Fan Fiction ❯ Loss ❯ Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Karin flicked back her auburn hair as her eyes moved rapidly across the yellowing pages of an old book. She was so engrossed in the words, and one could barely get her attention to leave the book. It was very peaceful, with the late-autumn wind blowing into the room through large windows.

"Karin!" a voice screeched. Karin remained in her spot by the window, not taking the slightest notice of the girl standing next to her. It wasn't until she got a slap on the arm did she glance up.

"Vanessa, don't hit my arm," she said, looking up and making a funny face at Vanessa, who laughed and sat down at the other end of the sofa by the window.

"I had to hit you," Vanessa said. "You were too engrossed in- what is that book's title?" Karin held up the book cover to her friend. "Hmm… 'Through the Looking-Glass'. Again. I'm not even surprised. Can't you get some other material to read, like Anne Rice or J.K. Rowling?"

"I have read them. I'm just re-reading Alice in Wonderland-"

"Sure. If you're not re-reading Alice, it's Frodo or Narnia or-" Vanessa ducked as Karin sent a cushion her way. The cushion hit the cupboard behind Vanessa with a soft thump and slid down to the floor. Doreen picked up the cushion and hugged it to her bosom protectively. "Honestly!" she said. "Can't you treat the cushions a little better? You're always throwing them around." Karin raised an eyebrow.

"Because annoying people like you are always around," she said sweetly, sending another cushion flying into Vanessa's face. The Eurasian girl caught it in time, and cuddled both cushions.

"Okay, okay. I didn't come here to bicker with you. I just wanted to know if you were going to volunteer yourself…"

"No," Karin said flatly, and returned to her book.

"But you haven't even heard what I want-"

"No, no, no. Whatever you say, my answer is no," said Karin. "Because I'll be really busy with my cello over the next few weeks for a concert." Vanessa rolled her eyes.

"If it's not your books, it's your cello. Get a life outside them!" Karin didn't answer, but Vanessa thought she noticed a mischievous look in those brown eyes. And if she knew Karin, she was hiding a grin behind the book. "Oh well. At least you know how to choose clothes. That white shirt is really nice against that dark skin of yours."

"I just threw on whatever was in my cupboard…"

Vanessa snorted derisively. "Oh really? Somehow, I get the impression that you're saying that all the time…"

"I can't control what you think," Karin replied. Vanessa threw the cushions at her. "Okay! So I lied! Now stop that!" Vanessa smirked at her.

"Kate's having a party tonight, and I need someone to help me carry the stuff."

"I'm not coming. I missed yesterday's cello practice, and Mrs. Taylor's already mad. Ask someone else," Karin said, returning to her book. Vanessa leant closer to Karin.

"But Karin," she said. "What are best friends for when you can't even rely on them in an emergency?" Karin glared at Vanessa for a while before slamming the hardcover book into Vanessa's arm.

"Go to hell."

~*~*~*~*~

Karin stared in horror at the pile of things that Kate wanted. "She wants all these? How many people did she invite to that damned party?"

"Thirty, I think. Her house is big enough," Vanessa said, lifting up a hefty box of decorations and walking as quickly as she could with a heavy load in her arms to the car, parked just outside the house. She put it gently into the boot of the car, and went back to the house to get another box.

Karin moaned at the weight of the box.

"This is heavier than that super-heavy Chinese instrument I helped to shift to the other music room on Thursday!" she complained, struggling to lift the box.

Vanessa smirked at Karin, but turned to her ringing mobile phone.

"An anime ring tone?" Karin asked in disbelief.

"So what? …Kate's sent a SMS. She wants you to bring your cello, because… her CDs with the slow romantic songs are scratched." Vanessa raised an eyebrow. "By her cat."

"Ooh, she has a kitten?" Karin squealed. "How cute!"

"You didn't know? That cat of hers has been around for a month."

Karin shook her head. She staggered to the car and dumped the box into the boot none too gently. Vanessa smacked Karin's hand.

"Be careful!" she cried. "They might break!"

"Good riddance then," Karin muttered under her breath. Vanessa heard her and scowled.

"Three more boxes. I'll take two. You take that other box and your cello," Vanessa said, picking up another box. "Put those in the backseat. The boot's full." Karin struggled with the other box and shoved it roughly into the backseat. "Karin! Don't be so rough." Karin merely shrugged and went to get her cello.

"At least your cello's lighter than these boxes, so don't complain," Vanessa said, taking even steps to the car.

"Oh, come on, Van. It's not like I treat my cello badly," Karin said, patting her cello affectionately.

"Because it's your only treasure apart from your books," Vanessa said dryly. Karin shot a Look at Vanessa. Vanessa only shrugged. "Get in the car."

Karin carefully placed the cello into the backseat and clambered into the front seat.

"Chromatic tuner check?" Vanessa asked casually, starting up the car.

Karin's hands flew to her mouth. "Ohmigosh!" she squealed and hurried back to fetch the small little black device on the kitchen table which she slipped into her pocket. She hurried back to the car. "Check," she said.

"French bow?" Vanessa asked, enjoying that fact that she was making her friend run.

Karin bolted out of the car again and hurried back with a bow that she stuck into the pocket of the carrying case. No sooner had she settled in comfortably into her seat then Vanessa asked, "Your spare strings?"

Karin glowered at Vanessa. "You like making me run, don't you? The strings are perfectly fine." Vanessa smiled widely.

The days were getting shorter; at seven-fifteen, it was already very dark. The moon was reduced to a thin crescent shape that night, and only a few stars were out. Karin didn't know how Vanessa could navigate her way so expertly to Kate's house, which lay on the other side of a cliff just outside town.

As they were driving on the path that led down the cliff to Kate's house, which was still about twenty minutes away, Karin thought of something she'd forgotten to ask earlier. "Van, lend me your cell phone."

"What for?" Vanessa asked, turning to look at Karin.

"Look at the road, Van," Karin said, furrowing her brow. Vanessa laughed.

"Oh please," she said. "I've been to Kate's house way too many times to get lost or throw ourselves down the cliff." She turned her gaze back to the road.

"Ha, ha. So funny," Karin said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "Throwing ourselves down the cliff. It's a riot, it is."

Vanessa turned and glared at Karin. "Now stop that," she said, pointing an accusing finger at Karin, who sighed and faced the front. Her eyes widened and her jaw went slack.

Vanessa faced the front, bewildered, only to see a truck heading directly towards them.

"You're on the wrong side, idiot! Turn right! Quick!" Karin shrieked at Vanessa, who promptly swerved the car to the right. They missed the truck narrowly.

Both girls laid back in their seat, their hearts beating wildly and their breathing irregular.

"Uh… Van?" Karin ventured to ask after an unnerving silence lasting about a few minutes. "Why didn't we crash into the railing?" She leant over to Vanessa's side to look. And screamed as the car toppled over into the darkness. ___________________________________________________________________________ _______
Ooh. This is so cheesy. Fun to write, but still rather cheesy, especially the ending. It isn't very Lord of the Ring-sy right now, but the two Mary Sues will meet Frodo and group together with Tom Bombadil in the second chapter (which I hope will be up soon). The reason I wrote this little... fic is because I was sick and tired of Mary Sues who always got their man (either Frodo or Legolas), I suppose. And my muse was bugging me about it. So anyway, I've tried to put some logic and hard work into this, so that it isn't too buggy to read. Please R/R!