A Beautiful Town, A Beautiful Face [Chapter 1]

Moving to a new town seemed like the perfect change to Calliope's life. Of course she had to remind herself that this was all doctor's orders, but she had to admit the change of scene seemed more like a present than a prescription. A town always had a variety of different people in it and the chance to see so many new faces seemed very exciting indeed.
The move to New York had been quite a challenge at first. Her twin brother insisted on complaining the whole way there. He absolutely hated that because of her they had to pack up everything and leave their old country home behind. He had put on quite the show with his many array of pouts during the car ride and more than once did he grumble at Calliope directly. The fact that they had never really been on good terms allowed her to ignore his act. For some reason it seemed like he was bound and determined to hate anything that made her smile, but she knew that he would love the change eventually too.
The new house was a nice little two story home. It was just a short walk away from the school which delighted Calliope even more. Walking back and forth seemed like a nice chance to enjoy the fresh air. What was even better was that just a short walk in the opposite direction would take you to the town's park. Cali thought it would be best if she helped finish the unpacking before going to check it out. When she was done she quickly threw on a thin jacket to make up for her current dress' lack of sleeves. After checking to make sure her hair was still fixed how she wanted it to be she left the house.
The park was a fairly large one and had pathways running all around it for people to walk on. Scattered here and there were some benches and occasionally even a table. A pond in the middle caught her eye and she spent quite a bit of time watching the koi fish swim about. Their long flowing tails seemed to shine in the sunlight and distracted her almost every time the swam by. Eventually she said goodbye to the fish and continued her walk. Not wanting to leave the cool fall breeze just yet she decided to rest for awhile under one of the many trees within the park. Leaning her head back she sighed with content as she watched some of the other park goers come and go.
She wasn't entirely sure how much time had went by when she heard what seemed to be a cat meowing nearby. Seeing no cat in sight she ignored it. That is until a small black cat darted from somewhere behind her tree and into view. The little thing stopped in its tracks and turned to face her. The little cat cautiously walked towards her and Cali held out her hand for it to show that she meant no harm. One quick sniff later and the cat had jumped into her lap with a loud purr. With a shrug Cali decided the cat was just a needy little thing who wanted her attention and she was more than happy to give it.
"Oh Mutie!" came a shout. A few seconds later a girl came into view as well. She looked around for a moment before noticing Calliope and the cat sitting there. With a grin she turned to them and bent down to pat the little cat on the head. "There you aer you lil rascal."
"Ah is this your cat perhaps?" Cali asked the strange girl.
"Why yes he is. Tat lil guy just lieks to run off every now and then." With a flick of her scarf the girl sat down. "His naem is Mutie and it seems like he lieks you." She laughed before speaking again. "Soooo I haven't seen you around before. Why's taht?"
The girl obviously seemed at the least a bit tipsy, but her happy attitude seemed nice. Cali couldn't help but notice how pretty she was too. Maybe one day she could get a blonde wig that looked half as pretty as this girl's hair did. "Maybe you just haven't noticed me before. This town has many people in it so it is possible to miss a few," she told her. Despite the girl seeming nice she didn't want to just give everything away immediately. Especially since she knew so little about her as well.
The girl just snorted at her. "Nawww! I've been here forevers. I know when someone's new and wehn their not. Here's a hint: yuor new." She gave a ridiculous wink and pointed at her.
Cali couldn't help but smile. "Well you happen to be correct. I've just moved here actually."
"See! I knew wat I was talkin' about!" The girl shouted. "Well I'm Roxy Lalonde. Nice to meet you Miss. New-In-Town."
"It is a pleasure Roxy and while the title sounds nice and all I do have a name," she teased. "Please call me Calliope."
"Calliope huh? Hmmm." Roxy made a mock thinking face. "I like it. So haev ya done anything in town yet?"
"I haven't had the chance really. We arrived late last night and finished unpacking today. I'm afraid that visiting this park is all I've done so far."
This earned another silly face from Roxy only this time it was a shocked expression. "You mean yuo haven't even seen any of the town? That's crazy talk girl!" Calliope just laughed as she went on. "I must show you around. There's so much to see."
"Oh don't worry about something like that. I'm sure I'll see the town in no time. There is no need to trouble yourself on my behalf," she explained quickly. She really didn't want such a nice person to waste their time on her.
"There is no trouble. The only trouble is that yuo haven't seen the sights! Who better than me to show you around?" Roxy didn't seem like she was going to give up on this easily. "Come on I insist you let me new girl."
"A bit stubborn aren't we?" Calliope asked. She received a pout from Roxy that she mimicked. Roxy made her face more dramatic and then did so again after Cali seemed to refuse to play along. Instead Cali gave her a small smile which in turn earned her another wink before they both started laughing. It was hard to refuse such a goofy person and besides what could it hurt? "Alright I'll humor you then," she said at last.
"Yay! Come on then. Lots to show ya." Roxy was on her feet in a second and was quickly pulling Calliope up as well. She threw an arm around her shoulders and led her off straight through the park. Mutie seemed to be trailing along at their feet and would throw in a meow every now and then as Roxy talked. It was almost as if he were adding some commentary to whatever she was saying at the time.
Roxy dragged her all over the town. She pointed out loads of different shops that she seemed to like and she would wave at almost everyone who walked past. Everything had a story with Roxy. Whether it was about that somethings history or about something that had happened to Roxy in the past, it had one. And Roxy would always tell them. Some stories she never finished because she got distracted by something else or she would see someone she knew. People seemed to have their own stories too and Roxy knew them as well. She explained all about the friendly faces that walked by and she would warn who wasn't all that friendly and who was very nice.
In between Roxy's explanation of the town she would ask Calliope questions. It was always simple things about her family or the place she used to live in or even why she moved in the first place. Sometimes she was caught off guard and would become curious as to how anyone would even care. It was rare that she ever got to know anyone and even rarer that anyone would ask her anything about herself. Then other times she had been so caught up in what Roxy was saying that the questions didn't phase her. Either way she always answered.
Of course she asked her own questions every now and then. She learned that Roxy had pretty much been in this town her entire life. She lived in what was basically a small mansion with her mother. Apparently her mom had become a very rich and successful author at a young age but kept herself busy. She didn't seem like she was home much with Roxy due to always finding somewhere else to be. Because of this Roxy had practically raised herself and had come to know everything about the town because it was the only place she ever had to go. It also became clear that even though she was underage she would indulge in her mother's liquor cabinet quite often.
Calliope enjoyed every minute of their little adventure around town. She loved learning all there was to learn about the town and about the strange girl who had insisted on showing her it. By the time Roxy was running out of places to show her she felt worn out from so much information at once. She worried that she'd gain a headache just from trying to keep everything straight. Seeing as she was still learning her way around Roxy thought it was best to go back to the park so it would be easier for her to find her way home. On the way back the subject of school was brought up which only seemed to excite Roxy.
"Gosh we are in the same grade then! That's totes awesome. We better have seom classes together," she was saying.
"That would be nice. At least I would know someone then," Calliope agreed.
"Plus then we can hang out moar. It will be soooo awesome I'm telling ya."
This took Cali by surprise just a bit. "You mean you'd actually hang out with me again? Surely you have other friends that would be better to spend time with."
"What are you nuts? Of course I'd hang wiht you. Don't be so silly!" She laughed. "All of my friends live far away. I tend to keep to myself in school." She playfully punched Cali's shoulder as they came to a stop at the park. "But not anymore! Just you wait we will hang at shcool. I promise." Her and Mutiny turned away then and began heading back to wherever they had come from. "See ya Cali!" she called over her shoulder.
With an exhausted sigh Calliope made her way back home. Once there she decided that she wouldn't be going out anymore today so she could get ready for that evening. Heading upstairs for the bathroom she began to shrug her jacket off. After grabbing her pajamas and a wig head from  her dresser she locked herself away in the bathroom to begin her evening routine. First to come off was her white wig that she had come to love. Carefully she pulled it off and set it on the wig head to keep it nice. She then began to wash her face of all the make-up she had been wearing. Then she peeled her gloves away from her hands and carefully removed her dress and stockings.
Looking back up and into the mirror she made a disgusted noise. There she was as pale and boney as ever. Oh how she hated it. Practically all of her bones were visible and her skin was extremely pale. This was what being sick had done to her. The constant trips to the hospital never helped and she only seemed to look worse with every trip. It seemed pointless to try and get better when she could never hope to look like a normal girl. With another disgusted look at herself she threw on her pajamas and was satisfied once more after having covered most of her body.
Returning to her room she thought back to what had happened today. How did such a pretty and nice girl ever find the time to deal with her? She didn't expect the friendship to last long but that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy it for now right?