Target Chapter 1

This story isn't about me, even though I’m telling it. Sure, I play a big role in it, but there is someone else whom this story is truly about. This person came rolling into this out of the way town and changed not only the town itself, but my life forever. The real star of this story is...well, her real name is Bethany Anderson, but she hates that name. She prefers to be called Target. There are three people who knows the story behind that nickname. Myself, her guardian, and Target herself. She is incredibly sensitive about the story.

This story begins and ends in a small town in Chester Village, Connecticut; population 6,106 located in the south east side of the state. We are a quiet town. It always reminds me of that song in the Disney movie Beauty and the Beast, when Belle sings the song about how boring a “provincial life” is. That’s basically Chester Village in a nutshell. There’s Katie the baker, Sam the repair man, Andrea the mayor, and Phil the chief of police. However, I am nothing like Belle. I very much enjoy living in Small Town, USA. I have two loving parents and an annoying, but cute nine year old brother. I was a junior in Chester Village High when my life changed and had a few friends. My parents have steady jobs that allows us to live a comfortable life. I’ve never needed anything in my life. In school, I have an almost solid 4.0 grade average.

I’ve lived in Chester Village my whole life and, even though many people complain about one day escaping the small town life, I never want to leave. While other students are excited to leave for college, I cringe at the idea. I like my sheltered, safe life and I'm not even sure if I was going to go to college. I plan on graduating high school and then going to work in the town’s convenience shop that my mother owns, hoping to one day own it when she retires. I already work there as a part-time after school job and a full time job during the summer.

Then...everything changed when she arrived in our town, disrupting our routine and comfortable living style. However, now after everything that’s happened, I wouldn’t have it any other way. This is the story of Target.
It happened when I was in school, during my second period British Literature class. It was the middle of the first semester and we were studying Shakespeare when there was a knock on the door. The teacher, Mrs. Greene, stopped her lecture on the Englishmen’s most famous plays to go to the door and opened it.

“Oh, Mr. Danielson,” the English teacher said, her voice showing her surprise. “To what do we owe this visit?”

“I have a new student for you,” the principal declared. The room suddenly broke out into a low rumble of shock and whispers. A new student? They only came every once in a blue moon. Surely someone would have heard that a new family had moved into the town. Genevieve, the wife of the head of City Counsel, must have known; she’s the town’s gossip and nothing ever slipped passed her, which meant that everyone knew about everything within a few hours.

“Really? I wasn’t informed of this,” Greene stated.

“Well, we only found out this morning, so don’t feel left out,” Danielson replied.

“Oh, well, come in then. Let’s meet them,” my teacher said, stepping aside. The other students craned their necks, some stood from their seats, to get a look at the new junior.

There were a few gasps, a low whistle, and the volume of the whispering rose. This new student, a girl of seventeen, was absolutely gorgeous. She was now easily the town’s most beautiful girl, surpassing Emily Jamison. She stood up straight at five feet, seven inches with brilliant, long red hair that went to the middle of her back. This was the kind of hair that every girl would kill to have. It was thick, wavy, and the perfect shade of red. It was the color of Jean Grey’s hair in the X-Men III: Last Stand movie. She probably weight about one hundred and thirty pounds with an athlete’s body; lean and muscled, but slender and curvy in all the right places. She reminded me of a swimmer—her stomach was flat, her breasts were, at a glance, a C cup. Her hips flared out just right and her legs were thin, but not like sticks. Her face was befitting of a supermodel; perfectly angled nose and high cheekbones that were sprinkled with light freckles. Her was skin pale and fair, the kind that girls spent all kinds of money on beauty products to get. Her neck was slender and long and her eyes were absolutely mesmerizing. They were a dark, smoky gray that looked like they were swirling like a fog in the light. Her smile was wide that reached her eyes, making them sparkle, only adding to their beauty. She was wearing jeans that hugged her legs and a light blue, short sleeved blouse.

Just looking at her made all girls feel a little bit of their self esteem fall. I stared at her with my mouth hanging open. I couldn’t believe that people that beautiful existed in real life.

If this is what she looks like, I wonder what her parents look like. They must be stunning to produce a child like this I thought.

I didn’t see what the everyone else looked like, but I assumed every guy was drooling and many of the girls were either envious or shocked, like me.

“Boys and girls,” the principal called attention to the students. Some groaned; we hated being addressed like little kids. “I want you all to give a warm welcome to Be—“

The beautiful girl cleared her throat, interrupting the man and gave him a raised eyebrow. He looked surprised and the class was as well. Mr. Danielson always demanded respect from his students and no one ever cut him off.

“We discussed my name in your office,” the new girl said, her voice light and smooth, despite its serious tone; but what everyone observed was her noticeable Southern accent. Her statement caused many people in the room to give each other looks of confusion. What was she talking about? The principal looked as if he was trying to stop himself from rolling his eyes.

“You were serious?” he asked, sounding like he didn’t believe her. The girl gave the man a disarmingly sexy, crooked smile and a wink, making many students gasp.

“As a heart attack,” she replied to his question. He sighed and shook his head lightly.

“Very well,” he said. “Class, this is...Target. She’s new and I expect you all to treat her as kindly as possible, like I know you’re all capable of.”

Target? I asked myself, raising an eyebrow. I wasn’t the only one to perform this action and I knew everyone else was thinking the same thing.

“Did you just say Target?” John Valenski asked.

“Yes...she prefers to be called Target over her birth name,” Danielson said, frowning somewhat.

“Why?” John continued questioning. The girl named Target looked at him, cocking her head to one side, looking like a confused puppy. She looked absolutely adorable with that expression, I decided right away. All she needed to do was push out her full lips into a pout and anyone would crumble to whatever Target desired.

“Because that’s what I want to be called,” she answered, as if it were obvious. There was still that twinkle in her eyes that told everyone she was very happy at the moment. John didn’t respond, probably because he didn’t know what to say. Target gave the class a brilliant smile.

“Well, Mrs. Greene, I’ll take my leave,” the principal said. He was about to walk out the door when he paused to look at the English teacher. I was near the door so I could hear what he said.

“Good luck with her,” he whispered. Mrs. Greene looked taken aback by her boss’ statement.

“What? Why?” she asked.

“You’ll see,” he assured, then left the room. The teacher shook away her confusion and closed the door.

“Well...er...Target, you can take a seat in the back desk. You can see me after class so I can give you a list of the books you will need for the course,” she instructed the new student.

Target flipped her beautiful hair over her shoulder and looked at the teacher.

“What are we studying now?” she asked, her Southern accent easily showing through her speech. It wasn’t that annoying twang, but it was incredibly endearing, I realized.

“Shakespeare. Take the notes you can and I’m sure that someone in the class would be more than happy to share their notes with you after class,” Mrs. Greene answered.

“All right, thanks teach,” Target said with another heart breaking crooked smile and took her seat. She took out her notebook and opened to a fresh sheet of paper.

“Uh, Target. Would you like to maybe properly introduce yourself and maybe tell us a thing or two about you,” the teacher said. It was so rare they got a new student that was from out of town, ever she was anxious to get to know her.

“Sure thing, ma’am,” the girl said and stood. Her body movements were so graceful and confident. For some reason, I knew I would get along with this girl very well if given the chance.

“Well, as the principal stated before, my name is Target. I just moved here this past weekend. My mom and I are very excited to be here,” she said with her smile. She didn’t even look nervous. “We moved here from Mississippi because of my mom’s job. She’s opening up a new art gallery downtown. I love to play soccer and meeting new people.”

“Thank you...Target,” Greene said, still having a hard time seriously calling a student the name of a famous chain store. The girl smiled and sat back down, crossing her long, muscular legs and flipped her hair back again.

The whole time, since she walked in the room, I hadn’t taken my eyes off of her. There was something almost hypnotic about her that I wouldn’t allow me to turn away.

“All right, class. Let’s get back to Shakespeare,” Greene said, even though it was going to be difficult to keep their attention on the lesson.

The class actually passed rather quickly with everything that happened and soon the bell rang for second period to be over and signaling that third period would start in five minutes. I gathered my notebook and textbook and put them in my backpack, then, with one last look at Target, left the room.

Throughout the rest of the day, everyone seemed to be buzzing about the new girl. The guys were already half in love with her, the popular girls were trying to get her into their “crowd,” and the shy cliques were too timid to speak to her.

I had two more classes with her after British Literature. One was fifth period History and the next one was last period Foods class. She was not the least bit shy. Target would sit down at her table and immediately strike up a conversation with whoever was next to her, despite what they looked like. She laughed easily, which sounded like music, and her smile was more contagious than a yawn. Unfortunately, I didn’t sit next to her in any of my classes, but in Foods class, we usually switched up the table groups every few weeks and it was about that time, so I might have a chance at having a conversation.

I’m not a freak and no one teases me about how few friends I have, but I was one of those shy people that wouldn’t initially talk to her; however, it didn’t matter who you were, Target would talk to you.

I walked home, a house just down the block from Main Street, which was where our shop was located, and I thought about the new girl during the five minute walk. She was indeed a strange girl to be sure; you’d had to be if you voluntarily named yourself after a store. What I really wanted to know was why she did call herself Target. Was there a story behind it? Was it just a silly nickname given by a friend from her old school? It was obvious she didn’t like her given name and didn’t want anyone to know it.

“Hello?” I called out when I walked inside my house. It was a simple two story house, the perfect size for four people. It was white with dark green shudders and a small porch in the front.

“In the kitchen!” called out my father. I made my way to said location, dumping my backpack in the entry way along the way.

“Hey, dad,” I greeted the patriarch of my family, Christopher, with a kiss on the cheek.

“Hey, girlie,” he replied, which was his usual greeting, no matter where or what time it was.

“How was school?” asked my mother, Janet, as she came into the kitchen. She greeted me with a kiss on my own cheek.

“It was...definitely interesting,” I stated, unable to think of any other way of putting it.

“I’m guessing you met the new arrival,” my mother said with an entertained smile.

“You knew about them coming and you didn’t say anything?” I asked, surprised.

“I only met the woman today when she came into the shop to buy some things for her new place. They actually live in an apartment above that abandoned store that used to be the barber shop. She’s turning it into an art gallery. That should be different,” my mother answered, meaning different in a good way.

“Her daughter is definitely different as well,” I said. “And I don’t mean that as a bad thing.”

“Oh, Target is not her daughter.”

“What?” I asked. “She said her mom moved here for a job.”

“She probably just said her mom because that’s the easiest thing to call her without raising too many questions. The woman, her name is Rose, is her guardian. They’re not even related, or so she told me,” my mother replied.

“What happened to her parents?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I thought it would be rude to ask.”

I sighed.

“Well, Target is definitely someone who is going to be raising a lot of eyebrows.”

“Why would you say that?” my father asked.

“She is...I’m not sure. There’s something different about her. For one, she is absolutely stunning. I mean, drop dead gorgeous,” I answered.

“Really?” my mother asked.

“Yeah, more beautiful than Emily.”

“Emily Jamison? But she’s won every beauty pageant since she was ten years old,” Christopher stated, surprised.

“She makes Emily look like a hobo,” I replied.

“Wow, she must be pretty,” Janet answered.

“Yeah. Also, she’s very charismatic and very outgoing. I swear there’s not a shy
bone in her body. And she’s got a Southern accent to boot.”

“Well, I would love to meet her,” Janet said, smiling in anticipation. My mother loved meeting interesting people. While she enjoyed the local people in town, she always got excited when someone new and fun came around.

“How did you know her name was Target?” I asked, just realizing what my mother said earlier.

“That’s what Rose called her. When I asked her about it, she said that Target would kill her if she gave away her real name. Apparently, the girl doesn’t like it very much, but why have such a strange name as Target, I’ll never understand,” she answered.

“Her own guardian calls her by her nickname? Weird,” I said, then shrugged. I agreed with her mother. Target was definitely the strangest nickname I’ve ever heard.

Later that night, I was working a shift at the shop, which was called Janet’s (creative, I know. Insert rolling eyes here). I worked the four to seven shift and was the only worker on the clock. There were only four employees. Myself, Valerie Johnson, Peter Harris, and my mother. The shop closed at seven and opened at six in the morning. The shop sells everything from Scotch tape to a little kid’s birthday party supplies to tools.

At around six thirty, the store was empty and I was sitting at the register, doing my History homework when doorbell dinged, alerting me to a customer. I lifted my head to greet whoever it was when my throat stopped working.

It was none other than Target, rolling in on rollerblades and that same incredible smile on her lips.

“Hiya!” she greeted with a bright laugh. I swallowed hard.

“Hello, can I help you with something?” I asked with a polite smile of my own.

“Yeah, I need to get some hangers. Do you have any here?” Target asked with her smoky gray eyes twinkling into my blue-green ones.

“Of course. I’ll show you,” I said, deciding I wanted to walk beside her...while she rolled down the aisles.

“Thanks a bunch!” she said, giving me that unnerving smile that I was helpless in returning. “You’d think that we’d remember to pack hangers, but we must have forgotten them or something.”

She laughed and my mouth suddenly turned dry at the sound.

“But you know how it is,” she continued when she finished laughing. I smiled sheepishly.

“Well, not really. I’ve never moved before. I’ve lived in the same house for my entire life,” I replied. Target raised both her eyebrows.

“Really? Wow...that must be...strange. I’ve moved so many times, I can’t imagine staying in one place for more than a few years,” she said.

“How many times have you moved?” I asked.

“Well, let me think,” she said, turning her gray eyes to the ceiling. We had reached the hangers by now, but neither of us made to grab them. “I believe that this move will be my sixth since I was four.”

“Wow...that’s stranger,” I said. She giggled.

“Yes, I suppose it is. But, strange is not something that’s new to me,” she admitted with a smile as she looked me directly in the eyes. For some odd reason, I blushed and turned away. “Oh, my God!” she gasped. I quickly met her gaze again.

“What?” I asked, confused. She looked quite surprised by something.

“You are so utterly cute when you blush!” she practically squealed. This only caused me to blush harder and she giggled like a school girl.

“Oh, my word. You are going to be a lot of fun, I can just tell,” Target said. She honestly looked like she was about to start jumping up and down while clapping with enthusiasm, which would have been difficult with rollerblades. I went another shade of red.

“What do you mean I’ll be a lot of fun?” I asked, confused by her statement.

“Someone who blushes so adorably so easily is definitely fun to mess with a little,” she said, a mischievous smirk played on her lips.

“What? You’re going to start picking on me?” I asked, horrified.

“Not the way you’re thinking. I won’t be mean about it. I am not a bitch,” she said with a good natured laugh. “I might tease you a bit, just to see that cute blush creep up your cheeks.”

I was speechless. This girl, who was named Target! was saying that she was going to make a hobby out of making me blush. Before I could say anything she took three packets of hangers in her hands and rolled off to the cashier. I sighed deeply and followed her. She paid for her merchandise and almost rolled out the door before she stopped and turned around.

“Oh, silly me. I forgot to ask, what’s your name?” she asked.

“Alexis Kostas,” I answered.

“Pretty name. I’m Target. Well, I suppose I’ll see you later,” she said with a wink. Despite my objectives to my body, my face still flushed at the action. She laughed.

“I am so excited,” she giggled, then left.

I collapsed in my chair and sighed deeply.

“I wonder if she’ll go through with it,” I quietly asked myself.

The Keeper 8

Katerina was stunned into silence, unable to process what Bella just informed her of. Before her was the deceased twin sister of her girlfriend. Bella had never mentioned siblings and Katerina only assumed that she had none.

“Your...twin sister?” the older girl asked quietly.

“Yes,” Bella answered, not looking at Katerina. “She died five years ago; we were twelve.”

“How...?” Katerina asked. She couldn’t even imagine the kind of pain Bella felt.

“We were at the beach in March. It was really hot out and my mother and father decided to treat us to China Beach. Keira and I were ecstatic, we loved swimming and had taken lessons for years. It was very crowded that day, especially with all the tourists and also the regulars looking to cool off. When we got there, Keira and I didn’t even put on our suntan lotion and ran straight for the water, ignoring our parents’ cries to come back so we didn’t burn,” Bella explained. Her voice was deadpanned and monotone, completely devoid of emotion. “We were splashing around and wrestling in the water. We soon decided to have a race. There was no specific finish line, though, but we wanted to go out further, away from the crowded part of the water.”

Bella placed her hand on the cool surface of the headstone and rubbed it
back and forth, as if trying to soothe it.

“In our excitement, we didn’t realize how far out we swam. She always had more endurance than I did and stopped swimming only a few yards ahead of me...but that was all it took. She got caught in an riptide.

“A lot of people think that riptides pull you under and keep you under, but that’s not true. The undertow that pulls you under only lasts a few seconds before you’re above the water again. The lethal part of riptides is not knowing what to do if you’re caught in one. You’re not supposed to swim against the current and toward the shore. It’s nearly impossible to do and eventually, you’ll get so tired you can no longer swim and you’ll drown. We didn’t know you shouldn’t swim to the shore...and that’s what Keira did.

“We were already tired from swimming for so long and doing the race. To me, it looked like my sister was just goofing off and swimming around. I was floating on my back, trying to regain my breath and energy. I didn’t even see her struggling and the waves and people was too loud to hear her shouting my name if she was.”

Bella was silent for a few minutes and Katerina didn’t say anything, knowing that more was still to be said. The seventeen year old took a deep breath.
“I didn’t see her anymore, so I went back to shore to see if she swam back to mom and dad. She didn’t. After looking for her for an hour, the lifeguards had everyone come out of the water,” Bella said. She spoke in a whisper. “When the water was clear of all the people...that’s when we found her body. She was face down, floating near the shore fifty yards away from our spot on the beach. The lifeguards tried to revive her, but it had been almost two hours since—”

Bella wiped away the tears that had silently crawled down her face as she retold her sister’s death.

“Bella...I’m so sorry,” Katerina said and gently grabbed her hand.

“She’s supposed to be here with me. She’s supposed to celebrate our birthday with me...but she’s not here. No matter how long it’s been, it still hurts. We were so close—the best of friends, then she was gone. I didn’t even get to say goodbye. I don’t even remember what my last words to her were. I never told her how much she meant to me, how much I appreciated and loved her,” Bella said, her voice cracking. “I’ll never watch her grow up with me and see what kind of person she’d become. Would she have been like me, or would we have grown different over the years? Would she be proud of me? Would we still be as close as we were when we were young?”

Katerina pulled Bella into a very intense hug and held her close and tight as she tried to console her heartbroken girlfriend.

“Of course she’d be proud of you,” Katerina whispered into Bella’s hair. Bella only cried harder into the older girl’s shoulder.

They stood there for a few minutes as Bella released her sadness onto Katerina. When the parted, Bella dried her face.

“There’s more...” she whispered.

“What?” Katerina asked, shocked. How much more pain could Bella have gone through?

“While we both loved our parents and they loved us both, I had always been closer to our mother and Keira had always been closer to our dad. After her death...my dad became distant and started drinking. It probably didn’t help that Keira and I were identical twins, so he was reminded of her every time he looked at me. After two years, he just left. No note, no goodbye, nothing. We have no idea where he is and we haven’t heard from him in three years; we don’t even know if he’s alive or not,” Bella explained.

“Bella,” Katerina whispered.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything. There really isn’t anything to say,” the younger girl said. “This is why I don’t like celebrating my birthday. It’s extremely difficult and painful to celebrate the day my sister and I were born when she’s not here to be with me. I can’t bring myself to be happy because she should be at my side, each of us compromising what kind of cake to get and wondering what kinds of presents we’d receive. Which of our friends to invite to the party and the decorations we should use. I can’t decide all of that on my own and I don’t want to.”

“If I’d had known...” Katerina said.

“It’s my fault. I should have told you sooner.”

“No, it’s not your fault. I should have listened to Kayla,” the older girl said. Bella looked at her, her eyes and faced confused.

“Kayla?”

Katerina sighed.

“I went to her a few days ago and asked what I should do for your birthday,” she answered. “She told me to leave it alone, but wouldn’t tell me why. I didn’t listen to her because I thought I could pull you out of this birthday funk.”

“You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t try,” Bella said, lacing their hands together. Then, she looked down at her sisters’ grave and actually smiled a little. “Well, I suppose this is as good a time as any.”

“For what?”

Bella didn’t answer, but she sat down on the grass instead and patted the ground next to her. Katerina took the hint, puzzled at what was going on.
“On the fourteenth day of every month, I come here and talk to Keira. I let her know what’s going on in my life and how mom is. Last time I was here was when we decided to go on our first date and I told her about you,” Bella explained. “I know it sounds crazy, but I just know she’s here when I talk to her.”

Katerina put her arm around her girlfriend’s shoulders and pulled her so close, she was almost on her lap.

“That is not crazy; I believe she is,” she assured Bella as she nuzzled her neck with her nose and mouth. Bella relaxed completely in her arms with a silly grin that Katerina couldn’t see.

“Okay then. Keira, there’s someone I want you to meet. This Katerina, my girlfriend,” Bella said out loud. Both girls felt a slight tingle up their spines as Bella, for the first time, introduced Katerina to someone as her girlfriend; it didn’t matter to either of them that that person was no longer alive. “Katerina, this is my sister, Keira.”

“Hello, Keira. It’s a pleasure to meet you and happy birthday,” Katerina said. There was a small part of her that felt a little strange for talking to someone that wasn’t physically there, but she knew that this moment was extremely important to Bella and she wasn’t going to mess it up for her.

“I promised you that I was going to tell you about my date with Katerina the next time I visited,” Bella said. So, the living Peterson sister told the deceased one about her time with Katerina, who added a few missing pieces that Bella accidentally let out.

They spent and half an hour talking to each other and to Keira, both of them getting their own words in. However, Bella realized the time and said her mother would be worried about her. They stood and stretched their muscles out.

“Bye, Keira. Love you, sis,” Bella whispered as she touched the granite stone. She gave it a sad, longing look, then turned to walk away. Katerina made sure that Bella was out of ear shot before she looked at the headstone.

“I’ll take good care of her,” she said quietly to Bella’s sister, whom she truly believed could hear them. Then, she turned to catch up to her girlfriend.

In the car, Katerina noticed that, while Bella was still sad, she was in a much lighter mood than she was before they left and this made Katerina’s heart soar. She hated seeing the younger girl so down.

They reached Bella’s house and Katerina was invited inside, which she accepted. When the two girls stepped inside, Diane was sitting in the living room waiting for Bella to come back.

“Hey mom, is it okay is Katerina stays for a while?” she asked. They both noticed Diane’s look of surprise, but also elation as she smiled widely.

“Of course,” she answered immediately. “Are you hungry, Katerina? I can whip something up for you girls if you want?”

“Actually, if it’s okay, I have some food I had packed for Bella and I in my car,” the dark haired girl said.

“That’s great,” Diane beamed. Katerina left to get the picnic she made.

“So, what happened?” the mother asked her daughter. Bella gave her a sad smile.

“I told Katerina what happened with Keira and Dad,” she answered. “Also why I hate my birthday. Then...” this smile wasn’t sad, but it was small. “She sat down with me and talked with Keira, as if she were alive. She didn’t’ think it was crazy or weird; she completely supported me and comforted me.”

“Bella, that’s wonderful, honey,” Diane said, tears in her eyes as she hugged the birthday girl. “She seems like an amazing friend.”

“You have no idea,” Bella whispered. She had to bite her lip to keep from grinning too much.

Katerina came back a minute later and the three women sat in the living room and ate the food the nineteen year old made, while laughing and joking. Katerina told Diane about her self defense business.

“I think I might have to quit the AmericInn. Some of the women I’m teaching have suggested the class to their friends and I’m now having at least three people each session,” Katerina said. Bella raised an eyebrow.

“Really? You didn’t tell me that,” she said.

“Well, I’ve just been thinking about it recently. It’s been getting pretty busy. I’ll feel bad if I do quit because I haven’t worked there very long,” the instructor explained. “Also, if business keeps growing like it is, I’m going to purchase a small building to turn into a gym to hold my classes.”

“Kat, that’s wonderful!” Bella squealed and hugged her lover.

“That will be quite risky and expensive,” Diane pointed out. Bella chuckled.

“I’m not too worried about the financial aspect, but I don’t want to fail either. I’ll hire an advisor, learn the ropes and everything. Perhaps an accountant to handle the money,” Katerina said. Diane looked at the older girl with her eyebrows raised, clearly surprised by the amount of money she was willing to spend on a business that might not even take off.

“Mom...Katerina’s very, very well off,” Bella explained. This only confused Diane further.

“My aunt left me an extremely generous inheritance several years ago and I was able to access it when I turned eighteen,” Katerina said. “I’ve never held any desire for college, so I began to work just to pass the time. I’ve thought long and hard about what I would use my money for because I don’t want to waste it away and I figured that I’d start investing. I have a few stocks in the Stock Market and I was planning on investing in real estate, but then the housing market started taking a turn for the worse and I began to put it off for a while.”

Diane was certainly taken aback.

“Well...you seem like a very well put together young woman. I’m very impressed,” Bella’s mother said as she smiled at Katerina, who blushed slightly.

“Thank you,” she murmured. Bella smiled with pride. Diane suddenly started laughing quietly.

“Maybe you could teach Bella a thing or two about defending herself. Keira would always win their wrestling fights,” she said. Bella scowled.

“Not always. I could win a few. I was stronger than her, but she was always faster,” the seventeen year old said, crossing her arms. Diane rolled her eyes and shook her head at Katerina, who laughed. Bella turned her scowl to her girlfriend.

“I would love to teach her some moves,” Katerina said.

“Kat! You’re supposed to be on my side,” Bella hissed.

“I am, you goof!” Katerina exclaimed, playfully pushing Bella’s shoulder. “I don’t want you to defenseless if, God forbid, something were to happen to you. I wouldn’t be a very good friend if I didn’t share my knowledge. Don’t worry, I won’t be working you to a black belt or anything like that, but just enough to get yourself out of a sticky situation.”

Bella sighed and looked between the two women and knew there was no way to get out of this.

Well, this is a good thing. Not only will I learn how to kick some ass, I’ll also be able to spend more time with Katerina Bella thought with a smile.

“Okay, I’ll do it,” she agreed.

The arrangements were made and, too soon for the two lovers, it was time for Katerina to go home.

“I’ll walk you to your car,” Bella offered. Diane went up stairs to get ready for bed as the two girls went outside.

“I have a present for you,” Katerina said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. Being a girl, Bella instinctively knew what it was.

“Kat...you shouldn’t have,” Bella whispered, but was actually happy.

“Of course I did,” her girlfriend said with a slight scowl. Bella smiled and opened it, then gasped. It was a silver Claddagh ring.

“Do you like it?” Katerina asked timidly. Bella looked up her, looking positively delighted.

“Oh, Kat! It’s beautiful! Thank you!” she said and hugged the older girl.

“I’m glad,” Katerina breathed out, relieved. She wasn’t sure if she was going too far with that, but it seemed that she did just the right thing. She put it on Bella’s right hand ring finger and they hugged again.

“Happy birthday, Bella,” Katerina whispered into Bella’s ear, then kissed her lips tenderly and lovingly.

“Thank you,” Bella said. There was so much feeling put into those two words and Katerina knew it wasn’t just for the ring.

“You’re welcome.”

They stood there in another embrace, then Katerina left. Bella watched her go down the street, and then she went back inside to her room.

“You know Bella, I really do like Katerina. She is a very nice girl. I’m glad you’re friends with her,” Diane said as she stood in the bathroom doorframe while her daughter got ready for bed.

Bella felt a slight twinge of guilt for leading her mother on about her and Katerina being only friends, but she wasn’t even close to ready to come out to her yet.

“I know, she’s great.”

Bella finished washing her face and went to her room. Her mother joined her and, before Bella got under the covers, Diane hugged her in a tight, motherly embrace.

“Happy birthday, love,” she whispered, kissing Bella’s head. When Bella didn’t reject her words, Diane feared she was about to cry with joy and didn’t want to do so in front of her daughter. “Good night, honey.”

“Good night, mom.”

Diane left the room and shut the door. Bella changed into her pajamas and laid down in her bed and sighed into the comfortable pillow. For the first time in five years since her sister’s death, Bella went to sleep on her birthday with a smile on her face.


Author's Note:
Hey guys! Sorry for the wait. Things have been so hectic lately with school and my friends. But I finally got this chapter done :) I hope you guys liked it. The part where Bella tell Katerina how her sister died was actually very difficult for me to write. I have a sister two years younger than I am and we are extremely close. In chapter 4, when there is a description of how close Bella and Keira are, that's me and my little sister, Katie. So, when I was talking about Keira's death scene, it was very hard for me to not picture Katie. I teared up even :( But, I am happy with the way it turned out. The part about the riptides is actually true, so for those of you who like to swim in the ocean, be careful about the riptides! Well, I'm hoping to get another chapter of "Taken Away" done soon and I'll also continue with "Target" as well. Hope you are all well :)

Wild Cat

New Story...Maybe?

Author's Note:
Hey everyone! This is a new story idea that I suddenly got a few days ago. I got the idea from the Disney movie Beauty and The Beast (which I actually mention in this prologue) when Belle is singing her opening song "Belle" when she talks about living in a small providence and how she wonders if "There's more than this provincial life." During the song, the villagers start singing about what a strange, but special girl Belle is and it sort of got me thinking. What if a girl who is very strange but special as well came into a modern day, very small town. What kind of an effect would she have, especially on the narrator (who isn't the strange girl)? I don't really have a real plot to this. I only have some ideas and the story is writing itself. So, let me know what you guys think. Should I continue writing this or not? Thanks guys!

Wild Cat

Target

This story isn't about me, even though I am telling it. Sure, I play a big role in it, but there is someone else whom this story is truly about. This person came rolling into this out of the way town and changed not only the town itself, but my life forever. The real star of this story is, well, her real name is Bethany Anderson, but she hates that name. She prefers to be called Target. There are three people who knows the story behind that nickname. Myself, her guardian, and Target herself. She is incredibly sensitive about the story.

This story begins and ends in a small town in Chester Village, Connecticut; population 6,106 located in the south east side of the state. We are a quiet town. It always reminds me of that song in the Disney movie Beauty and the Beast, when Belle sings the song about how boring a “provincial life” is. That’s basically Chester Village in a nutshell. There’s Katie the baker, Sam the repair man, Andrea the mayor, and Phil the chief of police. However, I am nothing like Belle. I very much enjoy living in Small Town, USA. I have two loving parents and an annoying, but cute nine year old brother. I was a junior in Chester Village High when my life changed and had a few friends. My parents have steady jobs that allows us to live a comfortable life. I’ve never needed anything in my life. In school, I have an almost solid 4.0 grade average.

I’ve lived in Chester Village my whole life and, even though many people complain about one day escaping the small town life, I never want to leave. While other students are excited to leave for college, I cringe at the idea. I like my sheltered, safe life and I'm not even sure if I was going to go to college. I plan on graduating high school and then going to work in the town’s convenience shop that my mother owns, hoping to one day own it when she retired. I already work there as a part-time after school job and a full time job during the summer.

Then...everything changed when she arrived in our town, disrupting our routine and comfortable living style. However, now after everything that’s happened, I wouldn’t have it any other way. This is the story of Target.

Author's Note:
So, what do you think? I kind of like it, but should I continue posting it? Let me know! :)

Wild Cat