Garlic and Vinegar

Garlic and Vinegar

Chapter 1

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Walking home has always been a drag.

Living in Washington D.C. wasn't that bad, but it seemed like it was always raining and there were always tourists. Don't get me wrong, our nation's capital is magnificant, but I've lived her all of my life and it's gotten old.

Somehow my parents had enough money to spend on a large house, in a very expensive real estate area, but they don't have anough money to support us properly anymore.

I don't blame them, the economy's bad and having a graduated teenager to send to college isn't the easiest of tasks either.

My mom always feels so bad that we don't have enough money for me to go to college anytime soon, but I always insist that it's fine, I don't even really know what I'm going to with my life yet. I've been saving since the start of middle school, there's not much to save, but my goal is to get a small apartment somewhere in New York, and maybe if I can get myself out there enough, I can get a job.

I'll probably just end up working somewhere close to home, like a McDonald's or just working as some secretary somewhere.

Sounds like a great life to be stepping up to if you ask me.

It's not like I can complain about my living situation, I've got great parents, a roof over my head, and a silly English Bulldog puppy that I got for graduation. That's pretty much all I could ever need.

I walked slowly, tugging my long gray peacoat tighter, trying to fight the chill that was creeping into my bones. It was the type of cold that only a warm bath and a mug of hot chocolate could sooth, it was unusually cold considering it was spring, but you have to deal with the weather if you want to live here.

I passed by a woman and her young daughter, who I recognized, and waved to them.

The mother, Molly, who was a friend of my mom's, waved back and grabbed the girl's hand, tugging her up the steep hill to the more residential parts of town.

A hotdog vendor passing by made me tempted to just give in and have dinner then, but my parents didn't like it when I didn't tell them I was going to have dinner out. They always made too much food and then had no one to give it to, so I just kept walking, not looking back.

I could see my neighborhood coming up just down the street, so I picked up the pace a little, anxious to get home and curl up in a big blanket with my favorite fuzzy slippers and sweats.

Quickly and cautiously, due to the many patches of ice on the sidewalks that I had to avoid, I finally made it around the small bend into the neighborhood.

I brushed my hair to the side, it kept on annoyingly falling into my eyes, and opened the door to the small two bedroom, two story house that I proudly called home.

Spotting my mom in the kitchen, I walked in and said, "Hi mom,"

She looked up from the dinner she was making and said, "Oh hi sweety, did you have fun at, ah who was it.." she trailed off.

"Anna," I offered.

"Yes, yes, Anna's house?" she finished, continuing cooking some noodles.

"Yeah, it was fun," I replied coolly, taking my bag off my shoulder and setting it on the counter.

"Oh honey, please put your bag somewhere else, we're going to be eating soon," said my mom, giving me a meak smile.

"Sorry," I said, retrieving my bag and heading upstairs to my bedroom.