Author’s note: feedback much appreciated!!!
~Chapter One~
A Girl
A brown-haired thin girl stepped out onto the sidewalk, a book in her hands. She had just turned 14 ½ and her family had not cared. At all. They had just fussed over who would get breakfast or not, acting as if the girl had not been sitting in her assigned chair looking miserable.
“Having 9 people in one house is not healthy at all.” She had muttered under her breath hoping her uncle had not heard. The reason why 9 relatives where living in one small house is because her grandparents were too old to live alone but didn’t want to go to a Home, and her uncle and his family were too poor to own a house. Her family, having one child and a spare room and a big enough living room to hold a family of 4, were generous enough to take in everyone.
So with that, the house was always noisy, messy and if one single person got sick, everyone did.To escape from the cramped dinning room, the girl had gone to the library since her job didn’t want her that particular day. Getting bored of reading The Swiss Family Robinson for the 10th time, she had decided to go on a walk in the city. Grabbing a map of her town Thankslot, she headed toward the park at the busy and polluted center. An hour later she was sitting on a bench that was covered with raindrops from the night before. She looked around the park, and noticed small children on the swings and slides, screaming happily away. Their parents were just as annoying talking like crows to their friends and doing everything except paying attention to their kids.
A truck on the street sped behind the girl, the exhaust making her cough. The girl hated cities-especially Thankslot because there were too many people and too many people saying that they were better than everyone else. The girl looked to the sky and watched a hawk soar in a circle. She wished she could fly to an island and be away from crowds and annoying people. She took out her secret small world map from her pocket and studied the circled island that was on it. The girl sighed. She wished she had the money to buy the island and runaway to it right at that moment.
“Is that for a school project girl?” said the real estate agent suddenly from out of nowhere. He worked at the library on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but the girl had not a chance to introduce herself. So she was confused why he had come up to her. She guessed the worst.
“Uh…yes” She lied to the businessman. Unfortunately he didn’t seem to like the answer so he sat beside the frightened girl.
“What is your name?” The fat rich man asked. The girl glanced his way then looked at the dirt patch in front of her.
“Hero….Hero Poins” She stated. There was a creepy silence after that, and Hero felt like getting up and running for her life.
“Poins…I’ve heard of that name before” The man muttered. Suddenly as if there had not been an awkward silence, the man smiled and asked,
“Since I don’t think you were telling the truth to me, I’ll ask you again. What are you doing with a map that has a circled island on it?
Hero was getting uncomfortable. Why was this stranger asking her questions? Why did he say that he heard her last name before in a creepy way?
“I don’t feel like answering to strangers!” she hissed.
“You don’t have to-I already know the answer. You want to buy that island and since our region government legalized it, 14 year olds can now buy land. I can reserve the place for you, if you like”
Hero’s eyes grew wide and her breathing grew short. A reserved island? She swatted her brown bangs out of her green eyes. This was what she had been waiting for! All she needed now was money, and she knew the ship company would love to have a teen employee. She would just have to get over her fear of the captain. The big, mean, strict captain that she had heard many stories about.
“All you have to do is get the money, and then go there.” The man whispered in her ear. Hero nodded, too excited to speak.
“Good, I’ll go and call up the real-estate agency on the coast and have them reserve the island for you right now. Good day, Miss Poins” With that, the man stalked away. Hero gaped at him as he disappeared.
She went over what the future held. She would quit her job that she had been working 10 hours a week with, and apply to work at Ship Co. She didn’t know what the hours and wages worked, but she hoped she’d get lucky. She knew from there on out, risk was going to be only one of her many future problems. She hoped the island was worth it. It probably was.
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