Dreaming Away

Chapter 1

My name is Anne May Jackson and I have the weirdest life you could imagine. It all started on a Tuesday morning. Normally you would think Monday is the worst day of the week, but you couldn't be more wrong. I woke up to my alarm blaring. I was about to hit the snooze button but, then my step-mom probably would hit me again. My skin was still red from her slapping me yesterday. I only slept in five extra minutes so I don't see why she was so angry. Probably just wanted me out of the house. Mainly though I didn't hit it because of my dad. He was so disappointed that I couldn't bear looking at him. Yesterday was the first day living with my new step-mother and I made her hate me already. See my dad always breaks up with people because of me. I don't want him to but he says it's important that he finds someone that I can get along with. He already broke up with a ton of people because we fought. I try to get along with them I really do but they just don't like me for who I am and I'm not going to change myself just because of them. It doesn't help that I never met my real mom. I always say to myself that one of these days she's going to come back and her and my dad will get married. What can I say I'm hopeful.

So I got out of bed and got dressed: threw on some worn jeans and a graphic tee. I just don't care what I wear 'cause no matter what I wear I look horrible. I look in my mirror and sneer at my short, thin, curly black hair as I brush through it. I watch myself in the reflection as I zone out and think about how I wish I looked, long thick, straight golden hair with beautiful blue eyes and tan skin; nothing like I look now. My pale vampire skin is frightening with my dark almost black eyes. So many little kids have asked if I was a vampire. That's what you get when you're a Minnesota girl that moved to California. At first, it was kind of funny but, then it just got annoying. I've been tempted to walk out of the house with fangs in my mouth and tell kids that I am a vampire and chase them around. I know if I did that my step-mom would chastise me for scaring little kids. Maybe I could do that during Halloween. My down-turned nose and small mouth don't look as bad but my eyes look so big. They're a normal size it's just that the rest of my face is too small.

I walk downstairs and see that my father and step-mother are laughing in the kitchen making cheap-cakes for breakfast. It's our version of pancakes which taste horrible. Think of the worst thing you've ever eaten, food or not, and it's 1000 time worse. I slouch down in our handmade dining table and cross my arms. I look around at our crappy apartment looking from the holes and stains littered around to the small amount of furniture  cramped around the small room. A torn up plaid couch and a broken glass coffee table take up most of space. Behind the couch is the dining table I'm currently sitting at and a barely working stove. We're so poor we can't even afford anything nice. And anything nice that does come in the house, which doesn't happen even once a year, is immediately turned to crap just because it sits in our house. At least it doesn't look out of place for too long.

I look at my dad with his light almost blondish brown hair and his green eyes. The only resemblance we have is that we're both pale; although my dad's isn't quite as pale. "Am I adopted?" I ask him but immediately regret it because both him and my step-mother, Charlie, turn around to look at me both their eyes suddenly growing wide in surprise.

"No you just got your looks from your mother," is all he says before continuing with his cooking. I'm can tell he's uncomfortable with the question.

My step-mom's face turns to disgust just at the mention of my mother. I look at her and realize just how much she looks like a witch. With her slightly green skin, dark eyes, and pointed, upturned nose. I bet she probably is and we don't know it. If I kill her and she gushes green or something like that then my dad wouldn't be mad at me. I might even get rewarded for saving him and the whole town from her. Maybe thoughts like that is why she doesn't like me. It makes no difference to me I know she doesn't like me and I don't care enough to try and change that.

I sit down and start eating some cheap-cakes. What can I say? If you're hungry enough you'll eat them. Breakfast is going by pretty uneventful until my dad asks, "So, how was the first day of school?" I practically spit my food out across the table. Normally my dad doesn't talk to me and especially not in front of my step-mom. She hates acknowledging that I'm even here.

"Um, it was OK, I guess," I say not sure how to respond.

"Just OK?," he asks, "Nothing else. Nothing interesting happened?" I just shake my head as he sighs. I know he's trying to make conversation since we don't talk much. I've pretty much avoided him since he told me we were moving in with Charlie. He knows I don't like moving especially since we left Minnesota, the only place I call home. Yet still, we had to move across the town. At least I still go to the same school.

I walk out before he has a chance to say anything else. I look around our apartment complex. There are cars driving out, people trying to get to work on time. I notice that there is gigantic traffic jam going back as far as I can see in both directions. Our  complex doesn't have any other kids so I just wave to the people I've seen before but don't really know. I move down the sidewalk people staring at me as I walk by with my hands in my pockets. I can tell they think I'm going to rob them because they check to see if their doors are locked as I go by. I realize I left my backpack at home, but I won't need it because it's the second day of school. No one gives homework out on the second day of school and expects you to turn it back in. I look at the people staring at me as I go by. Why wouldn't they stare? I'm a pale girl in California,  but that's what you get when you live in Minnesota the first five years of your life then move here. It doesn't help that I can't spend too much time outside without getting burned. I love the sun but I don't want people to watch me sit there and get just a heavy layer of sunburn and afterward not get tanner.