Parallel [ONC 2020] // Shortlisted

Chapter One

"Harriet, sit up straight. You look like an animal," Mother said. She tapped the back of my hand with a rolled-up newspaper.

"Yes, Mother." I sat up a little straighter and pressed my spine into the back of the chair.

"That's better. I thought I educated you better than that." She placed the newspaper on the table and took a sip of her tea. "Your father and I have arranged a trip to the theatre this afternoon seeing as your lessons have been going so well. Luke will remain here with the nursery maid."

"Why isn't Luke going?"

"He's too young."

Mother turned her head to the other side of the table where my brother sat. He pouted and slumped back against his chair before folding his arms over his chest. I looked at him and he responded by sticking his tongue out at me as though he were five years old. My brother tended to act younger than his ten years and that had been the main cause for Mother's reluctance to bring him to the theatre.

We finished breakfast in silence with Luke refusing to eat anything unless Mother changed her mind and allowed him to go. When she didn't relent, he left the table with a near-full bowl of porridge and a less than impressed look on his face. Mother dismissed me and I climbed the main staircase to my room to find the appropriate attire for the theatre. My usual dress would not cut it.

The servants had already straightened my bedding and the window had been propped open just slightly to allow a small breeze in. I crossed the room to my wardrobe and pulled the door open to see just what I had that might work for the theatre. Inside, I thumbed through the dresses until I landed on one, I knew Mother would let me wear. It was a light purple colour with puffed sleeves and lace at the cuff and neckline, there was even a white ribbon which wrapped around the waist.

I took the dress from my wardrobe and laid it on the bed for later in the day, it would not be wise to change into it so soon in case I spilt something down it. Even spilling a glass of water would look bad according to Mother. I crossed the room to my dressing table and started to play with the hairpins that were scattered across the top. I was not yet old enough to wear my hair up, but I couldn't wait.

A knock came from my bedroom door and I turned my attention away from the desk and hairpins and to the door. It swung open and Luke stuck his head around the crack and looked at me.

"I want to go to the theatre," he said.

"It is not my decision to make, it's Mother's," I replied.

"I don't want to be here on my own, it's scary."

"You won't be on your own. The nursery maid will be here, so will all the other servants. It is not as if you will be all alone."

"Jack says the house is haunted, that there are ghosts that only come out at night and walk the halls looking for people."

"Don't believe everything Jack tells you, he can't even count to ten."

"He can! Besides, I heard footsteps the other night. And laughter! I didn't imagine it and I wasn't asleep; I heard the ghosts!"

"Ghosts aren't real."

Luke slammed his foot onto the ground and pouted but I simply stared at him and raised an eyebrow. He didn't appear all that accepting of my argument and left the room, slamming the door behind him to let me know that he was unhappy. I shook my head and turned back to the desk. With nothing to do until the evening, I wished Luke hadn't left the room. Even arguing about whether ghosts existed was better than sitting in complete silence.

My brother had always been known to exaggerate and ghosts were just one of the many things he often talked about. Despite having an imaginary friend called Jack, he still believed that there were people long since dead that walked the halls of the house in the dead of night. Of course, he often talked nonsense, but it worked as a distraction and I would love to find more ways to prove him wrong when it came to his interest in ghosts.

Instead, I remained at the desk for the rest of the morning until Mother called for me to prepare for our trip. I changed out of my dress and into the one I had laid out on the bed earlier that day, the clasp at the back was remarkably difficult to do up alone but after several minutes of fumbling around to secure it, I did it up. Once the clasp was secure, I walked to the desk and ran a brush through my hair.

I quickly tied a section of it back with a purple ribbon to match my dress before leaving the room and stepping into the downstairs hall. Mother stood by the door in a dress of deep, almost scarlet red and Father stood beside her in his coattails and a black top hat.

"You'll need a shawl, Harriet. In case it gets cold."

"Yes, Mother."

"Be quick about it, the carriage is waiting."

I ran back up the stairs, ignoring how I may have looked to Mother and pulled open my bedroom door. The door behind me closed, no doubt caused by a gust of wind from the open window, I ignored it. My old dress had yet to be collected but I walked to the wardrobe and pulled out one of my shawls, wrapping it around my shoulders and crossing back to the door.

A strong wind passed by as I pulled open the door and stepped back into the hallway.

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A/N - Chapter One of my ONC entry is here! I'm planning to average it at around 1000 words per chapter and roughly 20 or so chapters total, so not too long.

I hoped you enjoyed the first chapter and will be sticking around to see what comes next!

First Published - February 2nd, 2020