NaNoWriMo 2012 Novel

Chapter 1 - part 1

~ Chapter 1 ~

Tuesday morning began like it always did. I got out of bed, had a twenty-minute online flute lesson with Dr. Jorgen, danced my butt off to Shakira's songs and got dressed for school.  

Then, I went to wake up my mom. As usual, her body was shoved deep into the covers with not a single strand of hair in sight. Sighing, I ripped back the duvet, only to find a comforter underneath. I flung that off, only to see a rose colored sheet in its place. My mom loved her layers. Reaching for the sheet, I paused for a moment to check for any signs of movement. If she was awake, there would be a struggle for the last bed covering.  

Seeing no signs indicating that she was awake, I grabbed the sheet, yanked it off and pounced on her curled up body with enough force to shake the entire sleigh bed. 

"Oh my goodness!" my mom yelled out. "Must you wake me up like that? Really, Cara, how am I supposed to have a refreshing beauty sleep when you scare me half to death and put lasting wrinkles on my face?" 

I patted her face and smoothed the worry lines on her forehead. "You know what they say, mom, 'Start the day off with a scare and may the rest of your day be pleasant and fair.'" My mom muttered the words with me and said, "Well, it better be pleasant and fair. I've got my meeting with the charity committee this morning and it wouldn't do me any favors to develop strong lines on my face and bags under my eyes." 

I hid a smile behind my hand and cleared my throat so I wouldn't burst out laughing. My mom's face was always smooth and practically wrinkle-free. No bags or dark shadows ever dared to sneak up on her; her suntanned skin was virtually flawless. But a morning person, she was not and the grumps would continue until she had her second cup of vanilla-caramel latte. 

Pulling her up into a sitting position, I shoved her off the bed and pushed her into .her private bathroom. I was envious that her bathroom was almost twice the size of mine. She had so many empty drawers that I could have filled up in an instant with all my makeup and hair supplies. 

Leaving my mom to get ready for the day, I did my sisterly duty of making sure that Natalia was up and then I checked over her California history report. I went downstairs to have something to eat and Shirley had already placed my food on the table. I ate my required breakfast of corn flakes, milk, a just-ripe banana and a tall glass of pulp-filled OJ by myself in the dining room while checking over my own homework. I had an essay due today and I had to make sure it was error free or Mrs. Daly would surely throw it back on my desk with that disappointed look on her face. 

Just as I finished eating, my mom called down to tell us to get in the car. Natalia yelled back that she wasn't ready and that she wasn't going to school. I rolled my eyes, shoved my English folder into my custom-made Coach backpack and headed towards the door. 

Really, there was nothing special about the morning. 

Except that the moment I opened up the front door, I got a brain-splitting headache that almost knocked me down. 

"Oh, God!" I cried out, my fingers reaching out for the doorframe to hold me up while my other hand grabbed my head. Pain pulsed through my head and zipped around like a pinball. I fell to the ground as new pain danced behind my eyeballs. 

"Cara? Honey? Are you okay?" I heard footsteps running down the stairs as I tried to see the source of the voice. Sheets of white invaded my vision and I knew it was my mom; I just couldn't see her clearly. She was fuzzy around the edges and blurry in the middle.  

Another burst of pain shot from the back of my neck, all the way up to the top of my head.