Hey! This is (obviously) the second chapter! YAY! Now, I've only had one review. Come on people! R&R!

I know you look at it!

*begs*

Please!


Chapter 2

"Dad," I said quietly "do we have to go exploring on the first day we arrive here?" "Stop complaining Ivy." said my dad not-so-quietly.

Let me explain a little more of our present situation. I used to be a mildly happy teen, living in a medium town in Louisiana.. I had some friends, went to a small catholic school, and was mildly happy. Then everything went wrong.

My life was falling apart.

First, the school closed down. Second, one of my friends moved, because a family member died. Then, my dad got a job offer in Montana. (That isn't bad, you may say, well leaving everything you know and love isn't exactly comforting) Then, my dad lost his job. And after that happened, my dad decided that it was time for a fresh start. We were moving.

Fast Forward to a few days later in Montana

We are now speeding along the highway, or what represents one, in the small town of Buck Valley. My dad is trying to convince me to get a dog, knowing that I have not touched, came near to, or expressed any interest in, a dog since my mom died. They remind me of her. I think that's why my dad wants one.

"Daaad" I moaned in the I-really-don't-want-to-do-this tone of voice. "You know that I have not even looked at a dog since-"

"I know, I know." said my dad with a sigh. "You haven't touched, seen, or been near a dog since your mother died. I know. I think that you should get a pet. I had a dog when I was a boy, and we had wonderful times together. You also need a companion. We are moving." I rolled my eyes at this statement. As if I could forget that. "Maybe if you got a dog, you can build some memories with him." He said firmly. I knew I was losing the battle, but I would not give up, I would win! "But dad," I said slowly, sure I would win. "I'm scared of dogs." "Well, this will be a great opportunity to get over it." he said happily, actually sure that he was doing me some good. So much for winning this argument….. I sulked for the rest of the ride to our new house.

My dad is a scientist, so he needs lots of room. That meant that we were moving into a big house. Although any house was big compared to our old trailer we used to live in, dad needed more space than the trailer provided. So, I expected a big house.

Just not this big. It came with its own maids.

Maids.

Not maid, as in one, I mean about 50 maids.

That is a LOT of maids!

(The word "maids" looks kind of funny now, doesn't it?)

Does that tell you how big it is? After we got settled, my dad told me to get in the car.

"Where are we going dad?" I said in as calm a voice as I could muster. "It's a surprise." My dad said happily.

Great. If I know my dad, we were going somewhere that I would never knowingly give my consent to. As we drove around, I noticed that there were a lot of trees around here.

Good. Finally there might be a place that I can hide out, you know, maybe nail some plywood to a tree, to sit on, a place where no one could tease me, or yell at me.

You know, a place just for me. As soon as these thoughts ran through my head, we drove into the city.

It's really more like a town than a city. Let me explain. Our house is right on the other side of the town border. This is a very rural area.

Almost every window of every shop seemed to display animal related things. Grooming supplies, mounting supplies for taxidermy, Horse tack, fishing tackle, these places had it all.

As we neared our destination, my Dad slowed to show me our school. I saw a couple of boys skateboarding down the street.

As they passed, one of them tripped for no apparent reason. All the other boys gathered around him to see if he was alright.

I thought over the last few seconds slowly, thinking that something was not right.

I finally found it. There was no reason to trip there. No cracks, no nails. He wasn't even trying to do a trick. He seemed to have had the board jerked out from under him. That was weird, and also impossible. I dismissed the disturbing incident from my mind, not wanting to think about it to hard.

It seemed not to want to be thought of. I stopped and discarded that thought. It was too far fetched.