Distractions

Chapter 1

"Hey Sharlene, don't forget we have practice tomorrow." A colleague said.

"Thanks for the reminder! I'll be here." Sharlene replied.

Sharlene went out the dance studio and waited for her mother to come pick her up.

While she waited for her mother, she observed the gust of winds while sitting on the bench outside the studio. There was leaves flying everywhere. Sharlene just took a breath of the afternoon wind and waited.

Her mother eventually arrived, and she let out a sigh of relief as she can finally rest back home.

The car honked in front of Sharlene as she went inside, her beanie flew out of her grasp.

"Oh no." She said.

"What's wrong?" Her mother asked worrily.

"Nothing. Let's get going mom." She replied in disappointment.

The car ride was pretty quiet. Since Sharlene was wearing her headphones so she was occupied listening to music while her mother drived them back to their home.

...

They arrived home at almost nighttime, and Sharlene was ready to plop dead on her bed. Until they heard a scream.

"Mrs. Johnson!"

The voice was unrecognizable so they were unable to make out who it was immediately.

"Mrs. Johnson! Hi! I'm your new neighbor!" A young man introduced himself, who seems to be an 18 year old high school graduate.

"Oh hi! You're with your father, Brandon Miller, right?" Mrs. Johnson asked.

Sharlene stood there, interested and making sure her neighbor thinks she has respect.

"Yes he's my father." He replied.

Sharlene just nodded and walked inside but was stopped by her mother to let them introduce themselves to each other.

"Sharlene, this is...uhm...pardon me what is your name again?"

"George. George Miller. Nice to meet you Sharlene." He extended an arm.

"Nice to meet you too." Sharlene shook his hand with a smile.

"Well, I better get going. I still have things to do. Bye~" George said.

Sharlene went inside and directly to her room. Meeting her new neighbor and very tired from practice, she went inside the bathroom to freshen up. She took a shower and sat back on her bed.

She didn't realize that she was already asleep, with her towel still wrapped around her like a burrito.

...

Sharlene heard the noise of her alarm clock and got irritated.

"Not now..." She said as she used a pillow to cover her ears.

Still drowsy, she eventually got annoyed by the non-stop noise of her alarm clock and turned it off. She realized she still had her towels from last night and quickly removed them to dress with a shirt and shorts.

She groggily went out of her room downstairs to find her mother nowhere to be seen. She found a note by the counter that says she went out and that she should take care of herself.

She went out their front door to pick up the daily newspaper, and when she turned to her side she saw George mowing the lawn.

George quickly noticed and waved a hand and said a "Mornin'!" to her.

Sharlene waved back and went back inside. She looked at the clock and she wouldn't have practice until 1:30 in the afternoon and it's only 7:00 in the morning. So she threw the newspaper to the counter and went back outside to the fence that separates her house from George's.

"Hey there...uhh...George?" Sharlene tried to converse, leaning her hands on the fence.

"Hey there." George said as he took his earphones off to stand next to the fence.

"So...mowing early?" Sharlene asked.

"Oh yeah. It's part of my daily routine." George answered.

"For real? You do this every morning?"

"Yeah. Just removing excess grass and taking out weed."

"Weed?!"

"I know what you're thinking. I ain't no drug farmer, it's the unwanted plant that grows on gardens."

Sharlene was dumbfounded and tried to save herself from the terrible mistake she just made.

"I know that! Weed! So ridiculous that my neighbor would plant weed." Sharlene said.

"Yep. Always been clean, this family of mine." George replied.

"What made you move out here? It's not exactly the best place to be." Sharlene asked.

"Financial security is a must, and my father was willing to take whatever is necessary to feed us." George said.

Before Sharlene could speak, he butted in a question.

"Speaking of fathers, where is your father?" George added.

"He works abroad." Sharlene answered.

"Oh I see." George said.

"Well, I'm going to head on home, I have to preapare for dance practice later." Sharlene said.

"Wow, you dance? I support you!" George said.

"Cute." Sharlene muttered to herself.