Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Goodbye ❯ A New Day ( Chapter 1 )

 

The girl snapped awake, blue eyes going from peacefully shut to impossibly wide. The dog jerked up with a howl and thudded out the open door and downstairs. The girl lurched to a sitting position with a screech, snatched up the Alarm Clock and threw it, still screeching. It crashed through the window and sailed into the pond, most likely zapping the fish.

 

The Alarm Clock was her invention, an extremely durable, steel, battery-powered alarm clock that showed the time, went off with a loud BZZZZZZ! that was sure to wake up the neighbours, and it got a radio signal. The only trouble was that it was too susceptible to water.

 

Grumbling, the girl rolled out of bed, crawling to her chest of drawers. She opened the bottom drawer, pulling out a loose black skirt and a creamy white tank top, pulling both over her pyjamas before realizing that when one gets dressed, one should probably take one's pyjamas off.

 

It's too early for school, she grumbled at herself, struggling out of her pyjama shirt. It's too early for my first day. It's too early to be awake.

 

The dog poked his cocked head through the door, staring at her questioningly as if to say, Well? Coming? “One moment, Den,” she told him, reaching over to flick his ear with the tip of her finger. He panted at her, then turned and trotted off. She slipped into her shirt, then sighed and dragged herself to her feet. “Mornings are shit,” she muttered accurately, and followed the dog downstairs into the kitchen.

 

“About time, Winry,” grunted the tiny old woman by the stove. “Toast on the table. Eat and get moving!” “Yes, Granny,” the girl, Winry, answered meekly, sitting herself in a chair in front of a plate of toast and glass of juice. She plucked crumbs off the semi-burnt bread, not taking a bite, though she did sip at the juice—it was cranberry.

 

“Eat, girl,” her grandmother ordered, heaving a dirty pan from last night's dinner into the dishwasher. “You don't want to be late, do you?” “Frankly I don't care,” Winry said in a small voice. “What if they don't like me, Granny?” “Of course they will,” her grandmother replied gruffly. “Now, when you get home I'll probably be out, so if I am take Den for a walk and unpack some of the boxes in your shop.” “Okay,” Winry said absently, finally taking a nibbling bite of her toast. A light blue lunch bag found its way across the room to land beside her. “Your lunch is in there. I need to go unpack some boxes in my room,” her granny said. “Have a good day, Winry.” “Okay,” Winry said again.

 

She waited furtively until her grandmother was out of the room and limping up the stairs before dashing across the kitchen to dump her shredded toast in the garbage. She dumped the juice down the sink, washed her hands and snatched up her lunch. Heaving a deep breath, she grabbed her backpack from a chair and knelt to tell Den goodbye. “I'll be back in a few hours, Den,” she told him, scrunching up his ears. “Be a good boy for Granny.” Den whined and licked her face. Winry giggled and wiped off the doggy drool. “Bye-bye, Den,” she called, slipping out the door and trotting down the street toward her new bus stop. She was the only one there this early. Sighing, she sat herself on the rough wooden bench to wait.