Into Darkness

I’ve lived in Forks, WA my entire life. My father is the chief of police here, and my mother passed away a few years ago. I have an older half-sister Bella. My name is Brooklyn, but I usually go by Brooke. Bella moved here with me and our dad last year. Surprisingly, she was happy for a while. That is, until her boyfriend moved away.

I’ve loved music my entire life more or less. I play piano and guitar, and I also sing. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve started writing music. I want to go to college for music. Whenever there is some sort of singing or song writing competition with a cash prize nearby, I enter it to save up money. My mother’s parents were pretty wealthy, so I have a lot of money saved up for college, but I’m not supposed to touch it for anything else. Any money I win is spent towards guitar strings, piano tuning, or some sort of lesson.

“What do you want for your birthday this year?” my best friend Jake asks me as he works on his car and I keep him company.

“What do you want?” I ask, “It’s your birthday too.”
Jake and I were born on the same day at the same hospital. Our dads have been friends since before either of us were born, so naturally we became good friends.

“I asked you first, Brooke.” Jake says not looking up from his car.

“I don’t know what I want.” I admit, “I guess I haven’t really thought about it.”
This gets Jake’s attention. He stops working on the car and gapes at me.

“Our birthday is your favorite day of the entire year. You always know what you want months in advance.” Jake reminds me.

“I know.” I say with a shrug, “I guess I just haven’t had much time to really think about it.”

“What do you mean you haven’t had much time?” Jake asks incredulously.

I don’t respond to the question. The honest answer is that I have a hard time thinking about anything these days. My sister is practically a ghost. If I want to sing or play guitar I have to leave the house. Bella always gets upset at my music. I can’t play the piano when she’s around either. Luckily, I have a keyboard that I can plug headphones into or I’d never get any practice done. I hate being at home, I can’t wait for my birthday because I’ll be 16 and able to take my driver’s test. Once I have my license, I can escape home as much as I want without having a hassle someone to take me to where I’m going. Luckily, to come to La Push, I don’t have to hassle anybody. Harry Clearwater has always been happy to pick me up and bring me over. It doesn’t hurt that I’ve been tutoring his son Seth in algebra because that’s one of the best ways to get a ride.

My cell phone beeps. I look at it and see that it’s reminding me what time it is.

“I have to go,” I tell Jake, “time to earn a couple extra bucks. Seth’s algebra homework awaits me.”

“I’m convinced that he doesn’t need as much help as he claims.” Jake says rolling his eyes, “That kid has a major crush on you!”

I let out a laugh, “Maybe, but I’m not complaining. I’m saving up for a new guitar and after today’s tutoring session I’ll finally have enough to get the one I’ve been saving up for the past two years! Well technically I’ve had enough for a while, but I didn’t want to completely wipe out my bank account. I still need money for upkeep and whatnot.”

“You’ve been saving up for two years?” Jake asks shocked, “How much can a guitar cost?”

“A little under two thousand.” I say, “The Taylor 316ce is amazing!”

“Two thousand dollars?” Jake asks astounded.

“No! Two thousand slices of cheese.” I say sarcasm dripping from every word, “Yes dollars!”

“You’re seriously going to spend that much money on a guitar?” he asks in disbelief.

“Yes!” I say, “I’ve wanted this guitar for ages! I haven’t entered all those contests and done all that tutoring for nothing! Now I have to go. I’ll see you later.”

---------------------------------------

“So what next?” I ask Seth.

“Divide by two?” He asks.

“Yes.” I say, “And then you’ll have your answer.”

“X equals eight.” He tells me beaming.

“Exactly!” I tell him, “Now your algebra homework is done. Listen, I can’t come tomorrow. I have my driver’s test immediately after school and then the rest of the afternoon you know where I’ll be. Your dad already knows we don’t have a session tomorrow but I wanted to remind you. Try to get the homework done without me, but if you really need me, call me on Saturday and I can find time to stop by. You have to at least attempted it though.”

“Yeah okay. Will do.” Seth says dismissively.

Harry walks in the room as I start to pack up my bag. He hands me a check instead of my usual $10 bill. It’s for $50!

“Sue and I wanted to give you a little birthday bonus.” He tells me, “Charlie tells me you’re really itching to buy a new guitar so put the extra towards that.”

“You didn’t have to do that.” I say, “But thank you! Tell Sue thank you as well. Charlie is going to pick me up in ten minutes at Billy’s so I have to get going. Bye Seth. Remember, try to do your homework on your own tomorrow.”