Cursed (Old Version)

Cursed: Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“Carwen...Carwen dear,” my mother says while gently poking me to get up. I conveniently forgot to set my alarm last night...but apparently she didn't notice. “Sweetie...it's time for school.”

I crack open one eye, “Really?”

She nods, “Yes dear.”

I sigh and roll over onto my back, “Fiiiiinnnne, I'll be down in a bit.”

“Okay,” and my mother begins to head out of my room, but then stops at the door and turns around, “What happened to your alarm clock, honey?”

I blink innocently, and then smile at her, “I sorta forgot about...it.”

My brother pops his head into my room, grinning like a fool, “Me too! BUT mom caught me, as well.”

She pushes Caleb's head out of my room, laughing quietly to herself, “Just get ready because your father is making breakfast.”

That's all the encouragement I need to get out of bed. My family eats like we are never fed, and consequently, my mother and father cook like pros. My father is more of a morning person, so it's not uncommon for him to make breakfast since he's up before the Sun anyways. My mother sticks to making dinner for the most part, mostly because she loves to experiment with any new cookbooks she stumbles on upon. As terrifying as that sounds though, she pulls off new recipes wonderfully. Except for the purple soup incident...but we got Chinese that night.

I plop down in a chair around the breakfast table, noticing how austere our new house looks since we just got here. “Hey...do they have Chinese food around here?”

Caleb raises his eyebrows, “What brought that up?”

“Just thinkin' about the purple soup incident,” I admit while absently munching on some toast.

My father and Caleb both laugh out loud at the same time while my mother turns a shade of red. Quickly though, my father notices the quick change in my mother's color and smacks my brother upside the head to stop him laughing, “Sweetie...that was a WONDERFUL memory that we have as a family.”

My mother forces a smile, and then turns to me, “Well...back onto the topic of Chinese food, I'm not entirely sure. You'll have to check it out on your way to school.”

“Ah, school. The place where they screw up Carwen's name,” my brother says with a sarcastic drawl.

I throw on my mocking voice, “Carmen? Car...Car...Cargwyn? Carrie-wen?”

My brother laughs loudly, “They'll probably just call you O'Kelly until they figure out how to say your name.”

I smile and begin to devour the french toast my father sets in front of me, “Most likely. THAT or they'll just stare blankly at the page for a while in fear.”

“Your name isn't THAT hard to pronounce, Carwen,” my mother points out, emphasizing my name.

“Tell that to every teacher and sub she's ever had whose felt her name was some sort of landmine,” my brother says with his mouth full of food.

My father sighs, “Caleb...don't talk with your mouth full of food, and hurry up. You two are going to be late.”

I slow down eating, “Does Caleb have to drive us? Why can't...I drive us to school once in a while?”

“Because Mom and Dad want us to actually get to school, instead of ending up in some tree somewhere along the way because you forgot where the break was again,” Caleb retorts chuckling.