Chapter 7 Alicia's Dream

Alicia explained that the doll she had given me was called Rori, after me. I guessed that she had gotten this doll recently…probably from Jordan. She had another doll named Savannah, and she said that they were both tired, so we should rock them in our arms. Jordan came in as we were doing this, and chuckled at the sight of me with a baby-doll moving slowly back and forth in my arms. I smiled, but blushed a little. It was one thing to have your boyfriend’s sister naming a doll after you, a whole other thing to actually have him watching you rock it! About ten minutes later, Ms. Lykes came home from work( I thought it was pretty crazy that she had to work on a Saturday, but I guess some people do) and grabbed Alicia, explaining to us that Alicia needed a check-up. Jordan hugged his mom and Alicia, and wished her a good visit, and I sat on the floor, stroking Tootsie’s fuzzy little head. Jordan came back to the floor when they had left, and he smiled at me.
“What?”
“Nothing, I just didn’t think that you liked cats.”
“Oh, well, I do.”
“So, who’s your favorite Disney princess?”
“That’s kind of a weird question, coming from you, Jordan.”
“I know, but I still want to know.”
“Why?”
“Just curious.”
“Umm…well I guess I’d have to go with Belle. She falls in love with a beast, I mean, how much worse can love get?”
“Oh cool. I thought you’d be more of a Cinderella type.”
“Why?”
“Well, because…” he hung his head a little so that I couldn’t see his eyes, then said,” You’re beautiful, but you don’t really have a good…or good looking family.”
“Aww, Jordan! Thanks!” I leaned over, and hugged him, holding him close.
“Well, do you want to know anything weird about me, then?”
“Yea, actually, I do,” I said, as I sat back up straight from the hug.
“What is it?”
“Well, I kinda wondered what you thought of you and me…you know, together.”
“Well, I guess I’d consider you my girlfriend, if you’d like.”
“Well, I guess I’d consider you my boyfriend, if you’d like.”
“Yea, I’d like that.” We both cracked up, though I’m not entirely sure why, and fell back together. Jordan checked his watch, then said, “Hey, will you come with me to do something?”
“Sure.”

Chapter 7 Alicia's Dream

Jordan stood beside me, with a wet cloth hanging limply from his hands, a worried, and almost pained look on his face. He turned to me, and in a quiet voice, asked, “Is she okay?” Then he turned to Alicia, and looked her over once before hugging her tight, then going back to what he had been doing previously. I decided to spend a little time with Alicia; she reminded me of Destiny in the way she talked, and played, and I liked that. I would still have to get used to this family that didn’t really feel like my own. We talked a little about our excursion to Disney World. It’s not exciting enough to put into print, so I will only mention the important parts. Alicia brought up Disney princesses, and said that her favorite was Ariel, or the Little Mermaid. She said she liked Ariel because she was pretty and that she did what was right. I complimented her saying, “Well, then, Alicia, she’s a lot like you.” She giggled and gave me one of her baby dolls to play with. I actually hadn’t ever played with dolls; the Black’s had never given me any toys when I was younger, and the little they did give me had been Chris’s old He-Man figures or toy cars that had only two or three wheels.

Chapter 7 Alicia's Dream

I left the room, and just as I was about to go to the bathroom, I heard a scream. I ran to the source of where I thought the scream might be coming from, and saw Alicia sitting in the middle of the living room floor, staring at her finger. It was pulsating and gyrating quite rapidly; almost as though she were having a really bad muscle spasm. It nearly scared me, and must have scared her, but a minute after it had started, it stopped. I sat down next to her, and said, “Alicia, how did your finger do that?” She stared at me as though I had just asked her to stick her hand in the microwave. She continued to stare at me until she realized that it no longer hurt, and then she replied in a voice barely above a whisper, “I don’t know. I was playing with Tootsie,” she rubbed the back of the Lykes’s cat Tootsie’s head, “And all of a sudden my finger went cwazy.” I examined her finger, checking for any hint at all that something had gone wrong with it, but found nothing but her tiny little forefinger, intact and the same as it had always been, at least the same as it had always been over the few days I had known her.

Chapter 7 Alicia's Dream

I finally woke up at noon, but instead of being on a very uncomfortable shuttle bus seat, I was in a bed very much unlike my own, but with the same comfort. Jordan was lying on a bed right next to mine, his eyes wide open, staring at me. He had his chin resting on his hand, mesmerized with me, I guess. I stared back at him with a stare very intense, but, instead of it being funny, even when I raised my eyebrows in a sarcastic gesture, we fell into the pools of each other’s eyes. I couldn’t see for the brown in his eyes, and he must have been lost in my blue. The world, though cliché sounding, seemed to stop spinning. I couldn’t see anything else but his eyes. I really don’t remember what happened after that, though I know that nothing totally naughty went on.
“Jordan?”
“Yeah, Rori?”
“Where are we?” I said, and then he laughed as he carefully made up both of our beds.
“We’re at my house.”
“Your house? I didn’t know this was your house, Jordan!”

Chapter 6 Journey

I knew I would end up in the principal’s office. Probably end up going to court for breaking her jaw. I sat there, in that unfamiliar, yet seemingly comfortable chair, wagging my foot in time with the death tune playing in my head. The principal came out, and dragged me into her office. Consequences will come, I told myself, as I sat in her very un-comfortable plastic, black chairs.
I looked up at her, and she smiled. Huh? Why would she smile? Though it was more of a smirk.
“Mary, I don’t want this happening again, and you won’t do it again, will you?” I thought of every consequence before saying, “No ma’am, that won’t ever happen again.”
“Good, Mary, now, since no one has heard about it, we will keep it hushed, as long as you promise never to do it again.”
“Of course, Mrs. Langstrom, I won’t ever do anything of that…caliber again, and will make sure to apologize.”
“Good, thank you, Mary, for your services.” She shook my hand, and I left. I loved my awesome Irish luck.

Chapter 6 Journey

Then, unexpectedly, a girl with dark blond hair, Old Navy jeans, a bright blue t-shirt that displayed a “Top Gun” depiction, and ugly brown slippers, came up to me.
“Hey, Cinnamon!” Everyone who was “cool” called me Cinnamon, a funny saying of my real last name, Zimmerman.
“Yeah, what do you want?”
“I want my ten bucks!”
“What ten bucks? The ten bucks I owe you for our bet on Jordan and Aurora?”
“Yeah, if you don’t give it to me, I’m gonna punch your face in!”
“Yeah, right, you wouldn’t even touch my face!”
“Oh yeah?” She swung out her fist, and déjà vu hit me hard…literally. My nose started bleeding, and all the students were watching, but I didn’t even care. I had my own life to think about. I swung out my own fist, impaling her cheek, probably breaking her jaw. My knuckles hurt like hell, but that was okay; I had won. She dropped down on the ground, whimpering like a little baby, trying to see if her jaw was okay.

Chapter 6 Journey

I stalked through the halls, looking around for Jordan. Since I had studied him earlier in English, I knew he was wearing a blue and black polo, dark jeans, red DC’s, and a black baseball hat that had the slogan, “We are all unique, just like everyone else.” I smiled as I thought about his hat, and then nearly ran into Aurora.
“Excuse me!” I yelled at her. Unfortunately, she did not flinch at all.
“I’m sorry, you might try being more careful next time.” Ooh. She had gotten me good, and now everyone was staring at me as she walked away. I watched her as I took refuge from at least some of the stares at my locker. She stood with Jordan at his locker, and they looked as though they had not a care in the world that anyone else was there.

Chapter 6 Journey

I woke up, like most mornings. My window yielded no light. At five o’ clock in the morning, it’s usually dark outside. My jaw was intact, and life went on. I stepped into a clean pair of jeans, and tugged a clean shirt over my head. My brain went through all the insecurities of school, only two hours and ten minutes away from this very minute. I scanned my room: nothing out of the ordinary. Swinging my backpack over my shoulder, I grabbed my jacket and old cell from my dresser. The radio blared from the bathroom just outside my room as usual, but today, somehow, I was able to tune it out. My stepmom’s excruciatingly annoying behaviors, somehow, didn’t faze me this morning. I opened my door, and then closed it behind me, trying not to wake up my sister. I wished my dad could be home with us in the morning, but he never was. He was always at work by the time I got up.
I made the journey through the small hallway downstairs, and ascended the stairs, as I went through all the possibilities of me not having to go to school.

Chapter 5 Alicia Recovers...

The lady in the black dress suit led us to a small waiting room that had only two tables, ten chairs, and a small vase on a coffee table. The lady told us that she would go consult the doctor, and then come and get us. Ms. Lykes wrung her hands, and Jordan and I stared around the room, never making eye contact. The lady in the black suit came back and led us to Alicia’s room. She was sitting on a hospital bed in a respectable room. She had a pink cashmere blanket wrapped around her shoulders, and tons of toys, cards, crayons and paper scattered around her on the bed. As soon as she realized who had come with the lady, she jumped up off her bed, and ran to Jordan. She hugged him first, then Ms. Lykes, and then hugged me! I was really surprised when she did, but was enthralled. She was twirling, and I marveled at her curly, rich, brown pigtails following the pattern her body made.
The doctor spoke with Ms. Lykes outside her room, and Jordan and I were left alone with her. She looked up at us, and with her cute little face, and tiny little features, all I could do was smile.

Chapter 5 Alicia Recovers...

I was glad that we were off the plane now; it was raining pretty heavily; ok, who am I kidding, it was coming down in sheets, and we all pulled out umbrellas as we scanned the streets for our shuttle. As I saw the green lettering blinking “Orlando International Airport/ Florida Children’s Hospital,” we hopped onto the shuttle as it came to a stop, and said hello to the driver as we jammed our luggage into the racks. No one else boarded the shuttle, so we switched seats for a while until we were comfortable once we took off, and then we settled on the very back seat. Ms. Lykes sat in the seat in front of us, doing her knitting, looking stressed, and Jordan sat right behind her, beside me. We sat so close, that the dull drone of the pounding rain must have made Jordan even more nervous, so he put his head on my shoulder, and I slid my hand towards his. He got the hint, and squeezed my hand in his. I was glad Rita and Chris didn’t give a crap what happened to me.

Chapter 4 Project Electricity

We found our seats as we boarded the plane, and put a few of our bags in the over-head compartment. Jordan kept his backpack, and pulled out his I-Pod to help him calm down and get some rest. I felt relieved that Jordan was in the middle seat, and I was in the window seat, and Ms. Lykes was in the aisle seat, because either seat on the sides would have caused him more stress. As I buckled up, I could just faintly hear the chorus of “Say,” by John Mayer. I wondered whether or not Alicia was going to be alright. I had barely gotten to know her before she got sick again. Now I could hear the soft musical notes coming from Jordan’s I-Pod fading fast as the plane started to rumble down the runway. As I drifted off to sleep, my quiet breathing mixed with the drone of the plane’s engines, I felt Jordan’s hand close over mine…

Chapter 3 The Kiss of Love

So, as we sat there, enveloped in each other, the rain started to pour. It started as a whisper, and grew into a shrill whistle, so that Jordan’s tears falling were no match for the rain now coming down in sheets. Um… can I interrupt the story for a minute? No, okay, maybe it’s a bad time. Well, the rain continued to pour, and I understood what Jordan was feeling. His mom was somehow sick from Alicia, and although it didn’t make sense that he wasn’t sick, I ignored that thought, and continued to hold him. I guess I just didn’t know enough about her sickness to diagnose anybody right now. As we sat there, Jordan’s head cradled in my arms, his wet tears falling into my lap, the rain almost seemed as though it were singing a song. “Can you feel it? Can you feel it? Rushing through your hair, rushing….” It was so peaceful, although it did seem as though the storm were trying to tell us something. I was glad Rita was busy with the Chris situation. And sure enough, Jordan fell asleep. I laid my head on his, and carefully positioned myself into a sleeping position, so that I would not wake Jordan up, and fell asleep.

Chapter 2 A Story Beginning

“So, Jordan, what’s wrong with your sister, exactly?”
“Well, she’s-alright, but my uncle Freddy came over one night, to have dinner with us, which he never did, before, really. Anyway, while we were in the kitchen getting the food ready, the drinks were out on the table, and Freddy was sitting with them. Personally, because he had a criminal record anyway, I thought that it was a bad idea, but my mom insisted.
“So, when my mom, Alicia and I got into the dining room, and Alicia had her drink, I knew something was wrong. My uncle would continue to stare at her, until she looked at him, and then he would look away, with a gleam in his gray eyes.”
“So, you think he poisoned her?”
“Well, sort of. Freddy’s a scientist, so he could have come up with a concoction that would hurt her only gradually. She didn’t die, and hasn’t yet, obviously, so it couldn’t have been normal poison. But, she has been going to the hospital. And getting checkups. She’s been there three times this week, and on Tuesday, she went into a coma.” I gasped, and sat there, staring at him.

Chapter 2 A Story Beginning

Awhile later, the bell rang for lunch, and I decided to go sit outside, seeing as it was a perfectly beautiful day. Rita had packed me a lunch in an old Bowling For Soup tin lunchbox. It was kinda’ creepy having Rita pack my lunch, and I was especially sick when I saw what she had packed me. As I flipped open the lid, my eyes met the horrible sight of a soggy, brown, sandwich, oozing yellow liquid that looked too much like pus, and I threw it back into my lunchbox, furious at Rita. Why did she always have to pack me horrible stuff when I could just as well buy a lunch? She never understood me, why couldn’t she now? I quickly looked up when I heard the swish of jeans; Jordan, of all people, came to my table, bringing with him a steaming hot pizza slice upon a blue tray, with buttery green beans and a mouthwatering chocolate chip cookie on the side next to his cool, refreshing white milk.

Chapter 1 Gangs

On the floor, Destiny lay, the little baby, with her sleeves pinned to the floor, and her feet expose, and raw. A chill ran through my body as I looked up. Chris’s gang stood there, leaning against the kitchen’s counters, smoking rolled up leaves. Pot. They all looked high, except for one white boy, the only white boy in their group. He was hunched over, scrounging around in a dirty white Adidas duffle, looking for something unknown to anyone in the room. He took out a knife, and then, noticed me. He mumbled something to Tony, the gang leader, and I heard small sections of it. What he said, I cannot repeat, unless of course you are over thirteen years of age and don’t mind swearing. What I got out of it was that he had said, ’”That baby is a flippin’ traitor! She has no flippin’ right to be here, when she was stolen from my house!” Tony addressed the white boy as “Gringo.” “Gringo, that ain’t your baby sister. She’s black. You’re white.”
“So what! She is not supposed to be alive! My mom bought her to slaughter her so we could get some money at the market.” I swallowed. He was going to sell a baby’s meat at the market so he could get money? I was guessing he was poor, but that’s a bit over the top.

Chapter 1 Gangs

One day, I heard a pounding at my big cherry wood door.
“Wake up, Aurora, or you’ll be late! And you know what being late does to a little white girl!” Why does she always have to call me a little white girl? I am white, and she’s black, but that doesn’t make a difference in the consequences of being late! I flipped my legs off my four poster bed, and scanned the room, looking for any clues to Chris’s possible invading of my privacy. My desk, with the tiny silver Dell laptop and bajillion papers scattered on it looked normal; my closet doors, with the many posters of boy celebrities and teen idols stuck to it wasn’t any different. I looked under my bed; nothing but a few dust bunnies and some empty boxes; but when my eyes scrolled over to my dresser, I froze. Chris had a pet cobra named Lilly, and she liked warm places. Two of my t-shirts, sitting on the dresser, were her warmth, and she lay there, slightly curled up in them.
I wasn’t going to yell, but what I did do was swing open my door and run to Chris’s room.
He was just sitting there, holding his new “iPod Touch,” and playing Tap-Tap, like there was nothing else to do before school.

Chapter 1 Gangs

But, they decided, for some dang reason, to drop me off at the Black’s house (Yes, that is their real name.) so that I wouldn’t know my family. But really, I have it okay, compared to, you know, the people on the streets. I don’t have anything against black people, but Chris, the oldest, starts to drive you nuts with his booming music and so called “rapping skills.” Rita, the mom of the Black’s, annoys me merely because she doesn’t let me have friends over, doesn’t let me pick what my room looks like, what brand my clothes are, nor does she let me ever pick what kind of food we have in the house.
But, to me, it doesn’t matter. Not anymore. I’ve gotten used to Chris, and Rita, and although they don’t have a father, Rita has a boyfriend named Ricky, also black, and together they had a baby who was born just ten days ago. Her name is Destiny, like one of my best friends, and she is really the only Black I like; she’s still innocent and sweet.

Chapter 1 Gangs

If you’re wondering, the person who was just allowed two chapters of fame, is not the main character. I am. My name is Aurora Daniels. I live in a home full of blacks. Okay, that is pretty vague, and they are really African American, but to me, they are merely blacks. I live in a room by myself, with a computer as my friend. I communicate with my friends that way. My real parents are alive, but I don’t know where they are. Okay, stop saying to yourself, “This sounds like Harry Potter.” Believe me, please, this is not like it. My hair is dirty blond, my eyes are blue. NOT the same as jet black hair and green eyes. (If you don’t know what Harry Potter is, it’s okay, ignore these comments.)
Anyway, I got in this predicament when my parents left me. I don’t know why they got rid of me; I was only one year old.

Chapter 2 Defendants

I woke up to three men, and this time, my mom, dad, and another brunette woman, whom I didn’t recognize. The three men were dressed in leather with their machine guns in their holsters. They led me into a small room, which really didn’t even look like a courtroom, but had an audience seating, a higher jury seating, and a big desk at the front for the judge. The audience was little, but everyone there I recognized, although I was too nervous to name them off to myself, and there were only three jury members. One was the lady who had come to my cell, who now walked up to the seats, and sat down in the middle of a little girl with brown curls and pink ribbons wrapped around her pigtails, bouncing up and down in her seat, and pointing at the judge’s hair, giggling to herself. I had to admit, the Beehive was kinda out of style, and I thought she was so cute, with her little teeth, fingers, and rich brown curls.

I looked to the other side of the lady, and saw…Jordan Lykes! His brown hair was as rich as the little girl’s, who must have been his sister; the lady, his mom. He was looking at the little knot of people surrounding me, and caught my eye. My breath was gone for ten seconds, and then I quickly looked away. I had felt it; it was real. My bliss evaporated when I sat behind the criminals’ desk. All eyes were on me.

Chapter 2 Defendants

The trigger was pulled, and in my half-blindness, the shell flew through the air, placing itself into Mr. Hagberg’s chest. I felt sick, and knew that it was only a matter of time before he died. I had the gun in my hands, but before I could turn it on myself, my dad had tossed it out of my hands, and rushed over to Mr. Hagberg, who was bleeding horribly, making the grass swim in red. My mind shut down, and the only thing I thought was that I was going to jail…………………….
The next thing I knew, I was in a cell, and those men had come.

So, now, as I walked down that dark, yet dimly lit hallway, cells with men wasting away on either side, and low, round, yellow lights barely lighting the hallway, I remembered that whole scene. I kept to myself even more now, and maybe it was just the fact that I didn’t want to give myself away, but it was also because, really, I have always been shy. You might never have known that if you read something I wrote, though. I don’t know why it’s easier to talk to people when I can’t see them, especially when they’re reading something that I’ve written in the past.

Chapter 1 Behind Bars

So, we walked out onto their hard concrete porch. I took off my heels, knowing that it would be a bad idea to run around in shoes that put my life on the line. Mr. Hagberg cocked the shotgun, and aimed at a sparrow high in the trees, and with the crash from the barrel, a dull thud, and a swishing in the air, the bird dropped through the air, smashing to the ground. Then, he handed it to me, after a nod of permission, and smile from my dad, and showed me how to aim well, then stood in front of the tree to tell me where the front of the barrel was. I aimed high, but didn’t see anything. Then, my finger slipped.

Chapter 1 Behind Bars

…and then I saw it. The shiny, copper barrel, the smooth black trigger, a box of gleaming, golden shells lay on the counter, right next to it. From my knowledge and wonderful eyesight, both inherited from my dad, I saw that the shells were 14-calibers. Mrs. Hagberg’s voice faded, and all I wanted to do was grab that shotgun and shoot a couple of birds, or maybe a deer, if I could go take it to the forest.
Then my dad and Mr. Hagberg came downstairs, and told us to come and see the beautiful birdhouse they had built. Luckily for me, Mr. Hagberg told me I could stay downstairs and look around the house, maybe look into Mrs. Hagberg’s room of collectibles. I smiled, curtsied, and clasped my hands, waiting for the four pairs of footsteps to fade completely. The moment they did, I swept silently over to the counter, and stuffed the shells into a pocket of my sweater.

Chapter 1 Behind Bars

The man’s fist acted of almost its own accord, making contact with my cheek, shattering my jaw-bone, and making me pour out blood, spitting from the left side of my mouth, careful not to use the right side. All five men laughed hysterically at me, slamming the cold metal bars, locking them in their brackets. I stared at those cylindrical bars, casting shadows on the floor from the moonlight streaming in through the window, also obscured by dark gray metal bars.
Now I was absolutely lifeless, a limp, dying form, in a cell; dark, cold, and gray. My navy sweatshirt was drenched in sweat, and dribbled with blood, but I ripped it off, tearing off a few strips and wrapping them around my jaw, making it grow darker, yet holding the bone in place, at least for now. I slid onto the stone table that was supposed to be a bed, but reminded me of a stone table; ironically, and made sure the injured half of my jaw faced the concrete ceiling. I had a fit-full sleep, dreamless, and darker than a starless sky.

Chapter 1 Behind Bars

Sweating profusely throughout, a cold-sweat ripped through my body, rendering me nearly lifeless. I held onto the one life-line I had left; my twelve gauge, shotgun, knowing it was useless to the shiny black machine guns sitting in the rough men’s holsters. Whips, about twelve feet long, lay just as lifeless as I, in the men’s hands, getting ready to slice into my flesh, doing their duties. One man kicked my left shin, so that I fell further down onto the floor, shivering and pleading with the men. “Please! Please! I never meant to hurt Mr. Hagberg! His wife killed him!” I screamed, even though the last few words were a lie. The tears streamed down my face with a profound speed.