She's Not Afraid

I mumbled the words to the song blaring through my headphones as I looked out the window. A mix of emotions flitted through me as I watched the familiar sights of Yorkshire go by, turning into unfamiliar sights - also known as "Holmes Chapel" - a few hours later.

You see, for what was the seventh time - that I could remember, anyway - in the last sixteen years of my life, my family and I were relocating to another town. My father was a doctor for the United Kingdom military which required us to move from place to place whenever he needed to. At first, when I was younger, it excited me to see different places; but now that I was older, it was quite irritating for me to yet again meet new people, make new friends, get familiar with the town, it got tiring after all these years.

After what felt like eternity, we began driving through the town where I noticed a small bakery. My stomach growled as I thought about how good a treat would taste; I hadn't eaten all day, so I made a side note to check that out later. As we passed by the seemingly small town, we eventually stopped at our new home. I had to admit the house was nice; two stories, pale blue sidings and big, white glass windows. There was also a grey stoned archway entrance, a stoned pathway that lead to the door from the side garage, and my favourite: a tree surrounded by pretty bushes, in the front yard. I looked at it impressed, the house wasn't bad...the neighborhood on the other hand seemed boring. No one was out even though it was a pretty warm day.

"We're home!" My father shouted as he parked in the parkway.

"Home sweet home." I muttered sarcastically while reaching for the handle. I knew my negative attitude pissed my parents off, I knew they were trying to make this whole move easier on me and I knew it wasn't their choice to move again; but it still put a damper in my mood.

"Now Charlotte, I understand that you're upset but let's not get all fired up, okay? The house is beautiful and I think you'll love this place just as much. Give it a chance darling." My mum smiled as she started up the parkway towards the house.

"Yeah Charlotte, don't get your knickers in a twist." My little brother teased me as he followed my mum.

I rolled my eyes, resisting the urge to smack him upside the head. As much as I loved him, that boy could really piss me off. My stomach began to growl again and I couldn't take the hunger any longer. "Daddy! I'm going to head into town. I saw a bakery when we passed!" I called out just before he could go inside.

"Don't you want to see the house first? We just got here." He asked confused.

I shook my head. "I'll see it when I get back."

"Well, be careful!"

I turned around and started the walk back to town; thank God it wasn't far so I was able to make it there in a matter of minutes. As I looked at the sign, I realised it was called W. Manderville Grocer and Bakery. It had a nice charm to it. Seemed like a place I could escape when my house seemed too crowded.

Walking in, my mouth watered as the aroma hit my nose. The smell of coffee, tea, biscuits, sugar, and cinnamon filled the air and I couldn't wait to get my hands on something. I eyed the glass window filled with treats as I waited for my turn.

"Next in line." An older man announced. I was guessing he owned the place, he wasn't wearing a uniform unlike the others I saw working in the back.

I looked up and smiled, "What do you recommend?"

"I'm guessing you're new here. Never seen you before."

"Yeah, my family and I just moved in today."

"Are you a part of the Taylor family?" I raised my eyebrows in surprise. It really was a small town.

I nodded, "That's me."

"Small town, everyone talks." He laughed. "To answer your earlier question, I'd honestly go for the biscuits. Made them myself."

"Oh yeah? Then I'll take ten chocolate chip biscuits, please. Oh and a bottle of water."

As we made some more pleasant exchanges, I payed for my things and left with a thank you. The biscuits were scrumptious, I couldn't help but eat most of them by the time I got back home.

"Charlotte, is that you?" My mum called out from somewhere.

"Yeah, who else would it be?" I asked sarcastically.

"Darling, we have guests. Why don't you come say hello." She replied coming out from the kitchen? I still had to get used to this place.

"Guests already?" I whispered to her as she lead me to them.

"Neighbours; they've come by to greet us." She whispered back before turning to smile at them. In front of me stood a family of six; three boys, a girl who seemed to be my age and their parents.

"Charlotte, this is Mr. and Mrs. Pregil, Riana, and her brothers Edward, Elton and Eric."

"Hello." I greeted them all as I shook their hands.

"Why don't you two girls head up to your room?"

I nodded and turned on my heels, Riana following me up the stairs. "Um, I honestly don't even know where my room is." I laughed as we reached the top.

We searched all three rooms till we found mine at the end of the hall. "Well, I guess this is it. Sorry for the boxes, I have to unpack them later." I smiled turning to face her.

She was tan with long black hair, a pretty smile, and brown eyes. I actually felt self conscious all of a sudden, I never really did have much self confidence. We stood there awkwardly before she finally broke the silence.

"I see you went down to the bakery." She observed as she pointed to the bag that had their logo on it. "I'm guessing you heard about the cutie that works there?"

"Huh?" I asked confused.

"You know! The one that works the till."

I scrunched up my nose in distaste. "Is that what everyone here is into?" The guy was definitely more than three times our age!

"You mean you don't find Harry cute?! You're the first!" She laughed as she took a seat on my bed.

"No thanks." I giggled.

She shook her head. "You're real special. So how old are you?"

"Sixteen, what about you?"

"Same. Have you finished high school?"

"Yeah, I was able to finish my GSCEs before moving over here."

"Me too, I'm going to college in Manchester in the fall."

"No way, that's what I want to do! My parents are refusing to let me go back there alone, but I've already been accepted so we still have to speak about that."

"Is that where you're from?"

"No, I was born in Liverpool and raised there for about two years. But when I was nine, for three years my family lived in Manchester and I just fell in love with the place."

"How many places have you moved to?" She asked in amazement.

I went off on my life story of moving from place to place, and how I met so many people in wherever I was. Riana was really easy to get along with and I was more than glad to have her as my neighbour. I could already tell she and I would be really good friends, and the fact that we had a lot in common, like going to the same college, made me like her even more. Though her odd enjoyment of older men made me wary of her, I dismissed it as something people from Cheshire liked.

I even got to find out some stuff on her, like how her family was from Hawaii but her parents moved over here before she was born. She went off telling me how life was over here, how there was not much to do when hanging out. She even gave me a little tour around town, pointing out the "hot spots" and what not. Though I wasn't sure of the place just yet, something inside me told me I'd like it. Maybe mum was right, if I gave it a chance, I'd like it here too.