I've decided to share with you my (unedited and just written, right now) first chapter of the novel I'm writing this summer.
Chapter One: Summer Road
A girl, about twelve years old, with long, light brown hair worn in braids, wearing a gingham print dress and carrying a bag of school books walked down the dusty dirt road past fields of growing corn in a decidedly dejected manner. Her head hung down so that she didn’t notice the bright sunshine, or the gentle and warm breeze blowing her long braids around her face and shoulders. She even walked past the tree with the bee’s hive without speeding up, and if she had noticed she would have then realized that they weren’t really out to kill her. No, despite the day’s beauty, Charlotte Chase was not happy.
As she walked down the road, determined to be as sad as she could be she suddenly heard a racket coming from behind her. Without turning around she knew exactly who was causing that racket, and the realization didn’t cheer her up at all. Running up the dirt road behind her, making dust fly up on the breeze, and singing a celebratory song came John and Paul Spencer.
She attempted to ignore them, hoping they would pass her by, missing her in their celebration of the end of the school year; but they didn’t. First Paul caught up with her, laughing and flicking one of her braids as he fell into step beside her. Christine grabbed at the long, light brown rope of hair possessively, holding it close to herself, though Paul hadn’t hurt her in any way. John caught up then, and began walking on her other side, smiling congenially at her, but Charlotte missed this while she scowled at Paul.
John and Paul were twins, just a few months older than Charlotte, and the sons of her family’s nearest neighbors. They weren’t identical twins, though they did look very similar, the main difference being that Paul had very dark hair, almost black, and John’s hair was light brown, very similar to Charlotte’s hair color.
“What’s wrong with you?” Paul asked cheerfully, “It’s summer now, remember, time for fun.”
Charlotte had no inclination to tell Paul what was “wrong with” her, as he so rudely put it, and probably would have walked on in offended silence if John hadn’t asked the question again, more politely.
“What’s wrong, Charlotte? Aren’t you happy to be out of school?”
Charlotte turned to answer John, and missed Paul making a face at his brother when her back was turned. “Yeah, I guess I’m glad to be out of school, but Meggie is going away for the summer, and it’s going to be boring around here without her.” Megan “Meggie” Harris was Charlotte’s best friend. Every year before for summer vacation Meggie’s cousins had come out to her family’s farm for vacation, but this year Meggie was going to visit them in the city.
Paul laughed, “Is that all? She’ll be back in a few weeks.”
“She’s going to be gone for two months.” Charlotte said, annoyed at his lack of sympathy.
“Maybe you could spend time with us this summer,” John said, and this time Paul didn’t just make a face at him, he reached behind Charlotte and hit his brother’s shoulder. This led to an impromptu scuffle between the boys, and Charlotte jumped ahead to avoid getting caught between them.
“Thanks, John,” she said, sarcastically, “but I think I’ll find some other way to fill my free time, so you can calm down, Paul.” They had reached the turn off on the road that led to Charlotte’s house, so she quickly sprinted away from the boys who were still roughhousing. She wasn’t even sure if they noticed that she was gone.
After the twins were out of sight behind the bend in the road Charlotte slowed to a leisurely walk, and tried to look on the bright side of things. After all, it was the beginning of summer, and that meant no more tests, or studying subjects she didn’t like, or anything like that. She could read as many novels as she wanted, and practice her piano for hours without needing to worry about whether her homework was done or not. She could spend time in her parents’ store, or help her Grandpa work around the house, or just stay home and enjoy the vacation. None of this sounded as interesting as going to the city, like Meggie was going to do, but it did sound fun.
As Charlotte walked up to her yard, and Pal, their friendly mutt of a dog, ran happily up to her, she decided that she was going to make the most of this summer. She wasn’t sure what exactly that meant, but she was determined.
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