Six Houses Down ♥
p o s t 3
"An hour!" I cried. "One.
Hour."
My mom had said yes to me going to the beach with Nathan. So I
guess that's that. One problem solved.
I groaned. I was nervous.
I threw off the tank top and bra I had on, replacing it
with a bikini top that was yellow and had sky-blue stripes that
tied at the back of my neck. I tossed off the shorts and
Converse and put on bikini bottoms that matched the top. I went
into my closet and grabbed some jean shorts. I grabbed a
different tank top -- a pale-purple one -- and put it
on.
I out and in front of the full-length mirror that
stood next to my closet door. I looked my reflection over. I
bit my lip. I didn't look that great.
I looked at the clock. One forty-five. I had to meet Nate in
fifteen minutes.
I exhaled.
I slipped on my black flip-flops and sat on my bed. I grabbed
the hairbrush that sat on my bed and brushed my hair. Only five
minutes had passed.
I grabbed a makeup-remover cloth I used to get oil and stuff
out of my skin and wiped my face. It removed the little makeup
I had on, but that's okay. I would be in the water, anyway.
Five more minutes had passed. I decided to leave.
I walked downstairs, shouted, "Bye, Mom!" and stepped out the
door. I shut it behind me and started walking.
Six Houses Down ♥
p o s t 2
A boy with jet black hair that
hung over his eyes emerged from the old residence. He had
surprising pale skin, polar opposite the tan I'd thought about
all Californians - well, at least the ones that lived near
beach - had. When he got closer I noticed he had bright, grass
green eyes.
"Hi," he dazzled me with a sparkling smile. "I'm Nathan. Nathan
Silver. You're new, right? Mom told me there were some people
moving in around..."
"Nice to meet you, Nathan. Yeah, I am. My name's Bethany
Stiles."
"You can call me Nate, by the way. Nice to meet ya,
Bethany."
"You can call me Bette, or Beth," I added, a bit too
anxious-sounding. I smiled awkwardly.
He just laughed.
I smiled again, relieved this time. I was glad he was a little
more laid-back.
"So, wanna do something?"
"Like what?"
"Oh, I don't know... Would you want to see if we can go to the
beach or something?"
"Um... Sure," I grinned.
"Awesome! I'll ask my mom, you ask yours. Change into your
swimsuit if she says yes. We can meet back here at two. That
alright?" he smiled again.
"Yeah, yeah," I said, "that's fine."
"Great. At two?"
"At two," I confirmed.
"Later!" he smiled once more.
We both turned and walked back to our houses.
Six Houses Down ♥
p o s t 1
The move from state-to-state had been… odd, to say the least. At least it was to me.
We had suddenly went from the rainy forests of Washington to the sunny beaches of California. I wasn’t used to the new weather conditions, obviously. I didn’t like them much either.
I liked the smell of wet pine trees when I stepped outside to get on the bus. I loved the smell of rain, and the sound it made when it hit the rooftop at night. I was used to the calming sound lulling me to sleep, but I guess that would be over now. For a few years, I would say.
We had only lived in California for two days, but we were already unpacked. I decided to look around the neighborhood.
“Mom!” I called as I slipped on my bright red low-cut Converse. “I’m going to go outside!”
“Alright!” I heard her call back from the den below.
I was wearing sky blue shorts that were half-thigh length, and loose. I pulled my white tank top down a hair.
I stepped outside into the sunshine, closing the door gently behind me, even though there was really no need to. I started walking on the sidewalk. The houses were pretty to my right, and to my left. A red brick one here, an old cottage one there, a modern-looking one with peeling yellow paint over yonder. Every house had it’s own unique definition of beauty.
I came up to one house that was different from the others. Its color was actually a light grey. It looked old and uninhabited. So, of course, I thought no one lived there, that it was just abandoned.
That is, until the door opened.
Anabeth entered, “Hey, sleepyhead!”
“Hi, Ana,” I grinned.
“Almost the-ere!” she sing-songed.
“Yep.”
My stomach turned as the train stopped.
I sighed and stepped up on the seat. I tossed my purse down to the floor, got the smaller suitcase and placed it on the seat.
“Anabeth,” I said in an accidentally whiny voice, “can you help me with this?”
“Sure!”
She got on the other side and we eventually got the big suitcase down together. It was then that I only just noticed that her suitcases were by the door.
“Okay, well, I guess we should get going,” Anabeth said. She left and I followed.
I dragged my luggage down the steps and Anabeth had found someone who was supposed to take our luggage. We gave our luggage away and got on a boat with a boy named Caine Showroar. He had sleek jet black hair, a color not unlike my own. He had golden eyes, very different than my violet ones. Anabeth tried to make small talk.
“Hi!” she smiled.
“Hello…” he answered.
“I’m Anabeth Tibbitt! And you are?” she tried.
“Caine Showroar.”
“Nice to meet you, Caine! This is my friend Francesca Maxley.”
He turned to me and looked me up and down. I raised an eyebrow as he said, “Hey.”
“Um, hi,” I replied simply.
It was then we had to get off.
All first years
entered the Great Hall the same way: nervous and excited.
Speech said, stool out, sorted started.
“Ohmigod, Fran!” I heard Anabeth. The door slid open and I heard again the shriek of “Fran! Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine -- ugh,” I added when I looked at my hand and saw blood.
“Fran, your nose is bleeding! Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.” I covered my nose with my hand and walked inside.
“Sit, sit!” She patted the only empty seat.
“No, you go ahead.”
“I insist!”
“Fine,” I sit and pinch the bridge of my nose. “Ugh,” I groaned again.
I looked around and saw four other people staring at me. There was Annabelle, a girl with long, wavy, golden blonde hair, a boy with messy light brown hair, and a girl with half-neck length curly hair, identical to the color of the boy’s next to her.
“Guys, this is Francesca… Francesca…” she thought for a moment. “What is your last name, Francesca?”
“Maxley.”
“Francesca Maxley,” Anabeth smiled, though she had just been panicking over a bIoody nose.
“Um, hi, Francesca,” the boy spoke up, “I’m Matthew Farr.”
“Hiya,” Golden-Hair said, “I’m Holly Charles.” She grinned.
“I’m Anna Farr,” the last girl smiled. Her dark yet bright blue eyes sparkled.
“Nice to meet you all.”
“You, too,” they said in unison.
“Sorry this had to be the condition you met me in…” I apologized awkwardly.
Holly was the only to laugh.
“No one cares, Francesca,” Annabelle said.
“Well I’m going -- Nice to meet you all!” I smiled and left.
I walked back to my compartment, laid down, and slept.
When I awoke, Hogwarts was in sight. Unusually frantic with no need to be, I went out and changed into my robes.
Anabeth stands and opens the door. I hear her muffled cry of “Annabelle!”
“What?” I hear a reply.
Anabeth opens the door, “This is Francesca!”
“Hello,” I smiled awkwardly.
“I’m Annabelle.” She turned her head to the left and back, swishing her choppy hair out of her face. Anabeth’s twin. I noticed that Annabelle has glowing emerald green eyes while Anabeth has dark brown ones.
“Nice to meet you, Annabelle.”
“You too. I guess.”
“Who else have you met, Francesca?” Anabeth asked. I also noticed Anabeth’s happy attitude compared to Annabelle’s… less-happy attitude.
“Just you two.” I was getting a little annoyed by Anabeth’s continuous flow of queries.
“Oh. Well, we’ve met some other people. At least I have,” she added, casting a glance to Annabelle.
“I’ll be right back,” Annabelle left the compartment.
“Would you want to meet some more people?”
I shrugged, “I don’t care, Anabeth.”
“Okay!” she smiled. “When Annabelle gets back we can all go meet more people.”
As if on cue, Annabelle walked back in, holding a cake with sugar and raisins in each hand, one in your mouth. She handed on to Anabeth and one to me. She placed a hand on the one in her mouth and took a bite.
“Thanks, Annabelle,” I smiled.
“Welcome.”
We all finished the treats and left. I put my purse up with the luggage but left the strap hanging down, so I would know which compartment was mine.
We walk out and towards the end of the train ‘section’, I called it. I was falling a few feet behind Annabelle and -beth. They strolled in through the doors on the left, unaware of my not being right behind them. I didn’t hear the door close and, walking straight forward and not paying attention, slammed into it.