Run Away Teen

Chapter Nine: Better Than Alise

“Morning, Sea Witch! Up and at ‘em!” I greet the shed, then laugh hysterically. “I have got to get out! Look at me, I’m going crazy!”

  I pull out a canvas bag, the 10 cent kind from the supermarket, and fill it with all the food I have, all the water I have, a box of plasters, and my wallet. I then stuff everything else under the floorboard again, drag the mattress over it, and walk out without looking back, wearing my blue Converse, the loose fitting singlety thing, my denim shorts, and my bikini underneath.

  I skip along the shore, picking up the occasional pretty shell and collecting an array of the things to decorate Sea Witch. It’s really busy today, so I assume it’s the weekend. I slide into the shade of some trees, hoping that no one’ll recognise. With each second that passes, I’m starting to contemplate coming here in the first place.

 “You’re just paranoid, get yourself together, woman!” I murmur to myself, snacking on a cookie.

 “Hi!” a voice greets me, causing me to jump a mile in the air. “Wow, you really are paranoid,” the owner of the voice muses. “I’m Cadence,” she, a tall, chestnut-haired girl greets, plonking herself next to me on the sand.

 I’m about to tell her my name’s Everleigh, but she’d know, wouldn’t she?

  “Harper,” I introduce myself.

  “So, how old are you, Harper? I’m just 15. High school is horrible, let me tell you, just wait until you start. What year are you? 7? 8?” she chatters.

 I’m used to people thinking I’m younger than I actually am, but it still hurts, even so.

 “I’m 14, year 10,” I smile shyly.

 “Oh my gosh! My big mouth! I’m so sorry Harper! It’s just… wow! I feel horrible! I’m sooo sorry!” she whines, her brown eyes glistening.

 I flick her brown ponytail playfully.

  “Eh, it’s fine. You get used to it,” I smile my brightest stage smile.

 But soon it’s not a stage smile. Soon it’s a real, sincere smile. Soon I’m rolling around the sand, laughing my head off with my new friend.

 “So, why are you here?” I ask, sitting with my legs crossed like we had to do at primary school.

  “My mum and dad bought a holiday home, so I’m stuck here for two weeks,” Cadence sticks her tongue out to show she doesn’t really like the beach. “No entertainment, and the only person I can talk to, besides my parents, is my sister, and it takes a lot of patience to talk to her. So why are you here?”

 I raise my eyebrows at the change of subject, but don’t push. “I live around here,” I say simply.

 Nice, Harp- I mean Ever. Simple, not too much information, I think to myself.

 “Do you have any pets? What’s your favourite colour? What do you wanna be when you grow up?” I fire at her, so she won’t ask exactly where I live. Somehow, I don’t think she’d be impressed.

 She laughs. “Woah there, Harper! Slow down!” she says, but answers each in turn. “No, I hate animals, fave colour… orange, and I wanna be a seamstress and make clothes for people,” she smiles, “and you?”

 “I hate animals as well, so no to the first question. I love the colour blue, and my mum wants me to be an actress, but I’m yet to know what I actually want to be,” I inform her, and she nods.

 “Cadence! Let’s go!” her parents yell, and we sigh.

 “Same place, same time, tomorrow?” she smiles.

 “I’ll try,” I promise her.

 We walk over to  where her parents are waiting for Cadence.

 “Mum, dad, this is my new friend Harper. She’s 14, just a little petite,” Cadence explains, and I sigh inwardly.

 Cadence’s mum seems like the kind of person who would be all “and how old are you dearie, do you want a lolly?” Those people are the worst.

 “Well nice to meet you, Harper dear. Would you like to come to the batch for a little bit?” she asks good naturedly.

 “I’d love to, but maybe some other time, Mrs Piper. My parents are expecting me to cook tonight,” I smile softly.

 “Well, know that you’re welcome. Any friend of Cadence, is a friend of ours,” Mr Piper says gruffly.

 Honestly, how cheesy can you get? I wave to Cadence as I leave, and follow the shoreline to Sea Witch, dancing all the way.

 “Hello, dearie. I’m home!” I say in the best posh english accent that I can muster.

 “Well hello, Ever, it’s been awfully quiet without you here today,” I say in an american voice.

 “I’m so weird!” I announce to both the house, and myself, flopping onto the mattress.

 I stare at the slightly rotting roof for a bit, daydreaming idly, before dragging out my, you guessed it, laptop. When I open up my blog, I get a huge shock. My last post, from just yesterday, is up to 250 reads, and it has 13 comments. Wow. Only one of those comments is hate, but then 4 other people pounced on the hater and said that I was awesome. This is incredible. People are actually listening to me, for once in my life. Time to blog for today, I guess.

 Hello, readers! 250 reads and 13 comments on the last post? Who’d have known that this blog would be so popular! I checked the news website today but I’m not on it :( It was exciting while it lasted! Anyway, I feel like running away is the best idea i've ever had! I made a new friend today, tons better than anyone back home, and her name is Toffee. Jokes. But I don’t want her seeing this blog and finding out my real name, so her name can be Toffee.

 Toffee and I had a great time today, and hopefully we’ll see each other again tomorrow. I’ve settled down in a house! I’m sleeping on a (yes, slightly moldy) mattress! Thanks so much for reading!

 -Ever xxx (a.k.a @run_away_teen)

 Reads: 64          Comments: 37

 Just like yesterday, the comments come through almost immediately. The first are from @bears_hibernate and @fishouttawater, but a couple of strangers comment some really pleasing things.

 Hi, glad you’ve settled in ok! Whens the housewarming party? Just joking! Stay safe, eat healthily, drink lots of water, stay safe (did I already mention that???) :) -Eleanor (a.k.a @liqourice_laces)

 You’re my role model! You encouraged me to do what I feel is right, and I stood up to the friends that were using me as a doormat and a punching bag… I’ve now got some new friends, who are just as awesome as Toffee sounds, and they’re so nice, and I can trust them. Stay strong, Ever! -Annie (a.k.a @long_live_leprachauns)

 I log off my laptop and the only way I manage to fall asleep is the rhythmic sounds of the waves. Though Cadence is one of the best things that’s ever happened to me, she’s also one of the worst. Because she takes me for walks up memory lane, a place I don’t want to go.