forum I'm So Bored I Think I'm Going To Cry

Started August 06, 2019 by @Simon-Says

tune

Thankss! Do you think you could start? I'm CRAP at astarters. Could we start with Elizabeth meeting them when she gets off the plane?

Yes, of course! Alrighty! :)

Gracie jiggled her leg, impatient. Her very annoying older brother Max was sitting to her right. They were sitting in the airport, waiting for Elizabeth, the orphan girl they were going to take in. The site had said she was 16. She couldn't wait to meet her, maybe they could become best friends. Spying a girl that fit Elizabeth's description out of the corner of her eye, she stood up. "Elizabeth!" she yelled over the commotion of the other people.

Elizabeth jumped, hearing her name over the overwhelmingly loud noise of the airport. All she had with her was a small backpack, so she kept her arms wrapped around her as she made her way over to the family, stopping and closing her eyes every time someone bumped into her. With great effort she managed a tentative smile. "Hello."

"Hi! You're Elizabeth right? I'm Gracie, and this here," Gracie announced in an enthusiastic voice, standing up, practically dying of excitement, motioning to her brother, "Is Max. He's really annoying, but he can be sweet if he wants to."
Max stood up and politely introduced himself. Her parents stood up as well, smiling. "Hey Elizabeth, we're Gracie's parents," her mom said more quietly, but loud enough that Elizabeth could hear them. "I'm Loren," her mom continued.
"And I'm Finn," her dad continued over from Loren. "We're really excited to meet you," he said in a low-pitched gruff voice.

Elizabeth could feel her heart racing. She took a few deep breaths before managing to say, "Liza. Please call me Liza." She had come to hate being called Elizabeth. It always meant she was in trouble. Everything around her was so loud. She needed to get OUT, but she couldn't run away from her new… family. The word felt strange to even think, but she didn't want to ruin this, just like she ruined everything else.

"Of course!" Loren replied immediately with a kind face.
Gracie could feel her smile faltering, but she kept up the facade. "Okie, whatever you want!" she replied, giving an even wider smile.
"As is your wish," Finn said, offering a hand. "It's so wonderful to finally meet you."

Elizabeth flinched, then cursed herself. It's a handshake, you absolute fucking idiot, she scolded herself, tentatively reaching out a hand to shake his. "Thanks, er, you - you too," she choked out, barely managing to get her voice loud enough for them to hear.

"Well, let's head back to the car, shall we?" Loren offered in a bright voice, not totally sure of what to do.
The rest of the family nodded, and followed Loren as she walked to the parking lot.

Elizabeth felt like she could breathe again. Once outside, she felt immediately better. Until the realization hit her that she was going to get into a car. No, it wasn't going to be a windowless van, but it was going to be a contained space with limited air, and - maybe she could open a window? She comforted herself with that thought, nodding slightly to herself.

A beep sounded as Finn unlocked the car, and opened the backseat doors for Gracie and Elizabeth.
Loren and Finn climbed in the front seats, shutting their respective doors.
Gracie smiled, and gestured for Elizabeth to get in.

Elizabeth got into the car gracefully, almost immediately closing her eyes. Her mom used to tell her to imagine where she wanted to be, and she hoped that would actually work. She imagined a bright, open field, with absolutely no barriers anywhere. It helped her feel a bit better. "Could I - could I have the window open?" She asked quietly, uncertainly.

"Of course! We want you to feel like a family member too!" Finn replied, rolling down the window on Elizabeth's side a bit.
Gracie gave Elizabeth a tiny smile, as they drove towards her house. "It's gonna be a bit, just so you know. We don't live close to the airport," she told Elizabeth.

Elizabeth took another deep breath, then turned her head slightly to face Gracie. "That's fine. Thank you for telling me," she said, still keeping her voice low.

"Mhm!" Gracie replied happily. As they pulled into the small driveway of their home, she happily pronounced, "Welcome to our home! Max'll be so happy to see you!" opening the door of the car and hopping out.

Elizabeth slowly opened her car door, stepping out and closing it behind her, swinging her backpack onto her shoulders while doing so.

(Aaaaaaah I'm so sorry I disappeared, I got distracted. I swear I'll try to not disappear again today!)
Loren unlocked the door, and told Elizabeth, "Welcome to our house, hope you like it!"
The kids bounded into the house, while Finn lingered outside the house, waiting to walk in with Loren.
Squeals of excitement and cooing to Max (the dog) could be heard.

(No, no, it's totally fine! I'll probably be going to sleep soon, anyway!)
(I thought the dog was Ace and the brother was Max? Idk)
Elizabeth slowly walked in, taking in her surroundings carefully. How did they have such a big house? How did they have so many things to fill their house. Unsure of what to do, she stood in the hallway with her arms folded over herself.

(Lol sorry about that I just realized you're correct)
Glancing at Elizabeth, Gracie realized that they must seem really rich to her. As if reading her mind, she said, "No, we're not rich by the way. It's cause we don't have a stable so we have to keep Etta in a makeshift one in the house. Yes, we did knock down a few walls to do this."

Elizabeth nodded uncertainly. Turning her head to look at Gracie, sha saw - a dog. a fucking dog. With a scream, she managed to trip backwards and fall onto the ground, covering her face with her hands. Not all dogs are bad, she reminded herself, which did absolutely nothing to reduce her fear.

The dog whimpered in fear, tail now tucked between his legs, he didn't like loud noises, no not at all. They scared him.
"Wha-are you okay?" Gracie asked in genuine concern.

Elizabeth held her breath to stop herself from hyperventilating. She stood up slowly, still unable to look at the dog. "I - don't - like - dogs," she managed tightly.

Loren gave a forgiving smile, while Gracie's smile disappeared off her face. "O-oh… sorry…" Gracie mumbled.
"That's quite alright, I understand. You've been through a lot after all," Loren said in a warm voice. "Come on, I'll show you where you'll be sleeping," Loren put a guiding arm on Elizabeth's back and moved to the stairs.

Elizabeth flinched at the contact, but forced herself not to shake Loren off. "Thank you. I'm sorry, I - I didn't mean to panic."

"No, no, it's quite alright." Loren continued, leading Elizabeth up the stairs and into a guest bedroom.
Gracie called upstairs after them, "I'll be up in a bit, just going to go check on Etta and put Ace away," and afterwards followed Loren and Elizabeth, no Liza, she forced herself to think, up the stairs.

Elizabeth looked around the room, careful not to touch or move anything. She wasn't sure what to do, so she just wandered around, looking at the room. After a minute, she set her bag down and sat next to it.

Bounding into the room, Gracie asked Elizabeth, "So, what do you think of the room? Feel free to make it your own now, it's yours forever and ever!"

Elizabeth hesitated before standing up and going to sit on the bed. "It's… nice. Really nice," she assured Gracie. And it was. Ridiculously so. She was afraid to move too much; she might break something. An entire room for her to… what? Sit?

"Great! I'm so glad you like it!" Gracie all but squealed.
"Did you bring a phone with you?" Loren asked gently.

Elizabeth shook her head. "Just a notebook."

"Alright then, we'll get you one tomorrow morning, you might feel safer if you know you can contact us at any point," Loren said gently.
Gracie resisted the urge to run over to Elizabeth and give her a bear hug, she was afraid that Elizabeth would reject it, in her mind Elizabeth seemed so… fragile. She had barely survived a war, and she was so jumpy.