Checkers

Chapter 1 - The Letter

Once upon a time...wait scratch that! Almost every princess story I've ever read starts with 'Once upon a time' and ends with 'and they lived happily ever after' but that's all crap. Clichés don't happen in real life and when they do, they just come out cheesy. I want to start my story differently. I'm not going to be like every other princess; no I'm unique and proud! Where should I begin in this story...hmm... I guess I should just start from the beginning:

"Happy, happy, happy birthday!" a shrill voice sang out. I groaned and pulled the covers over my head trying to escape the noise.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" the voice crooned once again. I squeezed my eyes shut as the blanket was yanked from my grasp.

"C'mon Checka!" the voice called, sweeter this time. I groaned and rolled over into the fetal position.

"You're so stubborn!" I heard the voice huff in annoyance. Suddenly, I felt two small hands on my arm as the owner of the voice roughly rolled me over.

"I guess since you're not awake, I will just go and get some cold water..." the voice drifted off coyly. It was definitely a female voice and by the sound she hadn't quite experienced puberty yet.

"Dell," I groaned with my eyes squeezed shut.

"And she speaks ladies and gentlemen!" Dell announced as if we were on television. I groggily opened my eyes to glance at the little brown haired, pig-tailed girl staring at me. "Here, I have breakfast!"

Dell faced me as I slowly began to sit up only to take my blanket back and wrap it around my cold legs. Before I could process what was happening, a little cupcake with a lighted candle was sitting in my lap. Not fully awake yet, I just stared at the pastry as if it would dance.

"Thank you Dell, how thoughtful of you," Dell whispered in an awful imitation of my voice.

"It's not my birthday," I claimed gazing at the cupcake.

"Oh, I know but there's 18 days until your 18th birthday on the 18th! If that isn't a reason to celebrate then I don't know what is." Dell explained.

I picked up the cupcake and swung my legs over the bed causing the blanket to fall off in the process. I quickly blew out the candle and set my 'breakfast' on the wooden nightstand by my bed. Dell studied me as I stretched, then stood, and stretched again.

"I don't want to be 18," I complained as I returned to my seat on the bed. Dell took the seat next to me and crossed her legs.

"You're so weird. I would kill to be 18 right now!" Dell claimed punching her hand with a fist.

I chuckled lightly and rubbed my eyes as I got the sleep out of them.

I sighed, "I don't know what to do after I'm an adult. I mean, all I've ever known is this charitable child association."

"You can call it an orphanage. You know one gets offended here and stop making excuses! You've been telling me that forever," Dell stressed the last syllable.

"I really suck at planning ahead, and look at me now! I'm almost 18 and I have no idea what to do or where to go. I would just rather stay here," I threw up my hands in defeat.

"You'll figure something out," Dell promised as she lightly patted my hand.

A sudden knock on the door caused me to jump slightly though Dell stayed at ease as if expecting it. The door creaked open carefully as Miss Nancy walked in. She was the caretaker here at the orphanage (or charitable child association) and had taken care of me every since I had arrived here when I was five. I was the only one around here who could drop the prefix in her name.