[WARNING: Chapter 2 is kind of abrupt and horrible so please feel free to tell me how to make it better~ Thank you~ :D Please try to enjoy this horribly written chapter~ <3]
When Alison woke the next morning the little seven year old body didn’t want to allow movement. Her entire being ached all the way down to her bones. Reluctantly the child rose from her bed and readied herself for another day in the white marble hell. As usual her mother was already gone for work before Alison has even woken up.
Once dressed and mostly ready, the child stopped to look at her destroyed leather bag and the remnants of her prized belongings. With a heavy sigh she simply turned and left the room, being sure to shut off all the lights in the house before making her way to school, empty handed. Just like they always had every day since she was born, dark eyes followed the tiny preschooler’s movements like killer beasts in waiting. Other students snickered and sneered and joked about how stupid she looked. Every word hit harder than they ever had before now that the child had no escape from them.
The teacher looked down at Alison, cold eyes holding the child in place. “Where is your bag? And where is your homework? You better not have skipped this assignment. That would make the third this week Alison.” The students scoffed at her, calling her stupid until the teacher silenced them. “Why are you deliberately not doing your homework? It’s not that hard.”
Alison didn’t know what the D word meant but she knew it wasn’t good so she dropped her head in shame. “I’m sorry ma’am…” She couldn’t come up with an excuse fast enough so she simply waited to be punished instead.
The kind teacher sighed. “Alright, we’ll talk after class. Pay attention to today’s lesson, you have a lot of back work. Understand?” Alison nodded. “Good, go take your seat.” The sinister eyes and grinning faces weighed down the short distance to the desk, almost making it unbearable to fight through, but she made it. With her home drowned in water, Alison could do nothing during class to escape the hushed murmurs and venomous comments. The time dragged on like a hot summer day, buzzing with discomfort and pain.
Lunch came many hours after it should have for Alison, though she was relieved to finally be rid of the horrible children that surrounded her. She had almost made it to the door when her name was called by the teacher. “Alison, we need to talk.” The older woman pulled up a chair for the girl, which she cautiously sat in. “You parents have been consistently unable to make it to and PTA meetings and you seem to be having troubles with the assignments I give you. Now this is none of my business but you need to shape up or you’re going to get held back. Do you want that?”
Alison silently shook her head so the woman continued. “If I don’t see improvement in your behavior soon I will have to punish you Alison.” The child flinched. She knew what punish meant. It meant mommy making her find a sharp stick or something similar and scolding her as markings welted up on her pale skin. It meant standing in the corner for hours with no food and no interaction. It meant a boiling hot shower with no escape. It meant pain. Alison didn’t want any more pain so she nodded furiously to the teacher, expressing her desire to do better.
That seemed to be enough for the teacher, who nodded once then turned away. “Alright. Run along now little thing.” The tiny child hopped off the chair and made her way outside.
Without Batman the outside world literally held nothing for the girl. She aimlessly roamed the playground, watching all the other children play happily. Oh how she longed to kick a ball with the others or play tag in the bright sun, but she knew she couldn’t. That world of joy and laughter wasn’t for a mistake like her. Only good, worthwhile children got to play and have fun. Alison wasn’t part of that crowd. Sadly the raven colored child made her way to the flower field at the edge of the playground and watched small bugs play on brightly colored petals. Maybe the bugs would be her friend. But every time she tried to ask one, it would fly away before answering.
Utterly defeated Alice just laid down in the grass and watched the sky as clouds drifted by. After some time she let her eyes close so she could envision the world of daring adventures. A long time passed with her like that, lost in her world of make-believe. It wasn’t until a shadow loomed over her that she finally awoke to reality again.
A small boy stood over her with a lively expression and bright green eyes. “Hello!” His voice was high and cheerful. “Why are you all alone? Isn’t that kind of silly?” Alison just blinked while she sat up to face him, not sure what to say back. “Okay, I get it, I’m weird. But I promise I don’t got any cooties so we can talk alright?”
Alison was painfully confused. No one ever wanted to talk to her but the boy’s dreamlike voice continued. “I just moved here yesterday with my daddy and I saw you on the way home with some other boys. Those boys looked really scary so I didn’t come over to you but I did find this on the ground.” The green eyed angel held out a small photograph to the girl. She could hardly believe her eyes, it was her father. This small boy was returning her father to her. Words couldn’t express her emotions so tears did it instead. “Oh no! I’m sorry! Don’t cry! I didn’t mean it!” The other child began to panic slightly at the tears but calmed again when she shook her head.
“No… Thank you…” She looked at the boy, new emotions stirring in her heart. It was strangely painful and made her want to cry like the punishments did, but at the same time she felt like she was flying and all the weight of the world was gone.
With that the boy was smiling again. “Do you know how to smile? Oh! Wait, daddy says to ask people their names first before talking to them. I forgot. Sorry.” He rubbed the back of his head, messing up his sandy brown hair, with a toothy grin. “So what is it?”
The dark girl continued to look at the long lost photo of her father, eyes glistening with tears and joy. “Scuse me! You listening? What’s your name I said?” The boys tried his best to get between the girl and her photo but she stopped him with one soft look.
“Alison.”
“Your name is Alison? Well that’s a really lame name. I’m Buck!” Buck seemed proud of his name and even nodded once to make his point. “I don’t really like your name though Alison. It’s too… boring. You need a cooler name like Johnny or Kevin! Or Buck!”
Alison’s voice was quiet and could hardly stand up to Buck’s. “But I’m a girl…”
“Right, I know that, you’re in a dress silly. Dresses are for girls. That’s what my daddy told me. Dresses are for girl and my clothes are for boys like me! That’s why I can’t wear dresses, because I’m a boy not a girl. Got it?” Alison was a little confused by this boy’s random topic changing but she would bear with it. “Anyway, as I was saying, you need a new name. Come up with one with me.”
The children thought for a few minutes. A new name? Why? She had always been called Alison by everyone. She didn’t really see a need to change that. “I got it!” Buck announced happily. “Alice! I’ll call you Alice! It’s totally better but not too different. Plus it’s short and sweet like you!”
Buck’s contagious smile forced its way onto the newly proclaimed Alice’s lips. “I like it. Thank you Buck.”
The sandy boy nodded gaily. “Yup! Now we can be friends because I like your name! Do you like mine?” Alice nodded shyly. “Good then we’re friends okay?” Alice nodded once more, more proudly this time. “Yay! But I have to go inside now, the teachers are calling us back in. Same time tomorrow then?” The boy held out his pinky to the little girl, who only looked confused. “Promise me please. Then I’ll know you’ll be here.” She slowly looped her pinky with his and smiled.
“Promise.”
Class ended very quickly after that and Alice was happy to head home and tell her mother about her new friend. Buck. He was such a strange boy and very bouncy but very nice. So this is what it was like to have a friend. Alice felt like she could easily float home on the wings of joy her new friend brought her. And her father had been there to see it all. Even if Batman was gone now, Alice had her real hero back and she couldn’t be happier. The sky even looked a little bluer on the way home.
She was almost to the edge of the forest path home when a voice called out. “Little girl, please wait.” Alice turned to see an old man approaching her. He had scruffy white hair all about his face and head and tiny round glasses covering his eyes. He looked a little disheveled but still somehow inviting. He was pleasantly smiling at her when he caught up to her. “Hello little one, do you mind if I bother you for a moment?” Alice shook her head so the man continued. “Great! I have a question for you. Do you like to read?”
Alice studied the man before she nodded. “I do.”
“Excellent!” With that the old man pulled out a beautiful leather bound book that was near the size of Alice’s head. “Would you like this book? It’s a very special book and only a few people can read it.” He held the book out to her, beaming.
The child tried to take the book but it was almost too heavy for her. The man steadied her then nodded, but Alice was still confused. “Why are you giving this to me?”
“I was told by an Angel to give this book to the child who is full of the potential to do amazing things and who would protect this book no matter the cost. For you see little Alison, this book is a very valuable thing and many people want it. I was told to give it to someone I trusted a great deal, and that someone is you.” Alice was still confused but she didn’t have the chance to ask before he continued. “Will you promise to keep this safe for me?”
“Okay. But why me?”
The man smiled again. “Because you’re full of good potential Alison. I look forward to meeting you again someday. Take care and remember, protect that book. Good bye.” As quickly and mysteriously as he had appeared the man vanished into the thick forest, leaving the child to stand there clutching the book to her body, very confused.
With no questions answered and no one there to answer them, the child turned and carried the one ton book home with her to safely store it away for the next ten years.
