Fan Fiction
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Runt of the Litter – (Chapter: 5. First Blood)
First Blood
After our, ahem— incident, Spencer’s mother apparently pulled her out of Eckhardt’s Academy. Kyla was distraught, Ben was disappointed, Aiden was disheartened, Waldo was disconsolate, and I was distressed. (Talise, I suppose, was still disillusioned, but that is beside the point.) I had hoped we’d be friends, but I have no idea how to contact her. The only connection I had with her was the fact that she went to Eckhardt’s, and now, for all I knew, she had disappeared from the face of the planet.
Despite my gloomy thoughts, Talise seems to have gotten over whatever had been bothering her before. For the most part, she is back to normal, although she still gives Joe short shrift and has been downright frosty to Christine. At home, things were tense for a while, but they’ve gotten back to usual. Just when I think the world will move on without another trace of Spencer Carlin—
"Hey, Ashley,"
—she plops into the seat next to me at lunch. "Oh god, I’m sorry!" Her next move is to whack my back in an attempt (failed) to help me cough up a chunk of a sandwich that lodged in my throat when she appeared out of nowhere. At last, a little ball of half-chewed food falls onto my napkin. Gasping and a little embarrassed, I stare at her.
"Um… hi?"
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah."
Silence. During which I examine her school-made chicken burger for signs of mold. Just in case.
As it drags on, I grit my teeth in frustration. Why can’t we start a conversation without being so painfully awkward? Every single time we meet, it feels like I have to force us into a conversation.
"Why are you at King? What happened after the other night? And," looking at her T-shirt, "what is that?" I erupt.
Glancing down, she answers the last question first. "That is an Angora rabbit."
"That’s a rabbit?" Peering closer, I see what might be a rabbit face in what looks like a mound of fluff. I thought I already saw the world’s strangest animals when Talise went through her Animal Planet phase that I, invariably, got sucked into.
"Yep."
She doesn’t say anything else, so I prod her some more, "Why are you here?" Her back stiffens before she replies.
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GREAT update! BTW ive been meaning to tell you i ADORE the way you write. your vocabulary is phenomenal. it adds so much to the story, its like you can tell ashley is smart by what she’s thinking she just cant get it out alot of the times because of her condition and you feel her frustration…if that makes sense lol. PMS!