A/N: That's right, another original "Simpsons" fanfic from me! Hopefully this one lifts off the ground unlike the others. ...I think it will. I have faith in it.

Lisa Marie Thompson wasn't all that excited when her father dropped the message that the family was moving again. Moving was a redundant experience for her, and it always had a profound effect on her social life. Every time she had to move to another town, she would always find herself at the bottom of the ladder again, and she would have to work her way up again with much difficulty. After all, it was pretty hard to find people who shared an interest in saxophones, vegetarianism, and getting straight A's in class. In fact, she didn't have any friends in the last town.

And unfortunately, Lisa would have to go through the same experience again. Hopefully people were easygoing in Springfield, she kept hoping.

At her right in the back seat was her older brother, Bartholomew JoJo Thompson, but everyone liked to call him 'Bart'. His spiky hair, mischievous grin, and penchant for causing trouble always helped him in gaining new friends everywhere they went. More than once was she jealous of him because of that. Not that it was all that surprising; the two always had a love-hate conflict between each other ever since Lisa was born.

At Lisa's left was little Margaret "Maggie" Janet Thompson, born over a year ago and the only one in the family innocent of the entire affair of moving. The infant was sleeping soundly in her baby seat. Lisa couldn't help but feel jealous of Maggie as well, for the baby was never aware of what truly happened around her and did nothing but sleep or devotedly suck her beloved pacifier that was a gift from Bart.

Lisa then glanced at the front seats, where her parents were.

Driving the sedan was her father, Brad Thompson. Brad was always a devoted, caring, loving father to the three of his children who meant well, but unfortunately, he always worked busy jobs with long hours and never had time for the kids anyway. And to add to his misfortune, he never was able to land a steady job anywhere.

In the passenger seat was her mother, Eliza Thompson. A housewife, Eliza never had a true job and stayed at home with the kids. Being in the same house as her was something Lisa and Bart agreed as being a living nightmare. A lazy drunkard and prone to violent outbursts of white-hot anger, she constantly had terrible things to say about them, and even about Maggie. To add to this psychological abuse, Eliza never bothered to take proper care of the children, leaving them to care of themselves. Bart and Lisa have since adapted to taking care of themselves, and practically became the parents of the defenseless Maggie.

Problems with her social life were the least of Lisa's problems. The bigger conflict was her home life, a conflict she cannot escape.

"We're almost there, kids!" announced Brad. "Springfield, Oregon!"

"Hooray," replied Lisa sarcastically.

"Lisa, don't be upset. You'll be able to find new friends there!"

"I doubt it," Eliza piped up. "She'll never be able to find friends. She's an antisocial freak who can't do anything right."

"Eliza, why can't you be supportive to your kids?!" Brad cried angrily.

"WHAT KIDS?!" Eliza screamed back. "THEY'RE NEVER MY KIDS! THEY NEVER WERE!"

Brad and Eliza continued to argue for the rest of the trip. Lisa sighed and struggled to hold back tears. Whenever her dad was home, he would frequently get into heated arguments with her mom, arguments that she, Bart, and Maggie would get caught up in. It was a painful home life. Sometimes Lisa wondered why her parents weren't divorced yet. But to choose between a dad that was absent most of the time and a mom that was heavily psychologically abusive, should such an event happen, Lisa wanted to pick the alternative of running away.

"Psst, Lis!"

Lisa turned to look at Bart, and he made a funny face at her. Lisa giggled quietly; whenever she and Bart got along, he would always cheer her up with comic acts. Lisa sensed a future in Bart as a comedian. That is, if his troublemaking actions didn't affect his performance record at school.

Minutes passed, and finally, the Thompson family saw the towering twin smokestacks that were the trademark of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Bart and Lisa gaped in awe as the sedan passed the two gargantuan towers that seemed more like metallic giants to them rather than smokestacks.

When the car left the territory belonging to the plant and climbed up a hill, Lisa gasped in awe the moment she saw the overview of Springfield, Oregon slowly appear. From afar, it was a majestic sight to see the entire town from such a vantage point such as the hill. Combined with the mountains surrounding most of the town and the rising sun, it was a beautiful view.

"Maybe living here might not be so bad," thought Lisa.

It didn't take long for the Thompson car to drive into downtown Springfield. The buildings reminded Lisa of any other town she had been at, all a bit close together and a bit outdated, but still radiating a fresh shine signifying pride of its history.

Lisa suddenly lurched forward a bit. She didn't notice that the car made a stop. Looking around, she saw that they were in a parking lot. The only building claiming this lot was a one-story building called the Kwik-E-Mart. Its simple sign and presence of a moderate amount of customers made it look welcoming.

"Jeez, you never work at your parking!" cried Eliza. "GOD!"

"Well, excuse me for being one point over the passing limit during my driving tests!" Brad screamed back before getting out of the car, muttering angrily. Bart and Lisa unbuckled their seatbelts, hoping to follow their father, when Eliza spoke as she took out a small cigarette.

"Yeah, that's right, go away! I don't want to be in the same car as you bastards anyway!"

Lisa instinctively unbuckled Maggie from her baby seat and carried her along as she and Bart followed Brad toward the Kwik-E-Mart. Going inside, Bart and Lisa gasped upon smelling the nice, fresh scent that filled their nostrils. They've been inside numerous convenience stores before, but this one was...extraordinary. They could instantly tell even from the good smell.

"Dad, this place smells good!" Bart said.

"Really?" asked Brad, sniffing for himself. "Hm, smells like any other convenience store. Ah well, you kids go look for what you want. But be quick."

Bart and Lisa nodded and began exploring the Kwik-E-Mart, while Brad walked around, searching for any supplies while carrying Maggie. Bart browsed the aisles, while Lisa merely examined a poster that piqued her interest, which said in bold letters, 'MEAT IS MURDER!' Underneath was a picture of a herd of cows being menaced by a hand holding a shiny cleaver.

"Ah, I see you like my pro-vegetarianism poster."

Lisa turned to the register counter, where the clerk, a dark-skinned man with light-gray hair and a small mustache and wearing a black undershirt, a green sweater, and light-yellow jeans, was looking back at her, cracking a small grin. She immediately identified him as being of Indian descent due to his accent, somewhat curly hair, and the fact that there were a couple of statues of Hindu deities on the table behind him.

"Yeah, I like it," she replied. "Are you a vegetarian?"

"Why, yes I am, and proud of it!" the clerk said.

"I'm a vegetarian too!"

"Ah, so you are." The clerk examined her curiously. "You know, you don't look like you're around from here. Where do you come from?"

"I was born in Austin, Texas, but my family moves around a lot. The last town I was in was Boise, Idaho."

The clerk nodded. "I see. May I ask, what's your name, little miss?"

"Lisa Marie Thompson, eight years old, born on May 9, 1982."

"Ah, quite formal, quite formal. My name's Apu Nahasapeemapetilon."

Before she could stop herself, Lisa unleashed a giggle. But then, she realized what she was doing and covered her mouth. She hoped the giggle didn't offend Apu. If it did, then she just blew her first chance at finding a friend here. To her relief, Apu smiled.

"I know, my surname's ridiculously long. So Lisa, you plan to stay here?"

"Hopefully for a while, yeah."

"Well then, be sure to drop by at the Kwik-E-Mart! It's the only one here, and I'll be here."

"Gee, thanks," replied Lisa sheepishly.

Just then, Brad and Bart, the former of which was still carrying Maggie, arrived, carrying a few sacks of food and supplies. Apu flashed a brief smile at Lisa before scanning the items. Noticing that exchange, Bart approached Lisa.

"Who's your new friend?" he asked.

"His name's Apu," replied Lisa. She smiled a wide smile of happiness. If she could immediately find a vegetarian here, in a town that has a great view from afar, then who knows what other people that share her interests she'll be able to find at Springfield. "Maybe I'm gonna like living here."

A/N: Did you enjoy? Hope so.

Well, hope you enjoyed this first chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!