Chapter One

Yet another beginning to a new story. The question is; will this one get finished? Tell me what you think. ttyl ya'll



Chapter One

It was one of those lazy summer days, the kind where it is too hot to do anything but lie in the shade and daydream, and that is just what Gabriella Sorno was doing. She was dreaming of far away faces and far away places. Gabriella, who was known as Ella, was almost eighteen, and she had a wonderful imagination. In fact, right then under the shade of the big old oak tree, she could almost see her lofty daydreams.

These days, dreams were her only comfort. Her family, like most of the world, was in troubled times. A few months ago, her Father had lost his job, and soon after, her Mother had lost hers too. It hadn't been their fault, the companies were just downsizing, and they had been cut.

This left her parents tired and worried and very stressed. Which, of course, made Ella and her younger sister, Maria, very unsure and concerned. These days, nothing was easy. Well, at least not for them. Ella knew others really did have it easy even though the times were getting tougher. Like the kids of millionaires, the lucky people who won the lottery, movie stars, and, of course, Justin Fairway, one could not forget him.

Ella closed her eyes and smiled.

*~*~*

The limousine stopped outside the hotel surrounded by mobs of screaming fans. Justin grimaced, so many people, all yelling, and pushing, and trying to get closer and closer to him, trying to get autographs, pictures, anything.

The limousine door swung open, letting in a rush of the hot New York summer air. Justin took a deep breath and jumped out of the car onto the hot and crowed sidewalk.

"Here we go again, for the millionth time." He though to himself.

Another concert, another hotel, another wild mob of fans. He pulled a black marker out of his jeans pocket and began signing his name on all the items pushed his way. Most of them were the usual things, his cd's, pictures, and posters, but some items, well, some of them were really...weird.

"Justin! Justin! Sign my cellphone!" He reached out into the crowd taking a man's phone. "Uh, ok, where?"

"Right on the screen!"

"You sure?"

"Yeah! Of course I am!" Justin quickly scribbled his name on the cell phone's screen, wondering how the guy would be able to use his phone again.

Justin moved a little further into the pushing crowd. "My wallet! Justin! Can you sign my wallet?" A woman this time, holding a white leather wallet. "Yeah, ok, sure." He ran the marker over the soft leather and tossed it back.

"Justin Fairway!" shrieked a girl's voice "Ohhh Justin! Over here!"

A young teen girl was jumping up and down, holding a tattered notebook which she thrust into his hands. "It's my Math notebook, it's the only paper I have with me. Could you sign it, please?" He laughed. "Of course." And he darted the marker over the cover, signing his whole name in bold printing. Justin Patrick Fairway. The girl seemed close to going wild with excitement. "Oh! Thank you! Thank you! I'll love doing Math now! It'll be so much easier in a notebook signed by you!"

Justin spent a total of two hours in the hot sun signing autographs, standing for pictures, and answering questions, before he could escape to the safety of the hotel.

*~*~*

Ella pulled herself away from the shade and her beautiful dream world to go help her Mother who had just come back from grocery shopping. Her Mother's face was tired and worried, as it had been so often lately.

"Hello, Ella. Having a nice day?"

"Hi Mom, yeah, kinda hot, but alright." Ella's eyes drifted from her Mother's face to the three small bags in the car's trunk. They contained simple food items like bread and milk. The family's savings were drying up quickly, like any rain that fell in the hot sun. What would they do when there was no money left? Her mother must have read her thoughts.

"Yes, Ella, I know. Not much. There's little I can do."

"I know, Mom..." she forced herself to smile "But don't worry, we'll manage."

"I hope so."

"But you or Dad is bound to get a job sometime. Sometime soon. Just you see! And I'll keep looking for one too, alright?"

"Ella, you're so sweet..." Her Mother hugged her gently, before taking the bags out of the trunk into the house.

Every day since school had let out Ella too had been in search of a job. She hadn't found one. Yet. But somebody in the state of New Hampshire must be wanting a young girl to help them. Somewhere in the state. Hopefully.

And even though she sounded confident to her Mother, deep deep down inside, Ella wasn't quite as confident as she looked or sounded. But they had to keep searching and never give up. These days it was sink or swim and Ella didn't want to sink.