ANA

chapter 1: The beginning

Ana's P.O.V
CLICK! The door quietly shut as i entered as I entered the mildewy living room with the dingy grey couch and old tiny TV. As fast as I could I raced to my bedroom and locked the door so the screaming of my Mom, Jane, and step dad, Steve, in the kitchen would be muffled.  I pulled  out my phone and texted my best friend Em.  “OMG they're at it again and I can barely hear myself think, HELP!” I sent. I and Em have been best friends forever and confided everything in each other.  I had even told Em about the time when Steve came home drunk and hit me.  I tried telling my mom but she didn't believe me.  My mom sees Steve as some sort of god.

My real dad was a policeman in Manhattan back before they moved to Tampa after he died in a car crash.  A least that’s what my mom told me, I have no memory of my real father and no pictures of him either, it’s like he never even existed sometimes.

 “BUZZ,” it was Em, “Can't you come over! We have to finish the project on family history remember!”  “Sorry I can't do it tonight, this time the argument is about me and I’d rather NOT interrupt if you know what I mean, but maybe tomorrow.”  Then my cell reception stopped and I was cut off from the world till at least the next morning.

I sat there quietly till I started to cry.  I dont have a particular reason I was crying I just cried and cried until I fell asleep.  I dreamed of a home where I felt welcomed and a mother who loved me more than the world, most importantly I dreamed of my father and who he might be and what he was like.  I just couldn’t help but wonder.

"BEEP BEEP BEEP,” my old brown digital alarm clock screamed at me that I had overslept.  I got up and threw on my pink polka dotted robe over my blue jeans and coca cola T-shirt I had worn the day before.  I went to the cramped kitchen and hurriedly ate my breakfast of a pop tart and orange juice. I wrote a note to mom about going the Em’s to finish our project.  I brushed my teeth and hair, threw a fresh pair of jeans and a new shirt, and went to the back door where I put on my old knock off uggs from Wal-Mart and an old grey sweatshirt.  Then I bolted out the door leaving the note for mom to see when she woke up around noon.

This was a regular occurrence almost every Saturday I did this.  I always went to the same places too.  Usually to Em’s but if they were busy or not home I would go to the library, I loved it there.  Ever since I was a little girl I had gone to the library.  I still remembered the first time I went to the library.  It was the first time I met Em as well. I remembered walking in and there was the most overdressed girl I had ever seen.  Em was wearing a blue dress with sparkles all over it and medium poofed up short sleeves.  She also wore long white gloves that went all the way to her elbows and, despite the fact that she was only four like me, she wore giant diamond clip on earrings and bright red lipstick.

Today I knew Em was home because her parents were out of town at a psychologist’s meeting in Phoenix and won’t be back until Monday. Em usually has to go to these things but this year they decided she was old enough to stay home alone of course with the exception of me.  They are always trying to get me to open up to them like I’m one of the patients.  Em’s parents Julia and Keith are like a second mom and dad in a way.  Whenever I had to be picked up at school after missing the bus for whatever reason they are the ones I call. They are the ones that always chew me out for bad grades to.  My real mom does that but not for the same reasons.

As I slowly made my way to Em’s I grabbed my still un-serviced phone and looked at my calendar.  “Nothing Nothing Nothing.” I muttered softly to myself.  I never had anything to do it seemed.  Other than clean the house, wash the dishes, and get yelled at.  Em’s house sometimes seemed like a fortress of solitude.

When I arrived Em as usual was texting me furiously.  Even though I couldn’t text back I got that Em was mad.  As soon as I rang the doorbell Em was right there all mad and steamy over me not texting her back.  As soon as I explained Em was back to being her chipper self again.  As the angry red drained from her face.  I noticed that Em wasn’t wearing her usual makeup.

Em was very pretty.  She was for the most part the shape of an hourglass.  She had long brown almost black curly hair. She had dark brown eyes that seemed to smile all the time.  Her lips were naturally a beautiful shade of light red that went perfectly with her skin tone.

I on the other hand was normal sized and mostly unremarkable.  I had straight blond hair and freckles sprinkled on my nose and cheeks.  I have dull grey blue eyes and usually dry lips that didn’t match up exactly perfect due to her overbite.

As we got started on their project Em brought out a bag of chips and two MT. Dews.  Em always did that, bring out food drinks while working.  I grabbed Em’s spare laptop. It was old and beaten up but at least it still worked.   Em’s mom had gotten her new laptop for her because she thought that it was prettier than her old one.  As you could see by the way that the house was perfectly decorated Em’s mom cared a lot about appearances.

So,” Em said casually. “What was the fight about?”

“Nothing really just about how I’m such a nuisance and how I should be sent to an all girls boarding school.  You know the usual.”

“Thats rough.”

“Not really im used to it.”