I first met Sarah in the spring of 1998 ninth grade year. She was my neighbor and just moved to Alaska from Hollywood. She was a year older than me and she was beautiful and cool. She wore leather and her hair was always perfect and she even wore make up. She moved to my town during Spring break into the big house that was located right across the street from my tiny one, she was a rich girl and her mother just married a man who owned a company here. I remeber when her pink limo pulled into her drive way as i sat outside on the porch with my husky Loyal Blue. She was much brighter than the washed out grayish state of alaska and this fasanated me. When she stepped out the car I could automatically tell she was diffrent than everyone else in this small town. She had blond hair like me but her's seemed to be made out of gold and bounced as she walked, laughed moved and said commands to the men taking her stuff out of her trunk. My hair was blond but almost white, it didn't bounce it just lay limply on my head covering my face. Dull. Her skin was tan but, mine was pale. Even the jeans she wore seemed brighter than the faded blue jeans I had on. So when she looked at me through those hot pink sun glasses, I stood up and waved.
"Hi! Welcome to Blue Bell!" I shouted from across the street, standing on the old wood chair that sat near the middle of my porch. Loyal Blue barked a hello causing the beautiful girl to smile at me.
"Thank You for the greeting!" She gave me a wide smile. It was fake but, it was still beeutiful. she began to make her way across the street and into my yard. I stared at her. The new girl was in my yard. Quickly I jumped down from my chair and met her half way up the drive. I can still recall the way Sarah looked me up and down after she took off her glasses. Her bright blue eyes had a amusment as I my attire her was cause for laughter. i blushed looking down at the gray knit sweater I wore and the old riped up faded jeans that were baggy on me compared to her skin tight dark blue ones. "my name is Sarah, i am from Holly wood." She said holding ot her hand "What is your name? You are so pretty." Pretty? She thought I was pretty? The beautiful girl thought I was pretty. This gave me a strange feeling. What was it? Fullfillment? Happiness? Joy? Pride?
"My name is Darling. Lucy Alice Darling Mystique to be exact. But, my friends call me Darling." I lied. I didn't have any friends. I didn't go to school. I was home schooled all my life. I didn't know of the children but, I would watch them pass by my window laughing and giggling with each other on their way to school. "My mother is a writer." I blurted out. Sarah looked at me.
"Your mother writes books? How... quaint. Is she published?" I nodded.
"My mother wrote the keeper of the feather series. Her name is jaycee. That series is actually about my father."
"Father? Jaycee Clark was never married." Sarah said rudely.
"Oh my parents were never married." I said emabressed slightly. "They were planning on getting married but, then my Dad left, he promised he would ome back. He writes me sometimes and still promises that he will. I've never met him though. He left before I was born." Sarah stared at me and scrunched up her nose.b
"So your mother is a slut?'
"What? Oh no.. It's just that..."
"What ever.. Are you going blue bell HighSchool Darling? Well why of course you are it is the only school in the county.They need some good private schools here." I nodded quietly in agreement. Even though i wasn't sure if I could tell her I was home Schooled, I also didn't see the need for a private school. "Well anyways, I have to Lucy Alice Darlig. We must habg out later! Kisses!" She said and blew me a kiss then walked back across the street into her big house, with her rich mother and step father.
That afternoon I begged my mother to allow me to go to a real school. She was hesitant at first. She tried to to convince me that I had no place in school. She continued to say that school stunts the imagnation and such but, that didn't make much sense to me. I continued arguing with her until she finally broke down. My mother was a softie. She said that in her heart she had a special part for me and that she would give me anything that she could within reason.
My mother and I moved to Alaska when i was five. We lived in New York City before, her home city, but she decided that she needed a more rual place for inspiration, and so she packed up our things and flew to the frozen town called blue Bell, where we have followed a scattered routine since then. Our house is always a mess, she claimed that it was called an organized 'mess'. She taught me when she felt like it and she would occaionly wake up in the middle of the night at 3 in the morning to write down her ideas. The walls are covered by story ideas and the fridge is filled with wines, bread cheese and other 'creative foods'. For diner every night the two of us split a glass of wine and whatever food she cooks and eat on the porch. Occasionly, on a whim she would go to church on a sunday morning, and other days she would go climb a mountain, one day we even went hunting for a moose when I was 12 and nearly gotten trampled by a stampede. She was a wonderful woman but, she always perfered that I learned from her instead of the corrupted school system but, at the same time she refused tokeep me away from what I desired. She always used to tell me that the heart's desire is where the magic lied. Then she would smile and say the magic was within me. I used to beleive her but, now that I was 14 I was to old to beleive in fairy tails and i told her this at diner that night when she offered to me my fathers favorite story.
"Mom! How old do you think I am? I am 14 now, much to old for fairy tales." Mom stared at me. Her bright blue eys seemed to dullen when I said this and she frowned. She looked so sad.
"I used to think that too... I used to think magic was impossible... I used to think it was foolish to beleive so Lucy Alice Darling." She murmured taking a sip of her wine. "But, then I met your father." I shifted uncomfertably. She was talking about HIM again. " He told me such marvelous stories, he told me stories of his home kingdom and his mother and father his sister... When i was pregenat with you he just loved you so much Lucy. He loved you so very much. Thats why I didn't have the heart to abort you. He was just so happy to find out I was carrying his child." Mom smiled and kissed my forehead. "He knew you would be a girl. He already named you long befoe you were born. Lucy Alice Darling. After he left I was planning on naming you Victoria, but you look so much like your father... I named you what he named you... Everytime he'd see me he would press his head to my stomach and whispher to you saying you will be powerful. More powerful than anyone in your training. You will get the highsest rating on your test and you will be perfect. " She sighed. 'But then he went away. Leaving a note promising he would come back to us, no matter what. That is why I still wear my engagment ring and I sha'll wear it until the day I die." She whisphered. I stared at her for a long time. I wanted tell her she was insane but I didn't have the heart. I just finished my wine and kissed on the cheek and headed to bed.
The next day I begged mom to take me to the mall. Spring break was almost over and I wanted to match Sara's standards. I bought alot of pink. I didn't partically like pink but I bought it. I bought hair dye and dyed my hair golden blonde with pink highlights, I got myself lots of jeans that were tight on me and plenty of shoes. After that we went to the hard ware store and we got rose pink paint and a new pink comforter and pink blinds for my window, my mom seemed to watch sadly as i bought so many pink items. She asked why the sudden change of colors. She thought I loved the colors gray and blue but, I said it was to alaskan. I could see the pained look in her eyes when I said this but, she kept silent. After we were done with the hard ware store we went to the pet shop and bought Loyal Blue a pink collar,leash and bowl. She didn't like it but, I coaxed het to tolerate the new get up with a treat.
"Lucy are you okay?"
"Yeah why Mum?" i replied smiling aswe walked inside. I glanced back and over to Sarah's. It was quite.
"Okay I am just wondering you are changing so fast."
"No.I am just growing up." My mom nodded
"But no need to grow up to fast okay?"
"okay mom."
