Greeting the Neighbor1043Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBRi18de9tt
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. 1043Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrk5iJK1a62
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. 1043Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfM94wHqeqD
She put the window down. "Hey, Mr. Peterson." Charlie smiled. 1043Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh1MCBJYbMP
He blinked. "What do you want? Haven't you bothered us enough?" 1043Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmCXft6zTna
"Come on, can't I just engage in a bit of friendly conversation?" 1043Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4xhpuAupZn
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.1043Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaNhp7pWJLd
"I was just going to work," she said. 1043Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP8tkjtOdMH
"Work? Since when?" he asked. 1043Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3zke7Hxkzg
"Since yesterday. Got myself a new job." She swelled her chest, puffing it up. 1043Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVJc0UnkC45
"Okay, Charlie. If you have something really relevant to say, then you should be going on now. All right? You're holding up traffic." 1043Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiDtJcTReCZ
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. 1043Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0x0ICQrWtq
"Bye, Mr. Peterson! Have a nice day, sir. And bye bye Soph." She waved to the dog.1043Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡndCYOnJjMt
The dog was trying to get in Charlie's car. Sad eyes. Whimpering. 1043Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg8JAN8gXt3
"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.1043Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrQL1IyNxKm
"Fine then, asshole," she said once the window was up. "Be that way. Some neighbors I have." 1043Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfXxskTD0k9
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. 1043Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKhXb75USGt
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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?" 1043Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6PIo8R376
Charlie sighed. "Because I want to. Is there a problem?" 1043Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPDjdI3QQJI
"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."1043Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj77pNXbrXN
She pursed her lips. "Mr. Peterson is not my father." 1043Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp0EklBVxZZ
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." 1043Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡklYWSocEgt
Why didn't anyone understand that she was not his daughter? How long would it take to prove this?1043Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmdqPIDwrlP
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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! 1043Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡReBTR83MBy
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