1.11 Part One: Bernard and Rie

In this chapter I will be writing from the different point of views of some of the Holmberg household members. I think this will make for some interesting insight in their minds and thoughts.

 Bernards Pov

I tried my best to keep with Rie's shenanigans. It was difficult though. She would talk to me about a lot of stuff, but the real issues, she would keep to herself. Camille told me that even she didn't know the whole story, and those two were the closest.

I spend a lot of my time with the two of them, trying to get under Rie's skin. Usually i played on the consol with them, and small talked during it.

 But to no avail. Nothing worked. I decided to spend a little more time working on my projects for work. I spend hours lining up ideas and and putting them into columns. Yes, this was sure to make my boss happy. It would change the way we spend our time at work, so there were no time waste.

Soon we had half the money for the move. I was sure we would have the rest of the money in the beginning of May.  I had a big presentation coming up, and if it went well i would have that promotion! I was sure of it.

Then it was Christmas. The time flew by so quickly, sometimes i had to rub my eyes to make sure it what happened around me was true.
My mom, Hans and I had all gotten big Christmas bonuses from work, so that added a bit to the household funds as well as to the save up for moving. We spend some on a large christmas tree and on presents.

Just for fun i went outside and looked in through the window. I wanted to see what it would look like if someone passed by our window.

And it was beautiful. The windows were covered in frost, and inside the tree was shining bright with lights and the star on top.

We had invited some of our friends to join us on this holy night. None of us was actually christian, but we still liked to celebrate Christmas. It made us feel like our family was normal. Just a mother with her five children. It was the happiest time of the year.
As people arrived, they all laid presents on the blanket we had spread out.

I had invited Yvonne. I hoped i had a chance now to woo her. And it went smoothly.

I still had not kissed her though. And we weren't boyfriend and girlfriend yet. We were just going out, seeing each other now and then for a chat and an amorous hug.
We opened our presents one at a time. It was easier that way instead of pushing each other to get to your own present. So we sat down and waited for the other one to open theirs.

Camille got a Unique Snowflakes Mirror.
Our mom got an Artsy Easel.
Hans got a Sonaflux Guitar - he was very happy about his since his current guitar was pretty worn down.
I got an Artsy Easel too. I didn't actually need one so i decided to sell it as soon as possible.
James got the coolest present. A Maxoid Game Simulator 2 ½!
Rie got an Ammonite Shell Lamp - she wasn't too happy about that.When she didn't get the clothes she had wished for, she sulked for the rest of the evening.
All in all it was a pretty good night for most of us. We had a lot of laughs and good talks and i got to learned a lot more about Yvonne. I was slowly falling in love with her. I was afraid that she would never feel the same way, though i desperately wanted her to. I wish it would go faster, since i wanted her to move with us. Dear Yvonne, please oh please fall in love with me, i wished in my head.
We ate dinner the guests had brought with them, and then afterwards the party slowly ended. People left and we were alone, left to our problems yet again.
After the party Rie went up to her room and we didn't see the any more that night.
"Maybe i should go talk to her," I said to mom.
"No, let her be. It will do no good," She said. I could tell she was holding back tears. It had been a great night, up until people left. This move couldn't come fast enough.

Rie's Pov

I was outside, lounging in the iglo i had spend days building. I hadn't asked for help. I wanted to do this on my own. I liked being on my own, except when i was with Camille. She is the only person to really understand me, though i haven't even told her half of it all. 

It all started when i was 14. I had just finished Junior High and now it was the first day of High School. I had that Rebel-Gothic look, so there were a lot of people staring and pointing at me. I didn't care though. I've never needed someone else's approval of me. As the first day went, people started to whisper behind my back. Then in gym i met Alicia. She was goth all the way through, with make-up and the clothes. I was fascinated beyond belief. After gym class, i was sitting by myself in the school yard. She saw me and came up to me and introduced herself. She was a senior about to turn 18 in the  fall. We got to talking and turns out we had a lot of things in common. Then the bell rang for the next class. She got up and started to walk away when she suddenly stopped and turned around to face me. She had a look on her face i couldn't quite place.

She lowered herself down to my face and whispered in my ear: "If you want to make a few bucks, meet me at the abandoned warehouse after school. I have a surprise for you," and she walked away.

In math class i couldn't keep focus on the teacher. I kept thinking of what she had told me. Should i  meet with her? I could really use my own money. Mom never had enough to give us allowance. I didn't want a job like Bernard had at the grocery store. That would suck big time.

So after school i went to the abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town and waited, nervously looking around for her. I knew this was the bad part of town, where criminals would hang out.

"Hey, you made it!" She threw her bicycle to the side and ran over to me. "Follow me," she said and i followed her behind the building. We went through a door, and inside i was met with a sight i had not expected.

There were desks and tables everywhere with top notch computers! A tv was resting in the far left corner of the room, with cheap looking couches around it, and to the right was the bathroom.

"Ehm Alicia, what am i doing here?" I was really nervous now. I was glad no one was around right now.
"This is where everything is prepared before we do our operations. You will take part in this."
"In what excactly?"
"By coming here with me you have accepted to be in our crime gang. Your first job will be to sell these drugs," she showed me a bag of little white pills. "To the kids at our school. You are not to take any for yourself!"
"Like i would want to," I said low enough that she didn't hear. "Alright, so if i do this, how much will i be payed?"
"The income from everything we sell and steal is split between all of us. And since you are so young and new you get even less." She said with a twisted smile.
"And when does this end? I mean, can i ever get out of this?"
"Of course you can, but you are ours for 3 years. That is your trial. After that you can decide for yourself if you want to continue, and we can decide whether we even want you to continue. And," She lowered her voice to a dangerous tone. "You better not screw this up! My name is on the line. If they find out that you took some of these pills or stole some money from us, there is no word for what they would do to you!" She raised herself once again, looking very smug. "Now get off. Tomorrow you will start selling these pills and when you have sold them all you will return to here. Be sure to return immediately, as we will have a new assignment for you." And with that she shunned me outside and i went home in deep thoughts. That night i had trouble sleeping. I couldn't get what she had said out of my head. What if i screwed up? Would they kill me? Was that even a possibility?
The next couple of days i made sure to mingle a bit with the other kids at school. I found out which groups would be my target and which ones to stay away from. Soon enough i had sold half of the pills in my bag and i had made a lot of cash. I wondered how much i would end up with in the end.
When it all was sold, i was assigned a new job by Alicia. I was to steal the exam results from school so she would pass her exam this Christmas. I did it without flaws, and it didn't go unnoticed. Apparently Alicia had bragged about my talents to the boss. I was soon assigned with selling drugs out on the streets.
Then something happened that stopped it all for a while. My school had heard rumors about my dealings from a fellow student, and had called my mom. She was beside herself with worry. She started talking about us moving to a new town, and that that should stop my problems. Suddenly i had become a problem to my mom and siblings, had I? This sucked. Alicia told me to hold back for a while, while this all sorted out, and then she would return to me with something new i could do for them.
It lasted 2 months. It was horrible just to wait around. I couldn't talk to anybody about it. Not even Camille, and she used to be my safest confidant. But i knew that even she wouldn't be able to keep this a secret.
I talked to Camille about everything else. How i felt different from everybody around me, that nobody seemed to understand me. Sometimes i felt crazy, like the whole world kept moving forward while i stood still.I couldn't move forward. I felt insane. Sometimes, my mood would swing so much i didn't know who i was. One minute i would be happy and the next i would be filled with anger towards everybody. I could tell that Camille was scared. Not of me, but about the whole situation. She didn't know what to do or say, and i told her not to tell anyone. It was a secret between the two of us.
Then after the two months, i was let go. It was a blow i had not seen coming. Alicia told me that her boss didn't want someone around that had "overprotecting" parents that could screw up his operation.
I was now the loser in the school yard. I had no friends, no one to talk to. No one to be with.

Authors note: That is the end of this chapter, but i will continue writing in "Points of views" in the next chapter. I find it a good way to express my characters. I hope you enjoyed this and please comment below or on the forum here: The Holmberg Legacy Forums