First Chapter

'Kay, so I seem to be falling into a very disturbing trend of being sick and forgetting to post on my blog. I'm really sorry ._. It's not like I don't have anything to post--I have a whole PILE of stuff that I'm waiting to have evaluated by other people. Get your act together, me.

Today's (tonight's) post is the first chapter of my pet book (the one that I'm co-authoring with Fozzy/Danielle, and the one that kicked off my writing career six years ago). It has a very complicated plot that I STILL haven't figured out. It also has a prologue, but I feel that I show people the prologue too often, and forget about the first chapter. So you get the first chapter =) I pity you.

I covet your comments. My yearly Writer's Conference (GPCWC) is coming up in August and I'd really like to make some headway this year. Don't be afraid to be blunt--believe me, once you read the chapter, you'll know how much I need bluntness XD

Well, enjoy! I'll try to post again tomorrow--another exercise, perhaps?

~Elisabeth

                                     Chapter One: Anna

The clock’s running backwards.

Anna Foster watched the minute hand drag along the clock face. She listened with only one ear to Miss Morgan’s lecture and tapped her pencil against her blank notebook. Just two more minutes; two more minutes and you’re out of here. She twisted a strand of hair around one finger before turning her attention back to her teacher.

“—to memorize the rules we’ve learned so far for the finals.” Miss Morgan’s pencil-thin eyebrows lowered. “I don’t think I need to tell you just how important the finals will be to your grades.” She clasped her small hands together with such enthusiasm that her glasses slid down her nose. She pushed them back into their proper place and glanced at the clock. “Does everyone understand?”

Anna nodded involuntarily. When in doubt, it usually pays to nod and agree with the teacher.

“Good,” Miss Morgan said. “We have a minute; let’s review. Anna Foster, define an adverb phrase.”

Anna’s head snapped up. “Me?”

Miss Morgan’s brow creased. “Yes, you, unless there’s another Anna Foster in my class. Answer the question, please.”

“Okay,” Anna breathed. She skimmed over her blank notebook as if it somehow held the answer. She flinched as her classmates’ snickers evolved into laughter. “Sorry. I must have missed that part.”

“Hmm.” Miss Morgan drummed the edge of her desk with her manicured fingernails. It seemed as if she had more to say, but the clanging of the bell cut her off.

A burst of noise erupted as the class rose from their desks and stampeded toward the door. Anna ducked her head, hiding her face and her disappointment. Another reason to make fun of me. Just what I needed.

When everyone had filtered out of the classroom, Anna took her bag and her notebook and stood. She crept towards the door, hoping that Miss Morgan was too busy unearthing her desk from the pile of turned-in homework to notice her escape. 

 “Anna.”

Anna froze, her hand inches from the doorknob. “Yes ma’am?”

Miss Morgan adjusted her glasses as she glanced at Anna. “Try to pay attention, Anna.”

Anna waited a moment for more, and when nothing more came, she rushed into the hallway. She power-walked down the hall and reached for the door. Fresh air flooded her senses as she stepped outside. She breathed in, comparing it to the polluted environment of New York City. As much as I hate this place, Miss Morgan’s not so bad. And the air’s different. It’s easier to breathe here, somehow. She rolled her cramped shoulders and began to walk forward.

 “Hey, Foster.”

Anna’s whole body stiffened. She spun and faced the voice’s owner.

Rex Herring advanced, his head cocked slightly and his hands shoved in his pockets. He flicked a strand of shaggy red hair from his eyes before he spoke. “How’s life, Foster?”

Anna coughed, trying to clear her tightening throat. “Don’t want your psychology today, Rex.”

 “But you need it.” He            flashed a smile. “So, Foster, where’s your dad these days?

Shouting to hide the shaking in her voice, Anna ordered, “Cut it out!” I don’t need this. The creep’s run out of people to pick on. Anna watched a silent crowd grow behind Rex like vultures flocking to a fight. And I’m the perfect target, aren’t I? New kid in school for three months straight. Just my luck.

Rex shrugged with infuriating innocence. “Hey, it was only a question. And we both know where he is, Foster. He deserted you.” He cocked his head at her. “Come to think of it, his history isn’t so hot either.”

Anger flared inside of Anna in a burst of heat. “What they say isn’t true,” she shouted. “He’s coming back!”

“Yeah, sure.” Rex mimicked their history teacher’s voice and said, “And the Titanic wouldn’t sink. You can’t keep secrets in a town this small.”

Anna balled her hands into fists and barely smothered the urge to bury one in his smug face. Run! Get out before you do something you’ll regret! You don’t want to get sent to the principal’s office because of him! She shoved past Rex and broke into a sprint, his laughter spurring her out of the parking lot and away from the school.

“Oh sure, run!” Rex called after her. “Run from the truth!”

Anna ran until pain tore at her side. She doubled over, panting and sobbing at the same time. When she finally straightened, she found herself on the small back road which led to her house, bypassing the rest of Laurelton. Good. I don’t need to be seen in the town like this.

She walked under the ancient trees which hedged the road and swung her backpack through the air like a weapon. Immature. That’s all he is. An immature bully with way too much time on his hands. He knows nothing of why Dad left. And Dad is coming back, no matter what anyone says. She paused, struggling to suppress her own thoughts: What if he doesn’t?

She ran again, her feet pounding against the pavement. He is coming back! He has to. He loved us. He loved me. She slowed again. Then why did he leave?

The tears came again, and she didn’t bother to stop them. Through them, she could see the hill sloping up to meet a gray farmhouse, which stood like a stormcloud against the sky.

Behind the house, almost invisible against the dark trees beyond, sat an old, decaying barn, a shadow of what it had been not so long ago.

Like my family. Anna took a shaky breath and rubbed her eyes with her shirt sleeve as she approached the door. Quit it. Seeing you crying won’t help Mom. She steeled herself, then shoved the door open and slammed it behind her.

  “How was school?” Marion Foster’s voice echoed through the empty foyer. Anna looked around the corner and into the kitchen. Her mom was standing by the sink, short blonde hair tied back with a red bandana.

“Fine.” Anna dumped her backpack by the door next to empty cardboard boxes still leftover from the move to West Virginia. She kicked off her shoes and shuffled into the kitchen.

Marion turned from a pot of spaghetti. Her smile seemed fake and out of place, like a sun in the midst of a stormy sky. Dark shadows underlined her once-bright eyes. “Dinner’s ready; I’m just waiting for Amelia.”

“Hmm.” Anna slumped into her chair by the empty kitchen table and placed her head in her hands. “When’s she supposed to be here?”

“Right—“

The door slammed.

“—now,” Marion finished with a weak laugh. She set the pot on the table and snatched three bowls and forks from the drying rack.

 “Hey.” Amelia entered the kitchen, a fashionable leather jacket slung over one shoulder. She sat next to Anna and flashed a grin at Marion. “Smells great, Mom.”

“Thanks.” Marion lowered herself into her chair and began to dish out the spaghetti.

Anna sighed deeply. Amelia had always taken after Dad. Calm, collected, controlled. And while she’s breezing through her first year in college, I’m practically an emotional mess.

Marion handed out the bowls; for a while there was silence. Then Amelia dropped her fork into her bowl and rose. “Got to run,” she announced. “Things to do, places to go.” She spun on her boot heel and mounted the stairs, disappearing in a moment.

Anna raised her eyebrows as she sucked the last piece of spaghetti through pursed lips. “Where’s she going?”

“Party.” Marion sat back in her chair and pushed away her half-finished dinner.

“And you’re going?”

“I have to chaperone those wild teens,” Marion replied with a chuckle. “I’m not working tomorrow, though. Maybe we can watch a movie together or something after school.”

“Sure,” Anna said, shrugging her forced indifference. Great. Home alone, again.

            Marion pushed away from the table and stood. “Well, I need to get ready.”

            Anna nodded and gathered the dishes. She washed and dried them quickly, putting them back in their usual place on the drying rack. A loud clicking issued Amelia down the stairs; she wore black jeans and a sapphire-blue top. Amelia’s high heels looked dangerous to Anna and her bare feet, so she made herself scarce until Marion descended the stairs and grabbed her jacket from the hall closet.

            “Get to bed on time. I have my cell phone if you need me. Don’t answer the door.” Marion rambled off the instructions as she shrugged on her jacket. She paused and kissed Anna lightly on top of her head. “I love you.”

            Anna stole a glance at Amelia, who stood by the door examining her painted nails. “Can’t I come? I wouldn’t be in the way, and—“

            “We’ll be out too late, and you have school tomorrow,” Marion said firmly. Then she smiled and followed Amelia out the door. “Be good; I’ll see you in the morning.”

            The door closed, and Anna rushed to the front window just in time to see the blue station wagon pull out of the driveway. She huffed, turned, tripped over a cardboard box, and kicked the offending object across the foyer. I’d like to go somewhere, anywhere with them just once. Can’t they see that? Can’t anyone see that?

            She raced upstairs and into her sanctuary—her bedroom. The sight of the peeling pink wallpaper and faded horse posters almost made Anna forget the day’s troubles. She flopped across her bed and reached for her sketchpad, which was stashed behind the headboard.

            Just because Amelia’s in college doesn’t mean she’s not a snoop, Anna thought with a smirk as she flipped through the pad. She found a pencil and started a fresh picture. A long, graceful neck, equine head, knowing eyes, pearly horn, flowing mane. By far the best unicorn she’d drawn in a long time.

            Anna brushed the picture with her fingertips, tracing the fresh lines. Then she turned the page and sketched another.

            Then she sketched another and another and another….

                                                                        ***

            Anna started awake. She still clutched her sketchbook, but her pencil slipped from her fingers and clattered to the wooden floor. She set her book aside, then sat up and rubbed her eyes. Her room seemed dark and unfamiliar in the scarce light of the moon, which could barely be seen behind the thin clouds outside.

Yawning, Anna stood and shuffled to the window.  The night was silent except for the sound of crickets singing outside. Dumb bugs must’ve woke me up. Still, it’s better than the eternal traffic jam in the city. She peered across the small backyard, looking towards the black shape of the old horse barn.

Anna gasped.  

            A light in the barn was flickering wildly and casting soft shadows across the yard.

Is Mom home already? But why would she go in the barn? Half asleep, Anna stumbled towards the door. She raced down the stairs and into the dark kitchen. It has to be Mom, Anna thought as she yanked open cabinets and drawers until she found the emergency flashlight. It can’t be anyone else.

She hurried out the back door and across the cold yard, the flashlight’s beam casting ghostly shadows around her. The only thing she saw was the barn’s beckoning light as the gray house, road, and faint lights from the small town below the hill disappeared into the darkness behind her.

(C) 2011