Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ A Cheap Hat, and Cigarettes, and a Peculiar Name ❯ Chapter 1

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: CNRJ
Just a little information in the beginning. It gets better after this one, I promise. I hate reading boring shit, too. Rated for language.

Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Comedy / Mystery / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 07.04.2008 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.3K | Visits: 229 | Status: Work In Progress

A Cheap Hat, and Cigarettes, and a Peculiar Name: [One]
 
This is an original work of fiction by non other than myself, Chauncie. Please do not steal my characters or story line. However, I cannot take credit for the title. It goes to Green Day from the song `Haushinka'. Thanks! -Chance
 
…
 
Adelyne Keller—or Kellie Wright, as her readers knew her by—wasn't always the go-to girl in Berkeley's most secretive underground newspaper, Incognito, but ever since her amazing job on a few dozen articles, she quickly gained status.
 
The first article didn't make front page, but who has ever had their very first article published in such a high rank? It did get the attention of the readers, though. There were several e-mails in for this mysterious Kellie and her work on `Good Cop, Bad Cop', an article about a “police officer” that couldn't be caught. He possessed a stolen cruiser, fake badge, and a gun. It seemed like a vigilante-type case more than anything else, helping people getting mugged and whatnot, but there wasn't ever any evidence other than victim testimony. She uncovered it as two men, one the mugger, one the cop, and they would steal valuables, then the “cop” would chase him away. Later, they would split the loot and do it again. Her article actually got the men caught, but no one knew who she was.
 
It didn't take long to get Kellie's work noticed, but Adelyne was a struggling student at the local campus and was almost invisible. She didn't have a roommate or people to hang out with after class or on Fridays. She was simply Adelyne, the girl with dark brown, wavy hair, deep blue eyes, pale skin, a petite frame, and a peculiar name.
 
Her major had changed three times in her first year of college, from political science, to history so she could become a teacher, and then, finally, to journalism. She was in her second year when she found Incognito, and she had only been working there for six months now.
 
That's where we begin now. Adelyne was walking back to her dorm from the library where she had been studying. It was getting dark just because it was December now, and it was chilly, too. Most of the people that lived in her dorm were out partying, so she walked up to her room in complete solitude and silence. She unlocked her door and stepped inside.
 
The room was a bit of a mess now, since she had no time to clean because she spent all of her time studying. Her minor was still political science, so it took a lot of work.
 
As soon as she got her door shut, her cell phone started playing Seek and Destroy, a song by Metallica. “Hello,” she answered. It was her brother, Cadence.
 
“Hey, Addi, Mom was wonderin' if you're comin' home for Christmas still.”
 
She struggled with her phone, moving it from her left ear to her right, so that she could set her books down without dropping them. “Yeah, I'll be home.” She plopped down on her twin-sized bed, beside the mess of dark blue blankets and pillows. “I get my break on the 20th, so I'll be home on the 21st.”
 
“Are you driving?”
 
She sighed. “I dunno. I can't afford the gas, but I can't afford a plane ticket, either.”
 
“Hold on, okay, Ads?”
 
“Mmhm.” She lay back on her bed and looked up at the white ceiling. Her room was rather boring; the only color in it was the dark blue rug, matching curtains, and bed set. She had one desk that was cluttered with papers from school, old mail, and a few random articles of clothing.
 
“Sis, Mom said that Grams is gonna send you some money for a ticket, if you'd like.”
 
“Nah, Bub, that's okay. I'll just drive out. It's only five hours, anyway.”
 
“Okay, Ads. I gotta go now. I'll talk to ya when ya get your ass home.”
 
She laughed quietly. “Okie dokie, Cade. Bye-bye.”
 
“'Bye.”
 
After getting off the phone with Cadence, Adelyne got off of her bed and walked over to her books. She had been studying for her midterms for a while now, but she still didn't know everything. She almost flunked out once, and she wasn't willing to let that happen again.
 
She didn't get very much studying done because her phone rang again, only this time it played Brain Stew, a song by Green Day. It was specially set for text messages. She looked at her phone and didn't recognize the number. It read, “Hey lets go out sometime.” She replied by asking who it was, then returned back to her books.
 
After about a half hour she got up and walked to her mini-fridge and grabbed a Pepsi and a strawberry yogurt. She had completely forgotten about the random text until her phone blared Brain Stew again. She looked at it and it read, “An old friend.”
 
She replied, “OK, I meant a name.” She hit send.
 
It didn't take more than five minutes for the next one. “Joe.”
 
Joe? She never knew a Joe, or at least, she didn't remember a Joe. She called the number. It rang a few times and a man answered. “Hello?”
 
“Joe?”
 
“Yeah, who's this?”
 
“Adelyne. You texted me and said you knew me.”
 
“I don't know you, though. I must have texted a wrong number. My friend Frank told me that this was an old friend of ours' number. I'm sorry.”
 
“Oh, it's quite alright. You just had me worried for a few minutes.” She laughed quietly, almost timidly.
 
He chuckled. “Sorry about that. Maybe we could get a coffee and I'll make it up to you.”
 
“I'm studying right now, though.”
 
“How about tomorrow? I'll meet you at the Starbucks on Cleveland Avenue at three. Sound good?”
 
She wasn't one to go out with someone that she didn't know, but… “Well, I've been studying all day.” She laughed. “I need a break. Let's go get coffee. Still wanna go to Starbucks?”
 
He chuckled again. “Sure. I'll meet you there in about a half hour. I'll be wearing a red tie.”
 
“Okie dokie. I'll be there. Later.”
 
“Later.”
 
She sat her phone down and walked into the bathroom so that she could take a quick shower. Starbucks wasn't far from the dorm, so she had enough time to get ready.
 
After jumping out of the shower, she slipped a Smashing Pumpkins hoodie on over a black tank top, and put on a pair of snug-fitting blue jeans. She didn't wear any makeup beside eyeliner, so that was all that she put on. Her long, dark brown hair was usually up, but she knew it looked better down, so that was how she wore it to meet Joe.
 
She walked out the door with her cell phone and keys, locked the door, and walked down the hall, down the stairs, and to the exit. Instead of taking her car two blocks down the street, she decided to just walk.
 
Just as she arrived at Starbucks, a tall man with blonde hair, hazel eyes, and a red tie walked up to the door. “You must be Joe,” Adelyne greeted.
 
“You must be Adelyne.”
 
She extended her hand. “That's me. Call me Addi or Ads. Either one is fine.”
 
He took it. “I go by Joe, that's fine.”
 
She laughed. “That's nice.”
 
He opened the door and motioned for her to walk in. They walked over to a booth in the back and sat down, which meant that they hadn't ordered their coffees yet.
 
“So…” Joe began. “I take it you're a student at the U. What's your major?”
 
“Journalism, and a minor in political science. That way I can write about politics and know what in the hell I'm talking about.”
 
He chuckled. “Very interesting. You writing for a magazine or newspaper, or anything like that right now?”
 
She shook her head. “Not yet. I've applied, but never with good results.”
 
“Where all have you applied?”
 
“Just a few local places. Everyone wants people with `experience'. My question is, how do you get experience if no one will hire you?”
 
He nodded. “I know what you mean.”
 
She felt as if she was talking too much. She didn't date much, and she didn't know Joe at all, so it was awkward for her. “What about you? College?”
 
“Went for two years, dropped out. Majored in criminal justice and minored in sociology. Guess it just wasn't my thing.”
 
“Oh…” This `date' wasn't exactly fun, by any means, and she was starting to think it was a mistake. She started wishing her phone would ring so that she could leave. The last thing she wanted to chat about was school.
 
As if her prayers were answered, Seek and Destroy began to play. “Sorry, I have to take this.” She answered her phone, stood up, and walked away so that Joe couldn't hear her. “Cade?”
 
“Mom said that she'd feel a lot better if you'd fly. Grams would, too.”
 
“Bub, you just saved me from a horrible date. So I'm going to make this sound like an emergency. Don't flip, okay?”
 
He laughed. “Sure, Ads. Just hurry.”
 
Adelyne walked over to Joe. “Sorry, Joe, but my grandma was just sent to the hospital. I've gotta go.” Before he could get a `call me later' or a `let's go out again', she left. “Thank you so much, Cade. I'm fine, though. I can just drive.”
 
“Mom said that—”
 
“Cade. I'm fine. I'm nineteen and I think I can drive myself home without Mommy's permission. I don't want to bother Grams or Mom with money again. I still feel horrible about the first time. Just tell them I said, `Thanks, but no thanks.'”
 
“Okay, fine. But if Mom asks, I called you and you said no.”
 
“It works. Later.”
 
“Later.”
 
…
 
That's it for today. Happy Fourth of July and all that good shit that's happening today.
 
-Chance