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My name is Madelene Victoria Irvine and my parents are Natasha Anu Fleming and Finnegan Gelmir Irvine. Most people call me Maddie but sometimes I am called by my full name, if I’m in trouble. I don’t resemble the vampire side of our family. I am only about 5’3”, stretching, and weigh less than 100 pounds. My hair is curly, sometimes frizzy depending on the weather, long and blonde. My eyes are blue. The Vampire side is tall with black hair and golden brown eyes that at times turn red or black. My fair skin and blonde hair follow more of the elf side of our family. I can’t figure out why I am short, that doesn’t fit in anywhere. I didn’t know a lot about my family’s history but it’s enough to know I am not normal. My parents answered questions about our ancestry but they didn’t offer anything extra. I guess at this age, it’s normal not having much interest in your ancestry so I obviously did not ask the correct questions.
I actually slept well the first night. At the previous house, the mosquitoes were horrible so the windows stayed shut until I blew all the windows out. With no windows, all the buzzing and biting made sleeping miserable. The next morning, I put my robe on, got a cup of coffee, and sat on the front porch swing. With the cool air blowing and the peaceful atmosphere, I began humming. The birds began chirping; animals popped their little heads out of hiding and across the road stood a mother doe and her fawn. After a few cups of coffee, my parents and I went into town to eat breakfast at the local diner and to buy a few necessities. The people in the diner were all friendly, introducing themselves to us as they came and went. While shopping at the General Store, I met Caroline Simpson. She is a senior this year too and is working over the summer. Caroline has brown hair, pulled into a ponytail, and brown eyes. She is a little taller than I am and a little heavier. She's lived here her entire life. Everyone calls Elmwood a sleepy little town. Caroline took a break and we sat on a bench near the Dairy Queen while my parents finished their shopping. I wondered aloud, “What do you do for fun here?” Caroline said, “We usually hang out at the bowling alley or at the Feed and Seed parking lot. Sometimes we go into Harrison to grab a movie but not very often. Elmwood is so small; everyone knows everyone and their business!” Caroline tried to make me feel more comfortable but she could tell I was nervous around her. I couldn’t help but be nervous about starting school in a town where everyone had known each other since like before birth. But then again, it’s not like this is my first time to move, we tend to do this repeatedly. Caroline paused, sitting on her hands and swinging her feet under the bench, “Ya know, here lately, a few strangers popped in and out. They walked up and down the street a few times, peeked in store windows, and got in their cars and poof, gone. Never to be heard of again! What’s so strange about the whole thing is we are off the main road so it’s not like you drive through here going somewhere else. Since Dogpatch closed a few years ago, we don’t have anything special to draw people here. Most of the people live their entire lives here except for a few families. The Weller’s moved here several years ago. A few families live up in the mountains but they rarely come into town and I don’t even know their names. I bet I can count on one hand any new folks moving here since I’ve been born.” “Wow, and now we will be counted on that same hand?” Caroline smiled, “Yea, pretty much. The Weller’s are about the only people that moved here, I swear, in 18 years and they live outside of town. Nobody really knows anything about them. They don’t come into town much so it’s hard to get to know them. Actually, now that I think about it, they live out on your road, not far from your house. You will be neighbors! Anyway, it’s probably our fault for not going out of our way to include them. Sometimes I think the people in this town are snobs.” “Well, since they don’t come into town much, are they like mountain hermits?” I asked, jokingly. Caroline gave me a strange smile and shrugged her shoulders. “No, they are not some weird hermit people. You watch too many of those “The Hills Have Eyes” movies! No, sometimes, they come into town to bowl but they must do their shopping somewhere else because I never see them in town. I think the dad is a retired doctor of some kind. I think I heard he does some sort of research now. I don’t know what the rest of them do. None of them are in school so surely they work somewhere.” I grinned and asked, “Who else do you need to warn me about?” Caroline laughed, “Oh yeah, you do have a witch living near you. Many of the people in town go to her for potions. She is sweet though. She’s a hoot with the clothes and hats she wears and the way she walks really fast taking itty-bitty steps. It’s like she is always in a hurry but it takes her forever to get anywhere because she is a little, scattered? Her name is Marion Burk and she loves to talk. You need to go meet her sometime, especially since she is so close to your house. You can’t help but love the woman once you meet her.” “Well that just sounds awesome!” as I rolled my eyes. “Actually, my parents mentioned her name a few times so they may already know her. I better go. My parents are waiting. Come out to visit me so you can tell me about school and maybe give me a tour of the town.” As I walked off, Caroline yelled at me, “Hey, what are you doing Friday night? We’re all going to the bowling alley. Why don’t you come with me so you can meet everybody?” I got a small knot in my stomach but said, “Ok, I guess. Yea, it would be good to meet everyone so (nodding my head), yea, I’ll go with you.” Caroline smiled back at me, “I promise you’ll fit right in and you may actually have a good time!” In the car, moma said, “She was nice. What’s her name?” “Caroline. She’s the same age as me so we will be in the same classes at school. Oh, and by the way, we moved on a road with a bunch of crazy folks.” “What are you talking about child?” “Caroline was filling me in on the people here and she told me about a witch and hermits living by us.” Moma laughed, “Well, she’s partly right.” On the way home, we drove by the school. Thankfully, the school’s small so it shouldn’t be too difficult to maneuver around, once I get over the fear of being the new kid, again. I’m looking forward to my last year of school, finally a senior. I am so ready to be done with school. The rest of the week, we spent unpacking and settling in. I had Friday night in the back of my head all week and the closer it got, the more nervous I became. I hope they don’t think I acted weird like so many people back home thought. I try to avoid touching people because of the vibes or visions I get and people think that’s weird. Whatever happens happens and there’s not a dang thing I can do to change people’s perceptions. No sense in getting myself into a dither over something I can’t change. I spent my entire life worrying about touching people and hoping people don’t figure out my family’s dark little secrets. Now, I want to “be normal” in this new place and maybe have actual friends. Friday arrived much quicker than I had wanted. I dressed in jeans and a short white tank top that came just above my jeans. I wore very little makeup because I like my face to breathe and I hate wasting time putting it on. I did however put on mascara and some lipstick. I kept looking at myself in the mirror trying to see myself as someone else would. I didn’t look strange to me, except for my slightly pointed ears. I hid my ears as usual by letting my hair hang down over them. I never wore earrings because it drew attention to my ears.
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Chosen, Chapter 1, Pg. 2 |