A Place I Call Home (A Cinderella Story)

Chapter 1

       There is nothing special about this story. I'm just an ordinary girl with a very boring life. Or so I thought. Let's start from the beginning. Living in a small town. Everyone basically knew each other. Just a picket fence, that was fading and moldy. A two-story house, which was brownish. It needed repairs badly. We had a garden, but it died out over the years so now it's just grass and weeds. But the garden was beautiful. With flowers that were everywhere. I could have stayed in it for hours. A lot of things died around here after my mother passed away. I was too young to remember her or how this placed used to look. I was told it was very lively and colorful.

But moving on, I live with my brother Jake and my father. Jake is older than me. He hasn't finished high school yet either. He's been in it for almost six years now. He likes to play his video games. Not the brand-new systems. He likes the old classical ones. Jake's famous line is, "Well, I'm not doing anything. If you need me, I will be playing Nintendo."

Video games always came into a conversation somehow. I always wonder what it would be like if Jake actually did graduate high school. But I was glad he didn't. School was rough for me. Not because of the grades or anything, mostly because of the people there.

   They make fun of me, tease me even. I didn't dress like everyone else. The clothes I chose were considered too old women. Long sleeves, glasses, old lady sneakers. My name to them is Wendy Angela Morgan Darling. From Peter Pan, of course. They think I'm best friends with him or something. They pick on me for just about everything. I didn't have any real friends. Kids would purposely make me trip and fall. Laughing as I picked myself up off the floor. School couldn't just be over for me. I wish I was in Jake's shoes. I would have graduated and left that place.

Well, Monday was the worst day of the week for me. It was the start of my torture. Even if today is an excuse for not getting out of bed, I shouldn't get out of bed to be picked on every day. I threw on a white t-shirt with a rose-colored sweater, some pants, socks, and my v shoes. Adjusting my glasses, I put some ChapStick on and went downstairs. My ears could pick up the sounds of arguing before I got into the kitchen. This was normal. My dad and Jake always argued about something. Dad was standing by the counter, coffee in hand. Jake was eating cereal at the table. I went over and sat next to him. I grabbed a bowl, cereal, and milk. "You know you should try. You could do it this year." Dad spoke, trying to encourage Jake.

Jake rolled his eyes. He never liked hearing our dad nagging. "Please. Like I did the first few times." He got up to put his bowl in the sink. Jake glanced over at me. "Hurry up, so we won't be late."

Dad gave him a disgusted look. "You going to wash that out?" He spoke annoyed.

"Like how you're going to fix up the house?" Jake asked. He always threw back the false promises dad made to us. He promised to fix up the place. But he spent his days working and coming home to drink beer all night.

Dad shot him a dirty look. "Like how you think driving and playing video games are the same thing?" He smirked.

Jake got pissed as he pointed his finger at him. "Don't criticize my driving, old man. At least I am a good driver!"

Dad looked at me. "I think Wendy does a better job than you. At least she doesn't almost hit people."

Quietly eating my breakfast, my eyes just looked at them. I'd like to be left out of their silly arguments for once. Its a never-ending battle for them.

"She can't even drive yet!" Jake exclaimed.

He smiled. "Exactly my point." He crossed his arms against his chest. Proud to have won the battle for now.
Jake groaned and went to grab his backpack. I was drinking my milk when Jake shouted from the next room. "This place would look nicer if alcohol wasn't involved."

I almost choked. Dad said something he shouldn't have next. "God damn it! You're twenty years old! You should be out of high school by now! Wendy has two years left, and you aren't finished by now? You're a disappointment to the family! If your mother was here..."

Jake flew back into the kitchen, enraged. "Yeah, well, guess what? SHE'S NOT HERE! THIS FAMILY FELL APART AFTER SHE DIED. IT STILL ISN'T BACK TOGETHER YET!" Jake walked over and slammed the backdoor. We could hear the car starting up.

Dad looked at me. He looked remorseful. "Maybe you can... Tell him that I am sorry for saying what your mother would think."

I sighed deeply. They seem to always put me in a bad spot after fighting. After a few years of this going on, I refused to get in the middle. "Dad, you know how Jake is. He gets mad every time you say things about him. Nobody's perfect here. But the worst of it all is you talk about Mom like you know exactly what she thinks. It upsets him. You know he was the last person to see Mom alive." His eyes looked away from me. He knew this was true. He regrets that day. He wished he had taken us while she went shopping. Jake would have never witnessed her dying.

Dad sighed. "Sweetheart, it's just this one time. If..."

I interrupted him. "If you want to apologize, you have to do it yourself." The car horn honked twice. I walked over to the backdoor and picked up my backpack. I took a deep breath and looked back at him. "There needs to be a few changes around here. You apologizing to Jake on your own without involving me. And actually fixing up this place like you promised." I walked out the door. He stood at the door for a few seconds like he was going to catch me, but he just shook his head and closed the door. I hopped into Jake's car. Like always, he sped out of the driveway. He almost hit an old lady putting her trash out. My knuckles clutched the side of the car. My heart stopped every time he almost hit someone or something. I thought about our dad. I felt bad, but he had to know the truth. We were sick of the empty promises. The constant fighting started once Jake hit high school. Jake whipped his car around a corner, snapping me out of my thoughts. My nails were digging into the car door. "Slow down before you kill us!" I screamed. He whipped his car into the school parking lot, almost hitting the principal. He tossed his coffee in the air. Yelling and screaming at Jake to slow down. He zipped into his favorite parking space under the tree and parked the car. I was taking a couple of deep breaths. Jake looked at me with a big smile. "I got us here on time, didn't I?" My body laid back in the seat. Who gave him his license?