Chapter 3

"I'm bored." Nothing. "Mum!" I moan, banging my fist on the counter-top. She flinches at the sudden thump, and curses under her breath as she accidentally drops a freshly made cookie. My bad. "What?" she grumbles, looking up from the tray of cookies, she was currently setting out neatly. I roll my eyes, propping my head on my elbows. We've moved into a proper, semi detached house, and we only just arrived two nights ago. But Mum has already tried out the new kitchen and would not stop baking. It's absolutely ridiculous, the whole house smells of fresh pastry. And I'm sick of eating cookies for breakfast. "There's nothing to do, without Wifi." I say through gritted teeth, and she chuckles, without removing her gaze from the cookies as she takes out another batch from the oven. "The broadband is arriving in two weeks. If you're really that bored, then how about you do me a favour?" she offers, removing the oven gloves and placing them to the side. I shrug half-heatedly, sneaking a cookie and taking a small bite. "Depends. What do you want me to do?" "Take this batch of cookies and deliver them next door. It'll be a great way to bond with our new neighbours. And who knows? Maybe their children will be decent and make friends with you." she smirks, handing me the basket. I instantly felt like Little Red Riding Hood. "What if I run into a big bad wolf?" I hiss, clutching the handle. She doesn't respond, turning away whilst rolling her eyes. I huff angrily, rising to my feet and kicking on my shoes. I march towards the entrance of the house and right out the front door, making sure to slam it hard behind me. The house next door is way neater than ours. The garden has freshly trimmed bushes and dainty poppies and tulips, growing in the flowerbed. I try my best to edge around their freshly planted sunflowers before knocking firmly on their door. I swear, doorbells make my life so much easier. After a couple seconds, the door swings open and a middle aged lady peers down at me. As soon as she catches sight of the cookies, a huge grin breaks across her face and I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Everyone cheers up at the sight of food. "Hello dear, where have you come from?" she chirps. Neverland. "Next door." I force a smile, whilst holding up the basket of cookies. "These are for you." She takes them, before stepping to the side slightly, gesturing for me to enter. I hesitate, before stepping forward, carefully taking in my surroundings. For all I know, our neighbours could be demented serial killers. Their house is exactly like ours, but much neater, of course. We currently have boxes covering our living room and kitchen and I can barely see my own bedroom floor. Whereas they have the most pristine, perfect chandelier dangling from their ceiling in the living room and plush, fancy red sofas. They even own their own sharp plasma screen TV. "Would you like something to drink, dear?" the lady offers. I nod quickly, without taking my eyes off a picture frame on their mantel-piece. In the picture, stood two teenage boys and a little girl in the middle. Both boys seem similar, with dark tousled hair and a similar stance. One looks older than the other. The younger brother isn't smiling, but he's not even focusing on the camera. The little girl is petite, around the age of seven. She has her blonde hair in pigtails whilst flashing a toothy grin towards the camera, gripping both of her brother's hands as if she were afraid to let go. I tear my eyes away from the frame and glance towards the door, and my eyes widen. There, stood at the door is the little girl in the picture. She's hardly older than she was in the picture and her blonde hair is loose, cascading down her shoulders. She gazes towards me with a worried expression. I gulp, unsure of what to say. I never get along with younger kids. "Princess." she whispers. I freeze. Is this child feeling alright? "Pardon?" I cough, raising an eyebrow. She blushes, placing both hands behind her back with a sheepish smile. "You look like a Princess. I love your hair." she whispers so softly, I almost miss it. "Oh. Thank you." I nod with a soft smile. "So what's your name then?" "I'm Lily." she says with more confidence this time. "I like cheese balls, Christmas lights and alligators. Although I do not like birds, they scare me." she frowns seriously, and I have to stop myself from bursting out into laughter. She's actually so cute. Her mother walks back into the room with a glass of apple juice for me, and starts with a round of 21 questions, asking me about my Mum and when we moved in. Where we moved from and what school I'll be attending. "My son also attends to East-Lake High! In fact, he's upstairs right now doing God-knows-what on his computer. You know teenage boys." she grins, rolling her eyes and I pretend to understand, nodding my head. "Aaron!" she yells at the top of her voice. I finish the rest of my drink and place the mug to the side as there is sudden movement from upstairs. A few seconds pass and there's a heavy thumping on the floorboards as someone makes heavy reluctant steps down the stairs. A boy, around my age of older, steps from around the door with a heavy scowl dominating his smoldering features. And it's such a same, seeing as he's quite attractive, and the scowl completely ruins it. He's the younger brother from the picture, with the same tousled dark hair. I don't think I can ever imagine this guy with a smile on his face. "Aaron, this is Charlotte. She just moved in from next door." she smiles, gesturing towards me. His eyes skim towards me, and I shiver as he scans me up and down, before returning his gaze back to his mother with an unimpressed shrug. "That's what you called me down for?" he grumbles. Mm, well that wasn't very nice. "Aaron." she narrows her eyes in a warning tone. With a heavy sigh, I rise up from the sofa and grab the empty cookie basket. "I think should be getting back. Mum will worry." I lie through my teeth. I know where I'm not wanted. Besides, it's pretty uncomfortable, with the deadly glares I'm now receiving from a boy I only just met. "But thank you, Mrs ...?" "Mrs Johnson. Aaron, please see Charlotte to the door." his mother chirps, rising to her feet also. "It was lovely meeting you, Charlotte. And please, call me Sheila." I rather stick with Mrs Johnson. Aaron shifts himself, turning his back on me to lead me to the front door, and I follow, without looking back. He opens the front door, and holds it open for me. As I exit his house, I turn around again in an attempt to say goodbye, or something polite, but as soon as I turn, the door is rudely slammed in my face again. I flinch. Huh.