1985 (h.s.)

Chapter One

Elaine

Barbara Streisand once wrote a song called "Woman in Love". I never really understood it, not because it was bad, but because I didn't understand the concept of love. For a long time, it was just a mystery that everyone in the world was longing to solve. Even myself. For the first 17 years of my life, I longed for the feeling. I longed to feel accepted by not only myself but another human being. Yeah, my family loved me, but the love I wanted to have was on a whole other level. A level I thought I could never reach so, I eventually gave up. Being uprooted to a new town was supposed to be a new beginning. I wanted to forget about loving someone else and love myself. Thankfully the little town of Ashland, Nebraska would gift me both. The gift would come with challenges, but in the end, it would give me everything I've ever wanted.

+

My alarm clock buzzed at the early hour of 6. I lazily opened my blue-green eyes and knocked my clock off of my bedside table. It fell to the floor with a loud thud, probably startling my unwoken uncle. The sky was still dark and the air flowing into my room was cool. It was early August and I was on my way to my new school in the middle of rural Nebraska. My aunt and uncle lived in a small ranch house that was right outside of the town of Ashland. It's a quiet little town though, I haven't gotten much of chance to explore. I've only been here one day and I spent my first-day gardening with my aunt. She loved growing fruits and herbs. I made sure she threw in some flowers too.

My feet hit the cold wooden floor and I dragged myself down the hallway to the kitchen where my Aunt Erin was up and cooking some fresh eggs for breakfast. The smell of the bacon sizzling on the burner next to her filled my nose. I deeply inhaled the amazing scent and sat down at the rickety wooden table placed in the center of the small room.

"Good Morning dear," Aunt Erin chirped. I groaned in response. It was definitely way too early to be functioning, but if I wanted to catch the bus in time, I had to deal with it.

She turned around with a half-hearted smile and set a plate of eggs and bacon in front of me. I grabbed my fork and stuffed my mouth. You can never be too tired not to eat. I crunched on the bacon and sighed in satisfaction. Fresh food was always a must when staying with my aunt and uncle. It was quite convenient because they lived close to a local farm. I looked around the kitchen for my uncle, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is Uncle John?" I question while sipping my orange juice. I figured he was out working on his shed. He was a very elusive man, but when he was around you, he always made you feel welcome.

"He's actually at the market right now. He wanted to know if you need anything but didn't want to bother waking you up," she responded while washing dishes. I nodded and passed her my dirty dishes.

"Thanks for breakfast, by the way," I said while walking back down the hallway to the guest room. I pulled to the duffle bag from under the bed and unzipped it revealing the little clothing I had to bring with me. I decided on a pair of high-waisted jeans, a simple black belt, and a blue t-shirt. Once satisfied with my look, I drug myself down the hallway to the bathroom

I gazed in the mirror and brushed my brown hair into a ponytail secured with a black scrunchie. I realized how long it had been since I got my last haircut and decided to get one soon. After I washed my face and brushed my teeth I finished with some chapstick. I didn't wear makeup very much so, why start now. It was 6:45 and I still had 15 minutes until I had to be at the bus stop, which was at the very end of our long driveway. I figured I would make my lunch so I didn't have to bother my aunt and uncle for money. I grasped my backpack and carried it to the kitchen, setting it down on the table.

I opened and closed drawers and cabinets searching for lunch bags. I pushed miscellaneous kitchen tools out of the way. We had way too much stuff in this kitchen. Once I finally found one, I filled it with a peanut butter sandwich, banana, and apple. I stuffed that in my backpack and sat in the kitchen reading until I noticed it was almost seven. I said my goodbye's to Aunt Erin and started my walk down the driveway. Because of the open land, I saw the bus driving down the main road. I sped up my pace and arrived as soon as the bus' doors opened. They revealed an older woman, but no older than 60. She greeted me with a grin. The wrinkles on her face showed that she was a happy lady. I wondered what she was doing being a bus driver and not a professional smiler. If that was even a profession.