An unusual summer

2. The lottery

I enter the class waiting for something bad to happen when...

"Laus! I thought you were not coming today!" Miss Elisabeth is siting on the piano chair, her gray eyes staring at me. She has a big smile on her face. She looks different, it's like she is... happy?

Something's definitely wrong.

"Hello Miss Elisabeth. I'm sorry for being late..." I start my usual apologize but then she cuts me off.

"Laus, you don't have to worry, next week you will not be able to be late! Oh I love the holidays!"

Whoa wait, did she just say the word love? I didn't know she knew that love existed...

"Mmh... Miss Elisabeth, is everything OK? You look wonderful." When I finish this sentence, her mad expression is back. "I mean more wonderful than usual." The smile reappears on her face.

Well done Laus, nice shot, nice shot.

"Everything's perfect, I am perfect. Oh and I'm always wonderful. Now don't try to skip your piano class." And... she's back. "Have you study for your test on Wednesday?" Uhm... where is her beautiful smile??

Maybe I was hallucinating.

"Of course Miss. I have memorized the Mozart and Bach piece, I will need Beethoven's music sheet but I know how to play it." I have been practicing a lot at home and I'm happy about it.

"What about the sonata?" Miss Elisabeth knows that the sonata is the worst and largest piece I'm playing on the exam.

"Uhm..." I really wanted to say I played the sonata perfectly, but I couldn't lie.

"Play it." She's looking at me harshly.

I sit down while she prepares the sonata sheet. When she gives the signal, I start playing.

Done.

I started playing it perfectly but the last part was awful. Now I'm waiting for Miss Elisabeth to say something like You did it terrible or You didn't study enough.

"It's OK. You just need a little more practice." That's the answer I get.

I'm astonished. What the hell is going on with this woman?

"Do you want me to play any other piece? Bach maybe?" I ask her. She's acting very happy and weird. It's like some kind of alien got her.

"It's not necessary, I trust you. You can go."

Wow, that's scary.

"I'll practice. Bye Miss and thank you!" She's smiling so I smile back at her, grab my books and leave the room.

________________

On my way home I find Darla waiting for the traffic light to turn red. She goes to my school and plays the piano too. She's in a lower level but we have the same teacher.

"Hey Darla!" I wave at her.

"Hey! How are you doing?" She waves back.

"Fine but something really weird happened." She looks at me waiting for an explanation. "Today at piano class, Miss Elisabeth was really happy and kind. Is she getting married or something?" I ask her making a weird face.

She starts laughing. "I don't think so hahaha but I heard she won the lottery or something."

"Oh now I understand! Did she won the Summer Lottery?" I ask.

"Yes, that one." Darla answers.

If you win the summer lottery, you win a vacation. No money. Only nice places and 5-star hotels or mansions to be on holiday. Everything paid.

"Oh now I understand. That's why she told me she loved summer time." I tell her while the traffic light turns green.

"She told you that? Wow I'm sure she's leaving somewhere pretty cool, like LA or Las Vegas." Darla says.

We arrive to Saint Peter Street, where Darla lives so we say goodbye to each other and I keep walking.

Next stop: home.

________________

When I arrive home, the first one that welcomes me is Darco as usual.

Darco is a 2-year-old German shepherd, the best dog in the world. We rescued him when he was only 2 months. He was very ill and now here he is, waving his tail.

"Hey buddy! How was your day?" I say while caressing him.

"Pretty cool! What about yours?" My little brother Charlie is dancing as a robot in the middle of the hall.

He's 14 years old. Unlike the rest of the family, his hair is brown, with some blond natural streaks and his skin is tanned. His brown eyes are looking at me with a pinch of amusement.

"Oh, nothing unusual, except for the fact that Miss Elisabeth went crazy at piano class!" I tell him while he keeps dancing.

"Cool!" He shouts.

He looks ridiculous. He's in his pajamas, dancing. I know you are probably wondering... why is he dancing? Well, he's got this end-of-year musical in his school and this year he's the main character so he's practicing.

I grab my bag and head upstairs. Mom must be here.

"Mom!" I yell.

"Laus! Why are you yelling? I'm here." Oops, she's in front of me checking some papers.

"Hey mom, I didn't see you today at school. Is everything ok?" She looks at me as if I were some kind of seer.

"We will talk about it when we have dinner." She tells me. She seems to be tired.

"Ok... Where's dad?"

"He will arrive late today. He's got a lot of work to do." She answers.

Something's wrong.

"Ok mom but tell me something... did we won the lottery?" I ask her. Who knows, maybe the lottery is what makes things go wrong.

"No honey, you now we never play the lottery. Why did you ask?" She's looking at me confused.

"Nothing. I have to play the piano, you know... This Wednesday is the exam and the sonata..." And for the first time in all the afternoon she smiles.

"Great, go practice! And remember on Thursday is Charlie's musical."

"I will!" I have to shout this because I'm going back downstairs where Charlie is now doing his homework.

What a miracle.

For once I'm going to play the piano without Charlie bothering me with his guitar!

I play for an hour and then start studying for my last end-of-term exam.

"Hey," My sister Mary has arrived. "what's going on?"

She's 18 years old. She's at college, her black hair is falling above her shoulders and her blue eyes are staring at me, waiting for an answer.

"Hey, what do you mean?" I ask her.

"It's mom, she's acting weird and dad hasn't arrived yet." She seems to be nervous.

And she's making me feel nervous.

"EVERYONE GO TO THE KITCHEN NOW!" My mom's voice sounds in every single room of the house.

In only 5 seconds my sister and I are in the kitchen. My mom, dad and brother are waiting for us.

"We need to talk." My dad says.

Martha, Charlie and I look at each other. What's going on? And where is J...

"Where's John?" My mom is staring at us with a confused look.

Oh no. John. Not again.

Author's note:

Hey guys!! As promised, I updated.
Did you like this chapter??
What's going on?? Who's John? Where is he? And... What did he do??
Next chapter you'll find out :)
Vote and comment... What will happen next??

1201 words.