A Change for Good

Chapter 3- Nothing Else to Do But Party, I Guess

Here is Chapter 3! I attached Sarah Brightman singing Hijo de la Luna (Son of the Moon). I just couldn't help myself :)

This is unedited. Enjoy!

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"Luna quieres ser maaaaddree...." I sing out. I'm listening to Hijo de la Luna by my favorite singer, Sarah Brightman, on my iPod. I've been sprawled out on my canopy bed for what seems like forever, waiting for Chloe to arrive. Finally, I see her white Prius pull up the driveway from my room window. I decide to be lazy and let her come to me instead of going all the way downstairs to greet her.

A few minutes later, Chloe shuffles into my room with her head buried beneath her arms full of clothes. "Maybe a hand or two?" she mumbles, her voice muffled by the fabric.

I reluctantly get up from my comfortable position on the bed. "If you think I'm going to try on all of that, you're out of luck," I say, eyeing the bundle I set on my new vintage chic desk.

"Yeah, yeah, just start changing, girl!" She disregards my reluctant look and opens my walk-in closet door, only to disappear inside. "Ooohhh, this top would look sooo cute with the skirt I brought!" I hear her squeal before she walks out and shoves the clothes in my arms. "Now go! We have no time to waste!"

I groan while heading toward my bathroom to change. I always knew Chloe was a bit on the bossy side, but sometimes it got annoying. Not to say I'm not bossy also, I point out in the middle of the conversation in my head as I change and curl my hair.

A few minutes later, I walk out in the new outfit. Chloe looks up from a fashion magazine as I strike a pose. She doesn't say anything for a few minutes. "You. Look. Amazing." She says slowly after her moment of shock. She then quickly snaps out of it. "My turn!" She says, grabbing what looks like a dress and skipping to the bathroom.

I check my email until she emerges in a black and white laced dress. She spins around on one boot.

"Wow, Chloe, looking good!" I exclaim. It's true, she looks great in black and white.

"Thanks, now let's go! We're late for the party!"

"I didn't know we could be late for a party," I raise my eyebrows.

She shrugs. 'Well, you can by my book! Let's go!"

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We arrive at Devon's house. It seems pretty average, but in a very neat neighborhood. Head up, check. Shoulders back, check. I take a deep breath and join Chloe at the door.

We walk into the typical teenage party scene, just no alcohol because most of us are underage. Plus, there are parent chaperones. I chuckle to myself. Without the parents, I bet there would be five times the people showing up compared to this. I scan the room. Chloe has already gone to get us sodas, so I might as well blend in with the crowd instead of standing in the middle of the room awkwardly.

That turned out not as easy as I thought. I see many kids staring at me, both because I am untouchable and because I never show up at parties. Having nothing else to do, I run my hands through my hair and look for the kitchen, hoping to find Chloe there.

Oh great, I think as I look around the kitchen. Not only is Chloe not here, but Alexis is. She is my enemy, provided that she is always trying to take my spot as the queen of the school. Look confident and smile, I tell myself.

Sure enough, Alexis and her group of giggly girls catwalk over to me. "Hey Anna, I see you've finally come out from under your rock," she sneers.

I decide today is not a day to play it nice. "And now that I see you here, I regret even coming out," I retort back, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Well pretty soon you won't be so sure of yourself," Alexis smirks. "I've heard you're not coming back till next year. My perfect opportunity to make sure nobody remembers you when you come back."

That was when I got angry. Without thinking, I shoved her against the wall. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into, missy," I growl. "When I come back, you'll be sorry you were born." And with that, I let her go and walked off, leaving her and her "friends" to gossip and plan revenge. I grabbed a Coke and walked over to the couch and sat down, rubbing my temples.

Right then, Chloe appeared on the couch next to me. "Anna, I'm so sorry I left you! Bu there was this one boy and-" She stopped babbling once she saw the expression on my face. "Oh, Anna, what happened?"

"Alexis happened."

"Oh," she says solemnly. "Well, do you want to go now? We can go..."

"Okay, you can say goodbye to whoever that boy you were talking about," I say while forcing a smile. "I'll be fine waiting here."

"Great, see you soon!"

I sat for five minutes staring awkwardly at the ceiling until I felt someone sit beside me. "Hey, are you okay?"

I glance over to a freckled boy with nerd glasses. Usually I wouldn't give someone like that a second look, but I was too upset to care today. "Nope," I reply bluntly."

"Oh," the boy says softly, looking down in his lap. "Your name's Anna, right?"

"Yup," I reply, this time with full eye contact. "Er... what's your name?"

"Eli." He says nervously. "What are your hobbies?" He asks quickly to make some conversation.

"Ballet, fencing, skiiing, yoga, stuff like that," I reply.

He smiles and nods. "Cool, I like hiking, sailing, and playing soccer," he says. "Along with long walks on the beach, preferrably at sunset," He adds.

I can't help but smile at the joke. "Well, we are total opposites, then," I tell him. "I hate nature."

He furrows his eyebrows. "Why?"

"When I was about seven, I went on vacation in Florida and one of the things that we did was tour the Everglades. Sure enough, my family accidentally strayed away from the tour group and we got lost for a few hours. As a seven year old, I thought it was pretty scary and I cried the whole time. With blurred eyes, I couldn't see where I was going and tripped and fell several times, scratching my knees. And to top it all off, I somehow managed to get bitten by a snake. It turned out not to be one of the poisonous ones, but I was so traumatized, I vowed never to like nature," I tell him. It was strange how I was telling a stranger my life story, and one from my school at that.

Eli shook his head. "That must have been terrible," he sympathizes.

I see a smiling Chloe enter the room from the corner of my eye. "Well, I have to go, but it was nice talking to you," I say, getting up from the couch and chugging the last of my soda.

He grins. "See ya!"

Chloe taps my shoulder from behind.

"I see you've had fun," she says, wiggling her eyebrows.

I turn around and roll my eyes. "Let's just go now," I say.

We get in Chloe's Prius. On the way to my house, I think to myself. The party was okay, balancing the good parts and the bad. That was the first time I conversed with a random student from school,and a boy at that. But I had a feeling, after "having a chat" with Alexis, that I wouldn't be the top of the food chain when I return next year. I will somehow have to change that.

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A/N:

Yay, done with chapter three!!! Please comment, vote, and follow! I'm feeling a little low on inspiration...