The Dangers of Pomegranate Salad

Chapter 1

Part one The Beginning

Chapter 1, the Job That Started It All

I sit in my garden, with the sun on my back; I am working on a particularly stubborn weed. It is not coming out, whatever it is. I look up from my leafy nemesis, and glance around my garden. It’s a fairy tale garden.  When we first moved to Oak Grove, Missouri, when I was four, there were rock structures from an old house. I thought they were beautiful, and asked to plant a garden there.

My mom was thrilled about my wanting to make a garden, so my parents let me. I have lots of various flowers and trees. I have a bunch of roses growing up the stone structure, and going across to make a gate. I have surprise lily’s lining the pathway, Asiatic Lily’s near my little pond, columbines on the shorter rock structure, Ivy climbing up an old wood gazebo. I have all kinds of things.

My favorites, by far, are the Lilies of the Valley. The little white cups dangling from their stems remind me of bells. So pretty. I look down and go back to the stupid weed.  It’s really stuck.  I stand up and start pulling and tugging. I keep fighting with it for several minutes, and finally it pops out, throwing me into a gardenia bush. I stand up again and remove leaves from myself, looking at the large white flowers I’ve knocked off. I sigh and gather them up. I can put them in my collection of pressed flowers.  I grab my subdued enemy, aka “the weed”, and go inside.

 I toss the weed in the trash and grab a bottled water, and head to my room. I go in and flop on my Avengers themed bed. Yeah, I have an Avengers themed bed; I’m just awesome like that. I lie there for a few minutes relaxing after working in my garden, then get back up and brush some dirt off of Thor’s face. I’ll shower later. I grab the gardenias from where I tossed them and head over to my desk. I push the comic books off to the side and grab my flower press. I put the gardenias in and press them, so that I can put them in my collection.  When I’m done, I get up and grab a towel.  I rush into the bath room before Chat, my mother’s cat, can get in. When I’m sure that no cat will be bothering me, I shower.

I walk out of the bathroom fifteen minutes later, dressed in pajama pants and a cami, holding a bottle of caramel flavored conditioner. Now my curly hair doesn’t just look like caramel, it smells like it too! I put the bottle in my room, my sister, Jennet, likes to use it if I don’t keep it hidden.  

I go down stairs to get a snack. Jen is sitting in the living room watching those ridiculous “teen” shows they show on Disney Chanel and Nickelodeon. I find them stupid but she adores them.

As I walk past, Jens blond head turns to look at me, “Hey! Can you get me some water?” she asks.

“Get it yourself!” I say.

“But that requires moving” 

“It’s good for yah!” I say jokingly, she flops onto the floor, as if getting up is so much effort, then stands up and comes into the kitchen. I open the fridge, knocking mom’s penguin magnet off; I pick it up and put it back.  Jen gets a cup of water while I rummage through the fridge.

 Something about her catches my eye. I glance at her and scowl. She is wearing an atrocious hot pink hoodie. She and her friends are for some reason convinced that ‘pseudo eighties’ is ‘their look’ I think it looks ridiculous

 “You know what Saturday is?” She asks. “Um, the day after Friday?”  She rolls her eyes. “No, it’s when you have to take me to the store to get makeup!” she bats her baby blue eyes at me

 I frown. “Aren’t you a little young for makeup?” I ask.

 She looks annoyed. “No, I’m twelve; you’re the one that refuses to wear it because you think it’s to mature for you.”

 I sigh. “How am I supposed to take you? I can’t drive.”

She looks distraught. “But Henri won’t! He says he ‘doesn’t consort in the ways of women’ what does that even mean?”

 Henri is my seventeen year old brother, he can drive, but that doesn’t mean he’ll take us anywhere without a bribe.

 “Ask mom” I say. “Fine!” she gives me an over dramatic pouty lip and walks away.

 I continue looking for sustenance.  It’s rather difficult when you have a six-foot, cross country running, teenage brother who consumes everything in sight.  I give up on food, and go into the living room.

Mom’s there now, her long blond hair in a pony tail; she is in her D’Artiste Landscaping and Garden shirt. She owns her own Landscaping business, even has employees.

 My siblings and I are expected to work too, which I enjoy. My siblings, not so much. Henri say’s “men do NOT plant flowers”, and Jen complains about the dirt under her nails, so I’m the one who works the most. 

Mom looks at me. “Oh Terre, good. I need to speak with you”

Jen giggles, “Oooohhh, you’re in trouble!”

 “Jen, Please go clean your room” Mom is obviously trying to get rid of her and Jen knows it

“but it’s already clean” she says with a smirk.  

“Then go do your homework, in your room” Jen looks at mom like she’s crazy.

“Mom, its summer” my mom gives an exasperated sigh.

“Then go read a book. In your room.” Jen sighs and leaves the room, mumbling about being banished. Mom looks at me, her brown eyes obviously excited.

“Terre, I have some good news. Your father and I have been talking about how you wanted a job to yourself and we think you can do it.”

 Now I’m excited too, I’ve been begging for my own job for months now. “Really?” I ask. “Yep, we’re going to give you the next fairy garden job.” “That shouldn’t take too terribly long, everyone wants fairy gardens.” I think out loud.

“Actually we have a job already, it’s a family called the Underlans. I think you go to school with their son, Haden”

My face feels hot. Haden Underlan is the boy I’ve been crushing on since he moved here. I’ve sort of been stalking him since seventh grade, which is totally understandable seeing as his longish, dark, waving hair and grey eyes make him really cute. He’s kind of shy and quiet, I see him by himself a lot, writing in a note book. I don’t think he has any friends, and a lot of the kids pick on him. If I work at his house he might talk to me, I could be his friend. Maybe then I won’t get weird looks from people when I hide behind the trash can next to his locker! This Job just gets better and better.

 “So, when do I start?” I say with a smile