ISABEL (Sample)

Chapter Two

Christine bounded down the stairs clutching her back pack over her shoulder. The scent of freshly baked cookies filled the air and she knew her mother just finished baking.

She strode into the kitchen and picked three cookies from a plate which she ate in a rush. Her mother was in the kitchen, reading a news paper which she had spread open on the counter, a mug of tea at hand.

Crimson and Clover by Dolly parton, one of her mother's favorite was playing from the radio atop the cabinet. Christine picked one more cookie and downed it with a glass of cold orange juice which she had taken from the fridge.

Her mother glanced over her shoulder and said. "I don't recall that being the proper way of telling your mother, good morning, Christine."

Christine cringed slightly in guilt and smiled nervously. "These cookies were hard to ignore. Good morning mum."

"You woke up late again." Her mother said, gaze now fixed on her news paper again.

Christine shrugged. "Alarm broke." She simply said.

"You always wake up late with or without an alarm." Her mother closed the news paper, turned and shuffled towards her, then leaned with her elbows on the kitchen table, facing her. "You practically toss your alarm clocks through the window or dash them against the wall evey time they ring."

Christine guiltily looked away. "You knew?" She asked, surprised.

"I'm your mother." Her mother shot her an armless glare.

"I'm doing fine and getting good grades so who needs an alarm to disturb a peaceful sleep." Christine stated.

"But honey, think about the bus. You always miss it." Her mother said in deep concern.

Christine smiled. "I'll walk mum, I always do. In fact, walking gives me a lot of time to myself, not that the school is far anyway." Her mother shook her head pitifully at her as she took a sip of her tea.

Noticing that her mother wasn't prepared for work bit still in her favorite lilac night gown, christine asked in curiosity. "You aren't going to work today?"

Her mother shook her head. "Nope!" She set her mug down and began to rummage for a magazine from the stack of magazines neatly arranged on the table. "Today is my day off. I'm staying in."

Christine noted that her mother was avoiding her gaze and pretended to be focused on flipping through the pages of the magazine she had finally selected. She sensed her mother wasn't telling her everything. "Mum..? Is that all?"

Her mother finally revealed the smile she had been trying to conceal and looked up at Christine. "I'm going out tonight." She said and quickly sipped her tea trying to hide the colour flooding her cheeks, she looked flushed. "Lincoln asked me out on a date." Her mother blinked at her as if scared of her reaction.

Christine didn't have a problem with her mother dating. After all, her father had passed away four years ago, they had moved down here and started afresh. Three years later, her mother had taken a liking to a colleague of hers who was a divorcée and now, they were finally going out together. She was happy for her mother unlike she, who could only concoct images of her on a date with her crush in her head. She was not even bold enough to tell him hi.

Christine smiled at her mother, grabbed her back pack from the floor and swung it over her shoulder. "That's amazing, mum... I had better get going if I don't wanna be late for my first class... Mrs Stuart is quite strict with late comers and I don't wanna face detention." She leaned forward and kissed her mother on the cheek. "I'll see you when I get back." She turned and headed out of the kitchen for the main door.

"Christine! Try catch the bus this time on your way back from school. The weather forecast says it might rain today." Her mother yelled after her.

Christine approached the large gate of Eddison High. She was 5:6 at seventeen, brown hair with streaks of gold. She was slim and had a nice figure but who would notice that when she wore loose fitted clothes. She didn't follow the fashion trend neither was she a cheer leader, she was a nobody because she kept a low profile.

Her beautiful face was mostly always hidden by her long hair. Although, she was a senior and her grades were good but no one really paid attention to her because of her low-self esteem.

She looked down at the grass now as she walked with several students towards the foyer of the school. She made her way through the throng of students and reached her locker.

She unlocked her locker, zipped her back pack open and offloaded several books into it. She replaced them with her literature text book, exercise book and a novel, The Mayor of Casterbridge was what Mrs. Stuart said they would be studying on this week.

She was about locking her locker when a cold breeze enveloped her. She wrapped her arms around herself and looked around with a frown to see if the other students also felt as cold as she was but nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of a person. A girl of her age in a night gown, a girl that stood out of place, she stood at the far end of the wall and the students seemed to ignore her as if she wasn't there.

Christine didn't know who this strange girl was but she took a quick glance around to see if she was waiting for someone but nobody was paying either of them any attention, they seemed oblivious to the strange girl. The girl's gaze seemed to be directed at her that was when Christine noted that she could see through the girl, a student passed by, obstructing her line of view, by the time Christine looked again, the girl was gone. She scanned around but didn't see her. How was she that fast and where could she have gone to? Did she just imagine that? Of course she was a person to imagine a lot of things in her head but definetly not transparent people. Weren't those called ghosts or something?

She finally realized the odd cold was gone and She felt normal again. She swung her locker shut then grabbed her back pack from between her feet and headed towards her literature class just before the bell rang.