Ten Too Many

the girl from charlottes web could never

I woke up with the warm, yellow sun shining in my eyes. I opened them slowly, one at a time.

The, or I guess technically my, bed was in the corner of a light, dove-grey room with soft pink trim. Three large windows, one at the head of my bed and two on the left let the sun stream directly in. My suitcases and all of my other belongings were just inside the door, set to the right.

I slipped out of the covers and over to my bags to pull a green shirt and some shorts out of a suitcase. The clothes I had slept in were wrinkled and still smelled faintly of coffee. Gross.

I pulled on the fresh change and went over to the gigantic vanity mirror to examine my hair, which was a lost cause until I could find my hairbrush.

That was most likely buried in a mess of clothes, so I pulled the tangled strands into an acceptable bun.

I was, however, able to find the charger to my phone, so I plugged it in and set it on the windowsill over my bed.

A large oak tree blocked most of my view of the barnyard, but I could see over most of the shorter trees to my left. They sloped up a hill and tapered into a sliver of green pasture at the very top. It looked as though it sloped back down the other side once the trees stopped, but I couldn't see for sure from the window.

I heard footsteps outside my door and turned as someone knocked. "Are you up?"

I nodded, and then realized Jake couldn't see me and answered, "Yeah." I crossed the room and opened the door so he could see me.

"Okay, cool. Cookie's downstairs making breakfast, and she asked me to check on you." Jake headed downstairs and I followed down the hall. My room was at the very end, and several doors lined the walls on either side. There were five, all closed and painted white.

The walls were painted greyish with wood trim, and there was a stand with a corded phone sitting in the far corner.

I kinda wondered what was in all of the doors, but I assumed I'd find out at some point during the summer. I pulled a face and went down the wood stairs, and I couldn't help but trace my fingers down the handrail. It was dark cherry wood, finished with a clear sealer so the natural wood grain showed through.

At the bottom of the stairs was a hallway with the kitchen visible through a tall arch, what looked to be a bathroom to my left, and the living room to my right.

Jake was already in the kitchen, as I had taken my time coming down the stairs so that I didn't slip in my sock-feet.

Cookie came in from the back door with a basket full of brown, white, and greenish eggs, and gave me a warm smile.

I smiled back and drifted over to the table to sit opposite Jake.

"Charles's out in the fields already?" Jake asked.

She nodded and set the basket on the counter. "He just had to check the tubes and then he's coming back."

I noticed a pair of white French doors leading out the back and tried to figure out where they led.

"Back porch."

I jumped and looked up. Jake was watching me with amusement in his clear blue eyes. "Those let you onto the back porch and the backyard."

"Ohh. Cool."

"Me and Noah and Markus actually helped build it, it's only been there for a few years."

I looked back up. "Who're they?"

He smiled and more amusement flitted through his expression. "Oh, the oldest, remember? It takes a while but all their names aren't that hard, once you know them."