Unlikely Friends

C

It was a Friday, and C had rushed home from school, excitedly anticipating another day of research on Mother Goose. She'd received the letter the day before, and stayed up until well past 1 a.m. reading the books she's borrowed from the library. There were still a few left, though.

At 16, C sometimes laughed at herself for her immaturity. She had never really had anything that bad happen to her, and was still as goofy as a 13 year old. She wasn't even interested in driving, one of the main reasons she had no friends.

As she burst through the door, she expected Jody's usual announcement of the location of the Ritz crackers. But to her surprise, it was silent when she walked in. She froze and listened. In this kind of quiet atmosphere, her hearing was exceptional.

There was faint laughter coming from the backyard. Suspiciously, C went upstairs to her room and carefully put away her things, straightening up the room a bit as well. She was guessing at this point that they had unexpected company.

She didn't know who, though. They had no close relatives that she knew of, and no one but Jody had friends. Slowly, she made her way to the back door. Taking a deep breath, she opened it.

There was Jody awkwardly sitting with their Dad and some girl. C was shocked that her father was home at this hour. And who in the world was the girl? She'd never seen her before.

~~~

C silently slipped on her pajamas, and thought about her day. Normal to insane. Who was the strange new girl? Her dad's new girlfriend.

C was angry enough that her father was moving on. Replacing their mom. But this lady?

She was about 35, and practically a model. Perfect, product filled dirty blond hair, horrible, cruel grey eyes, and loads of makeup in all shades of pink. C hated the sight of her.

And this "Monica" hated the sight of C, too. Whether she considered her competition for her father's attention or hated teenagers or something else, she despised Sierra. Jody was okay to her, but not C.

Over the next two days, C abruptly stopped talking. At all. Dad wasn't at his jobs; he was with Monica. Monica made her slave away, being cruel to her all the time. And then she 'graciously' offered to pay to send C to a strict boarding school.

That was it.

No more speaking. She communicated with her eyes. They weren't half as bright as they used to be. She rarely showed her sparkling smile. All she did was silently walk in the shadows, watching and listening.

She packed all of her favorite things in her backpack, and waited anxiously for Tuesday. Oh, Tuesday.

She had been excited before, but now, it was her only chance.

She rigged everything in her room Monday night to make it look like she had run away. Then on Tuesday at 7:55 a.m., she wet the feather, whispered, "The Protector's Palace", and shook it. She smiled a little at the beautiful blue portal, and stepped inside.

She had left her old life, and had no idea what awaited her. All she could do was pray that her new life was a good one.

As she stepped out of the swirling portal and it closed, she looked around. She was indeed in a grand palace. She couldn't contain her broad smile as she saw pictures of all of her favorite storybook characters.

She stopped and listened carefully, trying to decide which direction to take. Hearing two girls chattering a few halls to her left, she walked into the shadows and started to head in that direction.

"Maybe I will finally find some friends."