Land Of Dreams

chapter one 'the start'

I put down my hair straighteners and just stare at myself in the mirror, its weird, i dont look sixteen or feel it but i have this other weird feeling that, this is it, this is going to be my year, the year everything changes. Ha yeah i dont think so.

I'm so excited for tonight, my sixteenth birthday party, well i say party, i mean my closest friends and i are going out for a meal, at my favourite mexican restarunt. I go back to straightening my hair and once done, i do my make up 'the less, the best' is my saying for make up, it seems like i'm the only girl in my school with this saying.

Once all done, i head down stairs to be harassed by my dad, 'so its just girls going right?', 'you will be back by eleven, won't you?', 'remember don't talk to strangers!', this is what i got last year and the year before that, oh and the year before that. He is so protective when it comes to me, i do kind of like it, i mean atleast it shows he cares, right?

"Yes dad, i wont talk to any strangers. bye. love you," i shut the door and turn to see my friends giving me the same look like always, that 'omg your dad' look, i just roll my eyes at them and head off down the road towards the town. The girls are back in townn. Oh dear.

The night were surprisingly fast but it was great and so funny, it's always funny with my friend, they are all mad. They all got me great present, mostly books as they know me so well, I love to read, books are so great, they are like a way of escaping real life, I like this as my life is pretty boring.

Once home, I walked in to the living room, my dad sat on the sofa, watching some old war movie, he turns and looks at me, then to his watch, "Your 5 minutes late," oh for god sakes, i rolled my eyes at him and sat down next to him, "Dont be silly dad," i said him then playfully hit him in the arm, he stands up and points at me, "right, for that your not having a

present," he said jokingly, i hoped.

He stomed off and i just sat there giggling, when he returned, he was holding four presents, he looked at me smiling and passed them to me, i was so excited that I ripped the first one open, before he had even sat down again, it was a small Black Box, "Ohh wait, leave that one till last," he grabbed it out of my hands, i just gave him a weird look, then started on the next one, I could tell it was a book before I'd ever opened it, when I opened it, i know what is was straight away, "Oh my god, a signed copy of the hunger games," i screamed, i jumped on my dad, hugging him, he pushed me off, "come on, open the others," i grabbed the second one, and started to open it, it was a hundred pound topshop voucher, oh my favourite shop ever, I smiled at him and he smiled back, I placed it on top of the book and started on the next one, it was a large, brown note pad and a pen, i gave my dad a questioning look, "It's so you can write down, all your brilliant stories," he explained, i hugged him again, "Thanks dad, i love them all," he reached into his pocket and gave me an envelope and the black box again, "the letter is from your mum, she wrote it when your were born and before she died, she told me to give it to you on your 16th birthday," i opened the envelope and started to read it.