Chapter 1
The bright, morning sun rays peeked through the small opening of my blinds and shone onto my face; resulting in a warm, peaceful awakening from a luxurious slumber.
At least that's how I wish I woke up.
I was already half awake from my brothers' bickering in the room over, but I pleaded my body to fall back asleep. As soon as I was about to slip back into a dreamless sleep, I heard my momma yell, "Halyn! Go wake up Lainey!"
Groaning, I gave up on my sleep, rolled over on my back, and slowly opened my eyes. The small footsteps scurrying up the stairs were filling my ears and I stared up at the ceiling, savoring my last moments alone.
As expected, the door to my small room swung open and banged onto the wall.
"Hey! Be careful!" I screamed and sat up.
Even though I was obviously awake, Halyn still felt the need to rip the covers off my bed and scream in my face.
"Shut up!" I screamed back, covering my ears with the palm of my hands.
I ran out of my bedroom leaving the curly haired 5-year-old to scream to herself.
I trudged down the steps and into the kitchen. I sat down on a wooden chair and swiped a piece of toast from the table. Across from me was Jed and Ruthie, whispering and giggling to themselves. The two were only a year apart and were the best of friends.
I still felt my childhood pang of jealousy lingering at the bottom of my stomach. I would always feel left out when they had they're own little secrets without me. I've been able to swallow it back, I mean, I was oldest and my parents expected a lot. But the envy had bubbled down when I was seven and my little brother Rizzo was born, and two years later, Halyn.
"Morning, Lain," my mom smiled as she flipped a fluffy pancake onto a plate and set it in front of me.
"Mm, thanks Momma," I said while reaching for the syrup.
"PANCAKES?!" Rizzo screamed with his eyes wide open as he walked into the kitchen.
I laughed, loving how something so simple could bring so much excitement in his twinkling brown eyes.
"Take a seat!" Momma said, pouring some batter onto the pan.
Rizzo sat next to me, wincing slightly at his still tender back. I offered a small smile and a bite of my warm pancake.
Ruthie tugged at her brown curls and asked Riz how his back was feeling; her young face full of sympathy.
"Good, I guess. It's been sooo long since surgery and it's still kinda sore," he mumbled in shrugged.
"Hey, it took me 4 months to fully recover; you're fine," Jed said with a mouth full of pancakes and syrup.
"Ew!" Ruthie giggled, taking a sip of orange juice.
"Mouth closed, Jed," Momma gave Rizzo his pancake and turned to me, "I'm going to be in the garden awhile; make sure they get their work done," she said referring to Jed and Ruthie. She put on her garden gloves and left through the back door.
I took a last bite and grabbed all the dirty plates and placed them in the sink. On my way back to the table, I snatched the piece of paper titled, "Schoolwork/Chores", off of the counter. I sat back down and scanned over the paper Momma had typed up. She does this everyday and expects all of us to be finished by the time she has plucked every weed in the backyard.
I looked up from the paper to see my three younger siblings' faces looking at mine, awaiting what their day would consist of.
None of us really looked alike; Ruth's face was crystal clear unlike Jed and I with our freckles filled cheeks. Rizzo and Ruthie had deep brown curls while Hayln's were strawberry blonde. Jed's hair was a golden mess and mine was a rat's nest.
