𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐇 ━ p. parker [O.H]

i. chaotic beginnings

CHAPTER ONE 
❝ CHAOTIC BEGINNINGS. ❞

MELINDA GONZÁLEZ WAS AN AVID READER TO SAY THE LEAST, but she didn't hide it. If you somehow walked into her humble abode, you'd most likely mistake it for a bookshop because of the countless number of books arranged on shelves. But no one hated her for her obsession as much as her daughter did. Most of the conversations she would have with the girl would be something along the lines of:

"I'm sure you were drunk when you named me."

"No, Harper, I was not. I was very sober to name you after a remarkable, well-known, inspiring author."

Harper wasn't fond of her name but she always thought it could be worse — like the poor girl in her gym class called Prudence. The first thing that came to her mind when she heard the name was an old lady who wore worn-down sandals with long stripy socks brighter than Harper's social life and ate PB&J sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

A week into the new school year, the girl was already running late. Harper, with her the wiring of her headphones held tightly between her lips, scoured through the kitchen cupboards, searching for something to eat. Eventually she managed to salvage a crushed breakfast bar from the back and huffed in disgust at it but paused to consider her options. Slightly dead breakfast or no breakfast?

Harper removed the headphones from her lips and sighed. "Guess I'll just have to go with this then." The girl then scurried out of the kitchen to the bottom of the staircase and yelled. "Mom! We're out of breakfast bars!"

Working at home didn't earn much for Melinda González, but it came with its perks like not having a patronizing manager watching her every second and being allowed to wake up at any time that pleased her. For Melinda, it was only after ten, which Harper seemed to always forget. Perhaps she was just trying to get her mother out of bed and be more productive. Either way, Melinda was fast asleep and didn't hear a thing her daughter had said.

Harper, in a haste, grabbed her bag, shoved her laptop into it, and headed for the door before yelling once again. "Next time, don't get me the peanut butter bars!"

Once she had locked the front door, Harper took off on her feet, running towards the bus stop a few minutes away from her house. Within two minutes, she found herself running out of breath but she persevered on to run, simultaneously pulling out her inhaler from her bag. She pumped the medication into her system and took a few last strides to try and catch up with the bus which had just passed the stop and was now traveling in her direction.

"Wait!" she yelled, waving her arm in front of the approaching bus.

The driver noticed and sighed, shaking his head, as he pulled over to the side of the road. Harper smiled in relief as she watched the doors swing open.

"Late again, are we, Miss González?" the driver asked as Harper clambered onto the bus.

"You know me, Gary." she grinned as she made her way down the bus aisle, earning the attention of most of the people seated in the vehicle. She looked around at the faces: several angry, several annoyed, some confused and some, well one — precisely Michelle Jones — not bothered.

Harper trodded to the back of the bus and sat herself down on the cold, hard seat besides the rain-stained window. She popped her headphones and leaned into her seat as the bus moved. The neighborhood passed before her eyes as she nodded her head along to Seven Nation Army, a song she liked to start her day off with to give her a bit of motivation on an otherwise dull Monday morning.

The girl was unaware as she soon began to tap her feet to the beat while she immersed herself in the music. It was at times like this, when she was listening to music, she'd look around and acknowledge her surroundings for once and notice things like how it had just started to rain. Many of the students on the bus groaned, shaking their heads at what they would call 'miserable' weather but Harper smiled to herself, the rain providing her a sense of comfort. She'd describe the atmosphere as calming and neutral, plain and simple, like she wanted life to be.

But the atmosphere would soon be altered as a sudden jolt coursed through the bus like an earthquake, causing the vehicle to move back a few feet. The driver pushed on the brakes, resulting in the wheels screeching, before looking at the road in front of him. A clamour rose among the students as several stood up to question why the bus had come to a sudden stop. Even Harper, who had been completely immersed in her music, removed her headphones and shifted her attention to the front.

She stood up slowly, the scene coming into view. Her eyes widened and she felt her chest sink in quickly like the air had been sucked out of her lungs like a vacuum. Harper blinked a few times, trying to reassure herself that what she was seeing was only the result of four hours of sleep without coffee. However, it wasn't and when she realized that she was wrong, a feeling of vulnerability washed over her. Perhaps it was fear; perhaps it was shock. Either way, the situation didn't look good for anyone.

━ author's note;
woah okay so that was the first chapter. i feel like i know what i'm doing with this book and i have so many plans for harper so look out! i hope you enjoyed this chapter and feedback would be appreciated.