Chapter One

The Beginning of It All

The book was slammed shut with a deafening bang that was heard around the whole classroom. Maybe even the entire world. Twenty-six children simultaneously lifted their tired eyes from the stories that had been holding their fancies for almost forty-five long and boring minutes and stared intently at the book that had just been forcefully closed and the girl that had been the one to do the slamming. She sat in her small green chair that was pushed extra close to her tiny wooden desk and started to take in large amounts of air through her miniature mouth.

“It’s not possible,” she whispered to herself in a frenzy.

The other third graders continued to stare perplexed beyond belief. Even the teacher, Mrs. Rollins, had begun to notice that something was amiss in her classroom. She laid her own book facedown on her spacious desk and walked over to where the object of attention was sitting, chanting to herself.

“It’s not possible,” she continued to whisper, staring at the book that she had assaulted.

“Josie,” the teacher started, cautiously. “Is there something wrong?”

“It’s not possible,” Josie repeated, mindlessly rocking back and forth, still concentrating on the book.

The book in question was none other than Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. It was no doubt the number one classic book for girls of all ages to read sometime in their lifetime. That was why Josie had picked it up at the library earlier that week. Sure, it was larger than most of the books that girls her age were reading, but Josie figured she could spend a couple of months working through its extensive number of pages.

Instead, it ended up taking her less than a week.

She was enthralled by its historical setting, its endearing characters, and its emotional content. Flipping from page to page anxiously, she briskly read through the entire thing. Her eyes beamed with anticipation as she waited to find out what happened to Josephine March.

See, that’s what it was all about. Josie had finally found a character that she could identify with in Jo. They both had similar names, for starters, and they shared the same outspoken and mischievous personality. Josie finally felt that she understood a little more about her own offbeat personality because she understood Jo’s words and actions.

Josie was Jo. Jo was Josie. They were the same.

Except for one thing. Laurie.

Josie fell in love with his character from the moment that he first walked onto the page. He was Jo’s soul mate, and Josie knew it even if Jo didn’t. So, when Jo first refused Laurie’s heartbreaking proposal, Josie thought that they would eventually get back together. Even when Laurie married Amy, Josie’s most hated character in the whole book, she still suspected that they would end up together. If Alcott could kill off Beth, she could dispose of Amy, right?

Wrong.

Josie literally felt her heart drop out of her chest whenever Jo got married to Mr. Bhaer. She actually checked the floor to make sure that there wasn’t a bloody beating heart lying broken on the cheap carpeting. Involuntarily, her eyes began to water as she turned each page until she reached the earth shattering ending.

They didn’t end up together…

The idea floated around in her mind until she slammed the book closed, causing the disruption. Her big, round brown eyes turned red as she tried to fight back the tears, but they continued to leak uncontrollably from each of her tear ducts. Even her small nose began to get the unwanted sniffles, so she wiped it on the back of her long purple sleeve. Biting her lip, she fought back the urge to scream at the top of her lungs and instead continued to repeat the only words that could find their way out of her mouth.

“It’s not possible.”

“Josie, honey,” Mrs. Rollins said, warmly. “Are you feeling sick? Do you need to go to the nurse’s office?”

Yes, she was feeling sick enough to want to vomit all over everyone in the room. Her forehead began to turn red, and she could feel the heat spreading across her entire face. Her thick brown hair even felt hot, and she pushed the entire length back off her face and over her shoulders. Josie began to wish that she had worn it in a ponytail instead of just leaving it down. Then, she wouldn’t have been forced to deal with her mess of hair along with the terrible feeling that was sweeping through her entire body.

Mrs. Rollins gently placed her delicate hand on Josie’s shoulder, and she jumped back at the contact. Turning her accusing eyes at her teacher, she frowned and glared at the kind woman.

“It’s just not fair!” Josie screamed, wiping away more tears from her eyes.

Her classmates continued to stare at the spectacle that Josie was making of herself. They were stuck between laughing at the girl, going back to reading their own books, or continuing to stare. In the end, they stuck with the latter option.

“What’s not fair, honey?” the teacher asked, absentmindedly playing with her short blonde hair.

“Life!” Josie screamed, scooting her chair back and standing up to face the teacher.

For a child her age, Josie was incredibly tall. She was at least 5’4 if not more than that. Her teacher on the other hand was only 5’2, so the young girl dwarfed her by a couple of inches. With the amount of anger that currently filled her, though, Mrs. Rollins couldn’t help but feel that she was being overpowered by Josie’s tall shadow and suffering the complete force of her wrath.

“Josie, I think that you need to spend some time in the nurse’s office to cool off. I don’t know what has gotten into you, but you are acting inappropriately.”

“I’m acting inappropriately,” Josie said, slowly. “No! You know what inappropriately is? It’s deny your readers the happy ending they deserve!”

Josie pointed at the book that laid calmly on her desk, and her teacher couldn’t help but be perplexed at how that classic novel had inspired her student into a fit of rage. She, personally, had never read the book herself, and she began to wonder about its content and what it could do to the youth of America.

“Josie, I think that you should go to the office and have them call your parents to come get you,” the teacher advised.

“No! I think that I should write a stinking letter to Ms. Alcott and demand that she rewrite the ending!”

“I believe that she is dead, dear,” Mrs. Rollins stated, quietly.

Josie stared in shock and disbelief. The affirmation of Louisa May Alcott’s status on the face of the earth further complicated her present situation. If there was no original author now, then there was no way for the story to be rewritten. If there was no way for the story to be rewritten, then there was no way for Jo and Laurie to end up together.

“What the hell?” Josie yelled. “What the hell is wrong with this cruel world!”

“Josie,” the teacher said firmly. “Go to the office.”

“Fine, fine,” Josie said, grabbing her book and clutching it tightly to her chest. “But I will have you know that I will not stand for such injustice in this world. Dream shatters like you and Ms. Alcott will one day be defeated!”

Josie walked out of the room with the open-mouthed stares following her every move toward the door. Nobody had ever talked like that to their teacher in the history of the school. Even though they had no idea what she was speaking of, they felt that something in the code of conduct between teacher and student had been breached.

To them, Josie was a historical figure, a leader, and a hero.

To Josie, however, she was only a nine year old who had just had her childhood dreams and fantasies robbed from her by her favorite book.

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A/N: So, yeah, I edited this whole thing, posted it, and then realized that some of my spacing had mysteriously disappeared. So, then I had to remove it and try and repost it. Oh well, anyways, this is an idea that hit me while I was complaining about the ending to Little Women. So far I've got three full chapters complete, but I still have to reread Little Women, which will slow down my pace...darn...