Lick Creek - Chapter 2
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**Special note - yes, I Googled Gen Z terms for this chapter, and I feel like a real idiot using them. If anyone reading this has Gen Z teens who can verify whether or not these words are actually cool or not, I’d really appreciate it. I’ve literally never felt like more of a loser in my life than I do right now.**
Chapter 2 - The Neighbors
As Hattie unpacked one of her boxes of books, her heart skipped a beat as she realized this box had yearbooks in it. The pit in her stomach sank even further, and she felt a sense of dread as she pulled out last year’s book.
It had only been a week since Hattie said good-bye to her childhood home, life-long friends, and former life. But it felt like eternity. Texts were going unanswered, her group message thread was mysteriously quiet, and Snapchat** was buzzing with all the things that everyone back home was doing without her.
In fact, this was the first full hour in the week that she hadn’t checked Snapchat. But now that the yearbook was front and center, Hattie went to reach for her phone to see what she was missing out on. Upon opening it, there were ten new snaps of her former classmates at the Homecoming dance last weekend.
“Why are they still posting that?” she wondered aloud. It was a week ago. Shouldn’t they be doing something else by now? But, who was she to really talk? All Hattie had done this week was mope in her room. Today was the first day she was bothering to unpack anything other than her toiletries, bedding, and pajamas. She was thankful that her new school was on a Fall Break this first week, and that she’d had the luxury of lying in bed being depressed the whole time. But today was Saturday, and on Monday she started at her new school. To say Hattie was dreading it, was putting it mildly.
Her mother had driven her by the new school on the way into town and pointed it out. How on earth was this considered a school? You could fit this entire building in her former school’s cafeteria. Two of the front windows were broken and boarded up. The outside of the gymnasium was covered in graffiti. And the worst part of all is that she was informed she would be riding the bus to school. Never in her life had Hattie ridden the bus.
At her old school, her mom used to drop her off every day in their Tesla. Which now of course had been seized by the government, and they were driving her uncle Jigs’ old rickety orange 1978 Ford Pinto. This thing was running on fumes and a prayer. He’d driven it until ‘96, and then it had sat behind his pole barn from then until now. When he found out his baby sis was moving to town and in need of a car, he was all to happy to give it one of his infamous tune-ups and offer it to them free of charge. “How thoughtful,” Hattie had sarcastically whispered under her breath when they picked it up.
Besides the fact that Pintos had been recalled due to exploding and erupting into deadly fires, it was also just incredibly embarrassing to be seen in. As such, Hattie figured the bus was at least a tiny bit better than being seen in this. Plus, now that she was a Freshman, she had been looking forward to being friends with upperclassman who could drive her to and from school. In fact, she’d had her sights set on a guy who was a Junior and was quite a snack**, and he had a hella lit** BMW.
Now, in the new town, she knew no one except her mom, their car looked like a Cheeto that was ready to burst into flames, and she was going to be riding a school bus to a building that should be condemned. Thinking about all of this caused Hattie to collapse back on her bed after only an hour of unpacking. She did not have the will to go on. Her bed wasn’t even up on a frame. It was just a mattress on the floor, amongst a dozen empty wrappers for chips and candy, surrounded by piles of clothes that had yet to be hung, and now lay next to an opened—yet unpacked—box of books.
Hattie pulled out the yearbook that started this whole downward spiral, and began to flip through the pages. She knew what she was looking for. First up, was the page with miscellaneous pictures from various events. Page 21. There it was. Her old town had a state-wide, famous, carnival every year, and she had been crowned Junior Miss Buckington Heights’ Princess Peach. It seemed so silly now. But at that time, in 8th grade, when she won this title and got to stand on stage next to the Senior Miss Buckington Height’s Queen Peach who was in 12th grade, with the whole town watching and applauding, she had been so proud.
Most of her satisfaction was watching her father beaming at her with pride. He, of course, was on the stage too as he was a major player in the town and sat up there with a few other important people for all the festivities that day. But, she felt extra special because she was certain she had not won this because of who her father was. Hattie was convinced that she’d won of her own merit, and by the look of delight on her father’s face, she felt confident that twinkle in his eye was because he was proud of her achievement, not because he was satisfied with himself.
In the picture, not only could Hattie see herself and her beautiful dress, but she could also make out that look on her father’s face. Additionally, she could see her friends in the crowd, as well as everyone in the town’s eyes on her. Looking at this picture she felt she could literally hear the buzz of the crowd that day and smell the sweet soft peaches wafting through the air. She wasn’t sure what Lick Creek was known for the way that ‘Buck’ Heights had been known for peaches, but by the looks of it she was guessing gravel, railroad ties, or cow dung. And imagining herself the queen of that festival was an unpleasant feeling to say the least.
Next, she flipped to the next page that she knew was going to break her heart, page 33. Here was another candid miscellaneous shot of her and her friends performing Charli XCX’s “Apple” song and dance at the end of school/beginning of summer break talent show. They had looked so fire** in their matching lime green crop tops**, baggy high waisted destroyed jeans**, high top sneakers**, and pigtails**. The crowd had cheered them on and they won first place. Again, she didn’t think her father had anything to do with this one, because he was out of town on business for this event.