China Dolls

Move In Day

August 17th.

Dear Diary, 

“Today was my first day of school at Blackridge High. It definitely isn't easy being a new kid in a small town. My parents thought it would be a good idea for us to relocate after my grandmother passed away. But why should I have to change my life around just because some old woman I never knew died? I hate this new house, 6656 Willow Drive. The last house on the block, the house is old and run down, but you get what you pay for, I guess. The town itself is small, everyone seems to know everyone's business here. Our neighbor on the left, Mrs. Randall leaves all her lights on at night. I can see her going up and down her stairs late at night. Why would an older woman need to keep going up stairs at 2 a.m.? Aside from old Mrs. Randall I actually have not seen any of my other neighbors. School is pretty boring, I only have 67 kids in my entire grade. Most of them don’t say much. However Charlotte and her little group of gremlins don't take too fondly of new people moving in to town. Hopefully tomorrow is better. It is a new day afterall.”

Sincerely, Nikki 

Blackridge, Minnesota. Founded in 1666. The town was founded by The Blackridge Native American Tribe. The Treaties of 1689, by which the Dakota ceded their lands east of the Mississippi to the United States, required that all Dakota villages be moved. The bark houses his band left behind were taken over by the families of fur trader Harper Randall. Present day Blackridge, has a population of 186 people. The Town has an area of 3 miles. It is located 25 miles away from any neighboring towns. However despite its size, it has: A school, diner, cemetery and a corner store along with a few other shops. Small town dynamics usually revolve around one specific family. The Randalls. Only one remains, Laurie Randall. Everyone in town seems to know everything about everyone. No secrets stay buried here. 

The moving truck sped down Main street hitting just about every pothole. Following it was a small rusted silver truck. A sign read ‘Welcome to Blackridge, Population 186.’ Nikki sat in the back of the truck her eyes buried in her phone. She was messaging Jo, her childhood best friend. It was one of the hardest things Nikki had ever done. Leaving Jo back home in Montoka. The truck came to a halt in front of an old run down home. 6665 Willow Drive. Nikki stepped out of the car her blue eyes taking in the sight of her new home. It was definitely a sight to see. The chipped paint, broken windows, dead vines up the siding. The whole house looked like it could just collapse at any moment. The sound of loud arguing soon filled Nikkis ears as she turned on her heel to see her parents already going at each other. It was an everyday occurrence, Mom would say something then Dad would get upset and sometimes physical. Nikki felt her phone vibrate in her pocket as she fished it out of her pocket. It was a service notification. She didn't have any service here. That was just the icing on the cake. She had to live in this horror movie of  house in a lame small town with absolutely no service. 

Nikki pushed the front door open her eyes landing on the horribly decorated interior of the home. She walked deeper into the home her boots shuffling on the old wooden floors The home was dark, musty and smelled of dead mouse. She had to hold her breath while walking past the kitchen up the creaky stairs to where her room would be. She had the last room on the second level, it looked out on the neighbors' home. Upon entering the small bedroom Nikki dropped her backpack to the floor as she tried the lightswitch. Of course it didn't work, she doubted that the electricity in this shithole even worked. Her attention was soon caught by the house next door. Mrs. Randall seemed to have all her lights on. It was 9 P.M. Nikki understood being afraid of the dark but every single light was on. At least Old Mrs. Randall had electricity. After a while of watching the older woman go up and down her stairs Nikki was called to help unload the moving van. She was definitely intrigued by her neighbor. 

Nikki had not slept a wink that night, she was up a majority of the night listening to her parents yell. When they finally did go to bed she was then kept awake by the sound of mice squeaking and chewing through the walls in her bedroom. When the sun began to rise at 6:24 the next morning NIkkis eyes squinted in disgust. She sat up from the blanket and pillow on the hard wooden floor, her spine cracked in about 6 different places. She rubbed her eyes before she glanced out her cracked window seeing all the lights were still on at Mrs. Randall's home. There was no way they had been left on all night right? She ran a hand through her raven hair before she closed her blindes walking into the bathroom. She still was not fully awake due to the horrid night she had. Her eyes adjusted to the dark bathroom as she walked over to the bathtub. She pulled off her shirt followed by her sweatpants as she leans over to turn the water on. A deep yawn took her body over. She rubbed her eyes once more hearing the loud squeaking of the pipes as water began to rush into the stained tub.