Winchester Legacy: Introduction or 1.0

“Oh, well this is awkward. I wasn’t expecting anyone to just pop up and start taking pictures. Did…did my father send you? No, well I really didn’t think he would. Once dad puts his foot down he really means what he says. Everyone thinks old man Winchester is a softy but I know better. He doesn’t like anyone-what? What do you mean this is my story. I don’t have a story. Since I refused to go into the family business, I mean seriously do I look like an executive, dad cut off my trust fund. Lucky for me grandma Helena left me this plot of land when she croaked otherwise I don’t know what I would have done. It even has a little house on the property.”

“It’s not much but, hey, it’s a home. I was able to furnish it pretty well and even have money to spare. Nine bucks! Yes, I know, I know. Nine bucks isn’t really going to get me far but still. I’m pretty proud of myself. Dad said that I would come crawling back to the family mansion. I told him he’d always told me that Winchester’s don’t crawl. Maybe I shouldn’t have thrown that in his face. He looked as if he was going to have a heart attack as he wheezed for me to get out of the house. To get out and never come back! Of course mom kept trying to shove his heart medicine down his throat as he was screaming so I really didn’t take him that seriously. Imagine my surprise when I went to buy the latest Dooney&Burke bag and was informed that my card had been denied. My card? Denied? Yeah right. By the tenth time she’d swiped it everyone behind me was grumbling and she was staring at me as if she was going to call the cops. I booked out of there and called my bank and they informed me that my dad had canceled all my cards. So, I need a job.

“I didn’t care what it was as long as it pays well. And wouldn’t you know the best paying job was in the military? So maybe I fudged my resume a little. I mean serious, how hard can it be? I’ve watched JAG on TV before. So, now you’re looking at the newest recruit of the armed forces! Ha! Take that dad! I knew I’d get a job. You might think 350 bucks is chump changes but to me that’s like a new pair of shoes or something…er…I mean a bill payment. Gosh, I guess I do have to be more frugal now huh? I’m actually going to have to balance a checkbook. Where in the hell am I going to learn how to do that? That’s what accountants are for. But accountants cost money…I am so screwed.”

“I don’t mean to sound rude but are you going to snap pictures of me all the time? You are? Mind if I ask why? I mean, I think it’s kind of strange that you just pop out of nowhere and start taking random pictures of me. In fact it’s flat out freaky as hell. You’re doing what? Following me around to see how I survive? Am I on Candid Camera? Is this all a joke? Is dad going to pop out from behind the-”

“Oh, I see. This is really happening to me huh? This isn’t some practical joke? What’s that? No, it won’t make me feel better if I pretend I’m on some sort of reality show. This reality sucks! I want my old one back. The one which included shoes that were in season, couture clothes and…and food that is edible. Just what is this? A TV dinner? It taste like cardboard! But I gotta eat it because it’s the only food I have in the house. What’s that? Is that the doorbell? Who could that be? I don’t know anyone in this small town. One of the many reasons why I moved here. Hmm? Pretend you’re not here? Riiight! That’s going to be easy.”

I walked outside to see a group of people milling around in my empty front yard. They said they were the welcome wagon. Seriously? What century did they think we were living in? Normal people just don’t do that but I guess when in Rome right? So I introduced myself to this pretty black girl who was wearing this fierce looking outfit. And, oh my god, were those the latest Manolo Blahnik shoes? I quickly scoped her out. She was a little taller than me but I was sure that I could fit into her clothes. God, all my clothes hanging up the clothes back home…no, this was home now. But my clothes!

“Hi, I’m Dion.”

“Latonya. You look familiar.”

She grinned and waved her hand in the air. “Oh, I model every now and again but during my down time I come around Redfalls and just rest and relax. I just did this big photo spread for-”

I hate you! As she kept yakking on about her fabulous life I swear I imagined ten different ways to mess up her pretty face. Violent yes, but it was soooo satisfying.

While she was talking I watched this man come up and drop a package off in my yard. Then he demanded that I open it. Who was he kidding? I wasn’t touching that package with a ten foot pole. There were all kinds of nutjobs in this world and he sure looked like one. There was no way I was going to open it and get some virus because he was mad at the world and wanted to take it down one person at a time. Did I happen to mention that I’m slightly paranoid? No? Well, I am.

Jesus! Did this woman never shut up? I could feel a headache coming on behind my eyeball and my eyelid was starting to twitch. All of the sudden one of the men that had come with her started to cry. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. When I say cry, I mean cry! This wasn’t silent tears. No, he was actually bawling. Sniffing and snotting and just making a fool of himself. I don’t do tears. I cry sometimes but no one ever sees me and I sure as hell don’t stand in the middle of the road and tilt my head back and rage at the sky before burying my face in my hands. It was sickening and creepy all at the same time yet I couldn’t tear my eyes away. And she was still bloody talking!

Clearing my throat I started to tap my foot. When that didn’t work I figured the hell with it and started examining my hands. She abruptly stopped mid-sentence.

“I’m sorry. How rude of me. I didn’t even ask what you were doing in Redfalls did I?”

No you didn’t. Heifer. I said that to myself of course. Outwardly I laughed and waved a hand casually in the air. “Oh, just taking a mini vacation. I decided to step away from the hustle and bustle of the city and just to rough it for awhile. Learn how to really appreciate everything you know? I think more people need to do that…don’t you?”

“Uh…”

I walked away from her while she was trying to figure out how to reply. I spotted another man who had arrived with the welcome wagon.

“Well hello,” I whispered underneath my breath as I approached him. I added an extra swing to me steps.

“Hi, how are you? I’m-”

I blinked in amazement as he stuffed his fingers in his ears and started to hum loudly to himself. He half turned away from me and the sun glinted on the diamond ring he had on his hand. Well hell, he was taken anyway. I didn’t want anything to do with a married man. Or almost married at any rate. I could still hear his loud humming as I turned and walked away.

A random female came up to me as I was standing in the middle of the sidewalk examining the house. I was thinking of all the money I would have to save up in order to make it half way decent.

“Do you smell that?” she asked in a perky voice.

“Smell what?”

“Take a deep breath with me. Smell the approach of spring.”

Ooookay, I thought. Was this town full of nutjobs? She stared at me expectantly. With a sigh I tilted back my head and sniffed the air. I was surprised to smell fresh dirt, grass and…what was that smell?

“That’s the smell of clean air,” she said in zen likes tones. She took several more lungfuls before she grinned at me. “Do you want to play catch?”

“Catch?” Did she think I was ten years old? I hadn’t played catch since my dad had told me that proper young ladies didn’t do that type of thing. At that thought I agreed. Since I wasn’t living at home anymore I didn’t have to be proper. I could just picture my dad scowling at me. I inwardly thumbed my nose at him.

“Can I play? Toss the ball to me! When are you going to let me play?”

I blinked at the girl standing beside me as she bounced on her toes. Where had she come from? I tossed the ball to Jennifer, although she said she went by the name of Summer Blossom now, and the girl whistled.

“You have a great arm. Look at the spin on that ball. Awesome.”

“Why aren’t you in school?” I asked as I caught the wobbly ball that Summer Blossom had tossed back.

She shrugged. “Didn’t feel like going. Where’d you learn to throw like that?”

I shrugged and then feeling cocky put a little extra oomph in the next throw.

“OW!”

“Uh-oh,” the girl whispered.

I gotta say Summer Blossom didn’t look very Zen as she clenched the baseball in her fist and glared daggers at me.

“Um…how about I fix everyone lunch?”

I hurried back into the house and shoved some TV dinners into the oven. Tapping my foot I flicked the dial to what I thought it ought to be on and looked around to see that Dion and the cry baby had made themselves comfortable in my house.

“Rude much,” I muttered underneath of my breath. As if on cue the man started crying again.

“What is his problem?” I asked Dion. I had to yell to be heard over his wailing.

She stood in front of him and shook her head. “Alfonso is a sensitive man. The slightest things set him. You have to be gentle with him.”

“He sounds like a chick with a dic-” I cut myself off when Alfonso’s sobs grew louder. After about five minutes of his constant wailing I told everyone to leave.

“Get out! Get out, get out! That’ s it. I can’t take it anymore! Shoo, shoo!” I waved everyone out and then stood in the doorway blinking. Why were my eyes burning? My nose tickled. And just what was that-

“CRAP!”

Waving my hands frantically in front of the stove I pulled the door open and nearly gagged. “Oh geez!”

Coughing, I grabbed the dinners out of the stove, maybe I shouldn’t have put them on so high, and stared down at the charred mess. Dumping four of them in the garbage outside I walked back in and picked up the least burnt TV dinner. It still looked awful.

Smoke wafted up burning my eyes and I couldn’t tell what food was in each compartment. It all looked the same to me. I swallowed dryly. But I had to eat it. I had nine dollars in my pocket. I couldn’t afford to just waste food.

I blinked when a flash went off in my face. “Do you mind?” I snapped at the annoying photographer. What kind of person enjoyed someone’s misery and took photographs of it? That was just sick and wrong. I looked back down at the food in my hand. On the other hand I did start work tomorrow and they did state that we would get paid every day. I debated for about a split second before I chucked the mess and called for a taxi.