CHAPTER V
'Up there the people look like ants', that’s what people say when they’re at the very top of the clouds, but it seems to be different for Phire. People looked like blocks. There are different colors.
“Juice or coffee?” The stewardess tediously came pulling the cart of refreshments over.
It is Phire’s first time riding the airplane. Even she, never thought she would ride one someday.
Their aparment is actually one of the highest in the whole street. Every summer, Lauren would stay for weekends. They would roam around the apartment looking for things to make fun of. At night they would climb up the roofed terrace with a handful of chips Lauren had stolen from their kitchen, and then set up the telescope she had received from her father. They will set the map and look for constellations available in the dark sky.
Phire had always loved those nights. They would go around the roof like crazy old women and make funny sounds. Sometimes, the family on the sixth floor would complain to the landlady. But the landlady just ignored them.
One night Phire saw a thing above the sky that resembles an airplane, but appears to be smaller. Lauren told her it’s a chopper. Only rich people can own one. Lauren had even ridden one when her father was invited by the governor of a nearby city. Phire was fascinated. It’s her first time to see a chopper in person. She had seen some on TV however it seemed to look different above the sky.
“Phire, I want you to act properly in front of your new mother” her father started. “And please don’t ever mention anything about your real mother”
Phire didn’t understand why she has to behave so descent in front of an old lady her father could have met in a bar, except if she’s the queen of England. “Of course” In spite of these, she’s the one her father married. She could be a very charming lady. At least that’s what she thought.
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The coconut trees grow taller and taller as their car pass by. Phire is nervous. No matter how hard she try to hold herself back from one, she can’t deny that her mind is shaking. She's agitated. Even then, she maintained a poker face. “Are you excited, father?”
Her father’s face is crinkled. Phire can’t indentify whether he’s smiling or frowning. But, she can tell his lips are shaking. “Not at all” he took out a cigarette from his pocket and begun smoking. Fortunately, one of the windows automatically opened. “Are you?”
“Neither” she denied.
Phire can almost picture the house she might stay in for the next nine years. It must be a small apartment with a cheap rent. It’s located down the road near the market between a school and the church. A regular house. Frankly she doesn’t know what New York exactly looks like, except for the tall buildings.
She slept halfway of the road trip, thus she missed the sixty percent of the sceneries which could have amused her. Out of the blue, Phire thought of thanking her father’s colleagues for attending their needs. They almost didn’t slept all night. They even drove them to her new step mom’s house. “We must offer them something afterwards” Her lips pointed the suited guy quietly sitting in front of his father.
“Sure” His father laughed. The stubborn kid may be smart but still an ignorant, that's what her father thought.
Not long after, the car had stopped in front of a towering gate. Phire had never seen any like that for her entire life. It is soaring high, purely white made of metal. Eventually the gates opened.
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Forest of Light
Teen FictionPhire had spent her whole life in a small town you might never heard of. She lives in an old apartment you might never dream having. Still, she's contented. Despite of all the hardships she and her father had undergone, she's happy. As long she's wi...
