Excerpt: An Ellie Book: "The Awakening of Spirituality, Psycho-Babble and Raging Hormones"

“Hi.”
“HOLY SHIT!” Ellie nearly jumped out of her skin. She had been bent over in the front garden, trying to source some nice flowers to arrange in a tiny bundle to leave on her mother’s pillow, as a kind of “Thanks for sticking up for me, Mum, I know it’s not your fault that Dad is a douchebag” present.
There was laughter behind her. Ellie stood up and turned to see the best-looking guy of her own age that she had ever seen in her entire life.
“Ummm...” Ellie said intelligently. “Hello. Who are you?”
“My name is Eric,” the boy said, extending a hand to her.
“Prince Eric?” Ellie asked immediately, then regretted it. Note to self: don’t watch Disney movies with cousins.
Eric grinned. “Not as far as I’m aware, but I’m still waiting for somebody to guide me to my throne, fame and fortune.” He laughed.
Damn. Cute.
“Are you from around here?” Ellie asked.
“Across the road,” Eric replied, thumbing vaguely toward the old house across the road, which had been for sale for ages. Ellie could see that there was a “SOLD” sign slapped across it and murmured in surprise.
“Wow, didn’t know that it had been sold!”
“My dad bought it today. We move fast,” Eric commented before Ellie could. “And who are you, may I ask?”
“Ellie. Ellie McDonald.”
“Well, Ellie McDonald, I am simply delighted to make your acquaintance,” Eric replied, reaching for her hand again and clasping it warmly. Ellie felt a little giddy as she took in his perfectly formed features. Ellie wasn’t very good at talking to good-looking people. She tended to kind of... go silly. “I’m Eric James.”
“The pleasure is mine,” Ellie smiled. Hell! Summer was looking up.
“Can you tell me anything about this street, Ellie?” Eric asked, looking up and down the street in question. “Or, you know... the island in general?”
“You’re new to the island?” Ellie asked, then gave herself a mental shake. DUH! She knew everybody on Piglington Island. OF COURSE HE WAS NEW. “Where did you come from?”
“Oh, nowhere interesting,” Eric said airily. “I’m much more interested in hearing about you! What do you do, Ellie McDonald?”
Ellie eyed him. “I go to school,” she informed him loftily. “That’s what I do.”
Eric nodded. “And what do you hope to do after school finishes in a couple of weeks?”
“I have applied to study at a conservatoire of music...”
“Wow, fantastic,” Eric replied. “I’m considering that myself. I play violin. I’m unsure as yet whether I’ve really got the drive to become a performer full-time. There are a lot of things that I want to do, you know?”
“I know,” Ellie said feelingly. “Boy, do I know. It’s hard to figure out whether I’m totally committed or just too young to tell yet.”
“I totally understand,” Eric said. “Wow, looks like we might have some stuff in common, Ellie McDonald. I hope you have some room to take on a new friend at the moment. Do I need to submit an application?”
“Does it come with a picture?” Ellie quipped before she could stop herself, and then tried desperately to save the situation. “Uh, so I can... pin it to a dartboard... or sew it into the stomach of a voodoo doll, obviously...”
Eric’s eyes twinkled merrily. “Sure.”
“Um, would you like a lemonade or something?” Ellie asked.
Eric considered. “Sure, that’d be nice.”
Ellie led the way into her house, cursing herself inwardly along the way for her stupidity. Try to control your raging hormones, McDonald!
“Hello, Ellie,” Marie said, looking curiously at Eric. She was standing at the kitchen counter, mixing up the batter for a cake. It was a bit of a Stepford Wife moment, but it was legitimate as it was Ben’s birthday tomorrow. “I’m Marie McDonald,” she introduced herself to Eric. “I’d shake your hand but unfortunately it’s covered in sticky cake batter.”
“No problem,” Eric said. “Let’s shake hands the next time we meet. I’m Eric James.”
“That’s a deal,” Marie agreed. “Nice to meet you, Eric. How do you know my daughter?”
“Actually, we’ve only met just now. I just moved in across the road,” Eric said politely, while Ellie busied herself getting lemonade and two glasses out.
“Oh, to the old Hampden homestead?” Marie said in surprise. “I wasn’t aware that it had sold.”
Eric looked wry. “My dad saw it and fell in love with it yesterday. He signed the papers this morning and the keys were ours by lunchtime.”
Ellie passed him a glass of lemonade before taking the other one for herself and gulping it down noisily. Was it the weather, or the proximity of Eric? Ellie was feeling faint with heat.
“So where are you from?” Marie questioned. “And what made your dad decide to move to Piglington Island?”
Eric neatly sidestepped the first question. “Nowhere on earth could possibly compare to Piglington Island,” he declared. “What a beautiful place it is. Dad and I came here a couple of days ago now and realised that we suddenly felt like we were ... at home. It’s just lovely. Such a nice sense of community and yet so quiet. It’s brilliant.”
“So it’s just you and your dad?” Marie asked, a little edgily. Ellie recognised the tone in her mother’s voice; Marie thought that Eric and his dad were clearly flakes. Who packed up and moved to a place they’d only just arrived at for a holiday? Marie had been settled on Piglington Island for over twenty years now, since just after the birth of her first child, Juliana. Juliana, now living in the big city on the mainland of Fort Anatoly, was closely followed by Constantine, Gregory, Benjamin, and finally, Ellie. Constantine and Gregory had moved away as soon as they could, preferring the hustle and bustle of the big city like Juliana. Gregory, however, had soon returned to Piglington Island and now lived five minutes away from the family home with the girl he’d managed to knock up, Sophie.
“Yup,” Eric said expressionlessly. “My mum died a month ago.”
Forgetting the cake batter, Marie clapped a hand to her mouth, smearing her face with the chocolate batter in the meantime. “Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry,” she apologised. “That was so insensitive of me.”
Eric looked slightly bemused. “It’s okay. We’re dealing with it,” he replied. “Don’t worry.”
Marie still looked aghast. Ellie decided to step in and try to save the situation.
“Would you like a tour of the house?” she offered Eric. “Our house is almost as old as the Hampden homestead, though I’m not sure it is as interesting. It certainly doesn’t have the sordid past that--”
“Inappropriate!” Marie hissed, still reeling from the death of Eric’s mother.
“Uhhhhh...” Ellie ground to a halt, remembering that the sordid past of the homestead involved the death of a young mother. “Aaaaaanyway, our house is nearly as old, so would you like a tour?”
Eric smiled. “I would be delighted to accompany you. Thanks. You’re being very nice.”
“Nonsense,” Ellie chided. “Now – this is the kitchen!”
And so the tour continued. The only hairy moment was when they stopped to interrupt Ben, who was less than pleased at another male entering his dominion and ordered them both out rudely. Ellie apologised profusely but Eric waved it off. Apparently, his older brother Travis was just as rude. Ellie doubted that very much.
The tour got more interesting when they reached the attic. Eric’s face lit up with active interest, and he poked about all over the place, asking questions.
“Who did this belong to?” Eric asked, indicating Ellie’s chest.
“Ah--” Ellie said, stalling. “My, er--”
“Yes?” Eric said, looking at her intently.
Ellie flushed. “My grandmother. It’s mine now,” she added.
“It’s exquisite,” Eric said, admiring it. He ran a hand over the ornate carving along the side of the trunk. “It looks as though it holds many secrets.”
“Yes, it does,” Ellie agreed without thinking.
Eric raised an eyebrow. “May I see inside it?”
“Oh—next time,” Ellie said, panicking. “I think—I think that some of my mother’s stuff is in there, and she wouldn’t appreciate us poking about, and--”
Eric held up his hands. “Okay. Sorry.”