Hallie Mitchell, a misguided 18-year-old girl who moves to Hawaii after her parents travel to Australia for 8 months, quickly learns how her life has changed when she finds out a big family secret her Aunt Regina and dad have been keeping from her a...
Hallie was always nervous around her grandmother. Rhonda Mitchell was a kick-ass 65 year old woman who loved to play with fire and shoot guns. Hallie always thought her grandmother did too much... with everything. Hallie saw her Aunt Regina sitting next to Rhonda on a bar stool near the island. Hallie felt a drop of sweat creep down her nose. She quickly wiped it away before speaking. "I'd prefer to stand ma'am." Hallie said in the most respectful way she could. She knew that even just a hint of lip will get her a mouth full of soap, a slap to the face, and nowhere to live for 8 months. "Any reason for your behavior?" Rhonda asked calmly. "Yes ma'am I..." "Not a good reason. Let's try this again. Any reason for your behavior?" Rhonda's stare at Hallie burned her eyes but she didn't dare to look away. "No ma'am. No reason at all." Hallie said quietly. "So then what possessed you to open your mouth and blatantly disrespect your aunt like that? Is there a problem? Is something going on with you?" Rhonda asked tapping her nails on the island counter awaiting an answer. Hallie was speechless and didn't know what to say. "Mom, I told you, it wasn't entirely her fault." Regina said defending Hallie. Hallie would have rolled her eyes if her grandmother wasn't there. "The bitch snitched me out." Hallie thought to herself. "Halligenica Heather Ryanne Mitchell if you don't jump back in your skin and apologize right now." Hallie was warned. "I'm sorry Aunt Regina. It won't happen again." "Good. Now Regina you can show Hallie around the city. And the school she'll be going to tomorrow." Rhonda said. "Mom are you sure? I mean you just got home. I could make you some..." "Regina I'm old not crippled. Now go go go before I change my mind and end up needing something." Rhonda said while picking up the "I Love Grandma" mug Hallie made for her when she was 5, and taking a sip from it. " We should get going, it's going to be dark soon." Regina said. Hallie immediately left to go get her green Nike sports jacket. Hallie heard yelling outside and decided to be her nosy-self and see what was going on. She looked out the window to see Vanerro carrying a girl in her arms and running while 3 boys chased them with water guns. Hallie walked away from the window while playfully rolling her eyes at the thought of Vanerro flirting with more girls. "You ready to go?" Regina asked peeking in on Hallie who was now putting on her Adidas shoes. Hallie looked up at her and didn't say a word. She heard Regina whisper "Okay" to herself and walked away. Hallie got up and headed to the garage. On her way Hallie was called by her grandmother. "Hallie come here for a minute." There goes the nervous breakdown again. "You know I love you right?? Rhonda asked comfortingly. Hallie nodded her head. "Yes ma'am I do. I love you too." " I never enjoy talking sternly to you like that, but I felt you were acting out because you are living in a new home now." Rhonda explained. Hallie wasn't always scared of her grandmother. Hallie and Rhonda were as close and a grandmother and granddaughter should be. "No ma'am but I will do better. See you soon." Hallie said rushing to the garage trying to make the awkward moment go away.
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"So should we eat first or...?" Hallie asked while getting into the 2000 Ford Expedition. The navy blue truck needed some work Hallie saw. "Yeah let's eat first. There's this great burger joint across town. Maybe we can go there? You know, if you even like burgers." Regina said uneasily. "Yes of course." Hallie said with a little kindness in her voice. Regina started the ignition, backed out of the garage and drove down the street without saying a word. Hallie saw the beautiful sights of Makaha, Hawaii. The orange and yellow sunset gently shined over all of the city. Hallie rolled down her window and felt the warm rushing wind hit her face. She could smell the palm trees. "I didn't know Hawaii was this amazing." Hallie said finally letting her grudge against her aunt go away. "Yes baby girl, I felt the same way when I moved here." Regina said thinking about when she first moved to Hawaii. "And this is the school you'll be attending tomorrow. Wrenwick Accosta High School. I like this school because academically this school is smart as hell. Now sports, I'm not so sure." Regina said laughing. The school was a very tall building. The campus was big from the outside. 10 minutes later Regina and Hallie pulled up to "Beggin4Bergers" a popular burger joint down town. "Isn't burgers spelled with a..." "It's supposed to be funny." Regina said with a smile while looking at the misspelled word in the name of the restaurant. Hallie and Regina entered the slightly packed building and ordered a burger and fries with a strawberry milkshake. Hallie didn't believe what she was about to ask her aunt after them having such a good time out. "Why did you and dad stop talking for 8 years?" Hallie immediately stuffed her face with her burger. Regina choked on her shake. "What do you mean?" Regina asked trying to stall on the subject. " Exactly what I asked." Hallie said pushing her food away. "You want dessert?" Regina asked changing the subject and getting up from the table. She didn't even wait for Hallie to answer. Hallie then knew, her Aunt Regina was hiding something.
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Hallie's alarm went off at 6:15 A.M. "Hallie you're supposed to be at the bus stop by 6:25!" Rhonda yelled from her bedroom. "Mom it's fine I'll take her!" Regina yelled. All the while, Hallie didn't pay attention to anything they were yelling about. She was still wrapped up in her blankets. "Hallie get up please." Regina instructed as nicely as she could. Hallie groaned and didn't move a muscle. Hallie then heard footsteps fading away from her room. " Good she left, I can sleep now." Hallie thought. 2 minutes later she heard the footsteps coming back, and closer too. Within 3 seconds she was drenched with cold water. "What the hell!?" Hallie yelled angrily at Regina. "Be ready in 20." Regina commanded throwing the empty mop bucket on her bedroom floor and walking out. Hallie flipped Regina off after she left and immediately changed into the clothes she picked out for school. She wore a lace front black skirt and a crop top that said " Don't Like Me Love Me, Like Is Temporary". She put on her black high top Converse and then went to the bathroom to brush her teeth.
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"Here we are." Regina said parking in the Wrenwick A. High School parking lot. Hallie got out the car. "Do you want me to come with you?" Regina asked reaching for her seat belt. "No." Hallie said while walking away. "Um...okay! Have a nice day!" Regina yelled to Hallie who was already at the school's entrance. "Hi, I'm Hallie Mitchell. I'm new." Hallie said to a secretary worker. "Oh, okay. Hallie follow me." The short woman instructed. She followed the woman into a different building within the school. The ceiling was high with a crystal chandelier. To Hallie's surprise, everything was fancy. "Brought you a new one." The short woman exclaimed to another woman. "Do you have Hallie Mitchell's schedule?" Hallie read her name tag. Her name was Jeffany. "What kind of name is Jeffany? I mean I know my name is anything but ordinary. Halligenica. But I had to change it to Hallie. You know, something that made sense. What's she gonna do to change her name? Call herself Jeff?" Hallie thought to herself not paying attention to the 2 women. "Hallie? Hallie? Here's your schedule. This young lady is going to take you to your 3rd period." Jeffany explained while handing Hallie the paper. "Oh, I'm sorry what did you say?" Hallie asked who had zoned out. "This young lady who'll be in your 3rd period will take you there." Jeffany informed. "Um okay?" Hallie said uneasily while adjusting her Micheal Kors bag on her shoulder. Hallie looked at the girl and noticed how surprisingly short she was compared to her. Hallie was 5'4, this girl had to be 4'8. The girl had dark brown hair and eyes to match. Hallie guessed she was Hispanic. "Follow me. I know where everything is." The girl said with a smile. "And you are?" Hallie asked wondering why this girl hadn't introduced herself first. "Amara Wesley. What's your name again?" Amara asked kindly. "I'm Hallie." Hallie introduced with a straight face. "I have a feeling we are going to be great friends." Amara said smiling. "Yeah me too." Hallie said uneasily while following Amara through the hallway.
