Tails

CHAPTER 1 (Celine's POV)

Ever since I was in the 4th grade I have always kept my emotions bottled up inside where it can fester quietly as a mental illness. I stay pent up in my small little room with the window blinds closed, music turned on at half blast, and my eyes glued to my laptop. Occasionally I leave my 'cave' to tell my mom to stop lighting too many scented candles in the living room, get a bowl of Fruit Loops (without milk of course), and take a hot shower till all the hot water runs out. Are you dead yet, from boredom? Did your organs shut down out of pure apathy when you just read what I do everyday? I don't blame you. There isn't much to do here. All the kids at school usually go down to the beach after bible study everyday, but you couldn't pay me all the money in the world to go down there. And it wasn't because I didn't like those kids, and to be honest they didn't like me either, it was because I can't go near a huge body of water without hyperventilating. Yes, I'm afraid of water. I don't mind drinking it or bathing in it, I just can't swim in it. No, there isn't some huge backstory on why I don't like water, I'm just afraid of it. That's all. My mom hates that I'm afraid of it though because she's in love with the ocean. She says she feels connected to it. When she was a kid she spent more time wet then dry. Her mother was convinced that she was a mermaid.

When we first moved here she was considering purchasing a small bungalow by the beach, but I told her that if she did then I'd go live with Aunt Caroline. I wouldn't really of course because I love mom, but I absolutely hated the idea of living right next to my biggest fear. Instead we rented a 2 bedroom house that looked like every other house in the neighborhood. I don't mind it much, but I know mom does. She loves unique looking houses with unique locations. This house was the complete opposite. It was the only thing we could afford that was available.

Mom has to work 2 jobs; a waitress at some diner and a barista at the local coffee shop. I worry about her sometimes. She comes home late every night looking completely exhausted, and if I listen closely by her door I can hear her crying. I sometimes allow my self to feel that things would be so much easier if dad were here, but then I remember what that bastard did to us and then the feeling goes away.

When I go to school I always try to avoid any social contact. Everyone in my grade has known each other since kindergarden, as for me, well, I've only been here a year. Mom and I usually move every 1 or 2 years because of money issues. I don't mind it much because there's nothing that I love being left behind, but it would be nice to have a permanent home.

Mom always says that I don't make any friends because I send off a vibe that I don't want any. I say that's not true, but deep down I know it is. I'd never admit it though. I'm happy with just my mom. I don't need any friends. I've never been one to fit in either. Girls at the schools I go to usually wear fashionable things. They have their hair perfectly curled, makeup, nails painted. I usually wear my favorite blue oversized sweatshirt, skinny jeans, flip flops, my long, dark brown hair down, and no makeup. I consider myself plain. I try to blend in. I hate getting attention, which is why I always sit at the back of the classroom with my head buried in a book. I never raise my hand in class. I'm fairly good at my schoolwork when I try, but I bombed my test on purpose this past week because my English teacher said that whoever scored the highest on the test would get a Starbucks gift card given to them by her...in front of the whole class. I'd rather drop dead than get up in front of a bunch of my classmates while getting praised by my overly enthusiastic teacher. She smiles way to much which kinda creeps me out.

I've had a couple of incidents happen to me that I say are 'signs' that I should stay away from water. Like this one time a few years ago I was taking a shower when all of a sudden I look down to see blood. I screamed extremely loud and got right out of the shower. I yelled for my mom and screamed, "I'm dying! I'm dying! Help!" My mom came in, looked at me and then started laughing. I asked her, half crying, why she was laughing and then she said, "You're not dying, silly. You started your period." Then she gave me a long talk about how it's normal for girls to start their period at this age and how I was becoming a woman. "I'm not becoming a woman. I'm only 13 years old." I thought to myself. After that incident I knew that it was a sign that bad things will happen to me if I went anywhere near water.

When I got home from the last day of school about 2 weeks ago I went straight to the fridge, of course, and got a Gatorade. When I closed the fridge door I saw my mom sitting at the kitchen table going through the mail.

"More bills?" I said to my mom, even though I already knew the answer.

"Yep. I could've sworn I payed off this weeks rent." she said with a distraught look on her face. I sat down next to her and stared at that clock above the microwave.

"Mom, how many more times are we gonna do this?" I said

"Do what?"

"Move. I know you work your hardest, but don't you think it'd be nice to settle down?"

"Of course I do, but honey we just can't right now. Not until things...get better." We both sat in silence for a minute until my mom said,

"Sometimes I think things would be so much easier if your father were-" I stopped her.

"Mom it's been 6 years. We're so much better off without him." I paused for a minute.

"He's probably rotting in hell with-" This time she cut me off.

"Hey! I know what he did to us was awful but he's still your father." There was another silence.

"I'm gonna go for a walk." I said

"Alright. Don't be to long though because we're going to the diner for dinner."

About a week after that my mom gave me some news that I was actually really excited about. We went to 'Colleen's Diner' ,the place where my mom works, to have lunch that day. We sat down and talked about the usual stuff: Who we'd think would get kicked off 'American Idol', how all the towns we go to have no personality, what the weather was gonna be like tomorrow and oh I'm sorry my organs just shut down from boredom after thinking about all the boring stuff that we talked about.

Well the conversation got a lot more interesting after my mom finally blurted out,

"We're moving to Hawaii." I almost spit out the drink I was sipping on before I said,

"Wait, either you're totally screwing with me right now or this is some kind of dream"

"I swear to God I'm being serious." she said.

"But mom you have to be completely crazy if you think you we can afford to move there! The houses prices there are bigger than my whole entire future!" I said.

"I know, I know. Let me just explain. Colleen called me last night while you were on one of your walks and said she was going to move the business to Hawaii so she could be closer to her family. At first I was sad because I've been good friends with her for a while now and of course that would mean we would have to move again. But then she asked me if I wanted to come with her and be her co-owner! I was completely shocked. I told her that we could never afford a home there, but then she said we could live with her until we can get a place of our own. So....I said yes!"

This time I was completely in shock.

"This couldn't be happening. This is all a dream right?" I thought to myself.

"Oh my God! Mom, this is great! I knew your hard would pay off someday." I said.

On the car ride home back from the diner all I could think about was that we would finally have a place to call home. We wouldn't have to travel from one state to another every year in that rackety old pick up truck that smells like feet. And my mom wouldn't just be a waitress anymore. She would be a co-owner of a business, which meant more money! This still feels like a dream .

When I got home that night to take a shower, I was in the happiest mood I had been in in years. As I turned the shower knob from cold to hot, I thought to myself,

"We could finally start a new life. A better life."

End of Chapter 1

Chapter 2 should be out May 25th or 26th

Thank you so much for reading :)