Chapter 1
Coraline's POV
Hi, I'm Coraline Jones, and I am 11 year's old. My parents and I just moved into this really huge pink palace which is divided into 3 rooms.
Upstairs,which could've been our attic,lives a weird,stinky, circus man,Mr.Bobinsky. Downstairs,which could've been our basement,lives 2 actresses, Ms. Spink and Ms. Forcible.
As soon as the movers unpacked all of our stuff from their truck, I wanted to explore. First there was this really cute,red bush on the side next to what it seems a bridge? I picked a branch out and closed my eyes as I held it in front of me,letting it lead me to something amazing,something magical.
I walked and walked until this strange rock came rolling down the cliff beside me. I got startled. I picked up the rock and looked up at the place where it had been rolling.
"Hello? Who's there?" I asked curiously.
No answer. I threw the rock and heard a strange,scary noise. I freaked out. I didn't know what it was. I quickly ran into the forest as I reached an old well. Twigs were getting cracked, and the footsteps got closer. I was curiously wondering what it was. All of a sudden...
"Meow!!!"
"Ahh!!!"
"Rrrrrrr"
It was a cat!!! I was scared of a cat!!!
"You scared me to death you mangy thing!" I shouted angrily.
The cat just stood there.
"I'm just looking for an old well. Know it?"
Still no answer.
"Not talking, huh?"
No answer.
I just shrugged my shoulders. "Magic dowser, magic dowser...Show me...the well!
All of a sudden this storm came out of no where and something strange was on top of the hill with a bike. It went down the hill and came towards me.
"Ah! Get away from me!" I threw my stick at it and fell on the muddy ground. "Ooh!"
It was on top of a broken tree and it looked at me. I got kinda scared. It took off its helmet and I felt so dumb to find out I was scared of a boy who's head looks like a giant watermelon.
"Let me guess, your from Texas or Utah. Someplace dried-out and barren,right?" He said playing with my stick. "I heard about water witching before,but it doesn't make sense. I mean, it's just an ordinary branch."
I don't know this kid,but already...I could already tell I was gonna hate him. "It's a dowsing rod," I told him when I hit his leg.(at least I got my stick back.)
"Ow!" He cried.
"And I don't like being stalked,not by psycho nerds or their cats!" I said tilting my head to the side like the cat was doing.
"He's not really my cat. He's kind of feral. You know,wild. Of course, I do feed him every night,and sometimes he'll come to my window and bring me little dead things,"he said.
Half of the time,I just ignored him and sighed. "Look,I'm from Pontiac."
He looked at the cat confused."Huh?"
"You know, Michigan. And if I'm a water witch,then where's the secret well?" I said stomping my foot.
"You stomp too hard and you'll fall in it!" He said pointing at where I stomped.
"Oh!" I said stepping back.
He got on the ground and started digging. "See?" He said and knocked on the top. "It's supposed to be so deep,fell to the bottom and looked up," he said grabbed a stick and pulled the top off. "you'd see a sky full of stars in the middle of the day.
I looked at him. Glad I didn't fall in there."Ha," I said.
"Suprised she let you move in. My grandma,she owns the Pink Palace. Won't rent to people with kids."
"What do you mean?" I honestly thought he was crazy and didn't know what he was talking about.
"W-well I'm not supposed to talk about it. I'm Wybie. Wybie Lovat."
"Wybie?" I asked.
"Short for Wyborn," he said shrugging his shoulders,"not my idea of course.What'd you get saddled with?" He asked.
"I wasn't saddled with anything. It's Coraline." I said.
"Caroline what?" He said playing with the cat.
"Coraline! Coraline Jones!" I said. EVERYBODY thinks it's Caroline with an A. It's not! It's just that the A and I are switched.
"It's not real scientific,but I heard an ordinary name like Caroline can lead people to have ordinary expectations about a person."
I really didn't like him.
"Wyborne!!!" I heard someone call out,ringing a bell.
"I think I heard someone call you, Wyborne," I said.
He tilted his head. "W-what?I didn't hear anything," he said.
"Oh I definitely heard something WHY-WERE-YOU-BORN," I said.
"Wyborne!!!" It called out again.
He gasped,"Grandma,"he whispered. "Eheh."
I just glared at him hitting my stick up and down my hand.
"Well, great to meet a Michigan water which," he said.
I just kept on glaring at him.
"But I'd wear gloves next time," he said putting his hands out showing his gloves.
"Why?" I said like is he really the boss of me?
"Because that dowsing rod of yours,uh...it's poison oak.
I looked at him wide-eyes and dropped the stick brushing my hands against my jacket.
"Ah!!!"
He sped off and I sticked my tongue at him. The cat was there...STILL and it looked at me weird,then went off to go follow his OWNER. I looked at the well and grabbed a piece of mud off the ground and put it in a little hole that it had. I waited and waited to hear a drop until 5 seconds later it hit the water. I went blank for a while,wide-eyes. I could have died.
