~Chapter 1~
MIDDLE SCHOOL
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Ugh, is it morning already? I rolled over
to my side and felt around clumsily for the snooze button. Where is that thing?
Ah ha, here it is. I slammed it down with my palm and the beeping immediately
stopped. I snuggled back on my pillow and pulled the covers over my head. Much better.
Before I could fall back asleep though, my eight-year-old
sister adopted from
Even in the dark, I could make out the shapes of a couple
cardboard boxes filled with some of the stuff I hadn’t unpacked yet. We moved
here only three weeks ago, and I didn’t feel at all excited about school. I
sighed and stared at the blank sheet of wall in front of me for a second—reminding
myself to get posters— before I replied. “I’m coming.” I stepped off my bed and
walked to my closet. I slid the door open, revealing a bunch of clothes hanging
lopsided on hangers. I yanked down a light blue blouse and slipped on a pair of
Levi’s jeans. I pulled on a pair of white socks and hurried downstairs.
I bumped into Kara on the way down. She is the second
oldest out of all the Walkman siblings. My parents adopted her about fourteen
years ago in
“It’s ok.” She replied, smiling. She started to walk away,
but then she whirled around and said, “Oh, I almost forgot. I need your
opinion. Which top looks better with these pants?” She held up a pair of dark
blue pants and a light green shirt. She then swapped the green shirt for a
lilac one.
I furrowed my eyebrows as she swapped the shirts again. I
finally pointed to the lilac one. “That one. I think
it’s a good contrast.”
Kara nodded and said happily, “Thanks, Rose. Oh, and don’t
worry about middle school. It’s not as bad as it seems on TV.” She winked and
walked to her bedroom.
I smiled to myself and walked over to my normal seat by
Michelle and stared at the plate in front of me. There, on the white plate,
stood eggs, bacon, a piece of toast, and a glass of milk, waiting for me to
gulp it down. I knew my dad would never change our breakfast menu, but I still
expected it to disappear and get replaced with a batch of chocolate chip
pancakes or perhaps a nice bowl of Lucky Charms cereal. But, nothing happened.
I picked up my fork and dug into my food.
After breakfast I collected the plates and forks and
stacked them in a neat pile in the sink. I slipped on a jean jacket, slung my
bag over my shoulder and stood in the hallway outside the front door to put on
my shoes. My mom walked into the hall a few seconds later, her briefcase in her
right hand and our school lunches in the other.
“Bye, mom.”
She leaned down and kissed my forehead. “Bye,
sweetie. Have a good first day of school!” Then she handed me my school
lunch--probably a ham and cheese sandwich-- and turned to help the other
Walkman siblings.
I turned the doorknob and held the door open for Ricky, my
nine-year-old brother, and Michelle to pass. They were like mustard and ketchup,
ok maybe not mustard and ketchup. More like… two crazy, inseparable monkeys. It
was their first day in third grade, and they seemed absolutely elated.
“Maybe we’ll get to do plays!” Michelle said, excited.
“Yeah, and maybe we can finally be old enough to join the
chess club!” Ricky said. He, I must admit, is a geek. If he’s not
playing chess, then he’s fixing a computer glitch. He also knows a lot
about different cars and their parts.
“Rose, what are you excited about?” Michelle asked
me as we walked to the bus stop together. Kara was in high school and took a
different bus. David, who just turned nineteen, was studying at UCLA at the
moment.
“Umm… lunch, and recess.” I answered, smiling.
“Really?” Ricky asked in
disbelief. “You mean you’re not even excited about after-school clubs and
stuff??”
“C’mon, Ricky. You know I was just
kidding! Anyway, I’m mostly excited about Math class. Did you know that if
you’re in the Advanced Math class, they might send you to the Math Olympiads?”
I told him. His eyes widened in excitement.
“Cool!!! I so want to go to middle school! Why do I
have to wait three years?” He complained.
“Well, we can start preparing now, though. It will be good
practice.” Michelle said, grinning.
I smiled happily as the yellow school bus labeled “