Greeting the Neighbor854Please respect copyright.PENANAm8mNMWiWqZ
Charlie started the car, putting it in reverse as her blind spot recognition beeped. Rear incoming traffic. Gasping, she put the car in brake and clutched her hand over her heart. That was a close one. It certainly would have been a collision had there not been the beeping coming from the rear backup camera. She edged out of her driveway carefully and smoothed out her long, blonde hair. She had been through several treatments to get it this smooth and silky. She smiled at reflection in the rear view mirror. Damn. Her hair really did look good today. 854Please respect copyright.PENANAo78kiEKA23
Now on the street, Charlie passed by an elderly couple. Her neighbors. They were friendly enough and they had a beautiful golden retriever with long, flowing golden hair. Much like her own. She liked that the Petersons were friendly to her as well. It was like a breath of fresh air, talking to the both of them. 854Please respect copyright.PENANAusfJcJZ2X8
She put the window down. "Hey, Mr. Peterson." Charlie smiled. 854Please respect copyright.PENANApwT7wdJTMH
He blinked. "What do you want? Haven't you bothered us enough?" 854Please respect copyright.PENANAnChXtza0k9
"Come on, can't I just engage in a bit of friendly conversation?" 854Please respect copyright.PENANA7alUjr39sT
Mr. Peterson took off his Fedora hat, showing a little thinning out. His salt and pepper hair was beginning to gray a little more. "What are you doing, Charlie?" he asked, sighing.854Please respect copyright.PENANAMeDHk6v8Mm
"I was just going to work," she said. 854Please respect copyright.PENANAUIZj4Dt2gL
"Work? Since when?" he asked. 854Please respect copyright.PENANAKbEqCSkQRt
"Since yesterday. Got myself a new job." She swelled her chest, puffing it up. 854Please respect copyright.PENANA4iRShEXMEm
"Okay, Charlie. If you have something really relevant to say, then you should be going on now. All right? You're holding up traffic." 854Please respect copyright.PENANAGzpmrZyKOz
She then heard the series of honks, noticing a few cars behind her. Angry shouts. She waved her hand and put the car back in drive. 854Please respect copyright.PENANA8S6uCqi4P4
"Bye, Mr. Peterson! Have a nice day, sir. And bye bye Soph." She waved to the dog.854Please respect copyright.PENANAsViCe3m7QD
The dog was trying to get in Charlie's car. Sad eyes. Whimpering. 854Please respect copyright.PENANAlVe7u6Ii2m
"Come on, Soph." He tugged at the leash. "She doesn't want to pet you right now. And for the love of all things good, stop calling me Mr. Peterson." He scoffed and walked away quickly.854Please respect copyright.PENANA4ahOUewlbq
"Fine then, asshole," she said once the window was up. "Be that way. Some neighbors I have." 854Please respect copyright.PENANAEmAgAdjZIC
Charlie began to drive out of the neighborhood. The idyllic homes. The perfect couples. Families. All of this behind her. She looked out of the rear mirror and saw the flash of Soph in the distance. Mr. Peterson running after her. It was for the best. All for the best. 854Please respect copyright.PENANAf9cqwDjcP9
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"So. Miss Peterson," the lawyer said as his wire-rimmed glasses fell down to the tip of his nose. "Why is it that you want to change your name legally?" 854Please respect copyright.PENANAv77CjGnbBD
Charlie sighed. "Because I want to. Is there a problem?" 854Please respect copyright.PENANAWbHQtdkndD
"Well," he said. "These things are complicated. You're under 18. And you're not legally emancipated from your parents, so you can't change your name unless your father agrees to it. It doesn't sound like he does."854Please respect copyright.PENANALeMLQwI8VR
She pursed her lips. "Mr. Peterson is not my father." 854Please respect copyright.PENANA4yXTY7kCJa
The lawyer nodded. "But your dad agreed to a paternity test to prove his point. You are 99.9% related to him. So yes, he is your father." 854Please respect copyright.PENANAxXL2lPh43Q
Why didn't anyone understand that she was not his daughter? How long would it take to prove this?854Please respect copyright.PENANAJpC6q2laKX
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This was so difficult to pull of. Like you have no idea. I probably failed at this one like I always fail at this one. The point of this exercise is to create an unreliable third person narrator. So, yeah, Charlie is constantly lying to the reader, leaving them to believe the lies at first, but we find out at the end that the neighbor is actually Charlie's dad. I don't know if anything will ever come of this exercise, but it was definitely a stretch for me. I really did enjoy writing an unreliable third person POV, it was just super hard to do. I hope you enjoyed this one! 854Please respect copyright.PENANAR9NDwCWNVI
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