I am having so much fun with this new story! I’m so happy I restructured this book to spend more time in school, oddly enough, and less in Wonderland. Why? Because I have discovered Adrianna’s brothers. They are, apparently, absolutely fabulous. Oh, sure, Cat’s a lot of fun to write, but I met Adrianna’s oldest brother, Evan today. He is fabulous and fun.
Current Word Count: 60007
From Chapter 1
“Oh dear,” Adrianna said, but stopped, as did Alice. From outside, there was a bit of a commotion as several voices of different whispered and two louder ones, a male and a female, spoke even louder than the rest.
“I’m not here long, I just need to-” started the boy, but he was promptly interrupted by a woman.
“There are to be no boys in the girls dorm, Mister Case! No exceptions!”
Adrianna and Alice were already at the door by the time she had finished this to see two people standing there arguing. One was a woman in her mid thirties, hair tied back into a tight knot and looking very strict like that, features sharp in the light and clothing kept in perfect order, if a little military in fashion.
The boy, however, was dressed in the uniform of the high school section of the school and rolling his brown eyes, black hair falling in a bit of a mess around his face and looking like he needed more than a trim. He was taller than she was and looked completely unnerved by the woman yelling at him.
“Look, I just need to give my sister her bag,” he said loudly, trying to silence her. “She left them behind and-”
“You may return them to her by handing them to me if you must be here at all!” she snapped back at him, holding out her hand. He had in his own a small suitcase with a pink flower embroidered onto it, much like the rest of Arianna’s things. Adrianna rushed forward with a smile on her face, eager to come to her big brother’s rescue, or so Alice came to assume from the exchange.
“Evan!” she said, rushing forward.
“Addie,” he said, stepping past the woman and leaning down to his sister’s height. “You forgot something.”
“Excuse me!” the woman snapped again.
“Miss Horner,” Evan said with an exasperated tone. “I am trying to have a word with my sister. Could you please give us a moment?”
There were titters of laughter from the people looking on, though when Miss Horner snapped around to look at them, they went quiet and backed away into their rooms. Alice lingered there still, watching as Evan grinned back at his sister.
“You have to be more careful, Addie,” he said, handing over her bag. “Father’s not going to be here to make sure you get everything done anymore. You’re going to have to keep an eye out for yourself.”
“I’ll be fine,” she said with an embarrassed blush. “But you’ll be here and so will everyone else.”
“We aren’t allowed in the girl’s dorms, Addie,” he said with a bit of a flat look at her, still amused. “And whoever you have as a roommate will want to do more than just make sure you have all your books every day. Have you met your roommate yet?”
“Mister Case!”
Evan bowed his head and held up a finger, signalling that he needed a moment. He rose up to his full height, looking down at Miss Horner, who was a full head shorter than him now and shrunk a little back from him. “I am speaking with my sister, Miss Evelyn Horner,” he said, his voice calm but with a dark edge to it. “We are family and I am permitted to make sure direct family is properly settling in. I have done it with every other one of my siblings and you will not deny me the right to do so with my youngest sister.”
She looked on with a mix of fear and indignation, not certain how to react for a moment. After a moment, she turned and walked away, mostly fuming and Alice was a little worried that Adrianna may have made a bit of an enemy out of her. She stopped and turned back for a moment before disappearing around the corner. “If you are planning on making your visitations here regular, know that while you visit, the door stays open. You understand?”
“Yes ma’am,” he said, Evan turning back around, gentle smile back on his face and eyes settling back on his sister. “Now, what was I asking about?”
[Header image by Shaz]
Tags: looking glass, nanowrimo
