Greeting the Neighbor988Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9X1TPZ4S5
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. 988Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsb9vuhL6sr
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. 988Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr0VbDx7V7U
She put the window down. "Hey, Mr. Peterson." Charlie smiled. 988Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5EQwNJQJg6
He blinked. "What do you want? Haven't you bothered us enough?" 988Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlidEzmNXvG
"Come on, can't I just engage in a bit of friendly conversation?" 988Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgEVdsLeHvg
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.988Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKZ3xYbHtSB
"I was just going to work," she said. 988Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKsQ9v1yKPl
"Work? Since when?" he asked. 988Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5DrLgWGb2Z
"Since yesterday. Got myself a new job." She swelled her chest, puffing it up. 988Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDL2XuOVZko
"Okay, Charlie. If you have something really relevant to say, then you should be going on now. All right? You're holding up traffic." 988Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1kIdVFUzhs
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. 988Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfCE88ZdfUN
"Bye, Mr. Peterson! Have a nice day, sir. And bye bye Soph." She waved to the dog.988Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvC8ZY3FoYu
The dog was trying to get in Charlie's car. Sad eyes. Whimpering. 988Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAmkFFsIpxW
"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.988Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQSJrH2l2kV
"Fine then, asshole," she said once the window was up. "Be that way. Some neighbors I have." 988Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW7pHu1Powl
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. 988Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRLCpvkemqr
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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?" 988Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUNYEqi4ak3
Charlie sighed. "Because I want to. Is there a problem?" 988Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVOMckGEkOe
"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."988Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmFc4CHYSD2
She pursed her lips. "Mr. Peterson is not my father." 988Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvLmZBY0ort
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." 988Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLDcfD74Zrv
Why didn't anyone understand that she was not his daughter? How long would it take to prove this?988Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA6j2x2GF8E
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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! 988Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKy6SURqcFI
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