Hilltop Street (m+/f+)- Chapter 6 posted (complete)
Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2022 9:39 pm
(Decided to finally try my hand at writing a story. Plan is to post a chapter every 2-3 days. Feedback and constructive criticism is welcome, hope you enjoy!)
Amanda quietly sighed with relief as the group passed Ms. Reed's elegantly decorated yard. Ms. Reed's house was the last one on the street before the sidewalk disappeared and the street turned into a sharp curve steep enough to launch any bike-mounted kid who tried to ride down it right into the middle of the busy Banner Avenue. But the girls weren't planning to descend the hill today. Their destination was a tiny patch of land just down the hill from Ms. Reed's house, officially part of her yard but separated from the rest by a wooden fence and a slope adorned in green ice plant. They called this place the Paradise Gardens.
Amanda's relief was quickly shattered when a shoulder bumped against hers roughly. It was Tommy, the one boy on Hilltop Street. Everyone had been so engaged in the conversation that they hadn't seen him coming up behind them. He squeezed past them without a word. He wasn't going to the Gardens. His aim was the narrow dirt path that lead down the hill, into the wooded land between the houses on Banner Avenue and ones on Hilltop Street, which the kids had dubbed The Wilds. Jenny's face reddened as he rudely shoved past them, but Amanda's pat on her upper arm and Chloe's hastily wrapped arm around her shoulders restrained her from doing anything rash for now.
They had little time to worry about him. As soon as the Garden was in sight, Emily broke free of her sister's grip and took a flying leap onto the worn-out porch swing. Her enthusiasm was contagious, as Jenny skipped up to the steps of the little gazebo, while Amanda and Chloe walked along the edge of the stone flowerbed, their arms outstretched like tightrope walkers as they took care not to fall into the flowers after what happened last time. The three older girls chattered excitedly as they made their plans for the day, while Emily amused herself with the toys that had been left scattered around the Gardens over the many months the kids had been playing there.
It might have just been another ordinary day for the girls of Hilltop St, were it not for the appearance of an unexpected visitor. "Look at the bunny!" Jenny squealed, cutting off Chloe as she tried to explain the rules of a new game. All four girls cooed and quickly crowded around, hoping for a chance to pet or hold the fluffy brown creature before it darted away. But dart away it did, right under the thorny bushes dividing the little slice of paradise from a steep slope leading into the wilds.
"I'll get him!" yelled Emily, much to her sister's horror. Before anyone could stop her, she crawled under the bushes, the only one of the four girls small enough to do so. She of course couldn't crawl as fast as a rabbit, but she was determined to try. The only thing that stopped her was her sister's hysterical shriek.
"Emily, get back here!" cried Amanda. But it was too late. The loose dirt of the slope soon began to crumble under the little girl's weight.
"I'm slipping!" she said, reaching out to the horrified older girls watching her over the bushes. "Heeelp!" she cried, slightly worried more because of her sister's contagious panic than any perception of danger on her own part. She slid down the slope as if it were a gigantic playground slide, kicking aside her flimsy sandals as she flailed uselessly. Before long, she was out of earshot and obscured by the leafy canopy.
---
Amanda sat on the edge of the planter, her head in her hands and a sick feeling in her stomach. There was only one cell phone between the two of them, and of course she had it. "What are we going to do? My mom's going to kill me... We have to..."
"We can't go down there," Jenny said firmly. "Remember the deal? The girls get..."
"Jenny, this isn't a game!" snapped Chloe. She sighed. "But she's right... there are like snakes and rats and poison ivy and wild dogs and stuff down there. It's too dangerous for us."
Jenny's mood suddenly shifted as she took Chloe's lament as a challenge. "Oh, come on. If the boys can do it, we can. I'm not afraid of any rats or alligators or anything! In fact, I want to see an alligator."
"I didn't say alligators!" retorted Chloe, "And if there were, an alligator would..."
"GUYS" snapped Amanda. "I don't care what's down there, and I don't care about the boys. My sister's down there, she's all alone and scared..." She climbed to her feet. "I have to find her no matter what. Before my mom finds out."
"We're with you..." agreed Chloe, reluctantly. "We'll be ok if we stick together."
And so the three girls set off down the winding dirt path leading into The Wilds.
Chapter 1: Down the Slope
Emily tugged at her older sister's hand, impatient as always. Amanda kept a firm grip on the younger girl... she knew how impulsive her sister could be, and she knew who would get the blame if anything happened to her. With practiced ease, she concealed her worries and kept a smile on her face as she chatted with her two friends. Jenny was dominating the conversation, as usual, seamlessly switching between the dream she had last night, the poster she saw a week ago, and the story she made from both of them that could form the basis for their play today. Jenny's complex imagination sometimes made her hard to understand, but it was usually appreciated by the other girls. Chloe, equipped with a shoulder bag her parents had packed with snacks for all the girls, did her best to follow along, making use of her considerable knowledge to contribute where she could, but mostly shooting down those of Jenny's ideas that were impossible, illegal, or deadly. Amanda did her best to keep the peace between them. She could hardly blame her little sister for being bored by this conversation, but she wasn't about to let her go ahead on her own.Amanda quietly sighed with relief as the group passed Ms. Reed's elegantly decorated yard. Ms. Reed's house was the last one on the street before the sidewalk disappeared and the street turned into a sharp curve steep enough to launch any bike-mounted kid who tried to ride down it right into the middle of the busy Banner Avenue. But the girls weren't planning to descend the hill today. Their destination was a tiny patch of land just down the hill from Ms. Reed's house, officially part of her yard but separated from the rest by a wooden fence and a slope adorned in green ice plant. They called this place the Paradise Gardens.
Amanda's relief was quickly shattered when a shoulder bumped against hers roughly. It was Tommy, the one boy on Hilltop Street. Everyone had been so engaged in the conversation that they hadn't seen him coming up behind them. He squeezed past them without a word. He wasn't going to the Gardens. His aim was the narrow dirt path that lead down the hill, into the wooded land between the houses on Banner Avenue and ones on Hilltop Street, which the kids had dubbed The Wilds. Jenny's face reddened as he rudely shoved past them, but Amanda's pat on her upper arm and Chloe's hastily wrapped arm around her shoulders restrained her from doing anything rash for now.
They had little time to worry about him. As soon as the Garden was in sight, Emily broke free of her sister's grip and took a flying leap onto the worn-out porch swing. Her enthusiasm was contagious, as Jenny skipped up to the steps of the little gazebo, while Amanda and Chloe walked along the edge of the stone flowerbed, their arms outstretched like tightrope walkers as they took care not to fall into the flowers after what happened last time. The three older girls chattered excitedly as they made their plans for the day, while Emily amused herself with the toys that had been left scattered around the Gardens over the many months the kids had been playing there.
It might have just been another ordinary day for the girls of Hilltop St, were it not for the appearance of an unexpected visitor. "Look at the bunny!" Jenny squealed, cutting off Chloe as she tried to explain the rules of a new game. All four girls cooed and quickly crowded around, hoping for a chance to pet or hold the fluffy brown creature before it darted away. But dart away it did, right under the thorny bushes dividing the little slice of paradise from a steep slope leading into the wilds.
"I'll get him!" yelled Emily, much to her sister's horror. Before anyone could stop her, she crawled under the bushes, the only one of the four girls small enough to do so. She of course couldn't crawl as fast as a rabbit, but she was determined to try. The only thing that stopped her was her sister's hysterical shriek.
"Emily, get back here!" cried Amanda. But it was too late. The loose dirt of the slope soon began to crumble under the little girl's weight.
"I'm slipping!" she said, reaching out to the horrified older girls watching her over the bushes. "Heeelp!" she cried, slightly worried more because of her sister's contagious panic than any perception of danger on her own part. She slid down the slope as if it were a gigantic playground slide, kicking aside her flimsy sandals as she flailed uselessly. Before long, she was out of earshot and obscured by the leafy canopy.
---
Amanda sat on the edge of the planter, her head in her hands and a sick feeling in her stomach. There was only one cell phone between the two of them, and of course she had it. "What are we going to do? My mom's going to kill me... We have to..."
"We can't go down there," Jenny said firmly. "Remember the deal? The girls get..."
"Jenny, this isn't a game!" snapped Chloe. She sighed. "But she's right... there are like snakes and rats and poison ivy and wild dogs and stuff down there. It's too dangerous for us."
Jenny's mood suddenly shifted as she took Chloe's lament as a challenge. "Oh, come on. If the boys can do it, we can. I'm not afraid of any rats or alligators or anything! In fact, I want to see an alligator."
"I didn't say alligators!" retorted Chloe, "And if there were, an alligator would..."
"GUYS" snapped Amanda. "I don't care what's down there, and I don't care about the boys. My sister's down there, she's all alone and scared..." She climbed to her feet. "I have to find her no matter what. Before my mom finds out."
"We're with you..." agreed Chloe, reluctantly. "We'll be ok if we stick together."
And so the three girls set off down the winding dirt path leading into The Wilds.