Rose

Chapter 1

Who Am I?

My name is Talia Brooks. I am fifteen years old and I currently attend Northvale High. I have brown hair, blue eyes and I am 5 foot 5 inches tall. I have one older brother named Charlie who is seventeen years old and goes to the same school as me. My parents are Amelia and Jonathan Brooks. My father works as an accountant and my mother as an interior decorator.

 

That was it. I stopped typing there. There was nothing really left to say. I’d covered everything I possibly could. Now, I know exactly what you’re thinking: ‘Is she dumb? You can put loads more than that, like where she’s from, her family roots, all sorts!’ Well, don’t you think I would have thought of that? I didn’t know where I was from, well originally anyway. The part about my mother, father and brother isn’t technically true. No, I have not made it up. I’m adopted. My ‘real’ mother left me at an orphanage fourteen years ago. Nobody knew who this woman was, just figured she was too young to care for a baby. Then when I was about a month old, my parents visited the orphanage and adopted me straight away. At least, that’s what I was told.      

            I had to do a ‘Who Am I’ project for school. Not an essay, or a presentation, a project. A full blown project, with big posters and ‘visual aids’ as Mr Griffith had explained earlier that day. We had the whole term to finish this damned project and I had thought I’d better get started but, for me it was exceptionally difficult. I glared one more time at the pathetic paragraph I had managed to cough up and irately slammed my laptop screen down. I was perched cross-legged on my bed, with its silken pink sheets and vast selection of cream and rosy coloured pillows and cushions. I collapsed, feeling rather defeated, onto my mattress and splayed my limbs across it. As I fell, my left hand slapped the edge of my wooden bedside set of drawers. I swore and clutched my throbbing hand close to my chest. Served me right for slamming my laptop.

“Not killing yourself up there are you Talia?” my brother’s smooth voice wafted in through my bedroom door. I rolled my eyes playfully and smiled.  I threw myself off the comfort of my bed, still clutching my weak and wounded hand, only letting go of it at the last moment to turn the gold doorknob of my cream painted bedroom door. There I found none other than brother, Charlie Brooks, standing just behind my door with his muscular arms folded across his equally muscular chest.

            Charlie looks nothing like me; well more like I look nothing like him. His hair is wavy and fits smoothly into a floppy blonde fringe that curves perfectly above his sea green eyes; closer to my eye colour actually. He has sharp and strong facial features and most importantly a bright, white winning smile. I can understand what everybody at school finds so attractive, making him the reigning alpha male, and me the alpha male’s little sister. Charlie’s a lot taller than me, so much so that I’m forced to look upwards whenever I talk to him, and unfortunately, I don’t seem to be growing much!

            “Shut up!” I laughed, pushing him softly on the shoulder. I knew that even if I punched him hard, he wouldn’t flinch, but he pretended to be shocked by the ‘attack’ and fell in slow motion to the carpeted floor.

“Ha! Very funny Charlie!” I said as I helped him up, “What are you doing anyway?”  Charlie was now on his feet again and was wiping some imaginary dirt off his blue jeans and white t-shirt.

“Just thought I’d see how my baby sis is doing,” as he spoke, he embraced me in a bear hug and almost suffocated me in the process, “Aww! Widdle baby Talia!” he teased as I struggled to free myself from his killer clutches.

“What’s up anyway Tali?” he released me from the lock and entered my room. Normally, if someone entered my room without my permission, they would get it. I mean seriously. If you’ve ever seen one of my temper tantrums, you would understand. But Charlie is always an exception. He strolled into my room, with that swagger that I always find so hilarious. He made a beeline for my laptop lying innocently on the fabrics of my bed, picked it up and went to sit on the built-in sofa opposite it. Charlie rested his head on the large window directly behind him and beckoned me to sit on the empty space on the sofa.