Authors: Marlene Johnsen
"Darren!! Have you ever been to the fun house? I love going here, it's sooo cool!"
Darren paused once she finished her sentence, uncertain of what to say back to her. He never heard anyone use such a term.
"What do you mean by cool?" he said, looking at Alicia in a puzzled manner.
"Ahhh! Never mind! I guess you aren't from around here!" she huffed, pushing him along into the funhouse. Reaching up to one of the ticket guys, she passed them four tickets for each of them. Wow... the amusement fair has really changed. Tickets last year were two per ride and now they nearly doubled.
Alicia stepped into the funhouse and was immediately surrounded by different mirrors. Some mirrors would show that she was too tall while others displayed her as a chubby girl. She giggled, looking at the mirrors around her. Darren didn't seem very enthusiastic about the whole thing. He wondered what was so funny about this particular place. As Alicia move forward, she turned to Darren to see what he was doing. Something caught her attention as she gazed at him. There was something very strange. The mirrors never caught his reflection. Alicia thought this was some kind of hoax but then again, it hit her - they were in a funhouse. The mirrors were probably rigged and with so many of them around, it was difficult to keep up with which mirror did what. Alicia ignored the fact... moving along through the funhouse. Darren grasped Alicia's hand and at one point, he pinned her against a wall. Tickling her, he looked into Alicia's eyes and couldn't help smiling.
"You know.. your such a funny girl. I really like you."
Alicia was shocked at his words. Was he trying to hit on her? Did he have a little crush on her or something? She giggled at his words and crawled out from under him, summoning him to follow closely.
"Yeah yeah - everyone tells me that! Come.. let's go now. It's getting kind of late and my parents are going to wonder where I am."
Alicia and Darren arrived at her parent's house at exactly 9p.m. Alicia lifted her hand to knock on the door and hesitated for a moment, turning to Darren. She looked in his eyes and something came over her that she couldn't help. Lifting up off her tippy toes, she gave Darren a small kiss on the cheek. He smiled, his cheeks flushing a bright red hue and he was clearly smitten that he had kissed her. He had never had a girlfriend before and always wondered what it was like. Alicia and Darren both felt the mutual feeling of love and it was quite intense - as if they had known each other for a long time...
Darren stood over her, looking down at Alicia. She laced her fingers with his and a soft breeze came past them. They were in the middle of the summer at it was just 70 degrees out which was incredibly warm for being in the middle of the night. Darren's fingers were still as cold as ice. She moved around him..running her hands up and onto his chest area. It almost seemed as if he had no heart beat but she could feel him breathing in and out. She giggled softly, tickling him a bit and playfully asking..
"Hey, you don't have a heart or what?!?"
He stopped for a moment to think about what she meant and then he realized she was referring to his heartbeat. He shyly responded to her.
"Ohhh, that. Well - when I was 9 the Doctor's told me I had something wrong with my heart...they still don't know what it is."
Alicia thought that was very odd because most of the times, Doctors could diagnose you quickly. It wasn't like hundreds of years ago when they didn't have the proper medical equipment. Now they could scan your very insides and find out what was wrong. There were also chemical reactions that medical scientists researched to get to the bottom of a disease, virus, or medical condition. She shrugged it off and just figured he had a Dr. who didn't know what he was doing. Alicia's doctor was great through and every time she had gotten sick in her life, he knew what to do. At one point, they had diagnosed her with scoliosis and she had to have an early operation to correct it. Most of the time, she thought it was just from a backache she was having from sitting in her chair in school for so long.
Snapping back to reality, Alicia smiled at Darren and began to play with his ears. He was such a sweet guy and she could see it in his eyes. She knew that he was her first love, even if they did not announce it at the time. They were still young and unsure how to go about relationships. Alicia knew that he was really into her. He would always give her plenty of attention and talk whenever she needed him. Even though that she had just met him today, he was a great companion and on top of that - a great kisser. Darren didn't know how to kiss but Alicia just made that all better. The way they arched their neck and met lips was perfect. It was odd that they never lip-locked in awkward moments as other people did on their first kiss. Some people say that when you meet your first love, everything falls into place perfectly. Alicia thought this is what was happening and so did Darren. They felt that they were right for each other, and the two of them were just waiting to ask each other out.
Alicia was incredibly scared to ask him to be her boyfriend as she knew the man should ask this first. Darren was planning on doing this but he wanted to wait a few weeks first. He didn't want to scare away his beautiful Alicia. She was so pleasant to be around and he wanted to be with her for the rest of his life. She made him feel special, unlike anyone else had ever made him feel before. They were destined for each other but little did they both know, the two were in the right place at the wrong time...
When Alicia turned back around, she felt butterflies in her stomach and knocked on the door. It was her father who had answered, his expression seemed stale as his lips straightened, turning into a frown.
"Alicia? What's going on? Your 30 minutes late... "
"Yeah, I'm really sorry dad. It's just that I wanted to bring my friend Darren to the house. Darren, I'd like you to meet my dad,
Chester."
Darren smiled at her father, without saying a word. He was a very charming man and usually he never had to say anything when meeting but sometimes he would. This was a different story. He was extremely nervous in the presence of Alicia's father. Would her father approve of him?
Alicia's step-father was a tall man with dark brown eyes and a built figure. He did have a belly somewhat, probably from having an occassional beer every other night. Everyone who knew him would call him Chester or just "Chest." It seemed like an odd name but Chester liked it. Chester shook his head in disbelief, glancing toward his daughter. He didn't even acknowledge Darren at this point and was incredibly frustrated with Alicia. She had been through so many things in her life but why is she making mistakes again? This was the exact thought that ran through Chester's mind. He motioned to his daughter, letting her in.
Her mother was upstairs asleep at this time. She usually wakes up very early for work and goes to bed by 8p.m every night. Alicia really wanted for her to meet Darren but she dare not wake her up. Anytime her mother awoke, she was grumpy from being awakened from her beauty sleep. Even dad didn't bother to wake her for anything, out of fear for how she would act toward him. He knew not to get on her bad side. If you have a happy wife - you have a happy life. Without that... well, you are just screwed.
Chester
walked over to the dinner table and sat down, calling Alicia in. He watched her every movement, studying each action carefully. Had his step-daughter been drinking again? Why was she not making sense of things right now? Surely, there had to be something wrong with her. He looked at her and finally spoke.
"Alicia...tell me the truth. Are you drinking or doing drugs? I need to know. I promise I won't yell at you."
Her eyes widened slightly and she shook her head, beginning to shout at him and disbelief.
"Are you serious?! How could you ask me that in front of my friend?! I'm not even your real daughter - so why would you care!!?" she had screamed, straining her voice.
Chester suddenly felt sadness within his heart. He was the one who helped take care of her ever since she was ten years old. Ever since her coward father had walked out on the family, Chester was the one to take his place. He had loved Alicia just like his very own child. A soft sigh escaped his lips, looking down at the ground in disbelief.
"Just go to your room, I'll talk to you tomorrow." he said in a firm yet calm voice. Alicia knew better not to disobey him. He was always a great step-father toward her and deep down inside, she had felt guilty for saying this to him. But how could he accuse her of doing such things? It was only one night that her girlfriend had given her some "E" last month. She was rushed to the hospital after this and when her parents found out, they had a feeling she could be a developed drug addict. Little did they know that this was the only time she had touched drugs. She never even drank before either. Alicia was a good girl but that was one of the biggest mistakes in her life that she had learned from.
Alicia moved slowly upstairs, a feeling of dread consuming her. She was afraid of what her step-dad would say to Darren after she had gone...
Darren stood there in a mist of fog and it seemed to swirl around him in a strong, gravitational pull. Alicia's eyes widened, straining herself to look at him. Her feet shifted, moving toward Darren in slow motion and wrapping her arms around him. She kissed him softly, his lips planted firmly against hers. This was her first kiss ever and they always say your first love is the one you'll never forget. Although Alicia had never had a boyfriend before and even if she moves on in the future, she would never forget Darren. There was something special about this man and she couldn't put the puzzle pieces together with this one.
The rays of the sun touched Alicia's eyelids and slowly she began to open them. Where was she? Gazing around the area in a daze, she realized she was in a daze. it had only been a dream and last night had been her nightmare... but it was real. She groaned slightly, not wanting to wake up. Did her father kick Darren out and where would he have gone? She slipped into her bunny slippers as she got up out of bed, putting them on and then heading out the door. The house seemed incredibly quiet and except for the sound of her mother downstairs, making her coffee. Her mother was always so calm and would never get angry at anyone - unless they woke her up. Alicia knew by now that her dad had already told her mother what had happened. They have always kept close ties in communication and this is what Alicia hated... She moved into the kitchen, waiting for her mom to turn her back so she wouldn't see her. Alicia didn't want to be questioned. Her mother began to speak, with her back turned toward Alicia.
"Alicia.. you don't have to avoid me. Your father already told me what happened. Let's just talk like adults here... You aren't a child anymore and you are free to do whatever you like. Just try to make the right decisions. I don't want to see anything happen to you."
Alicia grumbled under her breathe. How could mom always tell she was near? Did she have eyes in the back of her head or was she just psychic? Alicia glanced over at her mother and noticed the mirror slightly above the fridge. Yeah - that's exactly what gave her away. It was always that mirror every time. Until she was ten years old, she really did believe her mom had eyes in the back of her head. When she hit 11 and saw that mirror, she finally came to her senses. Although now she would sometimes forget about it...
"Mom.. I'm really sorry. I feel bad for what I said to dad but he accused me of being on drugs. You both can give me a drug test if you want. I already learned my lesson... just go ahead."
At that moment, her mother had believe every word Alicia had said but there were still a few unanswered questions about how strange she was acting last night. Her mom decided to ignore it and figured maybe she had one too many margaritas last night. This didn't bother her, even though her daughter didn't drink but her Mom always had high suspicions. She decided to change the subject and remembered what had happened to her sister a few days ago....
"Okay, I believe you. Let's just drop it. I'll let dad know everything is okay. Listen Alicia... remember when your aunt was staying at that creepy home on 4th street?"
"Yeah, I remember" said Alicia, nodding her head. She wondered where her mother was going with this. Alicia remembered staying at her Aunt Milly's house last month and she was absolutely terrified. The house always creaked at night. On top of that, Alicia would see a tall shadow float past her room. It wasn't any shadow that would reflect from an object in front of a light... instead, it was something that watched her constantly. Sometimes she would fell frightened but most of the time she was okay. She believed that whatever it was, it was one of her family member's watching over her."
"Well, your aunt looked up the history of the house and she really does think it's haunted." exclaimed her mother.
"Uum, what do you mean? Why is that."
Her mother set down a few plates on the table and moved into the living room, gathering a few papers. Alicia squinted to look and saw that her mom had a pile of old newspapers. These newspapers were ancient and some of them were even falling apart. Her mother moved over to Alicia and showed her a single newspaper column.