Puppets, Controllers, and Death

Ch. 2 Bitterness Upon First Sight

Cher

"But what if no one likes me?"

Cher had to resist the urge to laugh as she consoled her half sister, Jessica Graham, about popularity. Now that she gave more thought about it, she should be giving Cher comfort, not the other way around!

"Goodbye children," she heard their father murmur under his breath.

She was always the other child. Jessica and her other brother, Alec, were full siblings, but Cher's mother had died long before them. They all had the same dad, but even her own father treated her like a mere guest, not a part of the family. But who could blame them?

'Stop it,' she chided herself. 'Stop thinking like that.'

But every time she saw her half sister, she was reminded of the differences between the two of them.

Jessica was athletic, pretty, and was an archer. There was no way she'd be a loser at Nature Valley High!

Cher, on the other hand, was the quiet, moody one. She was artistic but that was it.

Even they looked different. Jessica was short, with glossy, straight black hair and beautiful brown eyes. She and Alec looked similar too, with their tanned skin. Cher was tall, with a few curves and skin as dark as chocolate. Her long, curly brown hair complemented her eyes, which were the colour of honey.

She mused about this as they went to their dorm rooms. Fortunately, Alec, the mischevious little troublemaker, went to a different dorm. Cher and Jessica headed over to room 1023.

Once there, they were greeted by a sophisticated looking girl. She held an air of maturity and royalty. "Welcome," she remarked the girls in a British accent. "You must be the sisters."

Cher immediately began to introduce. "I'm Cher, and this is my sister Jessica-" she was cut off, rudely she may add, by the other girl in this room.

"Graham, I know. I'm allowed to know of any student with past archery experience." She said with a sly smile. "I'm Andrea Oakwood, though most students address me by the name Drea."

"That is so cool!" Jessica gushed. As the two archers launched into a conversation, Cher felt the need to observe her surroundings. She carefully placed her emerald-green suitcase onto a bed and checked out the spot on the other side of Drea's.

The bed itself was splattered with different colours of paints. Beside the bed, a cabinet lay there with some pieces of small canvas. There was one with a picture of a girl and a boy, both making goofy faces at each other. Next to it, lay a picture with the kids in the exact same pose.

"Woah," Cher murmured under her breath.

"Thank you," came a sly voice coming from behind her. The dark-skinned girl whipped her head around, to be greeted by a tall, girl with red hair about as curly as hers. She wore paint splattered jeans and a simple white blouse. Her bright, green eyes sparkled with shyness as she raised her hand. " Regine Dale" she introduced herself as Cher shook her hand with hers.

"Cher Banks," Cher replied earnestly. "Sorry for looking through your stuff..." She trailed on, not sure wether or not to continue.

The redhead matched Cher's uneasy look with a cheerful grin. "No biggie," she shrugged one shoulder. "I'm used to it. And I can see from the looks of you you're a painter too, right?"

Cher smiled in relief. "You have no idea how bad I am at this! But look at you! You're a natural!" Her golden eyes sparkled with enthusiasm as she observed another one of Regine's paintings, the one with a lagoon and flamingo.

"Nonsense! All artists have some inspiration!"

"Oh, is that so?" Cher challenged the green-eyed girl.

Soon, the two launched into a massive conversation about the best ways to capture lighting and on the best artists of all time.

"Hey, you want a tour of the place?" Regine questioned her as Cher was thinking about her sister on the far side of the room, still chatting away with Drea. "You might need it when classes start..."

Regine continues numbly, seeing that her new friend wasn't really paying attention.

Cher debates in wether or not to go with Regine. She thought about staying here and unpacking her bags first. Then again, whenever she saw Jessica, she felt bitterness beginning to take its place, in spite she was her sister. After a split second,she makes her choice.

"Sure Regine."

Regine smiles evilly. "Come on! Let's go!" She says in so much of a hurry Cher wonders if the redhead had something on her sleeve...

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Hi,

Soooo, sory if the chappies are really short.

Next chapter is the introduction of all the characters!

Peace out!

Xoxo,

WeJustMetD