Starting Note: Hey! I lost progress twice in a row while trying to write this but I guess that’s just my cross to bear. Anyways, for those of you who either snoop around on the wiki’s blogosphere or were here last year, you might have spotted a piece of work called ‘Everyday life in an Everyday World,’ where I was just trying to write a small fun little slice of life thing. It was informative because I realized that I suck ass writing things with small stakes. So this is gonna be… sort of similar to that… except I’m not gonna lie to myself and this is going to be big.
The opening is sort of kind of stolen from a webcomic named Paranatural, but hopefully this comes into its own. I’m also not fully sure what’s gonna happen as I write this– so hey, let’s find out together! Some characters have traits and names taken from people on the wiki, not all characters do.
Without further ado… there’s a new kid in town.
James felt a little bit pissed off– as usual, he was stuck doing all the heavy lifting. He was dragging the entire family’s belongings behind him in a rolling suitcase easily twice his size, his awful posture was causing some serious back pain, and even worse, he was doing so uphill.
“I don’t get it, dad,” James called ahead to his dad. While James’ speed was reduced because of the gargantuan amount of luggage he had to deal with, and Beau, his older brother, had lagged back even farther in a melancholic fit, his dad was bounding ahead, fit to burst with excitement. “Isn’t a fresh start supposed to be, you know, fresh, and not… going back to your childhood home?”
His dad chuckled. “Oh sweet summer child-“
“I was born in the fall, but okay.”
“-The air of the city was clogging your lungs! Up here in Ashbrook, well. If the city was survival mode, we’re in the sandbox now!”
“That doesn’t make any sense. It’s not like I can just do whatever I want here. I’ve still got a few years left in high school. Also, sandbox mode is characterized by being able to, like, create the world around you. Do you… know what sandbox mode is?”
“Does it matter?” Beau said from behind. “Everything’s ruined now. No friends… No Mr. and Mrs. Asha in the apartment below… no apartment, for that matter… and no romance…”
“It’s not like you’re suddenly turning celibate just because you’re living in a different place,” said James.
“Are you still hung up on Sardine?” James’ dad asked.
“Her name was Olive!” Beau said, ears turning red. “I should cut off my ear and send it to her… that way she’ll know I’ll only ever be able to hear her.”
“Easy there, Vincent,” said James. “You know, I don’t think you ever talked to her.”
“We’ve arrived!” Declared his dad. “Feast your eyes upon your new state of residence!”
James looked up. Looming in front of him was a huge brick factory and it most certainly was not where they were going to be living for the remainder of James’ high school life. Windows were broken, a forest of weeds sprouted from the front yard, and the entire left side of the house was caved in. James must have suddenly lost the ability to read body language and facial expressions, because his dad looked proud. In what was probably once neon letters, the word “JAROMIR’S” was written.
“We’re going to be murdered in our sleep,” said Beau.
“Don’t look so glum!” James’ dad said. “Sure, the left side is… deadly, for lack of a better word is, as is most of the upper level, so you can’t sleep on the roof, which I know is a huge letdown, but the rest is perfectly inhabitable. So what if it’s a fixer-upper? What’s the family motto?”
“We have a family motto?” James asked.
“We’re awesome! That’s the family motto! We can do it, definitely! Plus, the ceilings are all super high on all the floors, so you can jump on your bed with no consequences so long as you aren’t on the left side or the upper level, in which case the floor will probably cave in.”
“I don’t…” James trailed off. “It looks like it was taken out of a B-list horror movie,” he finished, a little weakly.
His dad softened. “James. I know this is a big change. But you’re really going to love it in Ashbrook. The mountain climate, the low stress… especially for a creative type like my little musical prodigy, in his sophomore year. It’s going to be good up here.”
The three of them– James’ dad, James, and Beau, stood looking up at the factory. They took a moment, appreciating the smell of the wind, the chirping of crickets, and the feel of the pavement under their shoes.
Then Beau said, “I’m going to see what the rooms are like,” and walked into the house. The moment was lost.
“Plus, this place was so cheap that the previous owners must have thought it was haunted!” James’ dad said, walking in.
“You’re really not helping the B-list horror movie stereotype,” James said, and followed his dad.
“Okay, I’ll bite,” James said, two weeks ago, hunched over a bowl of cereal. “Why is it called Ashbrook if it’s on a mountain?”
“Apparently the original settlers – ‘’A truly multicultural ensemble’’ – were all drawn to Mount Cyrus because they were following the river that made Three Twigs Lake,” Beau said, reading from a pamphlet left by James’ dad, “And the stone from the mountain that made up the riverbed was such a unique shade of grey that one of people, who I guess was an ammeter historian, described it as if the river was filled with ash. Sounds inviting, don’t you think?”
“I guess…”
“I mean, sure, ‘’A Ton of Houses That Ring Mount Cyrus Along with a Supermarket and a School and Whatever Else A Town Has’’ would be a more accurate title,” Beau said, gesturing with his spoon. “But Ashbrook is one of those quintessential names for a town! Like Greendale, or Springside. It’s snappy, two syllables, vaguely associated with nature… it’s perfect.”
“If you say so.”
James walked downstairs. He had slept soundly the whole night, which was pretty impressive, considering that he was normally 60% Red Bull, but his dreams had been ones that kept his mind awake, so he was mentally even more tired than he had been when he fell asleep. The factory, surprisingly enough, was pretty safe, and the heating wasn’t terrible. Running water, electricity… they could be a lot worse off. It turned out that the first room you walked into when entering the house had been repurposed into a kitchen, and that’s where James was headed. For some reason, though, the kitchen was empty.
Taped to the fridge, in his father’s blocky handwriting, was a note:
Dearest progeny of mine,
While I appeared to have laid myself to rest at a time most responsible, I in reality was waiting for you to fall unconscious. After you were asleep, I pranced about the property as if I were a child on Christmas Eve, and each new room a freshly-wrapped present– this behavior I continued until early in the morn, and now I truly rest.
Love,
Ashbrook’s newest property owner
Underneath the note, Beau had made an addition in his flowing cursive– he only learned cursive because he thought it would be impressive, but he turned out to really love the way it looked and just kept with it.
Hey. Left for school, took the car. Frozen waffle in the fridge. School starts at eight fifteen so you’ll probably have to book it.
James grabbed a frozen waffle and apple from the fridge. “Interesting.”
He looked at the digital clock on top of the kitchen counter. It read eight o’clock. “Interesting,” James said again.
He was at full sprint halfway down the block with his backpack on before he registered leaving the kitchen.
Even while running, though, James knew he was doomed. While he knew where Nellrock High was, vaguely, he had no clue what the most efficient way was, and he knew it was uphill, and he knew that he was definitely not athletic enough to keep a consistent pace. Already his lungs were screaming at him.
A beat-up green Mercedes rolled up beside him, and a girl about his age stuck her head out the window. She was driving with her right hand on the wheel, her left hand hanging out the window. Hanging around her neck was a pastel pinkish-brown scarf. “Need a ride?”
“I- pant don’t- pant take- pant rides- pant from- pant strangers-“
“I’m Addison. What’s your name?”
“I’m James- pant and I really- pant should be going- pant just gotta catch- pant my breath-“ James was now leaning fully against the car.
“Well, we aren’t strangers anymore. Now get in.”
James tried to protest, but soon enough he was in the back seat of the car. Although the exterior was pretty shitty, James had to admit that the interior was pretty nice-looking. His phone buzzed. It was one of his friends from the city, Sharpe, messaging him.
C#: j
C#: hey
C#: j cmon respond
C#: j its been
C#: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaages
Jamehameha: Its been literally a day
C#: ! he lives
Jamehameha: Actually Sharpe
Jamehameha: Less than that
Jamehameha: If you count the note you handwrote and stuffed in my sheet music
C#: like i said ages
C#: so city mouse whats ashbrook newt
C#: like*
C#: what the fuck lol howd that happen
Jamehameha: Its pretty generic to be honest
Jamehameha: No Im just being cynical its nice
C#: and the ppl??
C#: obv. none are as cool as me
Jamehameha: I have met one (1) person
C#: ………………and?????
Jamehameha: I think she kidnapped me Im in the backseat of her car
C#: lololol
C#: typical j
James slid the phone back into his pocket and looked out the window. Pine trees seemed to make up most of the vegetation on Mount Cyrus, and James could see some hiking trails carved into the side of the mountain. Looking even further down, James saw Three Twig Lake and on the other side of the lake was the city.
The car moved into some dense forested areas, which James knew surrounded the school.
“Hey, we’ve been driving all quiet-like and I’m bored,” Addison said, looking at James through the rear-view mirror. “Plus my curiosity is itching at me– I don’t think I recognize you. Although, that seems to be a frequent occurrence.”
“Yeah, I’m new. We moved into the factory.”
“Jaromir’s, huh? Back in the day I used to play hide-and-go-seek there. It’d be cool to see what happened to the place, after the incident.”
“The… incident?”
“Oh yeah. Back when I was eleven or so, we found a corpse, and– no, don’t worry, I’m totally bullshitting you.”
“So what’s your story?”
Addison’s fingers tightened on the wheel. “My… story?”
“You said that not recognizing people was happening more and more frequently. What was that about?”
“Oh.” Her fingers relaxed. “I was at an exchange school last year. Kinda sucky for that to happen when I was a freshman, but c’est la vie. The school got revamped, some kids who were homeschooled before joining up last year, new froth, new student council, that kind of stuff.”
“Froth?”
“Oh, our school calls eight graders highschoolers, we call them froths. Basically irrelevant, not as annoying as freshman or as useful as anything else.”
“Weird.”
Addison reached up to turn on her left turn signal. She was wearing a pink t-shirt, and her left arm was covered in black, slightly iridescent feathers.
“What the hell?” James yelled. Addison slammed on the breaks, causing James to blink, and the second he did they were gone.
“Dude, what’s your defect?” She yelled, twisting her head around to look at him.
“Sorry, sorry, I… I think I’m seeing things.”
She pressed her lips together. “Nerves on edge must’ve given you Ashbrook Eyes, huh? Happens to the best of us.”
“Ashbrook Eyes?”
“At least one person every year will freak out babbling about aliens or whatever. Seeing demons and what have you. Feel lucky that it happened to you early, now you’ll actually know what’s happening when your dad screams about the pictures moving.” Addison started the car. “My personal bet is, there’s something in the water. It’s harmless though, you get used to it. We’re nearly at Ness.”
After a minute or two of awkward silence, the car pulled into a driveway, which led to a parking lot, and James got his first view of the school as Addison parked the car. It was a weird building, like a modern architect had to make a prison, a two-story tall rectangular prism of stainless steel. There was a set of double doors at the front where students streamed in. Over the door were the words Nellrock High in gold lettering, and under that was what James assumed was the school’s motto: destinatum est tibi hic.
“What does that mean?” James asked.
“Something about destiny,” Addison said, opening her door. “Which, for the record, I don’t believe in. What’s your first class?”
“Um…” James dug through his backpack for the schedule. “Looks like… Intro to Calculus?”
“Whiz kid, huh?” Addison said. “That’s in room 224. I’ll show you the way.”
The interior of the building was such a stark difference from the exterior that James was for a moment unsure that he had walked into the right building. A blood red corner-to-corner carpet with purple stripes covered the floor, and the walls were painted in bizarre swirls of light blue and maroon. The stairs, of course, were identical to the ones making up the fire escape in James’ old apartment.
Addison steered James to a posterboard on one wall with a map on it. The map claimed that the second floor had thirty classrooms, while the ground floor had ten, plus two science labs, a cafeteria, auditorium, gym, and pool.
As the two walked to the stairs, however, they were confronted by a kid wearing black leather gloves.
“The lost bird returns to the cage, bringing a chick with her!” He cried, throwing his hands in the air. “Addison. I thought we’d finally gotten rid of you.”
“And I thought I’d made it crystal clear that last year was a temporary situation,” Addison replied, narrowing her eyes at him. “Jordan, I’m not looking for any trouble.”
“You never are, are you. But it always seems to find its way to you.”
“How have you been?”
“Never better. Who’s the kid?”
“He’s James, and he’s new, so at least give him a bit before one of your schemes starts to act on him.”
“James, hm? A fantastic name. Nonetheless, there’s a new student council in place, Addison, and a new era dawns on Nellrock. The wheels of fortune are shifting! Make sure that when you’re giving someone the coat off your back, they aren’t about to stab it. If someone’s going to expel you, I’d much rather it was me.”
With that, Jordan turned on his heel and walked down the hallway, thumbs hooked in the back pocket of his pants.
“Who was that?” James asked. He had other questions, like why in all hell were the two acting so melodramatic, but he kept them to himself.
“An old enemy. No one better to welcome me back to Nellrock.”
James walked up the stairs, and noticed Addison was no longer at his side. He looked back to see her staring at a classroom.
“Are you going to come with?”
“I don’t have I-Calc, James. You go on ahead. Sink or swim, make sure the sharks don’t bite.”
James walked into the classroom, and took a seat squarely in the middle. The teacher seemed to be asleep, the plaque on her desk read ‘’Ms. Liqueue’’. There were a few other students in the class, but for the most part the room was empty. James guessed based on the number of cars in the parking lot and number of students in the hallway that this was more indicative of the size of the student body, and less indicative of the intelligence of the school. Whoever built the place probably overestimated how many people would attend.
“New kid?” Someone whispered in James’ ear. James would have screamed in fright, but suddenly a hand was over his mouth. The hand was connected to a kid. “Yeesh, new kid certified and stamped,” the kid continued. “Otherwise you’d know that the Lizard fails people who wake her up early. I’m Fern, junior.”
“James, sophomore,” James whispered through Fern’s hand. Satisfied, Fern stood up returned to where he had presumably been sitting, a few rows closer to the front.
After about a minute had passed, the bell signaling the start of school went off, and Ms. Liqueue sat bolt upright. “Who- which one of you-“
“The bell, Ms. L,” Fern said, gently. “It was just the bell.”
“Oh. Alright then. There’s a new kid in the room, he’s called James, don’t bully him or whatever. We’re going to be doing math things now, and if I hear a word out of anyone and that word is not ‘asymptotic,’ I will remove them from the room myself! Do I make myself clear?”
The room was quiet as the grave.
“Good,” Ms. Liqueue said. “Take out your notebooks.”
Class let out. Although Ms. Liqueue was… aggressive… she was definitely able to get the kids to learn. James was packing up his books when Fern moseyed over to him. “Who do you have next?”
“Um, AP Music Theory with… Mr. Thatch?”
Fern nodded, smiling. “Teiresias Thatch, the Prophet of Nockfell. I thought you were important.”
“I… don’t think I totally get it.”
“You can tell a lot about a student from the classes they take. You could have had AP Music Theory with Mr. Browne, but you’re going to be taught by Mr. Thatch. So I can guarantee this: you’re going to be important. Tell me, do you know the twins yet?”
“The… twins?”
“That’s a no- if you did know them, you’d know you had. Word to the wise: there are a set of handholds in the wall out back. The window at the far end of this hallway, and the corresponding window on the first floor, are both open. Go that way instead of through the stairs.”
“What?”
“Chase your fate! Go!” Fern helped James pack his bag, and then hustled him out of the room. “No need to thank me, you’re the captain, I’m just giving you the ship. You can thank or hate me later for it.”
James walked to the end of the hall, and looked out the window, which, true to Fern’s word, was open. Somehow, wind was blowing out of the window, instead of from it. It set James’ nerves on edge. He looked around, nobody seemed to be questioning what he was doing.
“What the hell,” James said, and went through the window.
There were handholds, so Fern was two for two on the truth department. And they were remarkably easy to grab onto, clearly not part of the original design but at the same time almost a natural component of the school’s exterior. James hopped to the ground. The ground floor window was closed. James looked up. The handholds were gone.
“Excuse me?” James said, a touch of incredulity in his voice.
“Sometimes things only show up when they need to be there,” said a voice below him and to the left, high-pitched and upbeat. James looked down and jumped in surprise.
Two kids were sitting there, a boy and a girl. Closest to him was the girl, and she was wearing a purple plastic bracelet. The boy was wearing a red ring made out of similar material.
“You’re James, right?” The girl continued, looking up at him with big eyes. “That’s such a cool name.”
“It’s pretty run-of-the-mill,” the boy countered. “No offense.”
“I’m just trying to be polite, Red!”
“How the hell did you two get here? Where did the handholds go? Why isn’t the window open? Who are you two?”
“Hey,” the boy said. “You get to the point pretty quickly. Those were almost all good questions to ask, you know.”
“I’m Ted,” the girl said, “And my brother’s name is Roger but he likes to be called Red.”
“Debatable,” Red said. “The window’s open, James. I’ve got English with you.”
James turned around again. The window was, in fact, open.
“Do you like nature?” Asked Ted. “I think it’s the most natural thing in the world.”
James ducked through the window. He saw Addison, talking to someone in the hallway, give a sympathetic but understanding look.
“Boss. There’s a new kid in town.”
Ending Note: Hiya! I hope you enjoyed this… Anyways. While not every trait from every character is on full display in this, Red and Ted are (hopefully this was a little obvious) based off of User:RedJevil and User:Tediursarehearsa. James’ love of music and mathematics are stolen from User:Jamieawesome, and I thought it’d be funny if some traits of his brother Beau would be taken from User:Betimawesome. Parts of me (not the not believing in destiny part, but some of it) are in Addison, and Jordan (eventually) displays some of User:Jallybwan’s traits. Finally, Fern was inspired by User:Faraday242. None of the characters are carbon copies of their inspirations, but you will start to notice a few similarities.
Now that I’ve written the first chapter, I think I have a better guess of where this might be going. Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Write ‘em in the comments– any response is better than no response!