Biker Class

Biker Class

By
Ella
Laroche

Copyright
©
Ella
Laroche
2013

The right of Ella Laroche to
be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part
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this author.

"So, you
got out of the car
and went up to three
potentially dangerous California bikers? And you left the car unlocked and wide
open?" Ms. Hart replayed the events that her daughter had told her in
shock. "What were you thinking? Melanie, you are a smart girl. Why in the
world would you think it would be okay to go
up
to them?"

"They were kicking Lucky, Mom!"

"Oh, you named the dog, now?"

"Yeah!"

"Don't name it, it makes you get attached."

"Can we keep him, Mom?
Please
? He's homeless and is
obviously abused and is eating out of
trashcans
.
Trashcans
,
Mom," Melanie begged, sticking out her bottom lip and peering up through
her lashes. She held the little grey dog up by her face, the dog imitating her
expression as if it realized the importance of this, too.

"I'll think about it," she said, almost so quickly that she
was hard to understand, "but that doesn't excuse the fact of what you
did
.
You can't do that, Melanie! Do you understand that?"

"Yeah, yeah, Mom, won't happen again," she said
dismissively. "Can I keep him? Lucky said
he'll
be good." She smiled persuasively.

"Oh, he talks now?"

"Yeah…"

"Fine. But it's
your
responsibility to potty-train him and
take care of him. The minute you start neglecting your responsibilities–"

"Yeah, yeah, got it, Mom. Love you. Thanks a million, you’re
the–“

Melanie was about to continue rambling when her mother stopped her
short. She turned her head to her daughter slowly, smiling gently. "Melanie,
say hello to our new home."

Her daughter obeyed, not expecting much but a small bungalow or cabin.
What she saw made her voice hitch in her throat. She sighed, a huge face-eating
smile overtaking her face.

A long, straight, beautiful driveway greeted them, lined by trees on
each side. They were all stunning and lush green, perfectly trimmed and exactly
the same size. The wind made them rustle and the sun shone brightly through the
cracks between the leaves. The grass was bright and healthy, stretching out for
long distances behind the trees on each side. A beautiful white picket fence
separated the grass and trees, making it orderly but still natural. They drove
down the driveway slowly, both taking in where they would now live.

"How many acres is this, Mom?" Melanie had to know, in awe.

"Uh… I want to say about, uh, twenty."

"Wow, really?" Melanie grinned, clapping her hands together
in her lap. She had always wanted to live somewhere with lots of land and
places to explore. They drove further, the lines of trees disappearing and
revealing old-looking trees winding out of the ground and green grass. One tree
particularly caught Melanie's attention. It was larger than all of the others,
the bark a dark brown and flawlessly rough. But what sat atop the green leaves
was what made her heart thump for joy.

A simple, box-shaped tree house sat in the middle of up-winding
branches, the limbs twisting around it like a giant hand. A small rope ladder
led up to it. Melanie smiled when she saw there was a purposefully cut hole in
the roof, for stargazing or to stare at the clouds. She couldn't wait to go
inside… if her mother wasn't paranoid about it falling through. Melanie could
already predict that she would spend many afternoons and nights inside of it.

They continued to drive forward, Melanie's excitement growing with
every moment. More trees, but not planted in a perfectly straight line,
surrounded them on each side again, becoming a little darker and more thick.
But out of the blue, they cut off and a huge stretch of land opened up. A
single, simple but fairly large white house sat in the middle, surrounded by
beautiful landscaping. Pink flowery bushes encircled the circular driveway that
wound in a loop in front of the home.

The car came to a gentle stop, Melanie instantly jumping out to take
in the beautiful sight. The loud rumbling the moving truck behind them almost
startled her, her new home making her forget the world for a moment.

"C'mon, Melanie," her mother beckoned her, motioning for her
to come inside with her. Melanie was only too happy to abide.

The moment they entered, Melanie didn't even wait for her mother. She
started running around to look at all of the new rooms. The dining room was a
light green, the table dark and shining with
a
oval
shape. A large chandelier hung from the elaborate ceiling and centered the
antique furniture against the walls. She moved on.

The living room was small, but beautiful. The walls were a light crème
and the couch and loveseat were very
Victorian-looking
.
The floor was a shining dark wood. A maybe 30-inch flat screen was on a small
table, looking almost out of place with all of the old furniture. Melanie went
to the next room.

An average-sized kitchen was what she encountered next. The walls were
a bright yellow, with classic brown cabinets and marble countertop. Over the
silver sink was a large window, the top portion stained glass. The floor was
clean white tile. There was a small table not far from the door, probably for
quick meals or food preparation. These were all of main rooms downstairs,
excluding the small bathroom and entryway. Melanie decided to go upstairs and
survey.

The stairway was a dark wood and the steps were small, showing that
they were probably the
original
in the house. She met
a long hallway with white and green-striped wallpaper, making it look even
longer. There were four doors lining the walls, two on each side. On peering
in, Melanie found that one was a fairly large bathroom, complete with a tub and
shower. She shut the door quietly and walked across the hall to the next door.
Opening it, she found instantly that this must be her new room; it wasn't
large, it wasn't small. The floor was a dark, shining wood like most of the
home. It had a double bed with posts, a large window on the right of it, and a
mirror with a pretty stool. The light fixture was like a mini chandelier,
making her feel fancy.

After trying out the bed, she went across the hall and peeked inside;
it was her mother's bedroom. A large queen-sized bed with a red bedspread and a
net over it made her sigh. It was magical. The large window on the opposite
side from her was the biggest window she had seen yet, large, heavy-looking
beige curtains shaping it. Melanie also noticed a small bathroom to her left
that had obviously been added recently and a 40-inch TV. Sighing with jealousy,
she closed the door and continued.

At the very last door, Melanie was interested to see what this room
could be.
Maybe a guest bedroom?
But when she turned
the knob, it stopped short and the door wouldn't budge. She thought maybe there
was something wrong with the doorknob, so she checked to see if it shook. It
was in perfect working order. Her brows furrowed and she tried again, rattling
the door. Then she tried putting all of her weight against it. Still nothing.
This puzzled her. Why would
their
be a locked room
beside her bedroom? Especially when you buy a new house, aren't all of the
doors supposed to be unlocked? What puzzled her even more was that there was no
key hole
.

She cautiously stepped down the stairs, careful to not ensure her own
death in these shoes. She found her mother in the living room, directing the movers.

"Hey, Mom?" Melanie began.

"Yeah?" Ms. Hart asked, not taking her eyes off of the
movers.

"Is there supposed to be a locked room?"

"Locked room?" She still wasn't looking at Melanie.

"Yeah. There's a room upstairs beside my room that's locked. No key
hole or anything."

"Hmm. Well I'm sure it's just the attic or something. Nothing to
worry about."

Melanie could tell that that was all she was getting out of her mother
at this point. Settling on it was the
attic,
she asked
if she could help with anything. Her mother shook her head and mumbled
something that sounded like 'too far to the left'. Melanie shook her head and
told her mother she was going outside to look around. Ms. Hart nodded, probably
not listening to a word she was saying.

She went out of the front door and picked a flower from one of the
many bushes. She smelled it and placed it in her hair, smiling from ear to ear.
She walked around the driveway and into the grass, hoping she remembered where
that big tree was with the tree house. It wasn't hard to miss as it turned out,
and she soon found that it would be impossible to get up the ladder in her
shoes, so she threw them off and placed them beside the rope, climbing up and
happy that it was stable. Melanie tested the wood with her foot gingerly to
make sure it was sturdy before she put all of her weight on it. It appeared to
be fine. Melanie stepped inside gently, not hearing a single creak or break.
She bent and
laid
down on her back, underneath the
hole in the roof. She sighed and looked up with pleasure, watching the white
clouds that had recently appeared. They moved slowly, twisting in forms that
left her imagination wandering. She took a moment to glance around, noticing it
was noticeably plain.
Just wood walls.
Not painted or
anything. Not personalized in any way. But she almost liked it. It was relaxing
and let her mind wonder about the people who lived here before she did. It was
simplistic.

After lying down in the tree house for maybe an hour or so, almost
falling asleep, she made herself get up so her mother wouldn't go looking for
her. Melanie descended down the rope and slipped her shoes back on. She ran to
the house in a hurry, hoping against hope that her mom wouldn't be worried
about why she had been gone for so long. Luck was on her side that day.

"Have fun?" Ms. Hart asked.

"Yeah," Melanie smiled. "There's a tree house in this
really old tree not too far away from the house. It's got a hole in the ceiling
so you can see the clouds and stars and stuff. It's so pretty!"

"That was dangerous, Melanie," her mom said instantly.
"That wood could have given out and you could have fallen through!"

"I didn't just waltz in, Mom," she rolled her eyes with a
laugh. "I was careful. It's fine."

"Okay," Ms. Hart sighed, turning back to the food she was
working on. "Aren't you glad this house came furnished? Took a lot of the
time and labor out of moving, don't you think?"

"Yeah. I'm surprised we needed a truck for all of our little
stuff."

"Well, all of our pictures are hung everywhere and we are
officially moved in. Do you like the house?"

Melanie grinned dreamily. "I love it." She asked a question
she had been wondering for a while. "How old is this place, Mom?"

"How old…" she contemplated, cutting up the chicken she was
preparing. "How old… I want to say about 130."

"Really?" her eyes widened.

"Uh huh," her mother smiled. "Cool, isn't it? I'm
shocked the price was as low as it was. But a lot of it was that my new job
will be paying a lot more." She couldn't help but grin a little greedily
and Melanie laughed.

"Maybe this move won't be so bad, after all," Melanie said,
hugging her mother. Ms. Hart hugged back.

"When you start school on Monday, I know you will make so many
friends. Melanie, you are such a great girl all-around. Don't be nervous, all
right?"

"Okay, I'll try," Melanie shrugged. Her heart pounded at the
thought of what awaited her on the beginning of that fateful day. "Tell me
when dinner is ready."

"Will do."

Melanie sat down on the couch in the living room, turning on the
television and surfing the channels. She leaned back against the cushions and
closed her eyes. This was where she would live for the rest of her high school
life. She had better get used to it.

Little did she know that there was a couple of more surprises coming
her way that she would have to get used to, also.