a yawn escapes my lips for evidence. And before I know it, I'm off to the world of sleep.

***

As I get up gracefully from my one-hour nap, (and when I say "gracefully", I mean rolling off the sides and face-planting on the floor), I heard some commotion outside. "Riley! Look at this!" My mom shouts from downstairs. Way to go mom, ruining my chance of being curious.

As I enter the kitchen, a smell of cupcakes, chocolate to be exact, fills my lungs. I don't know what the deal is between mothers and kitchens. Mom points at the house neighboring us, which has been empty for 5 years, as an actual family steps inside the house. Finally, after five years, they came. Cue majestic opera.

The woman, who I'm guessing is the mother, has brown locks and a friendly smile as she plays with the little girl, probably her three year old daughter, that has brown pig-tails. Aww. And the boy, who I'm assuming is the woman's son, runs a hand through his hair as he pulls out some boxes from the back of the car. And that boy, is probably the cutest boy I've ever seen. And when I say the cutest, I mean as cute as Josh Hutcherson. Okay, no-one is as cute as Josh Hutcherson, but that boy could be somewhat close to Josh's cuteness. I'm pretty sure he's going to gain popularity as soon as he steps in his high school.

"Earth to Riley!" My mom says as she snaps her fingers in front of my eye. I snap back to reality, and look at her. "I said, you can go back to your room if you'd like." She repeats. I nod, and as I was leaving the kitchen, my foot hit the wall.

I didn't even flinch, since I lost my right foot in a car accident. It's only till my ankle, the rest of my leg is perfectly healthy. So, instead of leaving me with no foot, the hospital decided to give me a "free foot". It's a metal stick that was curved to somewhat resemble the shape of a foot, but there are no toes or skin. It's just black metal. And luckily, it is rust-proof.

But unfortunately, the metal makes a dent in the wall. "Riley. Stop being so clumsy." My mom complains as she ruffles my black hair. (My hair is really black, like abnormally black.) She smiles at me, and I smile back. The bond between mom and I, just wonderful. She makes food, I eat it. She cleans up my room, I mess it up. Totally perfect. Just like oil and water.

***

I slam my closet's door closed. This will be the last time I ever clean it. I sit on my bed, but my eyes shift automatically to the house on our right. I stare at the boy, who is now unpacking his bag and some boxes. Box by box, bag by bag.

After quite a while of me staring at him, he shifts he gaze to lock eyes with me. We share awkward eye contact for about 10 seconds, then I break it by looking at my desk, but he still stares at me. Sometimes, there's a nagging feeling inside of me that makes me feel the urge to do something. It was the same feeling that made me clean my closet.