Chapter 1: Average Struggle

A tide of rumbling voices spread about the school; there was never a pause of foot steps throughout the outdoor hallways. Every once in a while there would be a scream of someone’s name during the 5 minute passing period. People of all types shuffled and sped down the hall, all people of each stereotype mixed into one small closed campus. We could focus on any student and their special lives, but hidden among the masses was one ‘simple’ girl. A diamond in the rough was what she was called. Never noticed, never spoken to, always hiding in the shadows, she was basically invisible to all around her. Repetitive was her life, wake up, go to school, follow her class schedule, return home, read, sleep. There wasn’t anything else to do; nothing else existed in her life that was different or exciting. Something new and exciting was something her body and mind longed for.

“Lisa!” Echoed a call from one end of the hall to other; such a loud scream seemed impossible to come from such a petite girl, but it managed to become overpowering in comparison to all the other voices. The short, curly-haired blonde swerved in and out of the crowds of people with ease, much better than anyone else in the school, but then again, it was all from her size. No one else in the school appeared to be her same size or as thin. A swift twist of the girl, Lisa’s, body sent her long, slightly frizzy hair twirling behind herself as her dark brown eyes sent a stare of confusion. Compared to the girl flying at her, the petite girl would only reach her neck. An average girl, an average height, Lisa contained no special attributes compared to any other girl. So her breasts appeared to be a tad bigger and her legs seemed to be a tad thinner, but everything else was the same, except she was viewed as uglier than all the rest.

“Oh,” quickly Lisa cleared her voice of the rough unpleasant sound that would have escaped her. Not speaking all morning had stuffed up her throat and would have made her voice very unpleasant for the ears. Without a cleared throat, Lisa was as clear sounding as a dying cat. “Hey! ‘Sup, short stuff?” She asked casually with a slight grin. Her greeting may have been friendly, but her answer from the shorter girl had been a harsh glare and a snarl that would send anyone even with the greatest of nerves back. “Okay, okay, sorry, Tiara. Couldn’t help it.”

“Um, yeah.” The smaller girl released a sigh, but brushed off the nickname she abhorred so much. “So, whatcha doin’ after school? Wanna hang out?”

“I’d love to hang out, but I’ll have to pass; I’ve got piles of homework and chores.” Quite the lie, but no one knew the difference. Lisa had always been known as a homebody, but even her friends didn’t know she’d lie to stay home. As far as anyone knew, Lisa had the greatest poker face and acting skills to lie about anything possible. “Sorry, Tiara. Oh! There goes the bell, off to class!” With that chime, Lisa had darted off and around the corner. A quick start off turned to a shuffle after she had passed the corner and escaped the clutches of her friend. Her once bright brown eyes from her little chat sorely looked to the ground. “…Life… sucks.” She grumbled. Masks covering her ill feelings were easily pulled off by her, but held some sort of deep pain no one had ever noticed. Although surrounded by friends, Lisa found herself missing inside; something hollow had been digging a hole which had grown. This pain was surely going to be her downfall. It was unidentified, what was it? Where was it coming from? Her assumption was depression, but also lack of a love life. “What’s…What is this?” She whispered to herself as she leaned against a wall, clutching her chest. This was going to be one long day.

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“I’m home!” A small smile formed on Lisa’s pink lips as she threw her garage door open and called into the house. Even if she hadn’t have called out into the house, the slam against the wall from the door would have been sufficient enough to announce her return from hell. At her feet, she found her dog, her tail smacking against the wall as she waited for a greeting especially for her. “I’m home, Honey.” She gently said as her smile grew. Kneeling down, she planted a kiss on her dog’s forehead and greeted her with what seemed like an endless amount of pets.

“Lisa! You’re home? Oh good! I’ve got garbage you have to take out! I left it at the door for you!” Already getting an order from her mom? She sure didn’t take much time to pass out orders. Leaving Honey with one last pat, she swung the garbage bag over her shoulder and opened the door.

Tinkling from the rain poured off of the pipes and hit the ground, barely missing her hair. There wasn’t such thing as frizz protection for her hair, Lisa knew that very well and darted out to the street, threw the bag into the mud-covered, sour emitting garbage can and flew right back into the house. With that amount of speed, she could have been able to compete in the 100 yard dash. Although her hair seemed saved from anymore damage, there was nothing that could save her from her evening of chores. As she slinked up the stairs, she passed a glance into the kitchen and groaned, luckily mother dearest had leapt to some other part of the house, giving her the slip off down the hall. Every day was the same, she almost couldn’t stand it.

Kicking open her door, Lisa stumbled into her room. She slammed the door behind herself, and threw herself on top of her bed. The beat of her breathing somehow threatened to set off tears. What was wrong with her? Lisa found it impossible to figure it out. The only idea she could even guess was the problem was the ‘lameness’ she held in not wielding the ability to attract a guy. Everyone around her had someone special, absolutely everyone. Although the jealousy inside her was a tad overwhelming, she kept it under the covers quite easily.

Filling a couple moments with heavy sighs, she found herself slowly guiding herself to the pillow up top of her bed. Love. That was what she needed, wasn’t it? That empty gaping hole inside her chest was missing love. Closing her eyes, Lisa began to hum, her room filled with smooth notes, crystal clear and gentle as a sparrow’s stare of curiosity. It was an angelic tune that rang, yet there was no one to enjoy it. Her hums and songs were used to clear up the void she thought was searching for love, but this void was misinterpreted.

Okay, okay, everyone. This is my first story, please be gentle, but tell the truth. I take all suggestions for improvement to the heart. An explanation for the rating, later on this will heat up a bit.

Love,

Mistress Illusia