HOME | DD

Description
Found

“207th street will be the next and last stop on this train”, came the garbled voice over the subway intercom.
Adriane zipped up her coat and bag and prepared to get off. As she did, she saw out of the corner of her eye a small black notebook on the seat across from hers. How strange… Adriane could have sworn it wasn’t there a second ago.
The train pulled into the station, huffing and puffing like a tired jogger, until at last it pulled to a stop, giving a final blasting sigh of relief. The doors opened and Adriane got up. The notebook was still there, and it seemed to be staring at her… urging her to pick it up.
Fine, I’ll take it, she thought. As she exited the car, she discretely pocketed the small black book.
It was just getting dark when she exited the station. It was about six-thirty, so her parents and sister would probably be home. So much for free time.
Adriane hated spending too much time with her family. They were okay at first, but eventually they got annoying. Her mom was way too overprotective and power-crazed, and her dad just went along with everything her mom said like a robot. They took her things, like her iPod, sketchbook, and laptop, the only things that kept her going through the day. They were overly strict about schoolwork. And her sister… the icing on the cake. Rachel was the nine-year-old popularity queen of her grade. She could be really sweet sometimes, but lately she was being less and less sweet for smaller and smaller amounts of time. Adriane’s mom sympathized with Rachel because they were both the youngest sibling, so it was easy for Rachel to take advantage of her. For example, Rachel might bite her self so as to leave a mark, and then run to her mother, feigning tears, and say that Adriane bit her. She also blabbed anything that was the least bit secret about Adriane to her mom, and the only way Adriane could shut her up was by offering large amounts of money to her.
God, they annoy the hell out of me, thought Adriane. It’s not fair. I just wish I could live with XXX and YYY in a small apartment with a Mac and a nice kitchen, and not have to worry about annoying families.
She ran her fingers along the binding of the notebook as she brooded over the injustice of it all. Only four more long, annoying years. Why couldn’t she just turn eighteen already?
She sighed, turned up the volume on her iPod a bit, and drifted out of the bitter cold of  the New York City winter, into her daydreams.

***

Adriane had not even finished unlocking her apartment before the door flew open with her key still in it, and she was enveloped into an overly tight, squeeze-your-guts-out Rachel hug.
“ADRIANE!!!! Guess what, mom said we could watch a movie tonight if you get your homework done.”
If you get your homework done. Right. Adriane had homework in all of her subjects, and it was already seven. She didn’t really care about the movie; she would probably be on the computer the whole time anyway. If she got her homework done.
“Rachel…urgh…please…get off me,” Adriane said, squirming in her sister’s extremely tight grasp. At last she struggled away. She turned around to go to her room, but Rachel held the black notebook Adriane had found on the train earlier in front of her face, somehow having gotten it out of her sister’s pocket without her noticing, and waved it there.
“What’s this?”
Adriane wheeled around, grabbing at the small book but missing.
“I don’t know. It’s none of your concern. Give it back, please.”
“Make me,” Rachel teased, and ran down the hallway, laughing. Adriane chased after her, tripping over cats and bumping into file cabinets. At last she managed to grab her sister by the hair. Just to be annoying, Rachel threw the notebook as far away from her sister as she could, knowing she could not keep it away from her any longer.
“Rachel, why are you such a pest?” Adriane asked, annoyed, as she walked over to where the notebook lay and bent down to pick it up.
“You’re mean, Adriane. I’m not a pest! I’m not your friend anymore,” the little girl sulked and stormed off.
In the safety of her room, Adriane opened the book.
It was completely blank.
She flipped through all the pages. Nothing.
There was probably something to it. Writing would probably appear on the pages when she looked away for a second. Then the notebook would take her on a magical journey through mystical worlds, and then she would end up saving them and become queen of some parallel universe. Her imagination went wild, debating all the possibilities.
She looked back at the notebook.
It was blank.
Adriane sighed and started her homework.

Description
Found

“207th street will be the next and last stop on this train”, came the garbled voice over the subway intercom.
Adriane zipped up her coat and bag and prepared to get off. As she did, she saw out of the corner of her eye a small black notebook on the seat across from hers. How strange… Adriane could have sworn it wasn’t there a second ago.
The train pulled into the station, huffing and puffing like a tired jogger, until at last it pulled to a stop, giving a final blasting sigh of relief. The doors opened and Adriane got up. The notebook was still there, and it seemed to be staring at her… urging her to pick it up.
Fine, I’ll take it, she thought. As she exited the car, she discretely pocketed the small black book.
It was just getting dark when she exited the station. It was about six-thirty, so her parents and sister would probably be home. So much for free time.
Adriane hated spending too much time with her family. They were okay at first, but eventually they got annoying. Her mom was way too overprotective and power-crazed, and her dad just went along with everything her mom said like a robot. They took her things, like her iPod, sketchbook, and laptop, the only things that kept her going through the day. They were overly strict about schoolwork. And her sister… the icing on the cake. Rachel was the nine-year-old popularity queen of her grade. She could be really sweet sometimes, but lately she was being less and less sweet for smaller and smaller amounts of time. Adriane’s mom sympathized with Rachel because they were both the youngest sibling, so it was easy for Rachel to take advantage of her. For example, Rachel might bite her self so as to leave a mark, and then run to her mother, feigning tears, and say that Adriane bit her. She also blabbed anything that was the least bit secret about Adriane to her mom, and the only way Adriane could shut her up was by offering large amounts of money to her.
God, they annoy the hell out of me, thought Adriane. It’s not fair. I just wish I could live with XXX and YYY in a small apartment with a Mac and a nice kitchen, and not have to worry about annoying families.
She ran her fingers along the binding of the notebook as she brooded over the injustice of it all. Only four more long, annoying years. Why couldn’t she just turn eighteen already?
She sighed, turned up the volume on her iPod a bit, and drifted out of the bitter cold of  the New York City winter, into her daydreams.

***

Adriane had not even finished unlocking her apartment before the door flew open with her key still in it, and she was enveloped into an overly tight, squeeze-your-guts-out Rachel hug.
“ADRIANE!!!! Guess what, mom said we could watch a movie tonight if you get your homework done.”
If you get your homework done. Right. Adriane had homework in all of her subjects, and it was already seven. She didn’t really care about the movie; she would probably be on the computer the whole time anyway. If she got her homework done.
“Rachel…urgh…please…get off me,” Adriane said, squirming in her sister’s extremely tight grasp. At last she struggled away. She turned around to go to her room, but Rachel held the black notebook Adriane had found on the train earlier in front of her face, somehow having gotten it out of her sister’s pocket without her noticing, and waved it there.
“What’s this?”
Adriane wheeled around, grabbing at the small book but missing.
“I don’t know. It’s none of your concern. Give it back, please.”
“Make me,” Rachel teased, and ran down the hallway, laughing. Adriane chased after her, tripping over cats and bumping into file cabinets. At last she managed to grab her sister by the hair. Just to be annoying, Rachel threw the notebook as far away from her sister as she could, knowing she could not keep it away from her any longer.
“Rachel, why are you such a pest?” Adriane asked, annoyed, as she walked over to where the notebook lay and bent down to pick it up.
“You’re mean, Adriane. I’m not a pest! I’m not your friend anymore,” the little girl sulked and stormed off.
In the safety of her room, Adriane opened the book.
It was completely blank.
She flipped through all the pages. Nothing.
There was probably something to it. Writing would probably appear on the pages when she looked away for a second. Then the notebook would take her on a magical journey through mystical worlds, and then she would end up saving them and become queen of some parallel universe. Her imagination went wild, debating all the possibilities.
She looked back at the notebook.
It was blank.
Adriane sighed and started her homework.