Kara's Cabin || Coming April '16

Prologue

Hello everyone, or whoever is reading this! This is my first book to be writing since I took my break from writing so sorry for the typical Author's Note asking for no hate. Anyways, I am currently writing the other chapters so that I don't annoy you with updates that take like two months. I ain't like that. So I'll stop boring you and let you read on.

I have big plans for this book :)

Underwear; Check.

Blue Jeans and Shirts; Check.

Bug Spray; Check.

Phone and Phone Charger; Check and Check.

     When I looked in the mirror I didn't see that Tumblr girl who everyone liked. I also didn't see the girl who in every single movie these days complains about how much life sucks even when it's better than most.

     I saw me ; this girl, who tries to be the Tumblr girl but completely fails at it and sees life as perfect as long as everyone just stays out of her business.

     Now, I'm gonna be honest, compared to most seventeen year old girls I was a little more mature. I knew how to keep my trap shut when I needed to, but when it came around to someone crossing the line then I may or may not have accidentally blown a fuse or two, in my mind that is. I never ever spoke my mind. I may have my thoughts, but I never gave a hint to what they were. And to be honest, I just didn't care for people who wined about their lives. Sure, I wasn't living the luxury life but I was perfectly happy.

     In most stories about teenage girls the mother usually calls from downstairs for her daughter to get ready for school. Well, for this story it's just the opposite; my mom isn't home in the mornings and we live in a trailer, there are no stairs. You see, on my 15th birthday my mom surprised me by telling me that we would finally be staying in one town for longer than a few months. I know right, great birthday gift mom. But, to the fifteen year old Kara, it sounded like an adventure. Never, ever, had I once stayed in a town for longer than six months. It wasn't that we were running from someone, (at least I hoped not) but every single time my mom would get a job somehow she blew it. Her jobs had literally ranged from doing a clown's makeup on a roadshow circus to working at a museum giving tours in Amarillo, Texas. The woman could do absolutely anything she set her mind to!
            Except hold a job.

    But finally, she held one for two years until I could graduate high school. It was at the bar.  Yes, I know, what kind of a single mother becomes a bar tender and stays out all night and doesn't come back until noon? As a matter of fact, mine does. To me, it was the best birthday gift ever because I knew she was doing it for me.

     So, for awhile I was really quiet going to school in the small town of Toole, Texas. At times people even thought I was mute. But what do you expect from an only child who's moved around south every couple of months? I can assure you social skills was not my area. That was until I met Ben.

Ben was a whole head taller than me when I first met him, broad shoulders, but still a little scrawny. He was your typical nerd. Black curly hair, big green eyes, a big nose, and wore the same five t-shirts every week. Ben always had a new book to read every week too, usually hand picked by the librarian herself. And no one could ever have a conversation with him without him talking about his Euphonium, which is basically like a mini tuba. (Just don't tell him that cause he'll go into a ten minute lecture about how they're completely different.)

"That's a really good book ya know." Ben had told me the first day we met.

    Sitting alone in the library, I shook my head and continued to read. Ben had awkwardly been standing there for about thirty seconds until I looked up at him from my book.

"Ben Kapchenskie." He had smiled, sticking out his hand that wasn't occupied with books or school supplies.

   Even though I was a fifteen-year-old girl and it had been a few months into school, I still hadn't talked to anyone but the teachers. I just didn't have the courage to. Social Anxiety I guess you could call it.

"Uhm...I-" I stuttered beneath my book, making eye contact.

  Ben interrupted me by saying, "This is usually the part where you say 'Hi, my name blah blah blah and I like The Fault In Our Stars.' " he said in a girly voice, prancing around like some derpy pixie.

   I giggled and watched as he stuck a hand out for me to talk. I shook my head as I said, "I hate The Fault In Our Stars."

    Ben's eyes had never been so wide, and to this day, I still have never seen him so surprised than the first day he heard me speak. Although, at the time my stomach was turning on the inside of me like the gears in an old engine I was so nervous. His eyes were so big I had a small concern that his eyes were going to pop out of his head.

"Wait, so you talk?" Ben chuckled covering his mouth, still trying to contain his laughter, "We thought you were mute." He gestured towards Tom and Carlos, his two friends who had been standing behind the book shelves listening in on our supposed to be one-man-conversation.

    At the time, I couldn't tell if they were laughing at their mistake- or me. So before anything else could happen and so I didn't just throw up due to my embarrassment I got up and took my bag with me.

    My ripped sneakers squeaked against the hallway floors the following week, and for the rest of that semester, which was actually only two weeks, that's all you would hear of Kara Hodge; her old, smelly, ripped squeaking sneakers.

   Two weeks later, on the last day of school I was walking down the steps of the school one last time before Christmas Break. It had actually snowed a little that year and the ice on the ground froze my toes off. So, as I trudged down the steps and counted all fifty one of them, my heart stopped when someone called my name.

  To my surprise, it was Ben. That day he offered me a ride home after apologizing for offending me and, as he called them; 'all the mutish people of the world'.

Since then we just said hello in the hallways, or in my case gave a little wave. Which turned into talking about books, which led to texting and calling, which then came to becoming best friends.

   But, that morning I didn't text or call any of my three friends, mainly because it was practically my day off from school. You see, on the last two days before Summer break our school has to take final exams— each day split in half so we'd have more time to study for each test in particular. Day One we'd take our tests in periods 1-4, then Day Two 5-7.

I know right. Great way to start off Summer.

Fortunately, in my case I had only electives on the last day so I was already finished with my Junior year of high school.

I clawed back my bedroom curtain— that's what separated my bed from the rest of the fully open trailer— and trudged across the carpeted floor that contained many colors and smells. But I didn't complain it's better than living on the streets. I opened the wooden cabinet and grabbed a banana from the bowl on the counter and began to make myself mocha. As I closed the cabinet door my eyes set on a little yellow sticky note that I must've missed when opening it.

Kara,

I know you're not going to school today, that's why I didn't wake you up. Anyways, don't freak, it's not what you think, but pack up all your stuff alright? I'll explain when I get home.
     ~ Mom

My stomach dropped and it felt like all the air in the atmosphere was about to explode in my throat. My hands shook as I held the little white mug and I slammed it on the counter so I wouldn't drop it from all my shaking.

"Shit."

   This can't be happening.