Eventually

CHAPTER ONE - Rejuvenation

Eventually

CHAPTER ONE; Rejuvenation

We were going to Mandurah. Our family had just lost a member. Grandad. I can remember looking at the man I always thought was a super hero crumpled up on the couch. His clothes barely fit him and he could hardly talk without coughing. It was sickening to watch him pull a tube from his stomach, and hold a can upside down, just so he could feed himself with the fluid escaping as he was unable to swallow. I knew that hope was fading. And that he was losing his battle. Mum and Dad thought going on this road trip would help us rejuvenate our tear ducts and get a tan. My younger brother Greg, wasn't excited to leave the wireless internet, but was keen to be able to kick the footy with Dad. We were staying in Miami Holiday Park for twelve weeks. It was going to be awesome. Greg and I were told to pack. I helped him, as he was pretty much incapable to do anything unsupervised. After I'd helped him, I tended to mine. Dad came and knocked on my door. "Melissa," he began, "I don't know what colour to pack." He held two baseball caps, one green and one blue. "Blue," I spat. I just wanted to finish packing. He smiled and placed the blue baseball cap on his head and flipped the green around in his fingers. I packed in my bathers and shut my suitcase.

I hadn't been to Mandurah since I was five. That's eleven years ago now. It was the summer we met the Mayers. Carly and Rob were a happy married couple that had four boys, Thomas who was three, Liam who was one, and a baby that was newborn. And Aaron. I was five and he had just turned six. The way I was told, it was love at first sight. We shared the same family dorm as the Mayer's and became life long friends. Dad chucked my suitcase in the back of the ute. I grinned at him as I jumped in the car. Mum was in the passenger , so by our own free will, Greg and I were in the back. "First stop Mandurah!" Dad said excitedly. "Phil, did you get cigarettes?" Mum asked. It sounds weird people calling Dad Phil. All I've ever known him as was Dad. Mum told me when I was in kindy, my teacher asked me what my Father's name was, and I replied with "Daddy!" loud and proud. As the car started, I plugged in my iPod. I'd received it as a gift from my parents at last years Christmas. It was the best contraption they had ever bought me. Even if it was only eight gigs.

We pulled up to the servo as Dad filled up the car and Mum went in to pay. She came out with two cartons of cigarettes. I hated them, the smell and the taste. It just took me back to when Grandad died. I tried everything, marijuana, cigarettes, drinking. Not the best look for a newly graduated soul. I stopped after realising it was stupid, pointless and a waste of money. But knowing it was stupid from the start, really did make me stupid. Mum put the cartons on the dash and jumped in the car. 

"Let's go already!" Greg whined, "I want to get far enough that we can't turn back!" I chuckled under my breath. I had recently taken Greg to see a scary movie involving spirits and demons, and he was now convinced we had demons in our house.

Halloween had just recently passed and I had pulled the meanest prank on him. I was placing his clean washing on his bed when I heard him say goodnight to Mum and Dad. I quickly turned the light off and hid in his wardrobe. Our wardrobes had roller doors and were made entirely out of mirror, so I could see out. I saw him jump into bed, I waited until he was perfectly still until I started tapping on the roller door with my acrylic nails and making shuffling noises with my feet. He shot up and looked around. Kind of like a meerkat you'd see on Meerkat Manor. I then slid the wardrobe open the slightest and continued to tap. I could see the worried expression on his face was growing, so I skipped ahead to the big finale. Luckily Greg keeps his creepy masks in the wardrobe, so I grabbed it and pulled it over my head. I jumped out screaming like a maniac. Greg shrieked like a little school girl and called for Mum. At that moment I bolted to my room. I chucked the scary mask under my bed, plugged in my iPod and opened a book, and pretending to be oblivious to everything when Dad asked. Mum convinced Greg it was a scary dream. I honestly always thought I was a natural born pranker.

We had just driven over Wally Bridge which meant we were half way there. I smiled at the White Stripes blasted through my ears. I wasn't sure what to expect in Mandurah, or what my family would be like. And as it grew closer, I became more anxious.