FullLipsDotNose
Proud Member
PART ONE
I was reading a book on a train and thinking about the upcoming week. Spring break. Although we all expected to spend it on campus, the college announced that there would an international conference organised and they needed to provide guests with accommodation. There were some riots about this and, to put it short, the college and our union agreed on accommodation refund while we'd be away.
For me, that meant going to my parents' house. I didn't want to. Once I got an acceptance letter from this prestigious all-women's college, I dreamt of leaving Normal Valley and starting a new, better life elsewhere, in a place without prejudice and judgements. Well, not that the grass had been exactly greener on campus, but I felt more than satisfied.
"The next stop, Normal Valley."
I sighed. It had to come.
Once I got off the train at the station, I headed right to the town.
It hadn't changed much since Christmas when I was there for the last time. It was the same, ordinary middle-class place where everyone seemed to be normally happy, normally living, normally pretty much everything. I hated it because I never fitted this normal human being stereotype.
My family was actually very happy about my arrival. Mum cooked me French fries with a cheese topping, so I felt somewhat relieved.
"Becky, the Internet doesn't work," Irene, my younger sister broke to me.
"What? Can't you repair it somehow?"
"Well, we're actually switching providers, but it will take a week or so. Basically, if you need to do school stuff or talk to your friends, you'll have to go to library," father said.
"Oh no! What shall I do?"
"You'll spend some time with us!" mother said.
I didn't seem excited about this.
"You could read our new local newspaper. They feature children's dancing troup photos and likes," mother suggested.
I wasn't exactly into reading about nursery nurse dancing, but the rest of the family insisted on watching a soap opera on TV, so this was the only way to escape the hustle and bustle. I texted Monique, my roommate, that I wouldn't make it on Facebook nor Twitter for the rest of the weekend and that I would be rarely there during the break as well. She sent me a brief message with commiserations and her daily itinerary in New York where she was hanging out with her boyfriend. I was jealous.
The newspaper was the most boring DIY piece you could ever get your hands on. There were photos, reports about a new church opening, wedding announcements and a place for notifications. I started reading it, sort of anticipating that maybe someone could perhaps sell stuff I would need.
A data analyst needed for a week commencing 21 March. The job entails working on a project focusing on outreach to children and teenagers. Mathematical and programming skills highly desirable. For more information, please visit Someplace Else, Normal Valley, CA.
Well. I am a computer science major with a minor in gender studies. This sounds just right, doesn't it? But the candidate must've been chosen before I learnt about this.
I looked at the cover and it turned out it had been printed a day before I arrived.
Wow. That's very weird. But why not? After all, extra pocket money is nice and I don't want to sit here all day long doing nothing or, what's worse, getting angry over Monique's happy messages. I'll head there tomorrow. Uhm, but where is exactly is Someplace Else? I know for sure I've heard it before, but I don't recall exactly.
In one of the drawers, I found a town map. It wasn't hard to find Someplace Else - in fact, it was an old mansion just right above the valley.
I remembered going there as a child. There was an eccentric man called Maestro that would perform tricks for us. Unfortunately, he got into trouble as the mayor wasn't really into the stuff he was showing us. On one occasion, the whole village would march to his mansion in an attempt to drive him away. He actually convinced most of the village he was a fun guy, but nevertheless decided to leave after the incident. I was fourteen at that time. We hadn't seen him since, but the masion was still his property. Unless something has happened over the time at college, the building hasn't been used for any activity.
Maybe he's coming back? Is there soeone else acquiring the property?
I set up an alarm clock for 8 am and decided to make a trip the very next day.
I was reading a book on a train and thinking about the upcoming week. Spring break. Although we all expected to spend it on campus, the college announced that there would an international conference organised and they needed to provide guests with accommodation. There were some riots about this and, to put it short, the college and our union agreed on accommodation refund while we'd be away.
For me, that meant going to my parents' house. I didn't want to. Once I got an acceptance letter from this prestigious all-women's college, I dreamt of leaving Normal Valley and starting a new, better life elsewhere, in a place without prejudice and judgements. Well, not that the grass had been exactly greener on campus, but I felt more than satisfied.
"The next stop, Normal Valley."
I sighed. It had to come.
Once I got off the train at the station, I headed right to the town.
It hadn't changed much since Christmas when I was there for the last time. It was the same, ordinary middle-class place where everyone seemed to be normally happy, normally living, normally pretty much everything. I hated it because I never fitted this normal human being stereotype.
My family was actually very happy about my arrival. Mum cooked me French fries with a cheese topping, so I felt somewhat relieved.
"Becky, the Internet doesn't work," Irene, my younger sister broke to me.
"What? Can't you repair it somehow?"
"Well, we're actually switching providers, but it will take a week or so. Basically, if you need to do school stuff or talk to your friends, you'll have to go to library," father said.
"Oh no! What shall I do?"
"You'll spend some time with us!" mother said.
I didn't seem excited about this.
"You could read our new local newspaper. They feature children's dancing troup photos and likes," mother suggested.
I wasn't exactly into reading about nursery nurse dancing, but the rest of the family insisted on watching a soap opera on TV, so this was the only way to escape the hustle and bustle. I texted Monique, my roommate, that I wouldn't make it on Facebook nor Twitter for the rest of the weekend and that I would be rarely there during the break as well. She sent me a brief message with commiserations and her daily itinerary in New York where she was hanging out with her boyfriend. I was jealous.
The newspaper was the most boring DIY piece you could ever get your hands on. There were photos, reports about a new church opening, wedding announcements and a place for notifications. I started reading it, sort of anticipating that maybe someone could perhaps sell stuff I would need.
A data analyst needed for a week commencing 21 March. The job entails working on a project focusing on outreach to children and teenagers. Mathematical and programming skills highly desirable. For more information, please visit Someplace Else, Normal Valley, CA.
Well. I am a computer science major with a minor in gender studies. This sounds just right, doesn't it? But the candidate must've been chosen before I learnt about this.
I looked at the cover and it turned out it had been printed a day before I arrived.
Wow. That's very weird. But why not? After all, extra pocket money is nice and I don't want to sit here all day long doing nothing or, what's worse, getting angry over Monique's happy messages. I'll head there tomorrow. Uhm, but where is exactly is Someplace Else? I know for sure I've heard it before, but I don't recall exactly.
In one of the drawers, I found a town map. It wasn't hard to find Someplace Else - in fact, it was an old mansion just right above the valley.
I remembered going there as a child. There was an eccentric man called Maestro that would perform tricks for us. Unfortunately, he got into trouble as the mayor wasn't really into the stuff he was showing us. On one occasion, the whole village would march to his mansion in an attempt to drive him away. He actually convinced most of the village he was a fun guy, but nevertheless decided to leave after the incident. I was fourteen at that time. We hadn't seen him since, but the masion was still his property. Unless something has happened over the time at college, the building hasn't been used for any activity.
Maybe he's coming back? Is there soeone else acquiring the property?
I set up an alarm clock for 8 am and decided to make a trip the very next day.