Immortals (ON HOLD)

Chapter 2

Ariel

 I hastily shut the door behind me, rubbing my arms to stay warm. I quickly ran up the stairs and to my room, throwing my bag on the floor by my desk. I let out a sigh as I flopped down on my bed, kicking off my fawn-colored EMU King Cross boots. Well, technically, they were my friend Emma’s, but she insisted I just keep them. I took off my bright red scarf my mom had knitted for me a few years ago, wrapping it around the right end post of my bed. I left on my favorite cream Ambercrombie hoodie, the inside lined with faux cooper-colored fur. My parents refused to turn the heat on before Thanksgiving, so wearing long-sleeved shirts, thick socks, and hoodies were my only options. I didn’t really mind, considering autumn was my favorite season. I stood up and decided to start dinner a few minutes later, feeling my stomach growl in hunger. My parents were hardly ever home, so it was up to me to take care of the house most of the time, short of paying the bills.

I did a majority of the laundry and dishes, cleaned the house, made dinner, called repairmen if we needed to, and took out the garbage. I grabbed a box of Penne pasta and began boiling the water. I remembered my mom taught me how to make spaghetti sauce when I was only six, and started that in a second pot. Emma texted me about ten minutes later, which ended up becoming a phone conversation. “So? Parents gone again?” She asked, and I could imagine her fiddling with one of her lip rings. “Yeah. You know how busy the lives of a personal assistant and a toxicologist are…” I muttered, rolling my eyes. “Hey, at least they’re not overbearing! Amy Thomas’ parents are a nightmare!! I remember in fourth grade she wanted to have a birthday party at Chucky Cheese, but her mom called it an ‘immature, disease-ridden hell hole’, and opted instead for a trip to the museum. What seven year old wants to go to a museum?!?” I chuckled, stirring the sauce slowly.

“Whatcha’ makin’ for dinner?” “Pasta,” I murmured, emptying the box into the scalding water. “Oohhh sounds good! We’re having leftover meatloaf…” I shook my head with a smile. “Well, you’re always welcome to come over.” “I’d love to Ari, but I have a shit load of homework for chemistry…Mr. Kelso can be a real asshole!” I laughed, wholeheartedly agreeing. The man loved to torture high school seniors… “Speaking of which, I better get started on it. Maybe we’ll talk later, alright? Oh! Before I forget, I think Dexter wants to take some pictures of us tomorrow.” “Again?? He just took some last week!” “Well, you know those artsy types; they’re never happy with their work…” I sighed and nodded, wondering how long this camera would last. He’d broken his previous one trying to get a photo of a sparrow from some ridiculous angle. “See ya’ tomorrow, Ariel!” “Bye Emma,” I said before hanging up. I shoved my phone in my hoodie’s pocket before I finished up dinner, grabbing myself a decent-sized helping once it was ready. I went outside and fished our mail from the mailbox, sifting through it as I ate my dinner.

Three bills, four magazines, and two junk letters. I threw those ones away, separating the bills and magazines into two piles. I washed my plate off when I was done, going to my room to finish some chemistry and English homework. I listened to my ipod as I did so, feeling the answers easily coming to me. I texted my two guy friends- Dexter and Remi- for a little while before I hopped in the shower. The mirrors were fogged even before I stepped in, and I shivered delightfully as the scorching water hit my skin. I thought back to school today, particularly gym class, and balled my hands into fists. Ever since I had hit puberty, I had these weird, unexplainable adrenaline rushes, where everything was heightened. Sound, sight, hearing, reflexes…just about everything any superhero would need to save the world. It’s too bad I wasn’t Wonder Woman. Instead of being praised for saving a cat from getting hit by a car, or defending helpless nerds about to have their faces beaten to a pulp, I was ridiculed for it.

I was lucky to even have friends. I’ve known Emma since I was a toddler, so my freaky heroine antics didn’t bother her. She thought it was “awesome”. Dexter met us in middle school, right before the spontaneous bursts of energy, and even though he was a bit skittish and definitely not one to call my weird ability “cool”, he didn’t seem to mind much. I guess Remi thought it was pretty cool too, but the only reason he started talking to me was because he thought I was hot. When I totally outwitted him, we became friends, and has been like a brother to me and Emma ever since. So really, I was just blessed with amazing friends who mine as well have been my siblings. This sort of leads me to my two adoptive parents, Adam and Brook Eaton. My mother, Brook, isn’t your typical mom. She’s whimsical, dramatic, outgoing, sociable, and caring, with short blonde hair and bright blue eyes. I have no doubt that she loves me, but she definitely wasn’t for the whole “child raising” thing. It’s like she wanted to have the experience of having a kid without the whole pregnancy, diaper-changing, crying and trouble-making parts. So, she raised me to be adult-like from a very young age, which is why I take care of myself so much.